Today SMOK Ventures announced a $25 million fund named SMOK II with plans to invest in 25-35 startups from the CEE region and diaspora.
SMOK is part of a global network of funds with over $400m under management co-managed by Paul Bragiel, which focuses on developing markets. The other two partners are Diana Koziarska (previously CEO at ReaktorX) and Borys Musielak (tech entrepreneur who sold Filmaster to Samba TV).
In the case of SMOK II, the firm offers Pre-seed and seed investments from $100k to $1M + follow-ons. It is software-focused, with a particular interest in software development tools, game development and artificial intelligence. It prefers companies focused on the US market.
SMOK’s first close in November 2022 included over 60 private LPs. Most of the LPs are entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe and diaspora, including founders of three regional unicorns, the former regional head of Google and early employees in Data Dog and Sumologic.
As part of the second close, PFR Ventures joined SMOK II as the key LP.
SMOK II has already invested in 12 startups from Poland, Ukraine, Czechia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Serbia and Bosnia. The startups include Gotiva, 57hours, and Finmap.
A woman leads every third SMOK startup, and 12.5 percent of the startups had a founding team consisting entirely of women during SMOK’s investments.
Lead image: Sebastian Huber.
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