Startups have already raised $45 mln this year
Startups may have now gone past the worst, say several international investors, predicting that 2024 will be a year of stability, in contrast to 2023, that showed shrinking investment and mass layoffs by technology companies.
Inflation, rising borrowing costs and geopolitical turmoil have adversely affected the sector, with investment globally down 40% in the previous year. Greek startups were not left unscathed by the turmoil in the investment market, as funding for new ideas fell by roughly the same percentage.
So on the front of Greek startups, the start of the new year has appeared quite dynamic and already in the first five weeks of 2024 companies of Greek origin have raised close to $45 million in 14 rounds of funding from 13 international investors.
Data from Greek investment fund Marathon Venture Capital show that of the $45 million, $17 million went to companies at mature stages of growth, while the rest was granted to startups that are either in the “seed” stage, or to those who have taken important steps for their development.
Most money – i.e. $34 million – concerns companies with a presence in Greece, such as Brite Solar, which raised a Series A funding round of 8.6 million euros from Greece’s New Energy Partners as well as other investors. The company is active in the development of nanomaterials for the manufacture of transparent solar collectors for agriculture, and can bring about the zeroing of the carbon footprint.
Another high-profile investment in early 2024 was in Kinvent, a company that develops technology solutions in physiotherapy, with its investors arguing that the company has disrupted the sector. The company raised €16 million from French fund Eurazeo, which in turn acquired a minority stake, while existing investors also participated in the funding round, including the Greek investment fund Uni.fund.
The company was founded in 2017 by the former athlete Athanasios Kollias, it is headquartered in Montpellier and has a production line in Thessaloniki. It is developing a series of connected devices that measure the strength, balance and range of motion of sports professionals through an application for sports performance, rehabilitation and medical industries.
