Credo Ventures
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded 📆 | 2009 |
| Founder 👔 | Ondřej Bartoš Jan Habermann Tomáš Orlík |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | www |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Credo Ventures is a Czech venture capital firm based in Prague. It invests mainly in early-stage technology companies from Central and Eastern Europe. The firm was established in 2009 and launched its first investment fund in 2010.[1][2]
Credo has invested in companies including UiPath, Productboard and ElevenLabs.[3][4] By 2026, it had raised five investment funds.[5]
History
Credo Ventures was established in Prague in 2009 by Ondřej Bartoš, Jan Habermann and Tomáš Orlík.[6] Bartoš and Habermann had previously worked for the Central European investment company MCI, where they managed its Prague office.[3]
The firm's first fund, Credo Stage 1, began operating in 2010 and eventually raised about €18 million. By March 2012, it had invested €5.5 million across six companies.[7] Among its early investments was Czech cybersecurity company Cognitive Security. Its acquisition by Cisco in 2013 became Credo's first major exit.[2]
Credo subsequently expanded its investments beyond the Czech Republic. Its second fund, Credo Stage 2, reached a final close of €53 million in 2016.[8] During this period, the firm became an early investor in Romanian software company UiPath and invested in Czech-founded Productboard.[3]
Credo invested about $8 million in UiPath over its early funding rounds. When UiPath completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, the company was valued at approximately $29 billion.[9]
The firm's third fund, Credo Stage 3, was raised in 2019. By 2020, Credo had raised about $180 million across its first three funds and was investing across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia.[3]
In 2022, Credo closed its fourth fund at €75 million. The fund focused on investments from pre-seed to Series A and increased the firm's activity in Poland and the wider Central and Eastern European region.[10] In January 2023, Credo led a $2 million pre-seed funding round in the Polish-founded artificial intelligence company ElevenLabs.[4]
Credo announced its fifth fund in March 2026 after raising more than CZK 1.8 billion. The new fund coincided with a leadership transition in which Bartoš and Habermann began stepping back from day-to-day investment decisions in favour of a younger generation of partners.[5][11]
Investment approach
Credo focuses on early-stage technology companies connected with Central and Eastern Europe. A 2018 World Bank study described its investments as spanning seed, venture and Series A stages, with areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning, information technology, cybersecurity and business automation.[1]
The firm's geographic focus broadened as it expanded across the region. By 2020, its portfolio included companies from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia.[3] Its fourth fund placed greater emphasis on pre-seed investing and on companies across the wider CEE region.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stimulating Business Angels in the Czech Republic (PDF) (Report). World Bank Group. October 2018. p. 122. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Janouš, Marek (31 January 2013). "Credo Ventures se podařil první velký exit: Cognitive Security". Lupa.cz (in čeština). Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lemańska, Magdalena (30 April 2020). "Credo Ventures. W pogoni za polskim jednorożcem". Forbes Polska (in polski). Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ElevenLabs Raises $2M and Announces AI Speech Platform". ElevenLabs. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bernáth, Michal (24 March 2026). "Zahajte fázi pět! Credo Ventures mají pátý fond za téměř dvě miliardy, prim bude hrát mládí". Forbes Česko (in čeština). Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Credo Stage 1 announces first closing". Credo Ventures. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Strouhal, Jan (27 March 2012). "Credo Ventures má pro mladé firmy ještě přes 300 milionů. Utrácet je začne brzy". Hospodářské noviny (in čeština). Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ CVCA Private Equity Report: Summary of deal activity in 2015–2016 (PDF) (Report). Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Obrovská trefa. Rumunský zázrak UiPath je na burze, v zádech měl české Credo Ventures". Forbes Česko (in čeština). 22 April 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Wanat, Zosia (10 October 2022). "Czech Credo Ventures raises its fourth fund of €75m and doubles down on Poland". Sifted. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Mareš, Michael (13 April 2026). "Oheň mizí a mladí to zvládnou lépe než my. Ondřej Bartoš o předávání žezla v Credo Ventures". Hospodářské noviny (in čeština). Retrieved 26 September 2026.
External links
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