These are the 10 best venture capital funds in Eastern Europe

Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds have gained ground despite the COVID 19 pandemic, according to the latest report. European Capital Report 2021, published by i5invest and the Entrepreneurship Center of the University of Economics Vienna. Although still underfunded, Eastern Europe provides good examples, notably with HIVentures in Hungary and Fil Rouge Capital in Croatia.

With 64 new European funds created over the last 24 months, the total number of venture capital players in Europe stands at 676, including 443 VCs and 233 PEs. Industry players are placing a strong emphasis on early-stage investments in Industry 4.0, life sciences and health technologies.

The strongest new entrants in terms of assets under management are London-based Corten Capital, Sweden’s Röko, a/o UK-headquartered PropTech, Germany’s Future Energy Ventures and Finland-based NordicNinja VC .

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With only four new funds (Smart Works from Austria, Helen Ventures from Finland, Sparrow Ventures from Switzerland and DNV GL Ventures from Norway), the corporate venture capital (CVC) ecosystem in Europe has failed to demonstrate substantial growth. In total, there are 55 CVCs, with the strongest based on assets under management being Novo Holdings of Denmark, Rabo Corporate Investments based in the Netherlands, Novartis Venture Fund of Switzerland and BMW iVentures of Germany.

The UK is home to the largest number of CVCs (18), followed by Germany (16) and Switzerland (6). The main investment verticals for CVC in Europe are AI & Big Data, Industry 4.0, Life Sciences & Healthcare Tech, Software as a Service and Future of Technology. mobility.

“In 2021, we hope to see many more companies integrating venture capital into their innovation strategy,” says Stephan Jung of the WU Entrepreneurship Center.

Where is Eastern Europe?

Eastern Europe is the most underfunded region, the report reveals. Nevertheless, the report contains some good examples, including Budapest-based HIVentures, which dominated the investment scene with 200 deals in 2020, four times more than the second most active fund, Zagreb-based Fil Rouge Capital.

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The most popular investment focus among European funds in 2021 is life sciences and healthcare, followed by IT, media and telecommunications, as well as B2B and industry 4.0. In terms of stage of development, funds based in Southeast Europe prefer to invest in the early stage, while the rest of Europe continues to focus more on financing growth-stage companies in 2021.

The report does not mention any venture capital firms headquartered in Bulgaria, Romania or the Western Balkans.

Top 10 Venture Capital Firms in Eastern Europe

1. Hiventures (700 million euros), headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, sought early-stage and growing companies to invest in the areas of future mobility, fintech, construction and cleantech , e-commerce and retail, education and human resources, life sciences and health technology, agritech and food technology, IT, Media and telecommunications.
2. PortfolioLion Capital Partners (220 million euros), headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, was looking for early-stage and growing companies to invest in SaaS, B2B and general industries.
3. AltalR Capital (N/A) headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel was looking for start-ups and growing companies to invest in the areas of Fintech and Insurtech, Life Sciences and Health Technologies, blockchain, industry 4.0, AI and Big Data SaaS.
4. Aria (50 million euros), headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, has been looking for start-ups to invest in the areas of AI and Big Data, SaaS, Cybersecurity and Defense, industry 4.0, education and human resources, life sciences and health technologies.
5. Credo Ventures (170 million euros), headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, sought start-ups to invest in the areas of Fintech and Insurance, Life Sciences and Health Technologies , blockchain, industry 4.0, AI and Big Data SaaS.
6. EnerCap (450 million euros) headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, seeking private equity investments in the field of energy and sustainability
7. Fil Rouge Capital (47 million euros), headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, sought early-stage and growing companies to invest in the areas of Fintech and Insurtech, Life Sciences and Health Technologies , blockchain, industry 4.0, AI and Big Data SaaS.
8. Practical capital (52 million euros), headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, sought early-stage and growing companies to invest in the areas of fintech and insurtech, life sciences and healthcare technology, blockchain, industry 4.0, AI and big data, construction and clean technology, supply chain and logistics. , Education and human resources, energy and sustainable development.
9. Global RTP (N/A) headquartered in Moscow, Russia has been looking for early-stage companies to invest in the areas of future mobility, fintech, construction and cleantech, e-commerce and retail, education and human resources, life sciences and health technologies, agricultural and food technologies, IT, media and telecommunications.
10. S7 Companies (N/A) headquartered in Novosibirsk, Russia, has sought early-stage and growing companies to invest in the areas of Fintech and Insurtech, Life Sciences and Health Technologies. health, blockchain, Industry 4.0, AI and Big Data, construction and Proptech, supply chain and logistics. , Education and human resources, energy and sustainable development.