Startups draw $60 mln in May
In just one month Greek-owned startups have raised more than $60 million, taking the sum since the start of the year to over $214 million, according to data gathered by Marathon Venture Capital.
That has been done with the participation of major investors such as the Atomico investment fund, which manages more than $4 billion in funds, but also NATO, which invested in a Greek startup through the NATO Innovation Fund.
The remarkable mobility that has prevailed in the startup market in the last few months was registered after a period of strong shocks, due to high inflation, the rise of borrowing costs and general geopolitical tensions. That resulted in stemming the flow of capital from investors at a time when many technology companies have been cutting back and trying to turn to profitability.
However, the NATO Innovation Fund’s investment in Evangelos Zympeloudis’ iCOMAT startup, whose robotic machines help produce parts from composite materials, making those parts lighter, stood out in the last month. A key investor in this particular investment was also the 8VC investment fund, which manages funds of more than $6 billion.
The company has raised a total of $22.5 million, of which around $5 million will be directed to complete its factory in Bristol in the UK, which is under construction, while with the rest it will strengthen its team in Britain and Greece. Startup Harbor Lab, which has automated port cost management processes for shipping companies, secured $16 million in funding from investment fund Atomico, while Seattle-based company Acumino, with a presence in New Zealand and Greece, raised $6.5 million from Greek and international investors.
Acumino, the brainchild of Minas Liarokapis, has created exoskeletal systems that incorporate robotic arms through which humans transfer their expertise and dexterity to the robot. At the same time, a smaller amount of $3 million was raised by the company Keragon, which aspires to put artificial intelligence into the US healthcare industry.
In general, from the beginning of the year until today, startups with Greek DNA (i.e. headquartered or branched in Greece) have raised $214 million.
