Belgian VC Smartfin Capital invests in THEO Technologies and Akinon from recent €240 million fund

Belgian VC Smartfin Capital has announced two investments from its latest fund, Smartfin II, which closed in recent months at €240 million. The firm is doling out €5 million each to THEO Technologies, a Leuven-based video technology scale-up, and to Turkish software startup Akinon. Over time the total investments could reach €60 million. THEO Technologies has created a “video ecosystem”, comprised of different playback components and pre-integrations, including its landmark product THEOPlayer. The Belgian startup is raising an additional €3.8 million from Participation Company Flanders, Media Invest Flanders and banks. Located in Istanbul, Akinon has created an omnichannel commerce platform to streamline retail sales from online and physical stores. The company’s customer list boasts big brands, such as Lacoste, Marks & Spencer, Sephora, and Gap. Two more investments, in Dutch and Flemish companies, are expected in the next few weeks. Founded in 2014, the Antwerp-based firm is run by Jurgen Ingels (formerly Clear2Pay), Bart Luyten (formerly Sniper Invest), Thomas Depuydt and Bert Baeck (formerly Trendminer). Target businesses are European technology startups entering or already in a growth stage. With Smartfin II, the investors plan to partner with about twelve scale-ups and anticipate the total investment tickets to reach between €20 and €30 million per portfolio company. "The intention is to have our interest grow step by step with the company itself, from €5 to €6 million in sales at the entry to around €100 million five years later," explained Ingels. “Then they are ready for a larger venture capital provider. We hope to get the tech companies to come that far by not purely as a financier, but also by introducing our network and our experience as entrepreneurs.”