• Leanpay was founded in 2016 by Janko Medja, Misa Zivic, and Tilen Zugwitz, has over 120,000 users and 1,500 merchant partners. It develops Buy Now Pay Later 3.0, providing instalment payment solutions for vendors and consumers.
• The startup employs a team of 70, serves more than 120,000 customers and 1,500 merchants, and has issued around €103 million in loans across Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary.

Investment details

• The investment was led by BlackPeak Capital, a Bulgarian private equity firm that invests in Southeast European startups like Bianor Holding, GenePlanet, and Pick&Pack.
• The firm currently manages two funds with a total of €150 million in assets. The round was also co-led by Catalyst Romania, a private equity and venture capital fund platform from Bucharest.

• BlackPeak Capital’s Managing Partner, Niklas Pichler, will join Leanpay’s board to guide the company in reaching its growth goals. 

The shift in consumer behavior towards flexible payment methods like BNPL is increasingly influencing daily life for all generations as well as reshaping the e-commerce landscape, being pivotal for both businesses and customers alike. We are excited to partner with Leanpay, a Slovenian leader in responsible lending and a pioneer in the 3rd generation BNPL solutions in our region operating an asset-light model, — Niklas Pichler said.

This funding will allow Leanpay to expand its operations, launch new services, and recruit new talents to strengthen its market position.

About SaleSqueze

• Co-founded in 2020 by Leon Panjtar and Tilen Tomakic, SaleSqueze provides a Visual CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) platform to automate sales of complex products. The platform is relevant for small to medium-sized businesses, aiming to simplify sales for items like home and garden equipment, tiny and modular houses, RVs, SPVs, automotive, industrial components, medical devices, machinery, and many more.

• The product provides a lead-to-order process, including integration of AI-powered visualization and sales intelligence. Their ‘Drag & Drop Configurator Builder’ allows users to create product configurators without the need for coding or design skills.

Our goal has always been to make digital sales available to any company selling complex products, just like Shopify did for standard products and Tesla did for cars. This funding round is a big step towards making that happen as it enables us to make our platform self-service, automate onboarding, and support more businesses globally. We want to make selling complex products as easy and efficient as possible,

the team of SaleSqueze commented.

Investment details

• The fresh round is led by Underline Ventures. It is a Bucharest-based VC fund that partners at the earliest stages with Eastern European founders building high-growth startups.
• Other participants in the round included Robin Capital, Fortech Investments, Super-Angels, Klub 20, Xenia Muntean, Christoph Zoeller, and Björn W. Schäfer.
• The current investment will help SaleSqueze to accelerate its global expansion and enhance the product development.

In November 2023, Underline Ventures closed its first fund at $20 million. Read more about the closure:

• ReCatalyst, a spin-out company from the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, was founded in early 2021 by Tomaž Bizjak and Dr. Matija Gatalo. The startup develops a nanotech platform for the production of intermetallic platinum-alloy PEM fuel cell catalysts. 
• The company wants to enable the massive scalability of high-power fuel cells while optimizing the usage of precious platinum group metals. With its nano-technological platform, ReCatalyst aims to accelerate the decarbonization of the energy and transport sectors.
• The round was co-led by the Germany-based High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), recently, it joined €7 million round for Proxima Fusion, Austrian xista science ventures, that in July 2023 co-led €1.3 million round for Austrian drone startup subdron, and OCCIDENT from Germany. Slovenian RUJ Ventures and the strategic business angel Dr. Tine Tomažič also participated in the investment. 

“The investment from a strong syndicate of renowned international investors not only provides the company with crucial financial and operational support but also positions it on a global scale. In addition, this opportunity synergizes effectively with Slovenia’s strong connections to the German and Austrian industries. I take immense pride in the fact that we have transformed what was once a PhD research project into one of the most promising products in the market with substantial potential for future developments, ” 

Tomaž Bizjak, CEO and co-founder of ReCatalyst added.

• ReCatalyst plans to use the investment to accelerate process development of its nanotech platform, expand its production capabilities and product portfolio, and revolutionize the market. 

• Founded in 2008, GenePlanet provides a preventive genetic tests, specializing in NIPT, cancer screening, and lifestyle DNA tests. In addition, the company offers lifestyle tests that provide information about an individual genetic predisposition to various conditions, including cancer and heart disease. 
• Since launching, GenePlanet collaborates with over 1000 medical centers, doctors, and insurance companies. GenePlanet operates in more than 35 countries and has over 100,000 customers.
• The investment was led by Bulgarian equity fund BlackPeak Capital that targets growth equity investments of €5-15 million in fast-growing SMEs in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. In January 2023, it was participated in acquisition of Pick & Pack, a Croatian logistics startup.
• In addition, Niklas Pichler, a Managing Partner of BlackPeak will join the board of GenePlanet:

“Preventive health care and personalized medicine will play an increasingly important role in our lives in the near future. We are excited to partner with GenePlanet, a company at the forefront of innovation in genetic testing,”

Niklas added.

• German Darwin AG, Slovenian Kolektor and FMR also joined the round.
• The investment will enable GenePlanet to expand its product portfolio, make targeted add-on acquisitions in medical DNA testing, invest in big data infrastructure, and support its global expansion plans. GenePlanet also plans to develop an advanced AI system for large-scale language models. 

• Muffin was founded by Dean Habuš and Rok Miklic in January 2023. The startup creates a web and mobile app for the hospitality industry designed to digitize the process of F&B acceptance, automate data entry into ERP/POS system, and simplify stock counting through its user-friendly swiping interface. 
• Muffin claims that its solution enables hotels and restaurants to accept deliveries up to 50% faster, allowing to set up more efficient logistics processes.
• The fresh round was led by daFUND, a pan-European VC fund, which invests in very early stages (pre-seed/seed) in promising European B2B startups that are powered by software, and joined by Silicon Gardens, an early-stage VC firm that aims to empower Slovenian startup ecosystem and support the new generation of entrepreneurs. 
• The investment will help the Muffin team build the product and move the company from paid pilots to full-time paying customers.

• Founded in 2010, MESI is a pioneer in simplifying and digitizing diagnostic workflows from general practices to assisted care. It develops several digital products for medical assessment such as 12-lead ECG, a completely digital electrocardiogram, Primary Spirometry, Ankle-Brachial index, etc.

“We are thrilled that our European and global efforts have resulted in a partnership with SHS. The aim of our innovation is to facilitate access to relevant diagnostic data. This speeds up the diagnostic process for the patient, resulting in faster treatment and prevention of adverse events. The SHS investment will allow us to continue developing new ways for healthcare professionals to predict, diagnose, and manage various conditions with greater accuracy and efficiency,”

Jakob Šušterič, CEO at MESI, comments.

• SNS, the lead investor, is a growth to medium-size-focused investment firm with a portfolio of over 20 medtech companies ranging from cardiology to digital health. The investment in MESI shows SHS’s commitment to supporting fast-growing companies that develop products and services improving the healthtech sector.
• Thanks to the funding, MESI will be able to expand its sales organization and the portfolio of products and services.

Silicon Gardens prepared the State of Adria Tech Report 2021-2022 that explores the venture deals from Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. AIN.Capital shares the key points. You can read the full report, here.

The Adria Tech ecosystem is a collaboration of three Central European countries Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Recently, these countries saw a surge of investment value and number, becoming one of the most dynamic tech communities.

• During 2021-2022, the ecosystem’s funding amount reached €3.45 billion, which is almost 12 times more than five years ago.
• The number of deals made by tech companies in each country reached 321 in total.
  • Slovenia managed to secure the majority, raising €1.25 billion across 209 deals.
  • However, Croatia has the highest value among the countries, securing €1.86 billion across 88 deals.
  • Serbia took the last place, with 24 deals accounting for €325 million.

• Venture capitals have established dominance in both the number of deals made (50.8%) and the total value invested (57%). Private equity executed only a limited number of deals (2.2%), but each was substantial in size (39.7%).
• The majority of the acquired capital is coming through later rounds (Series A, B, C) and megarounds (over €100 million raised).
• The largest amount of fresh capital was secured by such companies in 2021-2022:
  • €690 million raised by Rimac Group, a Croatian automotive company.
  • €545 million by Infobip, a Croatian telecommunications company.
  • €450 million by Aleph Holding-Httpool, a Slovenian digital advertising.
  • €164 million by Celtra, a Slovenian creative automation company.
  • €136 million by Quantive, a Croatian strategy execution platform.
• Total value of exits and secondaries rose to €1.6 billion in 2021-2022. By 2022, the total value reached €4.7 billion.
• To date, the Adria Tech ecosystem has 6 active unicorns: Rimac Group, Infobip, Outfit7, Httpool, Sportradar, and Outbrain.

• Founded in 2015 and led by Rafael Rosengarten and Miha Stajdohar, Genialis is a computational precision medicines company currently based in Boston, US and Ljubljana, Slovenia. The company wants to propel drug development, diagnostics, and treatment planning through its platform, ResponderID.
• ResponderID is an AI/ML-enabled platform with a biology-first approach for clinical and translational research. It yields new biomarkers for drug development and discovery programs, as well as diagnostic tests. The resulting output can provide the most informed decision-making possible.

“Genialis has an impressively clear vision, compelling AI-drug discovery biomarker models, and robust underlying science supporting their platform. We look forward to working closely with the Genialis team to explore and pursue growth opportunities in this burgeoning space,”

Ita Lu, Managing Partner at Taiwania Capital Management, commented.

• The $13 million Series A round was co-led by Taiwania Capital, a Taiwan-based VC firm, and Debiopharm Innovation Fund, a Switzerland-based strategic investor. The previous investors First Star Ventures, Redalpine Venture Partners, and Pikas also participated, together with P5 Health Ventures and several angels.
• Genialis is currently growing its teams in both the US and Slovenia. The company is also investing in R&D collaborations with several leading cancer centers, hospital groups, and clinical academic labs.
• The fresh capital will help to expand its proprietary ResponderID platform and build out its collection of biomarker models to improve cancer treatment.

Startups can apply through the Labena Venture website. The application deadline is May 15.

• Labena Ventures will provide startups and entrepreneurs with funds from its €100 million investment pool, sourced from different investors. It will take high-potential startup ventures on a fast-paced learning journey to help them explore and access business opportunities.
• The program will last 3-month involving close interaction with over 80 mentors, partners, and investors. It will help founders solve the challenges of research, implementation, and global marketing of new methods to develop safe and sustainable ways of diagnosis, treatments, as well as improve food safety.
• The accelerator will focus on biotech, pharmacy, healthcare, food, and environment startups. It will be based in Slovenia and will cover 17 countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Romania.

About Labena

Labena is an international company which offers integrated solutions in laboratory and process analytics since 1993. It was established by Irena Lemut Čeh and grew from Slovenia to Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Serbia to later become the fastest supplier of high tech laboratory equipment in Adria region.

• Founded in 2015, Kamino is a team of fintech and identity experts building the next generation of Web 3.0 mobile apps. According to the company, it has built over 50 apps in five years. Kamino’s biggest projects include GlobaliD and Donat Mg.
• Kamino’s employees have mobile app design, development, and maintenance skills. This is paired with an experienced UX team and their proven expertise in digital identity, self-sovereign identities (SSI), and eID. It has built and maintains the Slovenian national eID app that adheres to the eIDAS regulations.
• Netcetera bought 100% of the Slovenian company, as part of its strategic expansion.

“With this strategic expansion, we are investing in our core strengths with additional business expertise and engineering power and a new location in Ljubljana. I am happy to welcome the 50 new experts to the Netcetera family. With this reinforcement, we can further accelerate digital transformation in all industries,”

Carsten Wengel, Netcetera CEO, comments.

• Additionally, Kamino complements Netcetera’s end-to-end offer in the payment and banking industry. Also, apart from its technology, a people-focused approach toward employees and customers is valuable for both companies.

• Founded in 2018 by Mark Kalin and Tomaz Dolensek, Fit&Beat is a developer of blockchain technology solution intended to serve the fitness industry. 
• The company’s AI-based app analyzes data from users and coaches in the Fit&Beat network to create individualized exercise plans for users. Users earn an FTB coin with every calorie consumed, trade and purchase across all branches of the Fit&Beat ecosystem.
• Since its launch, Fit&Beat has already had over 40 global ambassadors, 8 million followers and eight solidified partnerships. 

“As the prevalence of inactive and obese populations continues to rise, our main goal is to incentivize individuals to live a healthier/active lifestyle by rewarding them for their workouts. We are developing the first Proof-of-Workout app, Fit&Beat Train2Earn App, paired with our own metaverse, FitBeatverse,”

co-founder and CEO of Fit&Beat, Mark Kalin comments. 

• The fresh round was led by the Bahamas-based digital asset investment firm, with operations in Paris and New York, GEM Digital Limited, focuses on the listed tokens, CEX and DEX sectors.
• The proceeds will allow Fit&Beat to further develop the state-of-the-art Move2Earn application, its own metaverse, and to expand into new markets and partnerships. 

• Founded in 2015 by Borut Dagarin, Dejan Grofelnik Pelzel, and Lovrenc Gregorcic, Bunny.net provides a developer-friendly content delivery platform, edge storage, and optimization services.
• As Bunny.net claims, it has already powered over a million websites for over 24,000 paying customers, including brands like Hyundai.
• The fresh round was led by two funds — Luxembourg-based Runa Capital that focuses on B2B SaaS, machine intelligence, complex software, IT, fintech, edtech, and digital health, and Slovenian corporate finance advisory boutique Capital Genetics. 

“We’re planning to expand from data storage and distribution and now are working on security and global compute solutions. Ultimately, I’d like to help out the Slovenian tech ecosystem and build a company that will be the go-to destination for Slovenian tech graduates,”

Dejan Grofelnik Pelzel, co-founder of Bunny.net, said about the startup’s future plans. 

• Slovenian company EFOS, founded by Bostjan Bozic and Matej Stefancic, developed Trapview, an AI-based platform that provides real-time data to farmers about the pest situation in their fields. It helps to analyze and predict the development of pest dynamics. 
• Trapview can monitor more than 50 insect species, thus benefiting a large spectrum of farmers. Currently, the company provides its services to over 40 countries around the world. 

“Modern, sustainable insect crop protection is almost impossible without accurate, reliable, and up-to-date data about pest population and development. Trapview is recognised as the world’s most advanced and complete solution in this space. I’m excited that such renowned and experienced investors participating in our Series B round share our vision and support our ambitions to become a global leader in the segments we are in,” 

Matej Stefancic, CEO and co-founder of EFOS, says.

• ECBF leads the Series B financing round of €10 million. The fund invests in deep-tech companies and supports sustainable businesses. Demeter, the second VC fund, joined the investment via the VitiRev Innovation fund.
• The fresh funding will accelerate the startup’s commercial development in Brazil, Europe, starting with France, Italy, Spain and in the US.

• Juicefast was founded in 2018 by two brothers David and Marko Dravinec, who combined their separate business ventures Detox.hr and Zdravi obroci into a new company. 
• The startup claims that it produces technologically advanced natural detox juices and healthy meals, using high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) method. It allows preserving all the nutrients, enzymes, taste, color and texture of the product as much as possible. 

“Our desire is to help people get rid of the increasingly prominent problem of obesity with our quality products and education. At the same time, we support local family farms from which we obtain most of the raw materials, and ultimately we take care of nature by composting production by-products,”

David Dravinec, CEO of Juicefast, commented.

• €500,000 of the total amount in this round comes from Feelsgood. It is a Zagreb-based social impact investment fund that has approximately €30 million under its management.
• The fresh funds will be used by Juicefast to improve the production of fruit and vegetable fasting juices and healthy meals, and distribute its products to more users that want to regulate their weight and improve their health.

• Ridango company develops the systems for public transport ticketing with a focus on Automated Fare Collection (AFC) and Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI) systems. It also pioneered contactless bank card payments in public transport.
• Since the company was founded in 2009, it has successfully accomplished numerous projects in Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Ukraine, and Greenland with public transport authorities and operators of various sizes.
• LIT Transit was founded in 2012 in Slovenia. It offers IT solutions for public transport, such as the Transit Management System and ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) prediction engine.
• Following the acquisition of LIT Transit, the group now offers its ticketing, transit management, and payment solutions in 25 countries worldwide, including Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, New Zealand, Oman.
• The acquisition deal will enable Ridango and LIT Transit to bring their ticketing, transit management, and payment solutions globally.

“Our joint ambition is to become one of the leading providers of public transport mobility technology systems globally by 2026. The acquisition of LIT Transit is an important milestone, as they’re leading players in the public transport real-time industry,” the Chairman Of The Board at Ridango Group, Erki Lipre, comments the deal.