Day One Capital announces its new fund focusing on Pre-Seed and Seed stage CEE companies.
The new fund is already up and running with €45 million second close ahead of its final closing in early 2026.
“The real question is what comes next, and the answer is clear. The future of the CEE region belongs to those who rethink the rules, push past the familiar, and channel their talent, determination, and a little mischief into bold ambition. We see early-stage investing as part matchmaking, part long-term relationship. It’s about finding chemistry with founders and joining them on some of the most exciting journeys of the next generation.” - Csaba Kákosy
Day One Capital was founded in 2012 in Budapest with a small €4 million fund focused on early-stage CEE companies. Despite its modest size and a focused portfolio of just nine investments, the fund achieved a remarkable hit rate. With a strategy centered on mobility and frontier technologies, Day One backed companies that have since become scaleups, such as Oradian and Commsignia, and delivered successful exits with NowTechnologies (acquired by Sunrise Medical). Most notably, the fund was the first institutional investor in the first financing round of AImotive, later acquired by Stellantis, which remains Hungary’s most significant startup acquisition to date and a home-run outcome for the fund.
Day One Capital’s next vintage launched in late 2018 with €34 million, expanding the firm’s early-stage footprint across the CEE region. The portfolio included 20 companies, with four already valued at over $100 million and three more expected to join them in the coming months.
The portfolio is performing strongly overall, with teams raising Series A and B rounds from leading global investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lakestar, Dawn Capital, Molten Ventures, Partech, and Hoxton Ventures. The fund has also achieved three successful exits to date: Tresorit (acquired by SwissPost), Webshippy (acquired by Taxually), and Gamee (acquired by Animoca Brands, a $5.9B unicorn preparing for an IPO, in which Day One remains a shareholder).
Day One Capital’s new fund builds on the firm’s proven investment strategy, backing exceptional tech founders across the region at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages. Leveraging the extended network and experience gained from its previous funds, the new vehicle will focus on early stage teams building breakthrough, value-creating technologies originating from or operating within the CEE region, helping them scale into global market leaders.
“Our job is to find talent extremely early, like we did with Nikola and Stefan from Heyreach, or Dominik from Colossyan. Sometimes we discover these founders in overlooked places, like Orqa in Osijek, or Whalebone in Brno.
As the CEE venture ecosystem reaches a new level of maturity, established local funds have become key partners and important signals for global investors. Western European and US-based funds started to recognize the region’s potential, and they now enter as early as the Pre-Seed stage. Yet regional investors remain essential: with boots on the ground, we can be more hands-on, informed, and deeply engaged than our Western counterparts.” - György Simó
Nothing illustrates this dynamic better than the fact that the new fund’s first two deals were co-led by investors based in the UK and the Netherlands, while the two soon-to-be-announced deals are being co-led by funds from Germany.
The new fund is already up and running with €45 million second close ahead of its final closing in early 2026. Since its founding, Day One Capital has been led by Csaba Kákosy and György Simó, who continue to guide the firm’s strategy and investment approach. The fund aims to build a concentrated portfolio of around 20 companies across Central and Eastern Europe, making initial investments of €500,000 to €2.5 million and actively leading or co-leading rounds. Day One expects to complete three to four new investments by the end of the year and maintain a steady pace of five to six deals annually.
