Luxembourg-based Bek Ventures, formerly known as Earlybird Digital East Fund, said its latest fund of $250 million to invest in early-stage technology startups was three times oversubscribed.
Bek Ventures focuses on European founders — particularly those from Central and Eastern Europe. The firm has operations in Istanbul, Luxembourg, London and New York.
“Tying the launch of our latest fund to our new brand was an opportunity to double down on what makes us Bek, our dedication to finding the next generation of exceptional founders at early stages,” said Bek.
“The confidence our LP network has in our approach was demonstrated in checks, with our latest fund receiving interest for more than three times what we set out to raise.
“The backing of this diverse LP network drawn from global international financial institutions, insurance companies, funds of funds, corporate investors, family offices and established entrepreneurs is a signal of the trust they put in us to find the opportunities no one else can.
“We have a global mix of LPs in the new fund, with 60% Europe based and 20% each respectively from the US and Asia.”
Bek said it has already backed five companies in the new fund, two of which are undisclosed. The others are:
- Zeta Labs, where a team of Meta-trained developers “are revolutionizing the way we interact with AI. Their groundbreaking product, Jace, is an autonomous generative AI assistant capable of performing complex browser-based tasks.”
- Proofs, which is using AI “to tackle the slow and expensive process of building proof-of-concept apps for API-based products. Their AI models can reduce the time and cost of creating these apps by up to 10x, allowing companies to serve more prospects and potentially increase their conversion rates.”
- Grand Games, a mobile gaming company “redefining genres with high-quality, immersive experiences.”
Bek said: “As we search for the most exciting early stage founders, as with our prior funds, we will have our eyes set on founders from Dynamic Europe, and the companies using this as a launchpad to build global from Day 1 and take on the world’s largest competitors and markets.
“For us, this term captures the geographic region, Central and Eastern Europe where many of our founders have their roots and the mindset of these founders.
“They are hardworking, technically talented, and ambitious with global scale a non-negotiable imperative. The international ambition can be seen in the fact that more than 50% of our portfolio companies are building from the US.
“For them, building a business is not a lifestyle — they are not afraid of the fact that startup culture presents unique and often isolating challenges.”