Practica Capital closes largest seed fund in Baltics at €80M

Vilnius-based Practica Capital has today announced the final close of its latest fund at €80 million. The firm’s third fund is more than twice the size of its predecessor and lays claim to the title of largest seed fund in the Baltics.

Operating as lead investor, the firm intends to continue to support early-stage startups hailing from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, operating in the SaaS, marketplace, or Deep/Industrial tech sectors. Ticket sizes are expected to range anywhere from €1 million to €3 million with follow-on allotments of up to €8 million.

“We are a local lead investor serving and evolving with the ecosystem and acting from within. With recent team expansion, we now have secured a presence in Latvia and Estonia, and we are excited to finally fulfil our promise for the ecosystem in the Baltics.” — Donatas Keras, founding partner at Practica Capital.

The fund has already deployed more than €10 million via the new vehicle,  backing 6 companies including Heavy Finance, Sentante, Amlyze, and Breezit. 

Now counting €130 million in assets under management, Practica’s new €80 million fund saw the European Investment Fund (EIF) joining as a cornerstone investor. 

Additional LPs include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), SEB Investicijų Valdymas and Investicijų ir Verslo Garantijos (INVEGA), Swedbank Investicijų Valdymas and Swedbank Investeerimisfondid. 

Individual LPs include the co-founders of Lithuanian unicorns Vinted and Nord Security, and several Practica Capital previously backed startups.

“The majority of capital deployed at early-stage in Europe is domestic. We saw the clear funding gap in a maturing Baltic ecosystem,” said Practica Capital partner Arvydas Bložė. “We are pleased to facilitate the interest of Baltic pension fund managers alongside the continuous support by EIF, EBRD and INVEGA. Venture capital in the Baltics is finally emerging as an asset class and it is a game changer.”

Lead image: The Practica Capital team.