Montis VC Secures €50M to Fuel European Energy & Industrial Tech
▼ Summary
– Montis Capital has raised €50 million for a new fund, Montis VC, to invest in European startups focused on energy transition, industrial tech, and AI.
– The fund is backed by the European Investment Fund (via REPowerEU) and the Polish Development Fund, alongside private investors from Central and Eastern Europe.
– It plans 20–25 pre-seed and seed investments, with initial tickets of €0.5–2 million and half its capital reserved for follow-on funding.
– The fund’s leadership includes managing partners from its predecessor, which deployed €30 million into nine companies, and a network of venture partners including former Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas.
– The €50 million represents a first close, with the fund already investing and in discussions to raise more capital from additional investors.
A new venture capital fund based in Warsaw has secured an initial €50 million to back European startups driving innovation in the energy and industrial sectors. Montis VC will focus its investments on early-stage companies operating at the crucial intersection of energy transition, industrial automation, and artificial intelligence. The fund aims to make between 20 and 25 pre-seed and seed investments, with initial checks ranging from €500,000 to €2 million.
The fund’s first close is supported by key institutional investors. The European Investment Fund (EIF) is participating through the EU’s REPowerEU initiative, a program dedicated to boosting energy security and moving away from fossil fuels. Additionally, the Polish Development Fund (PFR) has committed €10 million. This anchor investment is complemented by capital from family offices and private investors across Central and Eastern Europe.
Montis VC is an evolution of the team’s earlier activities under Montis Capital, which has been operating since 2018. That predecessor entity deployed approximately €30 million into nine companies across industry, technology, and climate sectors. Its portfolio includes businesses like Autofixer, an auto parts e-commerce platform; Fresh Inset, an agri-food tech startup; and Micromobility Port, a provider of last-mile logistics infrastructure in the UK.
The new fund is designed to operate on a larger scale, with half of its capital reserved for follow-on investments into its most promising portfolio companies. The investment thesis centers on the broad theme of “energy and industrial transition.” This encompasses areas such as electrification, new energy infrastructure, and the application of AI to transform traditional sectors like manufacturing, energy grids, and logistics.
This strategic focus mirrors a wider trend among venture funds in Central and Eastern Europe. Many have carved out niches as specialists in hard-tech and deep-tech verticals, a contrast to the concentration of Western European capital in software and consumer platforms.
The fund is led by Managing Partners Łukasz Dziekoski, Wojciech Szwankowski, and Michał Gawęda, who previously ran Montis Capital. They have been joined by Michał Baś and have assembled a network of venture partners. This group includes Taavi Rõivas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia; entrepreneur and Harvard Business School graduate Tomasz Misiak; and renewable energy specialist Bart Dujczynski.
“Europe has exceptional technological potential and a deep pool of talent. At Montis VC, we want to help startups unlock that potential globally by supporting projects that have the ambition to transform entire sectors of the economy,” said Wojciech Szwankowski.
The €50 million first close is considered a starting point, with the team actively engaged in discussions with additional investors to scale the fund’s capitalization in the coming months. Montis VC has already begun its investment activities, though no specific portfolio companies were disclosed with this announcement.
The participation of the EIF and PFR Ventures underscores their pivotal role in the Polish and broader CEE venture landscape. PFR Ventures has supported the Montis team since its earlier fund, and the EIF has significantly expanded its presence in the region through programs aligned with the EU’s green transition goals.
“Montis VC is another team from Poland that first built its track record using capital backed by European Union funds and is now successfully attracting private and institutional investors for its next fund,” noted Bartłomiej Samsonowicz, Investment Director at PFR Ventures. “Stories like this help move the Polish venture ecosystem to the next level.”
(Source: The Next Web)