Cogito Capital Partners, a venture capital firm based in Warsaw and New York City, has announced the first close of its second fund, Cogito Fund II, targeting €125 million in total commitments.
Following the initial close, the fund has over €90 million available for investment in European enterprise tech companies at both later and early growth stages, with particular focus on those with a Central European presence. Cogito Fund II plans to invest between €5 million and €15 million per company.
Bringing value to growth strategies of scale-ups
Cogito Capital Partners prioritize sectors where they can add value in crafting successful growth strategies. Key areas include enterprise software and data analytics, fintech and insurtech, and healthtech.
Since 2019, Cogito has partnered with notable portfolio companies including Applica, which exited successfully to Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) in 2022 with a 10x return, as well as Finom, HigoSense, Ramp, SkyEngine, and Uncapped.
Cogito Capital Partners are led by co-founders and managing partners Sylwester Janik and Martin Jasinski. Both are seasoned technology investors, with substantial strategic management and business development experience.
Prior to Cogito, Janik was a Senior Partner and Member of the Board at MCI Capital, one of the leading European private equity group where he led the team of MCI.TechVenture Fund (EUR 250M+ AUM), focused on growth technology investments in Central Europe, Western Europe, Russia and Turkey.
Jasinski’s last post was at New Europe Ventures, a NYC-based venture fund focused on technology investments originating in Poland. As a Managing Partner he led investments in Medicalgorithmics, OncoArendi, Estimote, AirHelp, Silvair, ExplainEverything, PiLab, JIVR Bike, Eventory, Waltz.
Support from major institutional investors
Cogito Fund II has garnered support from major institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Polish Development Fund (PFR), and the Kościuszko Foundation in the USA, alongside family offices and tech entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Europe.
Sylwester Janik commented how grateful they are for their support. “The successful first close of our next fund reflects the strong performance of Cogito Fund I and our team. We are excited about the unique investment opportunities created by the clear equity gap in funding for scale-ups across European markets and the high-growth potential of the technology sector in Central Europe”.
Tackling the scale-up funding gap in CEE tech
We are thrilled to be renewing our partnership with Cogito Capital Partners to channel much-needed financing to ambitious ICT businesses from the CEE region” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt.
“Tackling the scale-up funding gap is a top priority for the EIF, and we are happy to be taking this step in that direction, supporting European businesses as they look to expand into global markets.”
Anne Fossemalle, Director, Equity Funds at EBRD joined in sharing the excitement to support the further development of the innovation ecosystem in the CEE markets in partnership with Cogito.
“CEE economies need more dynamic venture ecosystems and equity financing to boost competitiveness and converge with the highest EU standards”, commented Ary Naïm, World Bank Group Country Manager for Poland and IFC Manager for Central and South Europe.
Bartłomiej Samsonowicz, Investment Director at PFR Ventures concludes: “We continue to foster the growth of the Polish venture and growth capital market. We strongly believe in building long term relationships, therefore are thrilled to see the fund managers we invested in a few years ago and supported at the beginning of their GP paths now launching their next funds. I believe that the contribution of Cogito Capital Partners to the Polish ecosystem through their second fund will be just as impactful as it was with the first one”.
