PFR Ventures has invested PLN 240 million in VC Lakestar and Northzone funds

PFR Ventures has signed agreements with Lakestar and Northzone - two international venture capital funds, which will invest a total of nearly PLN 500 million in Polish innovative companies. The public investor allocated a total of PLN 240 million to them, i.e. nearly half of this amount, PFR Ventures reported.
PFR Ventures manages capital worth nearly PLN 4 billion, used for investments in venture capital and private equity funds. The goal is to build a domestic VC market by investing in new local teams focused on the seed stage and attracting experienced, international funds from more developed ecosystems to provide capital to companies in the growth stage, indicated.

“The Polish innovation ecosystem has gained momentum and is showing resistance to the economic downturn experienced by Western Europe and the USA. In the record year of 2021, domestic companies acquired PLN 3.6 billion, and only in the first half of 2022 it was over PLN 2 billion. Local teams primarily provide seed capital, but it is international funds that allow companies to further develop and expand. We are continuing the strategy of attracting the best foreign venture capital investors to Poland, which not only provide capital, but also introduce the best investment practices to the Polish market, ”said Maciej Ćwikiewicz, president of PFR Ventures, quoted in the release.

Lakestar and Northzone are already active in Poland. Lakestar is funding Uncapped (2021) as well as Revolut, which has created over 700 jobs in Krakow. Northzone led round A of the Polish-French startup Stonly (2022), whose engineering team also works in Krakow, also reported.

Lakestar is a fund with over 10 years of experience that invests in innovative European companies at an early stage and in the growth stage. The fund supported over 130 startups, including unicorns such as Blockchain.com, Sennder, Glovo, Revolut, and Spotify.

Established in 1996, Northzone has tracked over 175 seed, round A and B investments across Europe and the United States. The team supported unicorns such as Hopin, Klarna, Spotify and TIER Mobility in the development. PFR Ventures invests in the newest Northzone fund with a target capitalization of over EUR 1 billion.
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