In the second half of 2024, the Bulgarian startup scene saw its largest seed round to date, closed by Team-GPT. Additionally, in October, Ampeco secured a Series B round, marking the highest funding amount in the country for 2024. In comparison, in H1 Dronamics, a cargo drone airline, got the highest investment as a grant from the EIC, totalling €10M.
In the first half of 2024, the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem raised over €30M, while H2 contributed approximately €42M.
This article is part of the CEE funding mapping series. Please feel free to contact us if we missed something: [email protected].
Below, you can find all the funding rounds reported so far in Bulgaria for tech ventures in H2 2024:
1. Ampeco
Latest round: €24.7M
Stage: Series B
Investors: Revaia, Cavalry Ventures, BMW i Ventures, LAUNCHub Ventures
Total funding: €39.3M
Founders: Alexander Alexiev, Orlin Radev, Stefan Ivanov, Petar Georgiev
Vertical: Clean Tech
About: An EV charging management platform provider. AMPECO’s white-label management platform enables charge point operators (CPOs) and e-mobility service providers (eMSPs) to manage and scale their EV charging operations efficiently.
2. Team-GPT
Latest round: €4.3M
Stage: Seed
Investors: True Ventures, Pact, angel investors
Total funding: €4.3M
Founders: Yavor Belakov, Katya Vaptsarova, Iliya Valchanov, Maria Valchanova, Ilko Kacharov
Vertical: AI
About: Team-GPT helps companies use any AI model, find the right use cases for it, keep data safe, organize workflows, and track results.
3. Codery
Latest round: €2.6M
Stage: N/A
Investors: Silverline Capital
Total funding: N/A
Founder: Philip Balkanski
Vertical: HR tech
About: A company specializing in outsourcing and managing dedicated IT talent in infrastructure and employment arrangements.
Update from January 2025: Codery has acquired the software company Devision. Together, the companies will offer global clients an expanded team, advanced technologies, and a broader range of services.
4. Cloud Office
Latest round: €2M
Stage: Growth
Investors: Eleven Ventures
Total funding: N/A
Founders: Dimitar Pavlov, Chavdar Trendafilov, Dimitar Chakarov, Ivo Zimbilev, Georgi Gocev, Ivan Dobrinov
Vertical: Cloud Computing
About: A Google Cloud Partner, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bulgaria with subsidiaries in London and Athens. Cloud Office helps businesses accelerate the digitization of processes in order to increase revenue, control costs and stay competitive.
5. LAM’ON
Latest round: €500K
Stage: Growth
Investors: Eleven Ventures, аngel investor Grigoriy Ananiev
Total funding: €1.5M
Founders: Angela Ivanova, Gergana Stancheva
Vertical: Green Tech
About: A startup specializing in biodegradable laminating and packaging films. The company has developed a range of eco-friendly products, including compostable thermal laminating films and sustainable packaging foils, catering to industries such as fresh produce, cosmetics, fashion, and logistics.
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Other highlights
In September, Wiser Technology (BSE: BNR) announced that the company is in process of finalizing a €12.3M capital increase from the public markets to support the company’s further expansion. In the second half of 2024, the company confirmed the acquisition of the Serbian software development company Badin Soft. This marked Wiser Technology’s seventh M&A transaction in the past 18 months.
Bulgarian BlackPeak Capital participated in the acquisition contributing €2M capital raise. In H2, the fund has another investment – €8 million in Security Smart Systems Ltd., a Bulgarian electronics manufacturing services company.
In terms of M&As, AirHelp, an international air passenger rights platform, has acquired Bulgarian-founded ClaimCompass.
Additionally, a Polish Technology Group acquired a software business of the Bulgarian software company ApiHawk, its all-in-one Billing & Automation software Billia.cloud.