OTB Ventures has closed a €170 million substantially oversubscribed fund to develop and grow the most outstanding early-stage European DeepTech startups.
The European Innovation Fund (EIF), Isomer Capital, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Foundation for Polish Science, TDJ Venture, Marcin Zukowski, co-founder of Snowflake, and OnDean, the family office of the Relativity founders, will back Fund 2.
Fund 2 Strategy:
The largest VC firm with roots in Central and Eastern Europe, the dedicated Deep-Tech fund, will make investments in four key verticals throughout Europe: FinTech Infrastructure, Enterprise Automation & AI, SpaceTech, and Cybersecurity. Similar to OTB Ventures’ Fund 1, Fund 2 will primarily be used for Series A investments, with a new up to 10% allocation for Seed funding to support the growth of promising ventures at their inception. This follows the Partner’s successful track record of identifying winners in emerging technology sectors at an early stage.
OTB Fund 2 will allocate over half of its funds for follow-on investments, supporting portfolio firms with the highest performance levels to secure additional fundraising rounds. OTB Ventures will keep significant minority holdings in the businesses in its portfolio.
“We are thrilled to announce the successful closure of our latest fund, a testament to the enduring confidence our investors have shown in us,” stated Adam Niewiński, co-founder and managing partner of OTB Ventures. “This achievement builds on Fund 1’s track record of performance, even if the market is still rather difficult. Moreover, with the help of our new fund, we can continue to pursue our goal of assisting innovative DeepTech companies that are taking advantage of Europe’s exceptional talent pool for technology, the greatest natural resource the continent has to offer.”
Marcin Hejka, co-founder and managing partner of OTB Ventures, stated:
“This is our largest fund yet and a reflection of emergence as a growth market for European DeepTech startups and technology talent. DeepTech has been at the heart of OTB’s business strategy from its founding in 2017, this milestone not only represents a major accomplishment for the company but also reinforces our commitment to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Fund 2 Investments:
The news comes after Fund 2’s initial closing in November 2022. The fund has already made nine investments across various target areas, including three Series A and six Seed investments. This includes seed funding for the AI enterprise automation firm akirolabs and the enterprise database enrichment company Veridion, as well as a Series A investment in the productivity and task mining platform KYP.ai.
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Additionally, it comes after OTB Ventures recently made a seed investment in SEMRON, a Dresden-based business that makes AI chips with the highest compute density, indicating a greater emphasis on semiconductor technology. By making investments in ClearSpace, the pioneer in space trash cleanup, Atmos Space Cargo, and Kurs Orbital, an Italian startup that seeks to democratize in-orbit maintenance and space logistics sectors, OTB Ventures has further bolstered its SpaceTech lineup within its portfolio.
Partnership Statements:
“OTB and the NATO Innovation Fund share a passion for deep tech dual-use technologies, investing in ambitious founders to secure an enduring future for the Alliance’s one billion citizens,” stated Andrea Traversone, Managing Partner, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF). “Our first $1 billion flagship fund focuses on themes such as energy, quantum computing, autonomy, climate change, industrials, space, and biotechnology, investing at the nexus of deep tech, defense, security, and resilience. OTB is completely aligned with our goals. NIF is a stand-alone venture capital firm that leads fund-of-funds as well as early-stage direct investments.”
Marjut Falkstedt, CEO of the European Investment Fund (EIF), said:
“We aim to foster innovation, build new markets, strengthen competitiveness, and boost jobs and growth throughout the EU. We’re excited to extend our partnership with OTB Ventures, leveraging financial support from the InvestEU program to help European DeepTech startups overcome funding obstacles. This is critical for both the EU’s ability to compete internationally and the businesses we will be assisting.”
Mateusz Sumara, Investment Director at TDJ Venture, said:
“Observing the accomplishments of Adam Niewinski and Marcin Hejka’s team, I’m confident we’ve aligned with key partners in Europe’s deep tech sector leadership. Furthermore, the investments of the first fund attest to their extraordinary ability to spot creative enterprises with great potential, and the second fund appears to be just as promising. I’m happy that, despite TDJ Venture’s emphasis on growth-stage projects, organizations like OTB Ventures enable us to assist entrepreneurs in their initial phases.
