Change Ventures closes €49M seed venture capital fund to support Baltic startups

The Tallinn-based VC firm Change Ventures has closed its second fund for startups in the Baltic region at €49 million. It is the largest seed venture capital ever raised in the region, Silicon Canals reports.

• Founded in 2016 by Andris K. Berzins, Rait Ojasaar, and Yrjo Ojasaar, Change Ventures is the first pre-seed/seed venture capital fund with completed investments in all three Baltic states. The VC firm backs founders from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• Change Ventures invests in such major sectors as fintech/regtech, e-commerce and retail, B2B, consumer and edtech, and a range of deeptech and AI startups.
• The European Investment Fund was the lead investor during the Change Ventures Fund II round. Other investors included the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the CBL Asset Management pension fund from Latvia.
• Several regional angel investors also joined the round, together with fund managers Aldea Ventures, Molten Ventures, Multiple Capital, and EVLI Growth Partners.
• In addition to the funding, Change Ventures appointed a new partner — Kart Siilats, who has seven years of experience with Mojo.capital, and 15 years in financial services. The appointment will help the company facilitate growth and expand the funding range.