BrightCap Ventures Announces New €60M Fund to Empower Southeastern European Founders
Sofia, Bulgaria-based BrightCap Ventures announced on Tuesday the first close of its new fund, Fund II, targeting €60 million. This significant milestone comes with financial backing from the European Union – NextGenerationEU, the Government of Bulgaria under the Bulgaria Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Government of Romania under the Romania Recovery Equity Fund.

Sofia, Bulgaria-based BrightCap Ventures announced on Tuesday the first close of its new fund, Fund II, targeting €60 million. This significant milestone comes with financial backing from the European Union – NextGenerationEU, the Government of Bulgaria under the Bulgaria Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Government of Romania under the Romania Recovery Equity Fund.
BrightCap II aims to invest in founders from the Rising Southeastern Europe region, which is known for its exceptional tech talent and a growing number of global success stories. Georgi Mitov, Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures, remarked that this new fund is "an exciting new step for us – larger scale fund with a wider scope and even greater ambitions than our first." He emphasized that their philosophy of working with "deeply technical founders with domain expertise and global reach from day one hasn’t changed," highlighting their continued focus on building lasting technology winners in the AI era.
Founded by a diverse team, BrightCap seeks to assist founders from Rising SEE in scaling into Western European and US markets. Fund II is set to invest in unique, globally scalable tech companies from Southeastern Europe, prioritizing three sectors: the Future of Work, Digital Health, and Fintech. Initial investments will range from €0.4 million to €3 million, focusing on pre-seed and seed stages.
Notably, BrightCap II is among the very few venture capital funds with a female majority among its General Partners. The company claims that diversity of experience, ideas, and perspectives is at the core of BrightCap's decision-making process. The fund blends public capital, managed by the EIF, with more than 30 percent private capital from new and existing individual and corporate investors. Fund II is also the first VC fund to attract RRF funds from two countries, Bulgaria and Romania.
Elina Halatcheva, Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures, expressed her enthusiasm, saying, "We are thrilled to continue partnering with incredible entrepreneurs in our region and from the diaspora abroad." She noted that the first few investments from Fund II are already in the closing stages and they are eager to share the details once finalized.
BrightCap's first fund has seen considerable success, with notable investments in companies like LucidLink, Pliant, and Enview. The portfolio boasts 5 successful exits out of 22 investments, and companies have raised over $150 million in follow-on capital.
Diana Stefanova, who joined the team as a full-time partner after 16 years at VMware, concluded, "The tech industry is facing a pivotal moment. With BrightCap II, we have the opportunity to capture the next generation of category-defining companies from our region and nurture them to success." She emphasized her eagerness to bring her tech enterprise experience to support SEE startups in scaling their businesses and reaching global markets.
This new fund by BrightCap Ventures represents a significant boost for Southeastern European entrepreneurs, providing them with the necessary capital and support to transform their innovative ideas into globally recognized success stories. As the region continues to develop its tech ecosystem, BrightCap II is poised to play a crucial role in fostering this growth and driving the next wave of technological advancements.