CEE

LAUNCHub Ventures Closes €65 Million for Fund III

co-written by newsrooms.ai01. October 2026, 10:00

LAUNCHub Ventures has announced the first close of its third fund at €65 million, targeting €75+ million total. The Sofia-based firm secured commitments from leading international financial institutions, regional entrepreneurs, family offices, and more than ten exited portfolio founders now backing the next generation.

Conviction about CEE gets stronger

The fund continues its pre-seed and seed strategy across Central and Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Europe, writing first lead checks from €300,000 to €3 million and holding reserves for Series A follow-ons. LAUNCHub plans around 25 investments over five years, leading and co-leading rounds up to €7 million.

“Fourteen years in, our conviction about this region gets stronger and the results we see further support our thesis. Close to 100 companies, 18 exits, and around 40% of our pre-seed and seed investments reaching Series A. Fund III lets us keep backing founders here at the point where it matters most, and what Fund II has produced tells us the approach works,” says Stanislav Sirakov, General Partner at LAUNCHub Ventures.

The firm has backed nearly 100 companies across two funds with more than €100 million under management. The combined portfolio has raised over €700 million in follow-on funding from tier-one investors including Founders Fund, Sequoia, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Kleiner Perkins.

Generational Shift in Leadership

LAUNCHub has promoted Raya Yunakova and Petar Tsachev to General Partners, marking a leadership transition for the firm. Yunakova joined seven years ago with 15 years in technology and investment, including time at Microsoft on the developer experience team and her own founder experience. Tsachev joined five years ago from sales, business development, and operations roles in technology companies.

“Having been a founder myself, I can appreciate the amount of effort and dedication required to get a business off the ground, and I have immense respect for those deciding to take on the challenge. Eastern European founders have the grit, tenacity, and talent to create category-defining companies, and I couldn’t be more excited to support them with those pivotal first checks,” Yunakova says.

LAUNCHub Ventures shows strong track record

Tsachev adds: “I’ve watched this region go from producing one breakout company every few years to producing them every year. The talent was always here. The ambition and the proof points have now caught up. I believe the next decade will bring more outliers out of Central and Southeast Europe than the last one did, and I want LAUNCHub to bring this opportunity to a larger set of regional LPs.” Todor Breshkov, Stanislav Sirakov, Rumen Iliev, and Irina Dimitrova remain in fund leadership, while Lyuben Belov and Stephane Gantchev continue as venture partners and advisory board members.

The firm’s track record shows 75% of portfolio companies raising follow-on rounds and approximately 40% reaching Series A. Notable portfolio companies include Ampeco, which powers EV charging networks in 65+ markets; FintechOS, running product engines for banks and insurers serving 25 million+ customers; Colossyan, building AI video platforms for Fortune 500 learning teams; and Giraffe360, processing over 1,000 properties daily with robotic 3D capture technology.

The fund executed 18 exits, including SPLX to Zscaler in 2025, FITE to Triller, and OfficeRND to Blue Star. LAUNCHub invests primarily in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, and the Western Balkans, with additional exposure across broader Central and Eastern Europe.

First Fund III Investments Already Live

Fund III has led rounds in three companies. Nanogram is an AI-powered social gaming platform enabling users to create, play, and share video games from text prompts without coding experience. Founded by Albert Brotherton, Arnaud Poupier, Boris Radulov, and Ognian Trayanov, the company operates from the United States with core product and engineering in Sofia. Lenz builds an independent verification layer that checks factual claims in AI-generated content before publication. He is addressing AI hallucination challenges at scale.

Founders Kosta Jordanov and Victoria Dodeva previously built Wiser Technology and FITE. 1Club delivers AI-native software for the sports and activities industry, integrating memberships, scheduling, payments, marketing, and mobile apps. Founders Miroslav Miroslavov and Martin Kirov built OfficeRnD before launching 1Club.

Fund III draws backing from three international financial institutions investing in regional development: the European Investment Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Finance Corporation. The firm has expanded its team with Vedran Blagus as Associate Partner covering Croatia, Slovenia, and the Western Balkans from Zagreb, bringing ten years of regional investment experience. Nikoleta Popkostadinova joined as Head of Marketing with twelve years in marketing and communications for tech companies and social-impact startup founding experience.