Tech Wrap Oct. 9: Lithuanian VC Leads Pre-seed Round of Germany-based Climate Tech Startup, Estonian VC Firm Backs AI-based Content Moderation Platform

THE BALTICS

🌱 Lithuanian VC Leads Pre-seed Round of Climate Tech Startup

Contrarian Ventures, a Lithuanian venture capital firm, led a pre-seed funding round for Munich-based climate tech startup 42watt, with the deal reportedly worth millions of euros. 42watt, founded in 2021, offers a platform that assists property owners in planning energy-efficient renovations by collecting data on electricity consumption, construction year, and heat losses, generating 3D models, and providing cost savings and subsidy recommendations. The startup will use the investment to expand services, focusing on solar, heat pumps, and energy efficiency consultations for homeowners. [Source: Baltic VC]

✈️ Lithuanian Co-Founder of Nord Security Invested in U.S. AI Platform

Lithuanian Nord Security co-founder Tom Okman invested in PolyAPI, a Denver-based AI-powered platform for developers, enabling simplified API discovery and usage. The pre-seed funding round also saw participation from individuals in the US, London, Paris, Germany, and Canada. Poly API’s technology streamlines API integration, allowing companies to deploy new functions in applications quickly, and has been trained on Twilio, Asana, Slack, Shopify, and Google Workspace APIs. [Source: BalticVC]

🚧 Estonian Tera Ventures Backs Construction Progress Tracking Platform

Tera Ventures, an Estonian venture capital firm, has invested in the construction progress tracking platform AI Clearing, which raised $14M in funding. The Austin-based startup, founded in 2020, utilizes AI and drone data to provide real-time construction updates and reports, enabling faster analysis than traditional methods. The startup plans to use the investment to enhance sales, marketing, and customer support teams across the US, Europe, and the Middle East. [Source: Baltic VC]

💻 Estonian Venture Capital Firm Invested in Unitary AI

Plural Platform, an Estonian VC firm, invested in Unitary AI, a London-based startup specializing in AI models for content moderation in online videos and images. The $15M funding round, led by Creandum and featuring participation from Paladin Capital. The investment will go towards supporting Unitary’s research, development efforts, team expansion, and collaborations with leading social platforms, enabling the startup to expand its content moderation technology to multiple languages beyond English. [Source: Baltic VC]

💭 Lithuanian Mental Health Startup Secures $132K in Pre-Seed Round

Tokitus, a Lithuanian SaaS mental health marketplace, has secured $132K (€125K) in a pre-seed funding round led by Latvian private investor network Venture Faculty. Founded in 2020, Tokitus connects therapists globally, offering 11 types of therapy in 15 languages, managing session payments, and providing additional educational content. The startup will use the funding to facilitate its expansion into the European and UK markets, enhancing access to mental health services. [Source: BalticVC]

🚗 Lithuanian ‘Vinted Go’ Acquired Dutch Homerr

Vinted Go, a Lithuanian division of Vinted that creates innovative and low-cost delivery solutions for goods that are also more environmentally friendly has acquired Dutch delivery company Homerr, known for its network of self-delivery points in the Benelux countries. This strategic move aims to enhance Vinted Go’s consumer-to-consumer (C2C) delivery services by leveraging Homerr’s expertise while allowing Homerr to maintain its operations.      [Source: BalticVC]

💵 Shares of Marko Lastik at Estonian Tax Company Seized

Eurora, an Estonian tax and customs company offering compliance tools, automating global trade and compliance processes, and co-owned by Marko Lastik, had Marko Lastik’s shares seized by the Harju County Court. The company applied for bankruptcy due to insufficient working capital. Since its founding in 2022, the company has faced challenges, including investigations into Marko Lastik’s previous business dealings and layoffs of 111 employees as part of a business restructuring. [Source: BalticVC]

UKRAINE

🌐 USAID Announced New Grant for Cyber Defense Projects in Ukraine

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a grant program to support innovative cyber defense projects in Ukraine for $500,000. The developers are tasked to offer the most effective cyber defense projects to counter Russian hacker attacks, safeguard Ukrainian information resources, and enhance global cybersecurity. Successful participants can receive individual grants of $50,000 to implement their solutions, contributing to Ukraine’s cyber resilience. [Source: InVenture]

💰Ukrainian Hypra Fund Made Its Largest Investment Into Trinetix

Hypra, a Ukrainian joint-venture fund, has made its biggest investment since inception, providing $10 million for a minority stake in Trinetix, a non-public service company ranked among Ukraine’s top 50 IT employers. This investment marks one of the largest in Ukraine’s service business market. It signifies Hypra’s commitment to helping Trinetix expand its technical talent, attract new clients, and triple its size over the next four years. [Source: InVenture]

🤝 American-Ukrainian Startup Cooperates with the Canadian Perimeter Institute

Haiqu, an American-Ukrainian startup specializing in quantum processor software development, is partnering with Canada’s Perimeter Institute to collaborate on quantum technology research. This collaboration will involve Haiqu establishing a research group at the Perimeter Institute’s Quantum Intelligence Lab, fostering joint research projects, and providing opportunities for student internships, aiming to leverage Perimeter’s expertise as a renowned research institution in theoretical physics and quantum technologies. [Source: dou.ua]

🇪🇺 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Plans to Invest Into Reconstruction of Ukraine

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is actively working on a plan to increase its capital to support Ukraine’s shift towards technology and digital solutions amid the ongoing conflict by about $1.59 billion (€1.5 billion). The EBRD President stated they are committed to facilitating investments and supporting development projects aligning with Ukraine’s evolving economic landscape. The bank also plans to ask the shareholders to raise this capital by up to $5.3 billion ((€5 billion) at the end of 2023. [Source: Ukraine Business News]

📜 Ukraine-founded Startup Raised $700K From Central European Funds

Certifier, a Krakow-based startup founded by Ukrainians Sergey Butko and Vlad Turak in 2020, has secured $700K in funding from investors including Poland’s Movens Capital, FundingBox Deep Tech Fund, Black Pearls VC, and Czech firm DEPO Ventures. Certifier offers a system for managing digital credentials, and it has gained over 400 international clients and nearly 800,000 users who actively work their documents on the platform.    [Source: ain.capital]

KAZAKHSTAN

🤖 AI Startup Backed by Kazakh Investors Plans to Raise $2B From Google

Anthropic, a generative AI startup founded in 2021 by formed Open AI managers, is poised to raise a $2 billion investment from Google and other investors. This could make the company $20-30 billion, a significant increase from its valuation less than six months ago. The intense interest in generative AI reflects the enthusiasm of major tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, who are heavily investing in this field. Amazon is also considering an investment of up to $4 billion in Anthropic. [Source: Digital Business]

ROMANIA

🏢 Romanian Startup Received $2.1M to Expand 

Nooka Space, a Romanian prop-tech startup offering access to small, accessible, and fully equipped office spaces, has secured $2.1 million (€2 million) to support its expansion into Portugal and Italy. The company plans to make their so-called Proximity Office Pods existing workspaces autonomous and available in various locations like hotels, airports, and coffee shops. It operates in ten countries including Romania, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, and Ireland. [Source: ain.capital]

🆕 Romanian Adtech Startup Raised $10M During Series A

Creatopy, a Romanian ad tech firm founded in 2021 offering an AI-driven creative automation platform to help businesses create, personalize, scale, and serve effective ads, has successfully raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by top investors in Vienna-based venture capital group 3VC and Berlin-based Point Nine. Creatopy plans to utilize the funding to expand its customer base and enhance its product with new AI capabilities. [Source: ain.capital]

OTHER

🍽️ Dodo Brands CEO Steps Down

The CEO of Dodo Brands, Fyodor Ovchinnikov, a successful international quick-service restaurant brand, has announced their decision to resign, emphasizing their commitment to the company’s legacy and values. The outgoing CEO will be succeeded by Alena Tikhova, known for her entrepreneurial skills and previous successes in the pizza industry, with the transition set to take place on January 1, 2024, marking a new phase for the company.