SMOK Ventures seeks new startups to invest in
SMOK Ventures has launched its second venture fund with a size of USD 25 million. It will also work with startups from Central and Eastern Europe. The Polish-American firm plans to invest in around 25-35 promising regional projects.
The company closed its first fund at the end of 2022. The number of private partners was 60. Most of them represented Central and Eastern Europe. The second fund closed in early 2024. It financed 12 companies from Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and other countries.
SMOK focuses on software start-ups. An essential condition is that the founders must come from Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, the projects themselves and their founders can be located in any country. The company invests in software developers, game developers and AI research. Most often, the fund participates in pre-seed and seed-stage financing. Investments typically range from USD 100,000 to USD 1 million.
Key partners of the company:
– Paul Bragiel – Founder;
– Diana Kozyarskaya, who previously ran ReaktorX;
– IT businessman Boris Musielak;
– Entrepreneur Alexander Yatsenko.
The second SMOK fund will help young start-ups to realise their ideas and make them financially attractive. The company offers comprehensive support in bringing a product to the international market. The focus is on artificial intelligence and solutions based on it.
Overview of the venture fund’s activities
Paul Bragiel founded SMOK Ventures in 2019. He has several successful startups of his own, including game developer Paragon. He also invested in Uber’s taxi booking service at the beginning of its development.
The firm is careful in its choice of startups. It assesses the prospects of the idea and the team’s interest in success. In addition to its funding, the fund helps attract third-party investors and business angels. For example, some startups have received capital from companies in Japan, the US, the UK and other countries. In addition, some projects supported by SMOK have made it to Y Combinator. They have gained valuable experience and added qualified specialists to their teams there.
The fund plans to make about 10-15 investments in 2024. The first investment is usually between USD 250,000 and USD 1 million. If the startup demonstrates good results, the company finances it once again.
SMOK’s activities aim to provide comprehensive support to technology start-ups. It seeks to unlock the full potential of a given project and get the maximum benefit from it. Therefore, the company does not expect quick results but prefers long-term investments.