How to Startup: Technology companies see growth in consolidation

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Zonifero creates capital group by acquiring IU Technology

Zonifero, a startup operating in the field of worktech and proptech (and an owner of workplace management applications), acquired IU Technology, a producer of business process automation software. In this way, Zonifero has created a capital group. However, the merger of these businesses does not mean the disappearance of IU Technology from the market. Thanks to the acquisition, IU Technology users will gain Zonifero's support, which is expected to accelerate the company's development. For Zonifero, this is an opportunity to enter new market segments, including public and local government, industry and logistics. The startup announces that this change is the beginning of the company's global development.

The president of Zonifero is Jacek Ratajczak. The company's clients include developers (e.g. Echo Investment, Cavatina Holding, and Skanska) and corporations (e.g. Grupa Wirtualna Polska, Avon, and Zabka).

Polish capital increasingly entering foreign markets

DeepL, the translation platform founded by Jaros?aw Kutylowski, has raised USD 300 million. The financing round was led by Index Ventures. The company's valuation thereby increased to USD 2 billion.

Polish fund Rubicon Partners has invested USD 2.5 million in the startup StaffHealth, a technology platform that mediates the employment of medical workers in the USA.

Altach Biomedical, an Irish health technology startup (its CEO and co-founder is Tomir Kosowski), has received EUR 1.2 million in a Seed round. The startup received investment from Stepping Stone Fund (NLC Health Ventures), Castanjo B.V., and business angels.

Sales Agency, a startup offering sales outsourcing services, has received PLN 600,000 in the financing round. Maciej Noga (founder of Grupa Pracuj) and three MBA for Startups’ students invested in the company. Cloo AI, a software search and comparison platform, has received funding from the Inovo.vc. The investment amount was not disclosed. The startup is also supported by a group of business angels.

4Semantics, a startup that specializes in building cognitive automation solutions and productivity tools, has obtained financing from the newly established Full Speed Ventures fund (its their first investment). The transaction amount was not disclosed.

Semrush becomes the majority shareholder of Brand24 - still wants more

Semrush Holding Inc, through its subsidiary Prowly, has become the majority shareholder of the Polish company Brand24 (a media monitoring tool that analyzes mentions and presents actionable insights). For PLN 55 million , the American public company acquired 57% of Brand24 shares (purchased from Larq Capital, Unfold, and the founders). The management board, composed of Michal Sadowski, Piotr Wierzejewski, and Bartosz Kozlowski, remains unchanged. This transaction is expected to contribute to the development of Brand24 by reaching over 100,000 Semrush customers around the world, as well as in other ways.

Brand24, based in Wroclaw, has been operating on the market since 2011. In 2021, the company debuted on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (Brand24 has been listed on NewConnect since 2018). At the end of May 2024, the Prowly agency announced that it intended to buy the remaining 42.42% of Brand24 shares (and has offered PLN 45.50 per share).

Decline in corporate financing in the CEE region

The total value of investment in the CEE region in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to EUR 640 million , according to the "VC Funding In CEE Report - 1Q 2024", published by Vestbee. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, investments fell by 10% (for comparison, the global VC investment market shrank by 20%). In Q1 2024, a total of 157 venture capital transactions were recorded. The countries with the largest number of funding rounds were: Estonia (31 rounds), Poland (30), and Czechia (18). These countries secured nearly 60% of the total funding for the quarter. Companies operating in the areas of Enterprise Software, AI, Fintech, SaaS, and Cloud, were most often invested in.

The largest disclosed investment rounds were closed by: Mews - EUR 101.3 million (Czechia ), Project 3 Mobility - EUR 100 million (Croatia ), and Starship Technologies - EUR 84.6 million (Estonia ). The most active VC investors were, among others, New Vision 3, Credo Ventures, EIT Digital, Movens Capital, Sunfish Partners, and Inovo VC.

SD Worx acquires TribePerk

Polish startup TribePerk, a provider of modern payroll outsourcing services, has been acquired by the European provider of HR and payroll solutions SD Worx. This is a step towards expanding their operations on the Polish market. During the acquisition, SD Worx was supported by Ernst & Young Global Limited (the value of the transaction was not disclosed). TribePerk CEO Blazej Bereta will now report to SD Worx Poland.

TribePerk is a company based in Lublin, operating since 2020. The company specializes in providing cloud-based HR solutions for the SME sector (supporting companies employing up to 200 employees). TribePerk offers tools for payroll, HR tasks and time registration). Following the acquisition, SD Worx products will be combined with cloud-based solutions. TribePerk's development strategy assumes that companies employing up to 1,000 employees will also use their solution.

Startup ecosystem for an open and technologically-developed Europe

Representatives of the startup ecosystem, including the Startup Poland Foundation, have appealed to the European Parliament of the next term to support technological development., “Our contribution lies in the promotion of social and economic development through an open, inclusive and technologically-forward driven model. If competitiveness is the new buzzword in Brussels, we are one of the leverages which makes it tangible”, they wrote in an open letter a few days before the European Parliament elections.

The signatories call for a strong, innovative Europe that pursues ambitious and long-term goals related to international cooperation, greater integration, common defense, ecological policy and socio-economic development driven by innovation and technology. They also want a Europe that nurtures democracy, diversity and future generations. What's more, they want Europe to be a place where people and companies can succeed without having to move abroad.

Quantia Quantia is a Poland-founded startup that helps boost sales for consumer brands with AI-driven recommendations. They provide brand managers with up-to-date insights across all channels (online and offline), along with sales strategies driven by artificial intelligence. This system automatically provides recommendations, thus shortening the response time as much as possible, and brand owners can focus on decision-making and action. The startup's clients already include: Asahi Europe, Procter & Gamble, Groupe SEB, and Nespresso. In May, Quantia secured USD 1.2 million in a Pre-seed round led by Inovo VC and TeamX. The startup intends to use the funds for further product development and to facilitate further growth in Western Europe.

The company has been operating since 2023 and was founded by solo founder Marta Lacka (in the past she was responsible for the development of Procter & Gamble brands in ten European markets). She is supported in the development of the startup by Michal Ciemiega (former R&D Team Lead at Allani) and Adrian Dulic, VP of Engineering at Userlane.