The 10 largest VC rounds of December 2020

AIN.TECH selected 10 startups from CEE that have raised the largest investments in December 2020.

Bolt, $183M

Estonian developer of a transportation platform Bolt announced its largest round of funding worth $183 million. The investment was led by global investment firm D1 Capital Partners and the New York-based hedge fund Darsana Capital Partners.

Founded in 2013 by CEO Markus Villig, Bolt provides ride-hailing, micromobility, and food delivery services. To date, Bolt is available in more than 35 countries and in over 150 cities.

Spryker, $130M

Business software maker Spryker has raised over $130 million in a Series C financing round, led by Silicon Valley-based TCV. Existing investors One Peak from London and Project A Ventures from Berlin also participated in the round.

Spryker is a provider of a commerce technology platform for global enterprises. It enables companies to build transactional business models in B2B, B2C, and marketplaces. 

Lydia, $86M

Paris-based Lydia has raised an additional $86 million in a Series B round. The round was led by Accel, the global venture capital firm. The total Series B funding round now sits at $131M.

Founded in 2013 by Antoine Porte and Cyril Chiche, Lydia is a fast-growing mobile financial services platform with over 4 Million users and a 30% market share among French millennials, who use its brand as a verb.

Brainly, $80M

Edtech Brainly has raised $80 million in a Series D round, bringing its total funding up to $150 million. Previous investors Learn Capital, Prosus Ventures, Runa Capital, MantaRay and General Catalyst Partners participated in the round.

Founded in 2009 by CEO Michał Borkowski, Lukasz Haluch, and Tomasz Kraus, Brainly develops online education technology platforms for virtual learning, where students and their parents engage with each other, as well as with teachers and experts, for advice and help with homework questions. 

Isar Aerospace, €75M

Space startup from Munich Isar Aerospace has raised €75 million in a Series B funding round led by Swiss VC firm Lakestar with participation from existing investors Earlybird, Vsquared Ventures, Airbus Ventures, former SpaceX Vice President Bulent Altan, and new ones HV Capital, Ann-Kristin, and Paul Achleitner.

Established in 2018 by Josef Fleischmann, Markus Brandl and Daniel Metzler, Isar Aerospace is developing a “Spectrum” satellite launcher that is significantly smaller and thus less expensive than existing on the market. 

Luko, $60M

French insurtech Luko has secured $60 million in a Series B funding round led by EQT Ventures with participation from existing investors such as Accel, Funders Fund, and Speedinvest. 

Founded in 2016 by CEO Raphaël Vullierme and CTO Benoit Bourdel, Luko is an insurance company that provides a AI-powered device that focuses on home security and reduces electricity bills. 

Solactive, €50M

Fintech Solactive has closed a €50 million investment round from the US-based global alternative investment firm Summit Partners.

Solactive, or Structured Solutions as it was then known, was founded in 2007 by CEO Steffen Scheuble. It provides tailor-made index solutions for ETFs and other index-linked investments across equity, fixed income, and multi-asset class strategies worldwide. 

Gorillas, $44M

Grocery delivery startup Gorillas has closed a $44 million Series A round led by the New York-based hedge fund Coatue.

Founded in May 2020 by Kağan Sümer and Jörg Kattner, Gorillas is an on demand grocery delivery provider. Having a “Faster than you” slogan, it declares its ability to bring all customers’ grocery needs, from fresh fruits to home care products, to their door within 10 minutes of ordering. 

ultimate.ai, $20M

Customer service automation platform ultimate.ai has raised $20M in a Series A round. The round was led by OMERS Ventures with participation from Felicis Ventures and existing investors HV Capital and Maki.VC.

ultimate.ai develops an AI-solution that automates up to 80% of support interactions, freeing agents from repetitive requests. The startup is aimed to empower brands to drive better customer experiences through automation.

Eneba, $8M

Lithuanian Eneba has raised $8 million in a fresh round led by Practica Capital and InReach Ventures with participation from FJ Labs and a group of angel investors including Mantas Mikuckas, COO of Vinted.

Eneba provides a marketplace for gamers to safely purchase everything they need for the world’s most popular games.