BrightCap Ventures, a Bulgaria-based venture capital firm, has shared for The Recursive the performance details of its first fund, a €25M vehicle launched in September 2018.
Over five years, the fund made 22 investments, achieving four exits and one merger, with portfolio companies collectively generating more than €70M in annual recurring revenue.
BrightCap Fund I achieved several notable outcomes, earning recognition from institutional investors as a top-quartile performer among European venture capital funds.
Key milestones include:
- Four successful exits, including the acquisition of IT automation company Pliant.io by IBM in 2023.
- LucidLink, a cloud collaboration platform, raised $75M in a Series C round in 2023, establishing itself as a leader in its domain.
- Enview, an AI-driven 3D spatial data company, was acquired by Matterport.
BrightCap’s general partner Georgi Mitov noted the significance of these results, stating:
“The portfolio continues to develop, with companies making significant progress in their respective domains. Many are gaining more traction and achieving commercial success.”
Founder-investor fit is more important than the opportunity
BrightCap’s Fund I focused on identifying high-potential startups in Southeastern Europe and helping them scale to Western European and US markets. Its investment approach combined extensive due diligence with a focus on founder-investor fit and strategic collaboration with co-investors.
Mitov highlighted the importance of these factors:
“Just like there is product-market fit, there is a founder-investor fit. You need to trust your gut about the relationship because venture capital is a long game. Similarly, strong relationships with co-investors are critical to ensuring alignment and successful outcomes.”
Raising fund II, thanks to the results of fund I
The performance of Fund I reflects the broader growth of the SEE startup ecosystem. Known for capital efficiency and resilience, startups in the region often outperform their global counterparts. A McKinsey study highlights that startups in Eastern and Southern Europe generate five times more revenue per dollar of equity funding compared to US startups.
Looking ahead, Mitov described the ecosystem as “fresh and vibrant”, particularly at the pre-seed and seed stages, where “agility and capital efficiency are key”.
Building on the success of its first fund, BrightCap Ventures has launched, in July of this year, a second fund of €60M. The new fund aims to expand the firm’s geographic scope, increase ticket sizes, and support more follow-on investments.
