In the first half of 2024 the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem has witnessed a couple of exciting milestones, marked by a Series A round, multiple early-stage investments, and a few mergers and acquisitions (details of which we’ll share in the coming weeks). This progress has been driven by a blend of international, regional, and local investors.
Leading the way is Dronamics, a cargo drone airline pioneering technology for cargo transportation, which recently received a grant from the EIC. This summer, they will begin commercial operations in Greece.
In this article, we’ll delve into some of the biggest funding rounds that influenced the Bulgarian business landscape, spanning across various sectors, including fintech, SaaS, e-commerce, biotech, and agritech. If we are missing something, don’t hesitate and drop us a line at [email protected]
June
- Tiger Technology, a Bulgarian software company, has secured €2M in convertible loan. IMPETUS Capital has invested €400K, with the remaining funds provided by business angels.
Last round: Early VC
Investors: Endeavor Bulgaria, Bulgaria Innovation Hub, MFG Invest, ImPulse Growth, Stanimir Vassilev, Nedelcho Spasov, Lyubomir Minchev
Total funding: $5.2M
Founders: Alexander Lefterov
Vertical: SaaS
March
- Bulgarian cargo airline Dronamics secured a €10M investment from the European Innovation Council.
Last round: Early VC
Investors: Eleven Ventures, Plug and Play, Bulgaria Innovation Hub, Speedinvest, Founders Factory, Strategic Investment Fund, European Innovation Council, Hardware.co Accelerator
Total funding: $56.8M
Founders: Konstantin Rangelov, Svilen Rangelov
Vertical: Aviation
February
- Digital insurance broker, Boleron, raised €1.6M euro in IPO on the BEAM growth market of the Sofia stock exchange.
Last round: IPO
Investors: Eleven Ventures, New Vision 3, MFG Invest, Digital SPV, Impetus Capital
Total funding: $2.9M
Founders: Alexander Tsvetkov, Desislava Tsvetkova, Dimitar Kolchakov, Simeon Kostov
Vertical: Insurance Tech
- Digital identity and trust services provider, Evrotrust, secured a €3.3M investment. The round was led by Silverline Capital.
Last round: Convertible
Investors: Bulgaria Innovation Hub, MMC Capital Communications & Information Fund, Silverline Capital
Total funding: $6.4M
Founders: George Dimitrov, Konstantin Bezuhanov
Vertical: Fintech
- Smart Farm Robotix, a fully autonomous solar-powered lightweight weeding robot, secured €2.36M in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC).
Last round: Early VC
Investors: EIC Fund, European Innovation Council
Total funding: $2.6M
Founders: Rosen Kolev, Stefan Stoychev, Veselin Georgiev
Vertical: Agritech
January
- Biotech scale-up, Nasekomo, raised €8M. The round was led by private equity fund Invenio Partners and joined by high-net-worth individuals.
Last round: Series A
Investors: Invenio Partners Chivas Venture European Commission, New Vision 3, Morningside Hill, EIT Food
Total funding: $24.6M
Founders: Marc Bolard, Olga Marcenac, Xavier Marcenac
Vertical: Biotech
- Swipe.bg, a company specializing in the buying and selling of used smartphones, secured €1.4M in support from Vitosha Venture Partners and NV3.
Last round: Seed
Investors: New Vision 3, Vitosha Venture Partners, SeedBlink
Total funding: $1.3M
Founders: Mihail Dimitrov
Vertical: E-commerce
