BrightCap Ventures is the latest venture capital (VC) fund that is launched in Bulgaria, local media reported. The new player is €25M worth and is sixth of its type following the VC such as Eleven, LAUNCHub, Neveq, Empower Capital and BlackPeak Capital which are already active in this country. Moreover, BrightCap ventures would not only support the startups in Bulgaria, but startups from wider Europe as well.
The primarily focus of the fund’s investments will be small and medium-sized companies working in the sectors of artificial intelligence, big data, medical technology, blockchain and technologies for the financial sector. According to the Sortis.bg, the fund will seek companies that develop a high-tech, unique product with defendable intellectual property and potential for the global market. Besides the startups, the fund plan to back up IT projects in companies that are active in the traditional sectors such as agriculture, pharmacy, transport and new foods.
To date, the plan of the fund is to support 30 companies and 10-15 startups. The size of investments in early-stage startups is defined between €500,000 to €3 million, whereas the investment for speeding up the startup projects will be in a range of €50,000 and €200,000.
Founded two months ago by four well acknowledged IT experts from Bulgaria and abroad – Georgi Mitov, Elina Halacheva, Daniel Lorer and Diana Stefanova, BrightCap Ventures is mostly financed (with €20M) by the European Investment Fund’s (EIF) JEREMIE program. Additional €5M will be secured by private investors from Bulgaria, Israel and Switzerland. Reportedly, if proven to be successful, EIF may bring additional investment to the fund.
Who are the founders?
Georgi Mitov has led two successful start-ups, Sciant and Aviaso, sold to global technology giants VMWare and Honeywell. Elina Halacheva is a financier with a career in banks and investment funds in New York and London. Daniel Lorer is an entrepreneur with a string of successful companies; one of them, Mercury Interactive, sold for $4.5 Bn to Hewlett-Packard. The fourth partner in BrightCap Ventures is Diana Stefanova, Managing Director of VMWare Development Centers for Europe and Bulgaria, and well-connected in the Silicon Valley.
“The strength of the team is in their diverse expertise, years of experience and the rich network of business partners of each and every one of them,” Brightcap Ventures team said two months ago when the VC was formed, Bulgarian website computerworld.bg reported.
In addition to the rich and diverse experience of its partners, the fund is distinguished by its innovative approach and strategy, which relies on a broad partner network of corporate and strategic partners in Bulgaria, Israel, Western Europe and the Silicon Valley.