Depo Ventures to begin raising €40m seed fund

The new fund will invest in companies in the central and eastern Europe (CEE) region and will likely invest ticket sizes of up to €500,000, Sima said. It aims to close the fundraising by 2023. The new fund plans to invest alongside angel investors over the next five years and will be sector-agnostic, he said. It will target institutional investors as well as individual investors.

Depo Ventures is an investment platform that provides seed capital and advisory services for both investors and startups.

It will soon begin fundraising for a new €1.5-2m angel fund, which it plans to invest in 10-15 companies, and which will close in one year, Sima said. The angel fund will invest up to €200,000 in individual companies. There is strong interest from angel investors in being part of the syndicate and the firm aims to open a new fund every year, Sima added.

Depo Ventures and its Grouport angel fund focus on the fintech, blockchain, Internet-of-Things, augmented/virtual reality and marketplace sectors, Sima said.

Grouport currently has seven companies in its portfolio, including Czech blockchain platform company Tatum, Czech personal finance app Spendee and Netherlands-based online used bike marketplace Bikefair (which has a Czech founder). It also invested in Czech travel app SmartGuide.

The fund has a strong pipeline and aims to have 10 companies in its portfolio by June, Sima said.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, the angel fund has widened its radar. With everything moving online, it has been easier to invest in other geographies, Sima said. The group began having a large number of UK-based companies in its pipeline because it was one of the angel investors that was still investing, he said. One of its most recent investments was in UK-based HoloMe.

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• Funds
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• CEE
• Czech Republic