LAUNCHub Venture, a Sofia-based early-stage VC, which concentrates on digital startups in the wider Southeastern Europe region, completed the first closing of its new fund at €44M, whose target is €70M. The Bulgarian company expects to reach the target by the second quarter of this year.
Plans to help 25 startups
With the latest funding, LAUNCHub plans to invest in 25 startups, in the next four years. The initial investment will range between €500K and €2M in verticals such as B2B SaaS, Fintech, Proptech, Big Data, AI, Marketplaces, Digital Health, Web 3.0, and Blockchain.
“Central and Eastern Europe’s rapid economic growth has caught the attention of Western investors searching for the next unicorn. The region has huge and still untapped potential with more and more local success stories, paving the way for the next generation of CEE tech founders,” says Todor Breshkov, founding partner at LAUNCHub Ventures.
The latest funding was backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) with the participation of tech corporations and successful Bulgarian founders.
10% of current fund in works already
With the new fund, LAUNCHub has already backed three companies from Eastern Europe with a total of €4.6M or 10 per cent of the current fund. The companies include – FintechOS, FerryHopper, and Giraffe360. Besides doubling down on supporting founders across SEE and CEE regions, the company is strengthening the team while putting a further focus on equality.
Gender equality
“We’re incredibly proud to announce that this year we’ve reached a 50:50 gender split in our team,” says Irina Dimitrova, Partner at LAUNCHub Ventures. It’s worth mentioning that Irina Dimitrova has been promoted to operating partner.
The company has added Raya Yunakova, an Investor previously working for PiLabs in London, and Mirela Yordanova, who is now an Associate, while previously leading the startup community at Google for Startups Campus in London.
Founded in 2012, the VC firm backed 150+ founders across two funds and has nine exits to date.