Launchub Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
LAUNCHub Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012, backing tech-first founders from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) — wherever in the world they are building. The firm brands itself as "the first lead check in the most ambitious CEE start-ups." After twelve years and roughly 100 companies backed across marketplaces, fintech, health, and hardware, the firm has narrowed its current conviction to enterprise software moving from SaaS to AI, deep tech, robotics, and industrial tech — the sectors where the team believes the region's technical talent runs deepest and the path to global scale is clearest. The partners are themselves ex-founders and operators from the region, and the firm markets itself as a "decision-maker-only fund" that stays with a company from the first check through every subsequent round.
Stage Focus
LAUNCHub leads pre-seed and seed rounds. The firm explicitly positions itself as the first institutional lead investor for CEE technical founders, rather than a follow-on or growth investor.
Check Size
First checks range from €300K to €3M, with the ability to lead rounds up to roughly €4M according to secondary sources, and continued follow-on support as portfolio companies raise subsequent rounds. The firm is currently investing out of Fund III, which closed at approximately €74M (following a first close of €44M against a €70M target announced in 2021).
Lead Tendency
LAUNCHub leads. The homepage headline is built entirely around being "the first lead check," and the firm's own messaging repeatedly emphasizes leading pre-seed and seed rounds rather than participating as a follower.
Recent Activity
The firm remains actively deploying. Its most notable recent event is the exit of portfolio company SplxAI (SPLX), an AI security platform for enterprise AI agents and applications, which was acquired by Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) in early November 2025 — less than nine months after LAUNCHub's investment. The firm has also continued publishing field notes on portfolio progress, including a May 2026 piece on Giraffe360's growth into a global robotics company and ongoing coverage of Veridion, an AI-powered business-data infrastructure company that raised a $20M Series A led by Hoxton Ventures in September 2026 (existing investors on the cap table include Underline Ventures, OTB Ventures, Gapminder, and Day One Capital).
Portfolio Highlights
LAUNCHub has backed roughly 100 companies with over €500M raised in follow-on capital across the portfolio and a 75% follow-on rate. Notable current and past portfolio companies include AMPECO (EV charging management software, powering 230k+ charge points, raised $43M), Ferryhopper (Europe's largest ferry booking platform, 330+ operators, 10M+ travelers), Giraffe360 (LiDAR camera + AI software for real estate media, used by RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and CBRE, raised €28M from Founders Fund and Hoxton Ventures), Veridion (business data infrastructure tracking 134M+ companies), Lace (AI-powered call-center revenue automation for home services, raised €18.4M/$19M), Quantive (strategy execution platform, formerly Gtmhub), Kriptomat (cryptocurrency marketplace), Ambire (self-custodial crypto wallet), and GlycanAge (biological age and preventive-health testing). The clearest confirmed exit is SplxAI's acquisition by Zscaler.
Team
LAUNCHub is run by a team based across Sofia, Zagreb, and Cluj, led by General Partners Petar Tsachev, Raya Yunakova, Stanislav Sirakov, and Rumen Iliev, alongside Partner/COO Irina Dimitrova, Founding Partners Todor Breshkov and Lyuben Belov, Venture Partner Stephane Gantchev, and Associate Partner Vedran Blagus, supported by an investment, finance, operations, and marketing team.
Decision Process
Multiple General Partners suggest a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP structure; the firm describes itself as "decision-maker-only," implying partners who meet founders are the ones deciding.
Founder Preferences
The firm favors technical, tech-first founders building in or connected to the CEE region, across enterprise software/AI, deep tech, robotics, and industrial tech, though its historical portfolio spans a much broader generalist mix including fintech, healthtech, and marketplaces.
Geographic Focus
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania, plus the CEE diaspora building companies anywhere in the world. LAUNCHub publishes field notes positioning CEE as "Europe's next tech powerhouse."