Movens Capital has announced the launch of its €60 million Fund II, marking a significant pivot from its earlier-stage investment strategy towards growth-stage companies, with a pronounced emphasis on Artificial Intelligence innovation. Managing partner Artur Banach highlights their proactive approach during the recent downturn in the Central and Eastern European tech funding landscape: by guiding portfolio startups to secure additional rounds, they collectively raised approximately €130 million, a tenfold increase on Movens Capital’s initial investments. This strategic foresight, Banach states, helped companies maintain stable revenue growth and even breakeven status, fostering resilience despite a sharp, 70% contraction in transaction volumes from 2022 onward.
Fund II’s launch was delayed, Banach admits, due to both the challenging fundraising climate and the intricate process of establishing a fund in Luxembourg. Despite the hurdles, Movens successfully attracted two major institutional backers—EBRD and PFR Ventures—as well as 80 private investors, most with backgrounds in technology. With this backing, Movens positions itself among the five largest venture funds in Poland, seeking to fill the region’s persistent funding gap for scaling companies. Learning from Fund I, the firm now invests up to €4–5 million per company, enabling deeper and longer-term partnerships aimed at late-stage and globally ambitious startups.
Artificial Intelligence is at the core of Movens Capital’s sector focus for Fund II. Banach explains that the fund targets startups with tangible competitive moats—proprietary data, unique architectures, and robust, publication-credentialed teams. Movens’ diligence process prioritizes proof of international customer traction and the capacity for rapid, sustainable scaling with strong retention and positive unit economics. Rather than competing head-on with larger pan-European players, Movens identifies promising Series A or expansion-stage startups (with €3–5 million ARR) that have potential to reach €50 million in revenue within five to seven years. The fund seeks founders from enterprise software, fintech, climate tech, healthcare, commerce infrastructure, and future-of-work spaces who are ready for global growth. Banach encourages founders to connect through mutual contacts, Movens’ website, or LinkedIn, emphasizing the fund’s accessible and entrepreneurial outlook.
