Day One Capital has launched a new early-stage investment fund focused on backing Pre-Seed and Seed-stage founders across Central and Eastern Europe. With €45 million already secured at second close and a final close expected in early 2026.
The new vehicle will make initial investments ranging from €500,000 to €2.5 million, actively leading or co-leading rounds. Day One plans to build a concentrated portfolio of around 20 companies, complete three to four new investments by year-end, and maintain a steady yearly pace of five to six deals.
Growing international interest in CEE Startups
The fund is already active, with its first two investments co-led by UK and Netherlands-based investors. Two upcoming deals are being co-led by German funds.
“As the CEE venture ecosystem reaches a new level of maturity, established local funds have become key partners and important signals for global investors,” said György Simó. “While Western European and US funds now enter as early as the Pre-Seed stage, regional investors remain essential: with boots on the ground, we can be more hands-on, informed, and deeply engaged than our Western counterparts.”
He also added that “Our job is to find talent extremely early, like we did with Nikola and Stefan from Heyreach, or Dominik from Colossyan. Sometimes these founders emerge from overlooked places, like Orqa in Osijek or Whalebone in Brno.”
From a Modest Debut Fund to Record-Breaking Outcomes
Day One Capital’s journey began in 2012 in Budapest with a €4 million first fund targeting early-stage CEE startups. Despite its small size, the firm built a concentrated portfolio of nine companies and achieved an impressive hit rate.
The fund backed frontier and mobility-focused companies such as Oradian and Commsignia, and delivered successful exits including NowTechnologies, acquired by Sunrise Medical. Day One was also the first institutional investor in AImotive’s initial financing round—later acquired by Stellantis in Hungary’s largest-ever startup exit, marking a home-run return for the fund.
Strong performance from the €34M second fund
Day One Capital, led since inception by Csaba Kákosy and György Simó, expanded its regional presence in 2018 with a €34 million second fund, building a portfolio of 20 companies across the CEE region. Four of these companies have already surpassed $100 million valuations, with three more expected to cross that threshold soon.
Portfolio companies have raised Series A and B rounds from global investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lakestar, Dawn Capital, Molten Ventures, Partech, and Hoxton Ventures. The fund has achieved three exits to date:
– Tresorit (acquired by SwissPost)
– Webshippy (acquired by Taxually)
– Gamee (acquired by Animoca Brands, a $5.9B unicorn preparing for an IPO), in which Day One remains a shareholder
