Vienna’s 3VC rolls out €150 million to back startups in CEE and DACH region

As VCs become the driving force behind new technologies, there is yet another one attempting to boost the startup ecosystem in the central Eastern Europe and DACH region. Vienna-based venture capital firm 3VC has rolled out its second fund targeting a total amount of €150 million. This is by far the largest Series A-focused fund in Austria.

Dubbed as 3VC II, the newly launched fund will invest in a carefully handpicked group of startups in central Eastern Europe and DACH regions with global ambition.

The fund will support companies that solve massive problems through software and Web3 infrastructure, regardless of the industry or business model (B2B, B2C). The average ticket size of the fund is $5 million, while the range is $1-10 million, the company said.

Like its previous investments, the fund will support companies starting at the Series A stage and in strong consortiums alongside other VCs. 40% of the second fund is allocated for follow-on investments.

The Austrian firm had earlier raised $50 million for its first fund in early 2018.

And as we talk about the alarmingly widening gender gap in VCs and startups, the company has roped in two female partners Eva Arh and Sok-Kheng Taing to maintain its 50:50 gender diversity in the leadership team and 50:50 gender diversity in the investment team.

Talking about its model of handpicking 3-4 startups annually, Eva Arh, partner, 3VC said: “We will stick to our investment strategy of quality over quantity with 3-4 investments per year into companies that solve massive problems through software, regardless of the industry or business model (B2B, B2C). We will continue to build a portfolio of healthily valued companies with strong and sustainable growth.”

Founded by Roman Scharf and Peter Lasinger, the company has recently invested in Latvia’s Lokalise, Munich’s Avi Medical, and Austria’s Storyblok. As of today, three portfolio companies from its fund I portfolio have turned into unicorns, including Picsart, DeepCode, which is now part of Snyk, and Gamee, which is now part of Animoca Brands.