Vitosha Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Vitosha Ventures backs "founders building from Bulgaria to the World." The firm's core belief is that the next wave of category-defining technology companies will be built from Southeast Europe, with many originating in Bulgaria, and that resourceful founding teams from the region can build products for international markets from day one rather than adapting later. Vitosha is industry-agnostic but tilts toward B2B solutions in AI enablement, automation, commerce, defense, energy sustainability, and financial technologies. The firm frames itself as backing people over products: team conviction is described as "non-negotiable."
Stage Focus
Vitosha invests at pre-seed, seed, and (with Fund II) Series A. The firm positions itself as an early, often first-institutional-check investor for companies based in or operating through Bulgaria.
Check Size
First checks typically range from €100,000 to €1,000,000, consistent across both funds raised to date.
Lead Tendency
Both funds are structured under Bulgaria's Fund Manager of Financial Instruments (FMFIB) using EU Structural and Investment Funds / Entrepreneurship Early Stage Fund instruments, a structure that in most EU fund-of-funds programs requires matching private co-investment. Combined with the firm's description of staying "committed through every stage" alongside other investors, Vitosha appears to both lead and co-invest depending on the round; this is not confirmed with high confidence from public sources.
Recent Activity
Vitosha Ventures has been building a two-fund track record since 2020:
- Fund I: €26M under management, 107 early-stage startups invested since 2020.
- Fund II: Closed May 2026 at €34M (primary backer: Bulgaria's Fund of Funds, with a €30M commitment), targeting roughly 80 Bulgarian startups through 2030.
- July 2026: Announced the first 10 investments from Fund II — Spicy SE, SORN.AI, SeAI, Builderly, ID Robots, Truckspedia, Smart Farm Robotix, DreamColor, Citadel Robotics, and ESTEL — spanning AI, robotics, maritime technology, logistics, agriculture, consumer technology, recruitment, and systems engineering. The same announcement introduced Rob Kniaz (co-founder of Hoxton Ventures) as a new General Partner.
- Since 2020 the firm has reviewed 3,000+ projects and invested in 117 startups total.
Combined AUM across both funds is approximately €60M.
Portfolio Highlights
Vitosha's portfolio spans more than 70 companies across sectors including e-commerce (Swipe.bg, CloudCart, Krik.bg, Petmall, Monoyer), fintech (Nula.bg, FINQUP), travel/hospitality (Quendoo — a leading Bulgarian hotel booking-engine and channel-manager platform, the firm's most prominently featured portfolio company), robotics and automation (ECEON, Smart Farm Robotix, Citadel Robotics, ID Robots), aerospace/defense (D Aerospace, Assen Aero — both VTOL), clean energy (TokWise, AIoT Cloud, Pellet Box, Green Ray, Voltrax, Econic One), cybersecurity (Kikimora), HR tech (RE:BENEFIT, TeamSchedule, Pleggi), and healthtech (Medrax, TOM, Relaxify, Bye Bye Stuttering).
Team
- Stoyan Nedin — Managing Partner. Founded Nexpur (140+ products for Samsung, Nestlé, Rocket Internet) and the Fanstream video platform; previously partner at Teres Capital leading early-stage investments.
- Max Gurvits — Managing Partner. Co-founded and exited Regeldit.nl (Netherlands' first online legal services platform); joined the Eleven Venture Accelerator in Sofia in 2011; founded TRACTION Camp, EIR Europe, and Summit Summit.
- Marin Iliev — Managing Partner. Two decades investing across asset classes; former CEO of a regional home-goods company; previously at Scudder and Deutsche Asset Management; co-founded NEVEQ (the first Southeast Europe tech VC fund, 2007) and Teres Ventures (2012).
- Rob Kniaz — General Partner (joined July 2026). Co-founder of Hoxton Ventures and H-Tree Capital (an ML/life-sciences seed fund); former Google AdSense product lead and Intel employee; sits on boards including Preply and FabricNano.
- Antoniy Zahariev — Investment Manager. Leads investment analysis and portfolio management; previously interned at Societe Generale and Raiffeisenbank.
- Dobri Dobrev — Venture Partner. CTO and co-founder of Trackerbot (acquired 2023); five years at Yahoo as a senior PM on the Gemini Ads marketplace.
Decision Process
Vitosha operates as a multi-partner team (four Managing/General Partners plus an Investment Manager and Venture Partner). The firm states most founders receive a decision within two weeks of an initial meeting, and applications are accepted directly via a public Typeform.
Founder Preferences
The firm looks for three things: execution-driven founding teams with shipping experience and self-awareness about gaps; scalable products with real market demand (paying customers or a credible path to revenue within 12 months); and a global-from-day-one orientation, with enterprise customers in Western Europe or design partners in the US rather than products adapted for international markets later.
Geographic Focus
Companies based in or operating through Bulgaria, building for international markets from inception. The firm explicitly frames its bet as Southeast Europe's startup ecosystem, with Bulgaria as the operational base.