PFR Ventures invests in Cogito Capital Partners
Cogito Capital Partners, a Warsaw and NYC-based venture capital firm, has announced the first close of its Cogito Fund II with a target size of €125m in capital commitments.
The new fund, with over €90m of capital available for investment after the first close, enables the firm to continue investing in European later- and early growth-stage enterprise tech businesses, with a particular focus on companies with a Central European footprint. The fund targets investments ranging from EUR 5m up to EUR 15m per company.
Led by Sylwester Janik and Martin Jasinski, co-founders and managing partners, Cogito is a venture capital firm that partners with ambitious entrepreneurs to scale up globally category defining companies. Cogito invests in later- and early growth-stage tech B2B companies with products and services poised for successful expansion into the US and other global markets. The firm focuses on investing in enterprise software, fintech and healthtech sectors, working collaboratively to support and advise entrepreneurs, empowering them to execute their global growth strategies.
Since 2019, Cogito has partnered with portfolio companies such as Applica (successfully exited to Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) in 2022 with 10x return), Finom, HigoSense, Ramp, SkyEngine or Uncapped.
A number of institutional international investors backed the fund, including the European Investment Fund (EIF), the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Polish Development Fund (PFR) and the Kościuszko Foundation, USA, as well as family offices and US and European tech entrepreneurs.
We are grateful to our investors for their support. The successful first close of our next fund reflects the strong performance of Cogito Fund I and our team. We are excited about the unique investment opportunities created by the clear equity gap in funding for scale-ups across European markets and the high-growth potential of the technology sector in Central Europe.
We continue to foster the growth of the Polish venture and growth capital market. We strongly believe in building long term relationships, therefore are thrilled to see the fund managers we invested in a few years ago and supported at the beginning of their GP paths now launching their next funds. I believe that the contribution of Cogito Capital Partners to the Polish ecosystem through their second fund will be just as impactful as it was with the first one.
We are thrilled to be renewing our partnership with Cogito Capital Partners to channel much needed financing to ambitious ICT businesses from the CEE region” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “Tackling the scale-up funding gap is a top priority for the EIF, and we are happy to be taking this step in that direction, supporting European businesses as they look to expand into global markets”.
Anne Fossemalle, Director, Equity Funds at EBRD said: “We are excited to support the further development of the innovation ecosystem in the CEE markets in partnership with Cogito, a leading venture capital firm based in Poland.”
"CEE economies need more dynamic venture ecosystems and equity financing to boost competitiveness and converge with the highest EU standards," said Ary Naïm, World Bank Group Country Manager for Poland and IFC Manager for Central and South Europe. "Together with Cogito, we aim to accelerate digital transformation and build a regional ecosystem that aligns innovation, skills, and financing."