OXO Group, an accelerator and venture capital firm with a focus on the CEE region announced today the signing of a European Investment Fund (EIF) commitment under InnovFin Business Angels, to set up a technology fund focusing on startups in Central and Eastern Europe.
With the expected launch in Q3-Q4 2017, and a target fund size of €50 million, the fund will invest into innovative, early stage technology companies, with equity ticket size of €3 million, on average. OXO CEE Angel Fund is supported by the “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators” initiative under Horizon 2020, the EU’s Research and Innovation Programme, and the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
Since its foundation in 2014, OXO Group has accepted 40 companies into its accelerator program, while provided funding to 20 projects. It also manages the Power Angels angel investment company, which unifies some key players of the Hungarian angel investor market. In 2016, Power Angels invested in 8 early-stage technology companies and is planning to close additional 8-12 investments in 2017, with an average investment size of €150,000.
The recent move of OXO Group and the EIF shows the growing importance of Central and Eastern Europe on the global startup landscape.
OXO Group founder Péter Oszkó stated: “Our experience in the region and EIF’s dedication to support ambitious new businesses in Europe have brought together partners that can create world-class innovation and support the birth of a new generation of high-quality entrepreneurs.”
A unique feature of the new Fund is that it managed to forge an extensive partnership among angel investors of the region and plans joint investments with them. On top of that, seasoned business angels and institutional private investors from Central Eastern Europe, will invest alongside EIF into the Fund, which provides a great value proposition to the fund’s portfolio companies that will be able to leverage on the business experience and network of these private investors.
Notable investments that OXO Ventures already did include Commsignia, which develops solutions for self-driving cars to leading global manufacturers and is also part of the Czech Credo Ventures’ portfolio. Another promising portfolio company is Liber8Tech, the developer of smart design products, that is present on the US market and is about to close a Series A funding round.