Excellent news for the Greek innovation ecosystem, as Big Pi Ventures, a venture capital company founded in 2018, announced its second fund, the Big Pi II, worth 50 million euros. The investment target of the new fund, like the first, is on Startups with “deep tech” products and strong intellectual property.
Big Pi II will invest in the seed stage, with amounts ranging from 1 to 3 million euros. The portfolio companies will have research and development teams in Greece and will target the global market.
Big Pi’s first fund is already a success, with companies such as TileDB, Intelligencia and Orfium showing significant growth. In total, nine portfolio companies have already received funding from investors such as Intel, Lockheed Martin and the University of Oxford, while one company has been sold to a large multinational group.
In Big Pi II, the main investor is the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” through the “InnovateNow” program. There are also 25 private investors, including banks, industry executives and founders of innovative businesses.
During the signing of the agreement, between HDB and Big Pi Ventures, the following were present: Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis, Deputy Minister of Finance, Yannis Tsakiris, Deputy Minister of Development and Investments and Nikos Mantzoufas, Governor of the Special Coordination Service of the Recovery Fund. From HDBI, Dr. Haris Lambropoulos, President and Antigoni Lyberopoulou, CEO of Big Pi Ventures, Partners Markos Veremis, Aristos Doxiadis & Alexandros Eleftheriadis as well as Operating Partner George Saliaris-Fasseas.
“The National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” supports initiatives to strengthen the country’s startups. The Hellenic Development Bank, taking over the management of resources of the Recovery and Resilience Fund (loan window), totaling 500 million euros, “runs” two innovative, financial tools. Those are: InnovateNow (100 million euros) and Q-Equity (400 million euros), which we estimate will leverage more than 2 billion euros in capital in the Greek economy. From the response of venture capital companies, it seems that our venture is already bearing fruit.”, stated the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis.
“We are very happy to see the creation of the first fund through the “InnovateNow” program and the contribution of the Recovery Fund. HDB has already laid the foundations for further smart financing of innovative technology startups through equity programs and continues to listen to the needs of the ecosystem. However, we must highlight the improvement and the leaps that have been made in the business technological environment and in the ecosystem of venture capital investments in recent years. Now, we have managed to create the right conditions for the repatriation of highly trained human resources that left the country during the economic crisis, with the results of brain gain already visible in our country, as well as the significant added value in innovative startups.”, noted the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments, Mr. Yiannis Tsakiris.
“With this agreement, the Recovery Fund begins the creation of the first fund to finance innovative technology startups through equity. Greece already has a very dynamic startup ecosystem and we are focusing our efforts so that the Recovery Fund can contribute greatly to its further development, creating a channel for financing ideas, talent and innovation.”, stressed the Governor of the Special Coordination Service of the Recovery Fund, Mr. Nikos Mantzoufas.
“HDBI is the Equity Platform of the Fund – National Plan “Greece 2.0”. The signing of the contract for the Big Pi II is very pleased, as it is the first to utilize the development resources of the Fund from the “InnovateNow” program with an equal amount of private capital participation. At the same time, it highlights that the relevant investment programs we designed and implement, address the real needs of the venture capital market with complementarity and efficiency, to enhance innovation and highlight Greek talent, aiming at resilient and sustainable growth.”, said the President of HDB Dr. Haris Lambropoulos.
“I would like to express our appreciation and thanks to the investors who trusted our vision and mission. The launch of the Big Pi II is an important moment for us. We continue to support the Greek innovation ecosystem to grow and bring the next generation of Greek technology companies to the global stage.”, stated Mr. Markos Veremis, Partner at Big Pi Ventures.