KAYA, one of the most experienced investment funds in Central and Eastern Europe, has raised nearly €70 million to support the next generation of successful companies – and Slovenia is at the center of their focus.
“In the region – including here in Slovenia – we’re seeing a new wave of talented entrepreneurs,” says Tomas Obrtač, one of the fund’s partners. The new fund is expected to help up to 25 early-stage startups break through globally – from the pre-seed stage to Series A investments.

 

KAYA has so far most frequently supported Czech, Polish, and Slovak startups, but as part of its fifth fund, it will expand its activity in Central and Eastern Europe as one of the oldest and most successful venture capital funds in the region. The fund is known for supporting fast-growing companies such as Rohlik (online grocery store) and Docplanner (healthcare booking platform). With the new fund, they are also turning their attention to Slovenia and other young companies in the region. The fund intends to support up to 25 promising early-stage companies and help them grow in international markets.

 

KAYA’s typical initial investment ranges from one to three million euros. For high-potential companies, they have capital reserved for follow-on investment rounds, and together with co-investors, they can invest up to 20 million euros in a single company.

“The last decade has shown that Central and Eastern Europe has an increasing number of technological talents who have contributed to many global successes – and KAYA has been involved in many of them over the past nearly fifteen years. We are looking for founders with big dreams and the courage to grow globally. We want to be their first partners and long-term supporters: we come in early and stay until the company grows into a global success story,” says Tomas Obrtač, one of the fund’s four equal partners, adding: “Slovenia has the talent and ambition for the global market – and that’s exactly what we’re looking for.”

Slovenia: a country with potential

At KAYA, they believe Slovenia has everything it takes to create globally successful companies – from quality universities and engineering expertise to a growing interest in entrepreneurship and innovation.

“Across the CEE region today, we’re seeing founders who no longer think only locally. In Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Bulgaria, we’re finding strong technical teams with the ambition to build global products. That’s why in our fourth fund we already expanded investments beyond the Czech Republic and Poland, and we’re continuing that in the fifth fund. We believe the most exciting stories in the region are still ahead,” adds Obrtač.

Support goes beyond financing

KAYA is known not only for its financial investments but also for its active support in company growth. The fund connects entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, many of whom have founded global companies themselves. These include Michal Valko, collaborator of Mark Zuckerberg on Llama 3, Martin Schmid, founder of EquiLibre Technologies, Juraj Masar and Veronika Kolejak of Better Stack, Juraj Jurovych of Deepnote, and Tomas Cupr, founder of Rohlik.

 

They also help in securing additional capital from reputable international funds such as Goldman Sachs, Index Ventures, European fund Creandum, and global EQT. With over 45 active companies in its portfolio and a total investment value of €350 million, KAYA is one of the key players shaping the future of business in the region.
 

Unicorns and a promising portfolio

KAYA has two unicorns in its portfolio – startups valued at over one billion dollars: Czech-based Rohlik and Polish-based Docplanner.
“The lifecycle of a VC fund typically lasts more than a decade, so we already know today that our first three funds are delivering exceptional returns. With the new, fifth fund, we have a good sense of how to structure the fund optimally based on market opportunities while ensuring good returns for investors,” says Tomaš Pačinda, who joined KAYA in 2015.

 

KAYA has never specialized in a specific industry.
“Our goal is to think about the technologies and trends of the future. When we invested in Rohlik, traditional investors hardly took it seriously – we didn’t want that. We consider ourselves ‘generalists’ – a fund not tied to a specific industry. We believe we understand the entrepreneurial mindset of founders from the CEE region and want to support them wherever in the world they are,” says Martin Rajčan, who lives in London and works primarily with entrepreneurs from the region operating abroad.

 

KAYA has also expanded its team. The newest partner, Karel Zheng, is a former startup founder and a member of Generation Z. He brings a modern perspective to the fund.

“We want to stay in touch with the mindset of younger founders – about products, culture, and the future. That helps us spot new trends early and support the right people,” says Zheng.