Rockaway Ventures, a European investment fund under the Rockaway Capital group, has closed its second fund, Rockaway Ventures II, at nearly €55 million.
The fund targets late-Seed and Series A tech startups with the potential to drive innovation in traditional industries. Known for its early investments in e-commerce and travel tech, the fund is now focusing on sectors such as energy, defense, and dual-use technologies.
According to Dušan Zábrodský, General Partner at Rockaway Ventures, the firm is currently seeing numerous investment opportunities in sectors significantly shaped by global trends and geopolitical developments.
“We are particularly interested in founders across Europe and the United States who are committed to driving growth and advancing their businesses through transformative technologies.”
Rockaway Ventures traces its origins to 2014 when the team began investing without a formal structure, backing early Czech success stories like Productboard and Storyous.
The current fund was launched in 2022. About 25 percent of the capital comes from Rockaway Capital, the parent company of Rockaway Ventures, with the remainder provided by private investors, primarily from Czechia.
The fund currently counts 11 portfolio companies, each demonstrating strong early momentum. Over the next three years, it plans to expand this portfolio with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which will receive 60 per cent of the investments, while the remaining 40 per cent will go to Western Europe and diaspora-founded startups from Czechia and neighboring countries now operating in the US.
In the long run, Rockaway Ventures aims to support startups across the entire company lifecycle, from pre-seed to growth-stage rounds.
Notable investments include German cloud-native hotel management platform Apaleo; CulturePulse, a US-Slovak startup utilising AI for behavioral modeling and risk prediction; and Albanian e-commerce and media platform Gjirafa.
Petr Šmíd, General Partner at Rockaway Ventures, sees a venture capital comeback:
“The recovery began in 2024 and is continuing this year. One key driver is transformative technology, particularly AI.
A few years ago, many investors didn’t fully grasp its potential. Today, we can clearly demonstrate its sector-specific impact – and that’s changing the game.”
Rockaway Ventures relies on a combination of entrepreneurial experience, strategic focus, and active involvement with founders.
“We’re not just capital. We’re entrepreneurs ourselves – we’ve built companies, and we understand what’s around the corner. Founders working with us receive hands-on support in areas like international expansion and scaling,” Šmíd added.
Lead image: Max Palko, Eva Faltusova, and Petr Šmíd, Rockaway Ventures. Photo: uncredited.
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