Jet Investment Research
Investment Thesis
Jet Investment is a Central European alternative investment group founded in Brno in 1997 by Igor Fait alongside partners Lubor Turza and Libor Šparlinek. The firm operates three distinct strategies under one roof: Private Equity (industrial company buyouts and turnarounds), Real Estate, and, since 2023, Venture Capital through its Jet Ventures arm. Across all three, the firm's stated identity is unlocking the potential of Central Europe's industrial heartland — sourcing overlooked value in industrial businesses and, for venture, backing the technology startups that can modernize that same industrial base. The firm emphasizes a long-term, intergenerational relationship with its investors (repeat LPs since 1997), disciplined risk-taking with its own capital invested alongside LPs, and a partnership model that connects investors, industrial operators, and technical founders.
Sector Focus (Venture Capital)
Jet Ventures, the VC arm, backs high-growth B2B and industrial-tech startups. Its live Jet Venture 1 portfolio skews toward:
- AI-driven software for industrial and manufacturing workflows (build/CI intelligence, factory production planning, industrial procurement optimization)
- Industrial deep-tech and quality inspection (3D optical metrology for manufacturing lines)
- Additive manufacturing / 3D printing of metal components
- Enterprise SaaS and workflow automation (no-code decision automation, contract lifecycle management, data integration/iPaaS)
- RegTech (customs process automation)
- Automotive aftermarket logistics platforms
The firm explicitly positions its VC bets as extensions of its 30-year industrial thesis: technology that helps European industry become more competitive.
Stage Focus
Jet Ventures targets late-seed to Series A investments in B2B and industrial-tech startups based in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, and neighboring Central European markets, though its live portfolio also includes deals in Germany, Sweden, and the US. Jet Venture 1, the fund currently open to investment (launched 2024), targets a €50M fund size, a 16-20 project count, and a 20% p.a. target return.
Check Size
Disclosed venture checks range from roughly $750K (Hermetiq) to €2.1M (GigaScan, Phantasma Labs), with DecisionRules at €1.5M. Given the fund's €50M target size against a 16-20 project count, typical check size is estimated at $750K-$3M.
Lead Tendency
Each disclosed venture investment (Hermetiq, GigaScan, Phantasma Labs, DecisionRules) was announced solely by Jet Investment/Jet Ventures with no co-investors named, suggesting the firm typically leads or is sole investor in its venture deals at this stage.
Recent Activity
Jet Venture 1 is actively deploying. Per the firm's own June 2026 press release, DecisionRules (announced 24 June 2026) was its "seventh investment" through Jet Venture 1. Since then the fund has announced three more: Hermetiq (26 August 2026, $750K, US-based AI build-intelligence startup), GigaScan Technologies (26 August 2026, €2.1M, Swedish industrial deep-tech), and Phantasma Labs (1 September 2026, €2.1M, Berlin-based AI factory-planning startup) — bringing the disclosed portfolio to ten companies. On the private equity side, the firm opened its fourth PE fund, Jet 4, in November 2025 (targeting up to €350M), and on 11 September 2026 expanded its portfolio bakery group Náš Chléb with the acquisition of Ostrava-based PEKAŘI a spol.
Portfolio Highlights (Venture Capital)
Ten disclosed Jet Venture 1 portfolio companies, all currently active (no exits reported yet for the VC book):
- Hermetiq (US) — AI intelligence layer for software builds
- GigaScan Technologies (Sweden) — 3D optical quality inspection for manufacturing
- Phantasma Labs (Germany) — AI-driven factory production planning
- DecisionRules (Czechia) — no-code decision automation platform, live in 6 continents
- Boost.space (Czechia) — data integration platform (iPaaS), 15,000+ customers including Seznam and Škoda Auto
- Headmade Materials (Germany) — patented Cold Metal Fusion additive manufacturing for metal parts
- International Automotive Group (Central Europe) — automotive aftermarket tech-logistics platform
- Cequence (Slovakia) — AI-driven contract lifecycle management SaaS, customers include Notino, Dell, VÚB
- Partory (Czechia) — AI/ML-driven industrial procurement and manufacturing optimization
- Digicust — RegTech platform automating customs declarations
Team
- Igor Fait, Managing Partner — co-founded Jet Investment in 1997; sits on investment committees of all Jet funds and boards of portfolio companies
- Marek Malík, Managing Partner (managing partner since 2025) — joined 2010; prior experience at Bank Austria Creditanstalt and Deutsche Bank (Prague, London)
- Lubor Turza, Partner — co-founder; investment strategy and investment committee member across all Jet funds
- Libor Šparlinek, Partner — co-founder; focuses on fundraising and investor relations
- Kamil Levinský, Managing Director, Venture Investments — leads Jet Ventures' investment strategy; 25+ years in finance, sales, and startup investing; former CEO of České radiokomunikace
- Silvia Carella, Senior Associate, Jet Ventures — sourcing, due diligence, and ecosystem relationships; previously at an Italian venture-debt fintech
- Harshit Jain, Analyst, Jet Ventures — early-stage startup sourcing and evaluation; previously Visiting Analyst at Henkel dx Ventures
- Yevgen Melekhov, Portfolio Finance & Operations Principal — supports portfolio founders on financial management and fundraising prep; previously 9 years at EY Corporate Finance & Restructuring
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through fund-level investment committees, standard practice across all three Jet strategies (PE, Real Estate, VC), with the Managing Partners and strategy heads (e.g., Kamil Levinský for venture) as core voting members.
Founder Preferences
Jet Ventures backs technical, industrial-minded founders building B2B software or deep-tech for manufacturing, logistics, and enterprise workflows — companies that plug into or modernize the industrial value chain Jet Investment has operated in for three decades, rather than pure consumer plays.
Geographic Focus
Primary focus is Central and Eastern Europe (Czechia, Slovakia, Poland), described by the firm as "the industrial heartland of Europe," with selective venture investments extending into Germany, Sweden, and the US. The firm has offices in Brno, Prague, and Warsaw.