VC investments in CEE reached over €940M in Q2 2024

Global startup funding reached over $79 billion in Q2 2024, with approximately $16 billion going to Europe. With $6.7 billion invested, the UK took the lead, followed by France with $2.9 billion.

While in Central and Eastern Europe, Venture capital investments reached over €940M, returning to 2019-2020 levels and inciting cautious optimism among investors, as stated in Vestbee’s CEE 2Q24 report. AIN examined the report and presents the key findings.

General VC investment trends in CEE

In Q2 2024, venture capital funding in the CEE region increased to €940 million, up from €560 million in Q2 2023.
However, there was a 35% drop in funding rounds, from over 250 to just over 150. This decline is due to economic challenges, reduced foreign fund activity, and a pause in public funding programs.
Nearly 70% of the total funding came from large rounds, highlighting the growing reliance on significant deals.

Startup investment rounds in CEE in Q2 2024

Number of funding rounds: 156 (136 fully disclosed in terms of amount, month, investors, and company details)

The biggest disclosed investment rounds:

Creatio, a €180M venture round

Rohlik, a €160M venture round

ICEYE, a €86.2M Series D round

Fintech OS, a €55.4M Series B round

Total value of funding closed in CEE: over €940M*
Countries with the highest number of funding rounds: Poland - 39 rounds, Estonia - 26, Ukraine - 18 rounds
The most active VC funds: Coinvest Capital, Fiedler Capital, BADideas.fund, FIRSTPICK, Fortech Investments, Morningstar Ventures, Tera Ventures, Underline Ventures, Earlybird VC
The most popular industries: Enterprise Software, E-commerce, Al, Energy, Financial Services, SaaS

New VC funds from CEE in Q2 2024:

Bucharest-based venture capital firm Early Game Ventures has announced the launch of its €60 million Fund II, which will invest in early-stage startups across the CEE region.

Warsaw-based Radix Ventures has announced the first €41 million close of a targeted €60 million deeptech fund. It aims to invest in 16-20 CEE startups.
Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) has launched a $300 million Fund of Funds to support the private equity, venture capital, and tech ecosystem in Ukraine.
Hungarian and US-based Interactive Venture Partners launched €50 million inaugural fund, Interactive Venture Partners Fund LP, for pre-seed, seed, and Series A startups founded in CEE.
Prague-based KAYA VC, which invests in early-stage startups, is raising its fifth €80 million fund to support Slovak, Polish, and Czech startups.