Time and again, we’re continuing to observe the rise of the Central and Eastern European startup scene development and maturation with venture capital becoming more available to the growing host of promising companies. Similar to other countries discussed in our series about the most active VC firms in the CEE region (a.o. in Romania, Estonia, or Bulgaria), Hungary is no exception to the prevailing dynamics. The country has grown its awareness among the global investors thanks to its skilled and tech-savvy workforce, including talented female entrepreneurs, convenient geographical positioning close to Europe’s center, as well as by being the country with the lowest corporate tax in the whole of Europe. Additionally, Hungary is full of coworking spaces allowing startups to work more efficiently.
Therefore, let’s discover Top VC funds from Hungary interested in early-stage startups.
OXO Ventures
Geography: CEE
Preferred industries: Sector-agnostic
Investment ticket: €200k and up to €5M
Company stage: Early and Growth stages
Hungarian multi-stage venture investor and accelerator - OXO Ventures is a part of OXO holdings,a leading investment firm of the tech sector in the CEE region. They are looking for startups across a wide variety of industries and business models. In its thesis, the firm is focused on finding technology-intensive solutions capable of shifting customer or market patterns. Some of the firm’s portfolio companies include Evermart, zLense, and Commsignia.
Day One Capital
Geography: CEE
Preferred industries: B2B software
Investment ticket: €300k and up to €1.5M
Company stage: Early stage
Day One Capital is a Budapest-based early-stage VC investing in B2B software startups. Led by an experienced team comprising seasoned veterans from tech and public sectors, Day One Capital is a great value for its portfolio companies by not only providing connections across industries and geographies but also valued mentors and advisors in the most sensitive matters of the nascent business. As of now, the VC fund has built a small yet mighty portfolio of startups where, among others, you can find aiMotive, FLOWX.AI, and Soleadify.
Impact Ventures
Geography: Europe
Preferred industries: Social inclusion, education and employment, underserved needs of the disadvantaged, and environmental sustainability
Investment ticket: €100k - €2M
Company stage: Seed to Growth
The next from our list - Impact Ventures is a Budapest-based VC supporting companies that aim to create a high social or environmental impact and are led by teams with a track record reflecting steady and scalable growth. The firm is ready to invest up to €300k at the seed stage and deploy up to €2M for the post-seed companies. Among portfolio companies of theirs, you can find Grinsect, BrainTrip and AXS.
Hiventures
Geography: Hungary
Preferred industries: Sector-Agnostic
Investment ticket: €50k - €3.5M
Company stage: Early-stage to Growth
One of the biggest VCs in Hungary, Hiventures's STARTUP fund is a firm dedicated solely and exclusively to the local startup ecosystem with around €258M under management. Having such a close focus on Hungarian talents, the fund considers investments across all industries and stages. In exchange for minority share in a company, their portfolio gets access not only to funding but also to a wide network of mentors providing hands-on support as well as practical advice to running a startup. The fund has already built a portfolio of many interesting startups where, among others, are: Automizy, Platio and AX System.
Oktogon Ventures
Geography: CEE
Preferred industries: B2B SaaS
Investment ticket: €130k and up to €1.32M
Company stage: Early Stage
The next from our list, Oktogon Ventures is a VC investing in technology-heavy startups which got their first international customers and a reasonable amount of revenue (20k+ in MRR) showing the product’s traction. Led by a founder currently known as IBM video (one of the largest exits in the country’s history), Oktogon Ventures is represented by well-connected and experienced investors who would not only provide the financial fuel but also knowledge and network necessary to grow global. Some, though not all of their portfolio companies include Colossyan, Matsuko and Bitrise.
PortfoLion
Geography: CEE
Preferred industries: B2B and Digital Technologies
Investment ticket: €500k - €5M
Company stage: Seed to Series C
The next from our selection, PortfoLion is a venture firm in the active search for regional founders who’ve had a chance to validate their product and/or service on the market and are looking for some fuel to expand activities across the globe. As a member of the largest banking group in the region, PortfoLion definitely has both the resources and connections to support its portfolio companies’ development. Furthermore, the firm does not shy away from helping its startups in operational matters as well as well as providing a piece of advice, and mentorship. Some, though not all of the companies they had invested in include edrone, Yieldigo, and SEON.
Bonitás
Geography: Hungary (outside Central Hungarian region)
Preferred industries: Sector-agnostic but give preference to agrotech, healthcare and biotech, clean and renewable energy, sustainable environment, advanced vehicle and other machinery technologies, infocommunication technologies and services
Investment ticket: €560k and up to €4.2M
Company stage: Seed to Scale-up
Bonitás is a Budapest-based VC investing in local startups as young as those just having a business idea and up to those scaling internationally. In addition to funding, the firm is willing to assist its portfolio in crucial startup milestones like registering an IP, connecting to the first customers, recruiting the right people and more. A small, yet growing portfolio of the fund consists of names like Omnicoach, Agroninja, and Conversific.
Vespucci Partners
Geography: Central Europe
Preferred industries: Sector-agnostic
Investment ticket: €600k - €4.5 M
Company stage: Seed to Series A
A yet another VC, Vespucci Partners is a firm searching for founders across all industries within Central Europe who develop a disruptive product or service to expand internationally. The firm would gladly invest in agile and interesting companies which have their eye on rich and distant American as well as quickly growing Asian markets. As a quite young fund, a small though interesting portfolio of theirs includes Transcend, Innomask as well as Mollia.
Euroventures
Geography: Central Europe
Preferred industries: Sector-agnostic
Investment ticket: €1M - €5M
Company stage: Early-stage
The next from our selection, Euroventures is one of the founding members of the Hungarian Venture Capital Association and one of the oldest VC funds in Central Europe having well over two decades of experience in startup investing as well as a track record of successful exits. As a quite mature firm, startups supported by Euroventures get an experienced and well-connected partner that helps expand their businesses globally. Over the years, the VC fund has invested in over 50 startups - among them, you can find Tresorit, EPAM and Kinepict.
Széchenyi Funds
Geography: Hungary
Preferred industries: automotive, machinery, healthcare, chemicals, ICT, green economy and energy, wood, food, defense and related ICT, digital and Industry 4.0 developments
Investment ticket: Undisclosed
Company stage: Multi-stage
Széchenyi Funds is one of the largest VC investors in the country and a state-owned fund dedicated to increasing the competitiveness of the Hungarian innovation ecosystem. The firm is especially interested in investing in cleantech and industry 4.0 companies that have already had their first customers and have shown promising growth dynamics. With well over 120 investments made over its history, some interesting companies of theirs include AImotive, Gloster and Livestocker.
Last but not least, we would like to mention a quite interesting VC - Susterra Capital Partners which dedicates itself solely and exclusively to investing in water-intensive startups across CEE and DACH regions.
*If you have any insights about the article or know a VC fund that should’ve been included, drop me a line!
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