newsROOM

VC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Leading DeepTech VC fund 3VC migrated its flagship Luxembourg fund to fundcraft

European venture capital firm 3VC has completed the migration of its flagship Luxembourg-domiciled fund, 3VC II SCSp, to the digital-native fund operations platform provided by fundcraft, who will now act as the central administrator and the external AIFM of the Fund.

Czech Deepnote, a Jupyter Notebook competitor, Goes Open Source

Deepnote, a collaborative data science notebook, has emerged as a compelling alternative to the Jupyter Notebook, addressing common issues faced by data professionals. With its move to open source, Deepnote aims to enhance productivity by providing an intuitive and user-friendly interface that integrates seamlessly with existing workflows. Its capabilities allow users to manage data, create visualizations, and collaborate in real time, making it a valuable tool for teams focused on leveraging data for insights.

Replika creator secures $20 million in pre-seed funding for Wabi, envisioned as the ‘YouTube for apps’

Eugenia Kuyda, the founder behind Replika, raised a $20 million pre-seed funding round for Wabi, her latest venture that promises to democratize app creation. Described as the “YouTube for apps,” Wabi is a social platform enabling anyone to create and share mini applications using simple prompts.

a speciality of the chef

Marek Miltner: “Stanford talent can in some ways be worse than Czech talent”

Artificial intelligence seems to be the only thing anybody’s talking about right now, but who is the best person to talk to? In Prague, one of the top candidates is Marek Miltner, an entrepreneur turned academic working at Czech Technical University (CVUT) and Stanford University simultaneously. I sat down with him at his office at CVUT to pick his brain.

“Thanks to our international network of law firms we help people who’ve been injured get their financial compensation” says Roberta Galise from Kompenzo

Kompenzo is a fast-growing Prague-based startup aiming to help hundreds of people injured in traffic, work accidents, and other incidents secure the compensation they are legally entitled to while avoiding the inadequate settlements often offered by insurance companies. It’s currently working in several European countries, and I’ve met the Country Manager, Roberta, for a quick chat.

Himera’s Rudominski: “You can’t come up with this stuff in a lab”

Ukrainian defensetech is a very different kind of beast of what we see in the rest of Europe. One great example of how different is Himera, a manufacturer of secure communication systems that has gone beyond supplying the Ukrainian military to making deals with NATO countries. I sat down with Himera CEO Misha Rudominski to talk about his experience building a company in a country at war.

Milan Kilik: “Whatever you give to something, you get it back”

Office space is tight in Prague, and startups especially face hurdles when looking for a place to work. Enter iO Partners, a real estate company that helps founders find the best space for them. We spoke to Milan Kilik, iO’s Head of Office Agency, the man who runs point for startups looking for office space.

Every third startup is considering relocating from the Czech RepublicMain reasons include tax burden, labor law issues, and lack of capital

The most significant barriers to the development of Czech startups are the tax burden, administration and regulation, and issues related to labor law. A third of startups are therefore considering moving their headquarters abroad or have already done so. This was revealed by a unique survey among 222 Czech startup founders and investors, presented by representatives of the survey organizers: the Czech Startup Association, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and CzechInvest.

Reflections from Brussels: Discussing EU Competitiveness and Startup Opportunities at the European Commission

Last week, I had the opportunity to take part in a three-day visit to the European Commission in Brussels, focused on the theme “EU Competitiveness and Opportunities for the Czech Economy.” The program was organised by Josef Schwarz and Jáchym Hercher from the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic, and brought together an inspiring mix of startup founders, ecosystem leaders, investors, policymakers, and government representatives.