VC Montis secures €50 million to support energy and industrial technology startups in Europe.

      The fund based in Warsaw, supported by the European Investment Fund and the Polish Development Fund, aims to make 20 to 25 pre-seed and seed investments in businesses focused on energy transition, industrial automation, and AI.

      The Montis Capital team from Warsaw has secured €50 million in a first close for their new venture, Montis VC, which is aimed at European startups operating at the convergence of energy transition, industrial technology, and artificial intelligence.

      This fund has backing from the European Investment Fund through the REPowerEU program, an EU initiative aimed at boosting energy security and decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, as well as from the Polish Development Fund (PFR), which contributed €10 million, in addition to investments from family offices and private investors across Central and Eastern Europe.

      Since about 2018, Montis Capital has been based in Warsaw, deploying approximately €30 million into nine companies in the sectors of industry, technology, and climate.

      The previous portfolio features Autofixer, an online platform for auto parts; Fresh Inset, a startup in agri-food technology; and Micromobility Port, which has emerged as a leading last-mile logistics provider in the UK.

      The Montis VC fund aims to operate on a larger scale, with initial investment amounts ranging from €0.5 million to €2 million, and plans to reserve half of its capital for follow-on investments in the most promising portfolio companies.

      The fund is set to target 20 to 25 investments at the pre-seed and seed stages, focusing on what the team refers to as the "energy and industrial transition," a wide area that includes electrification, industrial automation, new energy infrastructure, and AI in sectors such as manufacturing, energy grids, and logistics.

      This perspective aligns with a trend among Central and Eastern European venture funds, which have increasingly branded themselves as specialists in hard-tech and deep-tech sectors, as Western European investment tends to concentrate on software and consumer platforms.

      The fund is managed by Partners Łukasz Dziekoski, Wojciech Szwankowski, and Michał Gawęda, all of whom were responsible for the previous Montis Capital fund. They have recently welcomed Michał Baś, who has previously been linked to the pan-European fund Venture Friends, although this affiliation has not been independently confirmed.

      The fund has also established a network of venture partners that includes Taavi Rõivas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016, who played a role in developing the country’s early digital governance infrastructure; Tomasz Misiak, noted as an entrepreneur and Harvard Business School graduate; and Bart Dujczynski, a renewable energy expert with experience in Western European markets.

      “Europe has remarkable technological potential and a rich talent pool. At Montis VC, we aim to assist startups in tapping into that potential globally by supporting initiatives that aspire to revolutionize entire sectors of the economy,” stated Wojciech Szwankowski, Partner at Montis VC.

      The €50 million first close is viewed by the team as a starting point rather than a final total. Dziekoski mentioned that the fund is “already in advanced discussions with additional investors” and intends to continue increasing its capital base in the upcoming months, although no specific target size for the final close has been disclosed. The fund has initiated investments, though no portfolio companies have been revealed with this announcement.

      The involvement of the EIF through REPowerEU and PFR Ventures as primary investors aligns with the roles these institutions play in the Polish and wider CEE venture ecosystem. PFR Ventures has supported Montis Capital since its earlier stage, with a relationship that dates back to the predecessor fund, while the EIF has significantly increased its presence in CEE in recent years through initiatives linked to the EU’s green transition agenda.

      “Montis VC represents another team from Poland that has initially built its track record using capital backed by European Union funds and is now effectively attracting private and institutional investors for its next fund,” commented Bartłomiej Samsonowicz, Investment Director at PFR Ventures.

      “Such narratives advance the Polish venture ecosystem to a higher level.”