As one of the most populous countries in the EU, the Polish ecosystem has witnessed several remarkable milestones in the first half of 2023, with five investments exceeding €10 million. Moreover, following the efforts to become a regional leader in the climate tech space, a notable portion of the largest funding rounds in Poland has been recorded in the energy and sustainability sectors.
Keep reading to discover the ten largest Polish funding rounds of disclosed amounts in H1 2023 in the summary below.
This article is part of the CEE milestones mapping series. Please, feel free to contact us with updates or investments we should add to the list: [email protected].
Top 10 funding rounds in Poland: H1 2023
1. R.Power Renewables
Funding: €150M
Round: Equity round
Investor: Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund
Founders: Przemek Pieta, Tomasz Sek, Jakub Charaszkiewicz
Vertical: Energy
About: R.Power Renewables is one of Europe’s fastest-growing large-scale solar energy market companies. The company is actively involved in the development, construction, maintenance, and independent production of green energy through photovoltaic power plants, contributing to a clean environment and emission-free development across multiple countries.
2. Vue Storefront
Funding: ~ €18.13M ($20M)
Round: Equity round
Investors: Felix Capital, Creandum, Earlybird, SquareOne, angels
Founders: Patrick Friday, Bartłomiej Roszkowski, Filip Rakowski
Vertical: E-commerce
About: The US-Polish startup Vue Storefront is a front-end solution enhancing online shopping by seamlessly integrating e-commerce platforms with various services, resulting in faster, customer-centric experiences that drive higher conversions and revenue growth.
3. ElevenLabs
Funding: ~ €17.22M ($19M)
Round: Series A
Investors: Lead – Andreessen Horowitz, Daniel Gross, Nat Friedman, other – TheSoul Publishing, SVA, Storytel, Embark Studios, Credo Ventures, Creator Ventures, Concept Ventures, angels
Founders: Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski
Vertical: Content creation
About: The Polish-founded startup ElevenLabs presents a voice-generating platform for researching and implementing innovative voice AI techniques to ensure universal accessibility of content by making it available in any language and voice.
4. Contec
Funding: €15M (€10M + €5M)
Round: Corporate round
Investors: VINCI, Warsaw Equity Group, Blachy Pruszynski
Founder: Krzysztof Wróblewski
Vertical: Sustainability
About: Contec provides circular rubber and plastic solutions that contribute to a sustainable future by recovering carbon black, oil, and steel from waste tires, enabling partners to decarbonize their supply chains and produce low-carbon products while prioritizing factory safety and process efficiency.
5. SunRoof
Funding: €13.5M
Round: Venture round
Investors: World Fund, Nordic Alpha Partners, Legal & General Capital
Founders: Lech Kaniuk, Karol Kaniuk, Marek Zmyslowski, Rafal Plutecki
Vertical: Energy
About: Based in Sweden and Poland, SunRoof manufactures 2-in-1 solar roofs and facades that combine functionality, efficiency, and aesthetics, enabling the global transition to renewables by providing efficiency and a lower carbon footprint while meeting the energy needs of entire buildings.
6. WIDMO Spectral Technologies
Funding: €5.6M (€3.5M + €2.1M)
Round: Funding round + grant
Investors: EIC Accelerator
Founders: Miroslaw Trzesniowski, Tomasz Trzesniowski, Cezary Worek
Vertical: Construction
About: The WIDMO Spectral Technologies solution combines spectral ground penetrating radar and advanced analytical software to revolutionize subsurface tomography, providing geological information and ready-to-use models addressing the challenges faced by industries reliant on subsurface data.
7. Plenti
Funding: €5M
Round: Seed
Investors: 4growth VC, Montis Capital Group, AIP Seed, NIF, angels
Founders: Wojtek Rokosz, Karol Klimas, Wojciech Wójtowicz
Vertical: E-commerce
About: Plenti develops an online rental and subscription marketplace for electronic devices such as phones, laptops, game consoles, or household products, promoting circular practices and more affordable access.
8. 3Soft (Occubee)
Funding: ~ €4.5M (20M PLN)
Round: Venture round
Investors: Warsaw Equity Group, Cezary Smorszczewski
Founder: Michał Krzesiak
Vertical: AI – Agnostic
About: 3Soft specializes in providing dedicated IT systems and solutions, including artificial intelligence, data management, and business automation. 3Soft secured the funding for its demand and sales forecasting platform Occubee, providing business modules for the retail industry and automating key supply chain operations.
9. NOXO.ENERGY
Funding: ~ €3.83M (17M PLN)
Round: Equity + debt financing
Investor: JR Holding
Founder: Kuba Bankowski
Vertical: Energy
About: NOXO.ENERGY is one of Poland’s largest charging station network operators, with over 250 charging stations featuring a pink rhino throughout the country, particularly in popular tourist destinations. Part of their profits is donated to a baby rhino orphanage.
10. Coding Giants
Funding: €3.5M
Round: Seed
Investors: PortfoLion Capital Partners, Nunatak Capital
Founders: Dawid Leśniakiewicz, Radosław Kulesza, Piotr Pełka, Sebastian Langa
Vertical: Education
About: Coding Giants is an EdTech company that offers coding classes to children and youth, aiming to inspire and educate them in programming through experienced educators, focusing on creating computer games, mobile applications, websites, and 3D graphics.
