Turning Any Smartphone Into a Payment Terminal, Czech Fintech Tapaya Has Raised EUR 1 Million
Prague-based fintech startup Tapaya has raised €1 million, nearly CZK 25 million, in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Czech VC fund DEPO Ventures and the UK’s Passion Capital, with Latvia’s BADideas.fund also joining the investment. The new capital will help Tapaya complete its formal certifications and further develop its proprietary infrastructure, which enables banks, fintechs and other software platforms to easily embed payment acceptance directly into their apps.
WanderWallet Raises EUR 430K to Make It Easier for Tourists to Pay Without a Local Bank Account
WanderWallet, a travel-first wallet that lets foreigners pay like locals across Latin America, has announced a EUR 430K pre-seed round from BDPartners and DEPO Ventures. The service is already live in Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia, where instant payments have effectively replaced cards as the primary way people pay. In Brazil alone, Pix now processes more transactions than Visa, Mastercard, and all other payment methods combined. For millions of international visitors, however, these local systems often remain out of reach due to practical barriers.
Webout is Redefining Video Personalization with AI and Expanding Globally with Support from DEPO
Creating personalized video content without the need for large-scale production or technical expertise—Webout, a Czech-based startup, is redefining video creation by enabling businesses to tailor content in real-time for each viewer. The startup has secured €100,000 in funding from investment group DEPO Ventures, with additional backing from angel investors Miroslav Michalko, Radek Alenka, and Vladan Hejnic, who formed the Venture Buddies syndicate and contributed €240,000. This brings Webout’s total funding round to €340,000, which will be used to scale its product and expand into international markets.
Business Proposals in Minutes, Not Hours: DEPO Ventures and StartupYard Invest in Ydoca
Automating responses to inquiry forms and generating business proposals—this is what the integrated AI platform developed by the startup Ydoca brings to the market. Their technology seamlessly integrates into every step of the process, leveraging generative AI to boost efficiency by up to 70%. As part of its pre-seed investment round, the startup secured a total of CZK 2.3 million in funding, with DEPO Ventures contributing CZK 1.8 million and StartupYard investing CZK 500,000.
NEW Investment: BlueQubit raises $10M to take Quantum software into real-world applications
Integrating quantum computing into real-world computer applications is an ongoing problem, as the platforms are architected fundamentally differently. BlueQubit, a San Francisco-based quantum software startup founded by Stanford alumni, thinks it might have the answer.
Former Czech unicorn team founds AI-powered recruitment startup Finlay
DEPO Ventures announces its investment in Finlay, an AI-powered recruitment startup co-founded by ex-Mews COO, Scott Moran. The €300,000 pre-seed round, led by J&T Ventures alongside DEPO Ventures, aims to redefine how companies source talent across Europe and beyond. With deep expertise from the founding team – including leaders and recruiters from Mews, IBM, Rossum, and Cyrkl – Finlay is set to reshape the recruitment industry.
TelcoBrain Technologies Inc. Announces Convertible Note Funding Round Led by DEPO Ventures
TelcoBrain Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce the successful completion of a convertible note funding round led by DEPO Ventures. This strategic investment marks a significant milestone in TelcoBrain’s mission to revolutionize network evolution and infrastructure management. The funding underscores the confidence in TelcoBrain’s innovative approach to optimizing network and cloud resources based on techno-economic principles.
Cardino's Revolutionary Used EV Sales Model Sparks Investor Excitement with €4 Million Seed Round
Cardino, a pioneer in the used electric vehicle (EV) market, recently announced a triumphant €4 million seed funding round spearheaded by Point Nine. The funding round was supported by an array of distinguished angel investors and notable figures, including key investors from platforms like Rosberg Ventures, Vinted.com, Bolt, HomeToGo, Dance and HeyJobs.
DEPO Ventures and StartupYard Double Down on Early Stage DeepTech Founders
Introducing a new co-investment initiative between StartupYard and DEPO Ventures, introducing the TechBoost Syndicate. This partnership aims to provide swift and efficient funding to early-stage DeepTech startups, helping them progress from the Proof of Concept (POC) phase to becoming investment-ready.
European startups got less money this year,but the sentiment is improving. Target: AI & climate tech
Petr Šíma: Forget about the United States, Europe has already overtaken it in the number of new startups. Moreover, it is the only region where the volume of capital invested in startups this year will be higher than in 2020, by 18 percent. Let's leave aside 2021 and early 2022, when startup valuations skyrocketed and investors bought whatever they could. That was an anomaly. This year, $45 billion will flow into European startups, according to a fresh analysis by Atomico. This is the third highest figure after the two years mentioned above and confirms that the ecosystem is on a strong footing.