DEPO Ventures on the market for EUR 20m startup fund

The fund has target of EUR 20m and is aiming for a final close by the end of Q2 2023, with the possibility of a first close of at least EUR 5m, Sima said.

The vehicle, which Sima says will be the largest angel fund in the region, is targeting institutional investors and family offices as well as qualified angel investors from CEE countires, including those who have invested in DEPO’s two previous funds. The sponsor is in talks with some institutional investors, he said.

Ideal investor in the fund are those that can provide startup founders something additional apart from funding, he said.

Investments
The new fund will seek to make around 15 investments per year, a similar amount to its predecessors, deploying EUR 5m annually, he said.

It is looking at around 100 opportunities at any time, and is now in serious negotiations with around 10 investment targets, he said.

DEPO Ventures’ second fund is almost fully invested, with another four deals in the advanced stage of negotiations, he said.

Target markets for Fund III stretch from the Baltics to Greece and include the former Yugoslavian countries and Romania, as well as the Czech Republic, he said. The fund has also recently started looking at opportunities in Italy, he said.

Investments will be mainly in the areas of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain applications, financial technologies, or tech marketplaces. The aim of the fund is to support talented tech founders from the CEE focused on developing technology and business models that innovatively solve societal or business problems while having global growth potential.

The fund enables DEPO to invest larger amounts in early-stage rounds, of up to EUR 0.5m, he said.

According to Sima, the sponsor’s main strength lies in the added value that the investment brings almongside finance. The funds’ investors want to engage, pass on experience, provide contacts and help with startups’ strategy. This significantly increases the chances of a startup overcoming the first hurdles and getting to a stage where it can already get investment from a larger VC fund, Sima added.

DEPO is one of the most active investors within the startup ecosystem in the Czech Republic. It has invested in 13 startups in the CEE region during the past year alone.

It has invested in more than 30 companies in total, including Tatum, SmartGuide, Ringil, and Kardi AI.

It also runs an international syndicate of investors, DEPO Angels, which connects investors with quality startups and streamlines the investment process. In addition, it provides syndications that allow investments also in lower amounts.

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