How Movens Fund 2 Plans to Power the Next Generation of CEE Startups

• Movens Capital launches its Fund 2 with EUR 60M target, having secured EUR 40M from major backers
• The firm focuses on leading early to growth-stage rounds across key tech verticals, including B2B SaaS, health tech, fintech, climate tech, and the future of work
• The Fund 2 will back up to 30 startups and focus on building a global VC brand for the future Movens Fund 3

This June, Movens Capital—one of Poland’s most well-known VC firms—announced the long-awaited launch of its Fund 2. The fund aims to invest as much as EUR 60M, continuing to support CEE tech founders, including those in the global diaspora. As of now, Movens Capital raised EUR 40M for its Fund 2 from such respectable names as EBRD and PFR Ventures, joined by 80+ private investors.

Movens Capital’s Background and Strategic Pause for Long-Term Play

Founded in 2018 by Artur Banach and Michał Olszewski, Movens Capital has been known for backing ambitious founders across the CEE region. While generally sector-agnostic, Movens focuses on high-potential tech startups in such verticals as B2B SaaS, ClimateTech, healthcare, fintech, eCommerce enablers, edtech, and the future of life and work. AI and machine learning ventures have naturally become another key area of interest.

The firm’s portfolio includes companies such as Alokai (formerly known as Vue Storefront), Doctor.one, Talkie.ai, Woltair, and a handful of successful exits, including Packhelp and Fenige.

Since Movens Capital announced plans for Fund 2 in summer 2023, the firm has slowed down its activities, making only a few investments, one of which being the digital credentials provider Certifier.

‘Movens Capital has deep business experience and brings hands-on support. On one hand, they award us a high level of trust as founders and in our decisions. But on the other hand, when I needed help with key hires, warm intros, cap table stuff, or handling tough situations— they were always there and actively involved. This perfect mix: a VC who has the competence to really help build the company, but only steps in when we actually need it and ask for it,’ Certifier’s co-founder Sergey Butko comments.

Proactive Approach to Market Shifts and Resilience Through Runway

According to Mr Banach, the slowdown was a conscious decision. By 2022, it had become clear to the Movens team that fundraising for tech companies in the region would become more challenging in the years ahead. These assumptions were confirmed as the number of transactions in the CEE region decreased by 70% over a two-year period. For this reason, well in advance, the investors encouraged their portcos to conduct further financing rounds in order to maximise their runway and focus on effective growth.

‘This strategy was successful: our companies raised a total of EUR 110M, which is nine times more than in the funding rounds when we invested. This enabled the majority of our portfolio companies to prioritise revenue growth and efficiency improvements over the last two years. Many of them have already broken even or control their runway to such an extent that they can decide when and on what terms they want to raise new funds. Importantly, half of the portfolio is experiencing the fastest growth in the US or English-speaking markets,’ Mr Banach reports.

Scaling Up the Ambition from Fund 1 to Fund 2

At the same time, as the investment period for Movens Fund 1 ended in December 2023, the team focused on establishing a much larger investment vehicle, setting the target of EUR 60M (against EUR 15M for the previous one). The investor admits that it took longer than planned to launch as fundraising has become equally challenging for VCs.

Even seeing how Movens Fund 2 hasn’t closed its EUR 60M goal yet, the firm is among the five largest Polish funds investing in the Pre-Seed to Series A+ stage and the youngest VC in this list. As such, the three- to fourfold increase in the size of the fund is a significant achievement. More importantly, this enables Movens to combine our hands-on approach with the ability to invest up to EUR 4–5M in a single company, further solidifying the fund’s presence through long-term partnerships with the best founders.

An Endorsement with Weight: Backing from EBRD and PFR Ventures

One cannot underestimate Movens Capital’s vision getting endorsed by the EBRD who became the biggest investor in the current fund. The firm is their only early VC investment in Poland.

‘We are delighted to back Movens’ new fund and help empower the next generation of tech founders in Central and Eastern Europe. Supporting the growth of the venture capital and private equity ecosystem is a key priority for the Bank in the region, and we are confident that this partnership will scale up new innovative and high-potential companies,’ EBRD’s Director Equity Funds Anne Fossemalle states.

Movens Capital’s other strategic supporter is PFR Ventures, part of the Polish Development Fund and CEE’s largest fund‑of‑funds, allocating Polish government and EU capital into venture capital and private equity funds. PFR Ventures invests in Movens Capital directly from its balance sheet, i.e. without EU limitations.

Looking through the social media, it seems like many Polish VCs treat PFR Ventures with a degree of cautiousness. The Movens team begs to differ citing PFR Ventures as one of the most professionally managed funds of funds in Europe who built this position in a relatively short time.

Mr Banach is convinced that the support provided by PFR Ventures to dozens of venture capital funds in recent years, including Movens Capital, has been the strongest stimulus for the development of the entire ecosystem.

‘The only challenge that VCs backed from FENG Programme have to deal with is certain limitations related to the fact that a large part of the funds invested by PFR Ventures comes from public aid. This is not ideal, but it is undoubtedly an instrument that works much better than subsidies or grants. PFR Ventures invested in us directly from their balance sheet this time, and this fact presents a great honour for us,’ Mr Banach tells ITKeyMedia.

‘Following our support for Movens Fund 1 under the EU-funded program, we are pleased to continue our collaboration with Movens Fund 2 through our balance-sheet-financed fund of funds. Movens’ team has consistently demonstrated a high level of professionalism in both their investment processes and investor relations. We are confident that they will play an important role in addressing the financing gap for innovative startups across multiple stages.,’ PFR Ventures’ investment director Bartłomiej Samsonowicz adds.

Where Fund 2 Will Go

Movens Fund 2 will invest between EUR 250K and 3M with a focus on leading rounds—particularly at Series A and growth stages where funding is scarcer. The fund plans to lead around 10 Series A+ investments directly. The target sectors include enterprise software, healthcare tech, fintech, climate tech, edtech, e-commerce infrastructure, and the future of work, with a strong emphasis on AI-driven solutions, reflecting the team’s in-depth expertise in AI/ML.

Mr Banach specifies the green flags. The teams have to:

• be able to generate revenue outside the CEE region practically from their first customers; the Movens team sticks to the opinion that the English-speaking market remains the most important;
• have a clear idea of how to fit into the ongoing AI revolution and a vision of how to build sustainable competitive advantages over the next few years;
• have the right level of ambition and competence to enable the company to achieve at least EUR 50M ARR within the perspective of the fund’s investment;
• be coachable, focused on building partnerships with VCs, transparent and resilient to challenges.

More Than Money: A Partner in Every Phase

Beyond capital scarcity, the investor states other significant operational or market-specific challenges in the CEE region that Movens Capital can address particularly effectively. According to him, it is the combined expertise of former technology entrepreneurs, GTM experts (with particularly unique support in the area of pricing), and M&A advisory services.

In practice, this means that in addition to support in the areas of strategy and fundraising, Movens Capital is willing to support companies in all the most needed areas—from helping them find key employees to developing new sales channels to addressing key challenges related to international expansion.

The Vision for Fund 2 and Beyond

‘In, say, five years, it would be desirable for us to have a portfolio of about 50 companies, 10–15 of which would showcase our region and be a source of high returns for our investors. We’d like at least half of these companies to take advantage of the opportunities created by AI automation. We’re also working to ensure that Movens Fund 3 has a strong and recognizable brand in both Europe and the US,’ Mr Banach concludes.

Movens Capital’s expanded Fund 2 is poised to stand at the forefront of the next wave of innovation in CEE and shape the region’s startup and VC landscape. With its deep operational expertise and strong backing from institutional partners like EBRD and PFR Ventures, the firm is uniquely positioned to close the region’s capital gap and empower yet another generation of globally ambitious founders. As CEE’s ecosystem matures further, Movens Capital targets to be a lasting force—scaling breakout companies, driving AI adoption, and anchoring world-class venture activity from the region.