venture capital news
Find our venture capital team's articles, publications and news here:
publication
30 October 2024
austria poland serbia hungary bulgaria
D.Birnbauer S.Špeta P.Baran N.Kerschbaumer D.Rutecka P.Podsiedlik M.Kovács A.Turi M.Vlajković A.Sarić M.Lukić E.Todorova G.Pázsitka B.Bodó
to the point: technology & digitalisation l October 2024
Welcome to the October edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
22 October 2024
T.Kulnigg N.Kerschbaumer D.Mutevelic A.Pabst F.Terharen C.Rainer Y.Kraudinger T.Waidmann H.Kirschner C.Maras M.Thorbauer S.Egger
Austria: Schoenherr advises Verdane fund on its partnership with Cropster
Schoenherr advised the European growth equity fund Verdane on its partnership with Cropster, a leading developer of a software platform for the coffee industry. With the partnership, Verdane acquires a majority stake in Cropster and will support it on its growth path, which includes both M&A and organic growth.
press release
Poland: Schoenherr advises IndieBI on funding rounds
Schoenherr advised IndieBI S.A., a Polish fintech company operating in the gaming industry, on raising equity capital through two investment rounds, which included dozens of industry investors.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises fynk on its EUR 3.1m seed financing round
Schoenherr advised the Vienna-based start-up fynk on its most recent seed financing round, amounting to approximately EUR 3.1m. The current financing round was led by 3VC with participation from 10x Founders.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Cherry Ventures on EUR 6m financing round for Flinn AI
Schoenherr advised venture capital firm Cherry Ventures on the EUR 6m seed financing round for the Vienna-based start-up Flinn AI. Specialising in the automation of compliance processes in the medical industry through artificial intelligence, Flinn AI is quickly emerging as a key player in the field.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises group of sellers of Flightkeys on strategic investment from Insight Partners
Schoenherr advised a group of sellers of Flightkeys, the provider of a cloud-based flight planning and optimisation software, on a strategic growth investment from Insight Partners, a global software investor.
press release
02 August 2024
CEE
CEE team
CEE: Schoenherr advises BlackPeak Capital and Catalyst Romania Fund II on EUR 10m Series B funding round to Leanpay
Schoenherr advised BlackPeak Capital and Catalyst Romania Fund II on a EUR 10m Series B funding for Leanpay, a Slovenia-based pioneering Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and Point-of-Sale (POS) lending platform. This investment, led by BlackPeak Capital and co-led by Catalyst Romania Fund II, aims to support Leanpay's plans to become the digital consumer lending champion in the Central and Eastern European region.
publication
27 June 2024
D.Rutecka P.Podsiedlik P.Baran T.Kulnigg A.Radonjanin M.Vlajković
to the point: technology & digitalisation l June 2024
Welcome to the June edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
media coverage
Venture capital: Liquiditation preference: Practical tips for structuring share classes
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises scale-up Storyblok on its USD 80m Series C financing
Schoenherr advised the Austrian scale-up Storyblok on its Series C financing worth USD 80m, bringing the total amount raised to USD 138m, marking the largest financing round to date this year.
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l May 2024
Welcome to the May edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
26 April 2024
D.Hofmarcher T.Kulnigg N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon C.Pretscher P.Podsiedlik D.Rutecka P.Baran
to the point: technology & digitalisation l April 2024
Welcome to the April edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
21 March 2024
K.Szczudlik D.Rutecka P.Podsiedlik F.Terharen K.Pikuła P.Baran A.Radonjanin M.Vlajković N.Kerschbaumer
to the point: technology & digitalisation l March 2024
Welcome to the March edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Serbia: Schoenherr advises Fifth Quarter Ventures on strategic investment in Cosmic
Moravčević Vojnović and partners in cooperation with Schoenherr advised Fifth Quarter Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund, on its recent investment in Cosmic. This innovative start-up is at the forefront of developing a revolutionary platform for self-powered homes, aiming to redefine the construction of carbon-neutral, healthy and efficient homes in a fast and cost-effective manner.
event
Practical Private Equity and Venture Capital Training
21-22 March | Schoenherr Warsaw Office | plac Stanislawa Malachowskiego 2
publication
22 February 2024
D.Rutecka D.Hofmarcher D.Tyrybon N.Kerschbaumer F.Terharen K.Szczudlik K.Solarz-Włodarska P.Podsiedlik K.Pikuła
to the point: technology & digitalisation l February 2024
Welcome to the February edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l January 2024
Welcome to this year's first edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
newsletter
Navigating the legal landscape of the Macedonian growing start-up sector
Macedonian start-up ecosystem is in a state of constant evolution, driven by legal reforms fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. With the introduction of the simplified limited liability company, convertible loans, digital payment systems and expanded global market entry, these legal changes have played an important role in advancing the Macedonian start-up scene. Nonetheless, it is crucial to systematically address pertinent legislative updates to ensure continual growth and competitiveness in the dynamic global market.
media coverage
Venture capital: Taxation of ESOP shares and options: One step forward, two steps ... sideways?
The Czech start-up/VC community has long been calling for a change in how employee shares/options and related plans (ESOPs) are taxed, citing various other European Union jurisdictions as being significantly more progressive and therefore conducive to the development of a start-up ecosystem.
publication
21 December 2023
G.Leissler T.Kulnigg N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon M.Czernin F.Terharen U.Rath D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l December 2023
Welcome to the December edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l November 2023
Welcome to the November edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
31 October 2023
N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon M.Schmiedinger C.Pretscher M.Vlajković M.Pressler D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l October 2023
Welcome to the October edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises EIC Fund on investment in Kern Tec's EUR 12m Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised the EIC Fund, the venture investment arm of the European Innovation Council (EIC), on its investment in the EUR 12m Series A financing round of Kern Tec, an Austrian food tech company, led by Belgian firm Telos Impact.
publication
28 September 2023
A.Hirsch N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon F.Terharen M.Vlajković D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l September 2023
Welcome to the September edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Usersnap on exit to saas.group
Schoenherr advised the shareholders of Austrian software company Usersnap on their acquisition by saas.group, a company active in the business of acquiring promising software as a service (SaaS) companies.
media coverage
Venture capital: From start-up to scale-up
Running through the news of a continued slowdown in the venture capital segment this year (as well as in public information on closed transactions), a common thread could be observed - venture capital investors are moving towards more developed companies both in primary investments and follow-up investment rounds.
media coverage
Venture capital legal environment in the Czech Republic in 2023
The Czech Republic has undergone rapid growth in the venture capital segment in the past couple of years, with both the number of VC deals and volume of invested funds rising steadily, several Czech-based unicorns emerging during the COVID-19 era and other companies reaching the soon-to-be-unicorn stage.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises shared-mobility start-up UBIQ on seven-figure Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised Austrian shared-mobility start-up UBIQ, a provider of AI-powered solutions for managing fleets in the shared (e-)mobility industry, on its seven-figure Series A financing round.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises allmyhomes GmbH on joint venture to enter Austrian market
Schoenherr advised allmyhomes on the establishment of a joint venture in Austria with allmyhomes Venture Partner AT GmbH, a consortium of Austrian real estate experts.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises proptech scale-up GROPYUS on major Austrian scale-up financing round
Schoenherr advised the Vienna-headquartered property technology scale-up GROPYUS on its ongoing Series B financing round led by Vonovia, Europe's largest residential real estate company. The volume of this financing round is at around EUR 100m, bringing GROPYUS' total funding to date to more than EUR 200m.
newsletter
Bulgaria paves way for innovative businesses with new start-up visa
Country welcomes non-EU investors to boost local start-up ecosystem
After Decree No 318 of 7 October 2022 adopting the Ordinance on the conditions and procedure for issuing, extending and revoking a certificate for a high-tech and/or innovative project (the "Ordinance") was promulgated in issue 82 of the State Gazette of 14 October 2022, Bulgaria joins the almost half of EU countries that issue "start-up visas".
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Storyblok on USD 47m Series B financing
Schoenherr advised the Austrian scale-up Storyblok on its Series B financing worth USD 47m, one of several major transactions in the Austrian start-up scene on which Schoenherr has advised in the recent past.
press release
Bulgaria: Schoenherr advises BlackPeak Capital on equity investment in courier and fulfilment provider EUShipments.com
Schoenherr advised BlackPeak Capital in relation to their equity investment of up to EUR 7.5m in EUShipments.com, a courier and fulfilment provider with operations in the EU and the UK and the holding company of InOut Trade.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises e-mobility start-up Easelink on EUR 8.3m financing round (Series A)
Schoenherr advised the Austrian high-tech company Easelink, a provider of automated electric vehicle charging solutions, on its EUR 8.3m Series A financing round.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Austrian unicorn Bitpanda on expansion of its product portfolio to include exchange traded cryptocurrencies
Schoenherr advised the Austrian fintech Bitpanda on the expansion of its product portfolio to include exchange traded cryptocurrencies. This product provides investors with easy access to crypto assets via a liquid financial instrument traded on a regulated exchange.
roadmap
Does a new era of crypto tax transparency lie ahead?
For those who have been paying little attention to the taxation of their crypto assets, things are about to get heated.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises on the sale of the oral hygiene start-up Playbrush to the Sunstar Group
Schoenherr advised the shareholders of the Austrian oral hygiene start-up Playbrush on the sale of the majority shares to the international health care company Sunstar Group.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Bitpanda on Austria's largest scale-up financing round
Schoenherr provided legal advice to Bitpanda on the largest scale-up financing round in Austria to date.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr's Venture Capital team advises on multi-million venture capital deals in HY 1
Schoenherr's Venture Capital team advised on a significant number of multi-million Euro financing rounds in the first six months of 2021, in what is expected to be a record year for venture capital in Austria.
press release
Czech Republic: Schoenherr advises Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisenbank a.s. on acquisition of AKCENTA CZ a.s.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises voestalpine on foundation of technology joint venture for production of TransAnt
Schoenherr successfully advised voestalpine Stahl GmbH on the establishment of a joint venture with the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group for the production of the TransAnt – an innovative platform car. The 50/50 joint venture which aims to further combine the activities of both companies to additionally enhance the jointly developed TransAnt platform car is now entering a preparatory phase.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Austrian start-up Carbomed on multi-million euro financing round
After Schoenherr recently advised the Austrian fintech company Bitpanda on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020, the firm successfully advised on another start-up financing: Under the leadership of partner Thomas Kulnigg, the Schoenherr team advised Carbomed Medical Solutions, an Austrian FemTech start-up, on a EUR 3m financing. The financing round was led by aws Gründerfonds.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Bitpanda on its USD 52 million Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised Austrian fintech Bitpanda, on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020 led by Valar Ventures, and including other fintech investors such as Speedinvest. The funding secures USD 52 million to further drive Bitpanda's expansion.
blog
We help Start-Ups!
In an attempt to help start-ups during the current corona situation obtaining the much needed financial liquidity support from their shareholders or other investors, we put together a short and simple forward equity agreement, the "Simple Equity Investment Contract (SEIC)".
roadmap
Electromobility on the rise
As part of the EU's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 (effective from January 2020) laying down CO2 emission performance standards for new automobiles and new light commercial vehicles (the "Regulation") was issued. Under the Regulation, individual manufacturers (or associations of manufacturers under Article 6 of the Regulation) will be obliged, inter alia, to reduce emissions from new automobiles by 37.5 % by 2030 (compared to the 2021 target of 95 g CO2/km).
roadmap
Together on the blockchain: Finding consensus in a decentralised network
An essential element of the blockchain and the technology behind it is the validation of transactions, i.e. confirmation that data in the blockchain ledger is entered rightfully1. But how, exactly, can data entered in a decentralised ledger be validated? Who does the validating? These questions arise once you look deeper into the workings and structure of transactions on the blockchain.
roadmap
A new reality for ridesharing apps in Poland
The battle between traditional taxi drivers as well as their supporters and those advocating a more digitalised approach focused on ridesharing applications such as Uber, Lyft or Bolt began a few years ago and is being waged in almost every country. In Poland, Uber started back in 2014 as the first mobile taxi application on the Polish market. Taxi drivers began protesting the app almost immediately after it became clear that consumers preferred Uber's efficiency and prices to those of traditional taxis. Criticism from traditional taxi drivers about the safety of Uber and the qualifications of its drivers led to the need for legal changes. A first draft amendment of the Polish Act on Road Transport was submitted to the Council of Ministers in July 2017 (the "Amendment").
roadmap
Romania: How to start-up an army of cyber guardians
This year, Romania's first tech unicorn reached a USD 7bln valuation. This has stirred things up, expanding the horizons for many Romanian entrepreneurs. While still far from being a major start-up ecosystem, the country is showing its potential, mostly due to high-quality tech talent available at still manageable costs.
press release
Schoenherr advises Spanish manufacturer Torrot on delivery of electric scooters and related technology to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab
Schoenherr Prague advised Spanish manufacturer Torrot Electric Europa, S.A. ("Torrot") on the delivery of complex technology solutions for scooter sharing (including also electric scooters, advanced IT technologies and IT services) to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab s.r.o. ("ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab"), which will use them for its new e-scooter sharing service BeRider in Prague.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises bsurance on its Series-A financing
Schoenherr has advised Austrian insurtech start-up bsurance on its Series-A financing round. The investment totals EUR 4 million and was provided by UNIQA Ventures GmbH and an additional investor.
roadmap
Start-up acquisitions & exits - where expectations meet reality
Start-ups generally
A typical start-up is usually founded by three or four individuals as a limited liability company or a joint stock company focused on IT or online businesses. As the start-up grows, a number of investors (ten or more) come on board (venture capital funds and angel investors) by acquiring convertible loan instruments, newly issued or existing shares. The start-up company is focused on building up and investing in its team of specialists, which is often its main asset. This explains why employee share option plans are so common. Gradually, the client network expands and the brand is established. And then, a strategic company comes along with a lucrative offer to acquire the start-up.
roadmap
Legal hiccups in start-up financing
From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing, start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing rounds or to overcome valuation issues.
roadmap
What industries do investors in start-ups currently prefer?
From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing g rounds or to overcome valuation issues. We interviewed Ivaylo Gospodinov, one of the managing partners of the investment fund BlackPeak Capital.
newsletter
Österreich: Ab 2019 vereinfachter Kapitalmarktzugang für KMU, Wachstumsunternehmen und Startups durch Öffnung des Dritten Markts
Am 25.10.2018 hat der Nationalrat die seit langem erwartete Änderung des Aktiengesetzes beschlossen, die den Zugang von österreichischen Gesellschaften, insbesondere von KMU, Wachstumsunternehmen und Startups, zum Kapitalmarkt erleichtern soll.
newsletter
Austria: Let them eat space cake
As of tomorrow, the traditional Austrian bakery Aida, which is known for its staff dressed in baby pink, will sell brownies containing CBD. The price will be EUR 4.20 – an inside joke, since "four-twenty" is code for the consumption of cannabis.
newsletter
Österreich: Exit-Szenarien ausarbeiten und Finanzen managen: Was Start Ups vorab tun können um Krisenstimmung zu vermeiden
Schönherr lud vergangene Woche gemeinsam mit dem Branchennetzwerk primeCROWD ein, die Schattenseiten des Start Up-Unternehmertums zu diskutieren. Das Fazit: Wie in jeder Beziehung, ist ein offener und ehrlicher Dialog wichtig, um Krisen zu vermeiden oder zumindest gestärkt aus Krisen hervorzugehen. Zahlreiche Start Ups und Investoren waren in die Wiener Kanzlei gekommen um sich Expertenmeinungen und Tipps zu Gesellschafterstreitfälle, Verstimmungen zwischen Start Ups und Investoren sowie zum Thema Insolvenz zu holen.
newsletter
Are ICOs the future of fund raising?
With credit institutions still reluctant to provide financing to start-ups, many companies are looking for new ways to raise funds. Others are exploring ways to integrate new technology such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Blockchain and SmartContracts into their existing business models. Either way, initial coin offerings (ICO) or initial token offerings (ITO) are currently trending.
press release
Austria/CEE: Schoenherr supports weXelerate and innovators in the region
Schoenherr has partnered with weXelerate, the largest start-up & innovation hub in Central Europe, as an active supporter and channel partner. On Monday 26 September the weXelerate on-boarding week begins for 55 promising international start-ups that will start developing their ideas in the innovation centre of the Nouvel Tower in Vienna.
newsletter
Austria: Participation rights as alternative investment and equity financing instruments
The typical way to invest in an Austrian company (eg, a limited liability company (LLC) or joint stock company) is by way of a capital increase. Alternatively, the investor can acquire existing shares from shareholders and provide capital contributions to the company.(1)
newsletter
"Start-Ups, die vorausdenken, sind attraktiver für Investoren"
Das Start-Up Ökosystem in Österreich wächst: A1 hat vor kurzem gemeinsam mit anderen Investoren 1,2 Millionen Euro in das Start-Up Parkbob investiert. Was macht das Investment in Start-Ups so attraktiv?
newsletter
The EU Capital Markets Union - Recent developments on Venture Capital
On 16 December 2016, the Council of the European Union announced agreement on its negotiating stance in relation to the proposed regulation amending the European Venture Capital Funds ("EuVECA") Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 345/2013) and the European Social Entrepreneurship Funds ("EuSEF") Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 346/2013), which is now at the European Parliament's ECON committee, scheduled to be voted on, on 22 March 2017.