Romanian TechAngels tripled its investments in 2022, reaching €2.4M
Members of TechAngels, the largest network of private investors looking to support the Romanian tech startup ecosystem, invested €2.4 million in Q1 2022, three times more than the amount invested in Q1 2021.
Despite the unflattering economic situation in Europe, a trend is to be seen throughout Europe – investments in startups increased 33% year-over-year, shares the TechAngels team.
Romanian TechAngels doubled its investments in 2021, spending €8.9M on local startups
“The economic environment at the end of last year, which was marked by inflation and rocketing energy prices, then the crisis in Ukraine, with extensive effects on the economy as well, contributed to uncertainty rising, hence the more cautious stance adopted by some of the investors and even by some of the startups. However, the investment volume was substantial overall, in line with the growth of interest in tech and digitalization solutions in all industries and all facets of life,” says Malin Iulian Stefanescu, President of TechAngels.
In the first months of 2022, TechAngels met with 37 startups. 30% of those startups attended follow-on rounds and approximately 25% of the teams that attended the pitches are negotiating funding.
Almost 55% of the ideas pitched in Q1 2022 were aimed at digitizing everyday life – healthcare, personal care, sports, and leisure management, followed by business solutions (45%) in various areas – from finance, HR, field services, investments, marketing, healthcare services to agriculture. In terms of technical solutions, many projects are SaaS platforms and integrate automation, AI modules, Deep Learning, robotics, and low or no code.
The funding raised for the accelerated international development of Tokinomo stands out among the more special projects in Q1 2022. The $1.7 million pre-series A funding round, in which TechAngels was in the lead, will be used to scale the shelf marketing robotic solution designed by the Tokinomo team.
Romanian startup Tokinomo secures $1.7M for global expansion
The investments made by the TechAngels members are on average €20,000. Around 1/3 of the TechAngels investors chose not to invest during the quarter, with some of these being new to the group.
“I believe that this quarter’s results are an indication of the TechAngels community growing stronger and managing to provide resources, even during the rather uncertain periods, to growing startups that need support, know-how, coaching, and financial resources to take a leap towards the next growth stage, to scale their business and accelerate their potential. This proves the significance of our network and the diversity in our group, our ability to balance different points of view and funding strategies, besides the diverse expertise available in our group,” says Malin Iulian Stefanescu, President of TechAngels.
In 2022, the TechAngels association intends to maintain a constant pace in getting in touch with startup founders and teams, to increase the level of involvement and interaction among the group of investors. The plans are to harness the group’s multiple areas of expertise and to foster the exchange of experience and opinions among its members. There will also be opportunities for investors to learn and update afforded by the membership in and access to the European associations to which TechAngels belongs.
TechAngels is an open group of private investors seeking to support the development of Romanian and regional technology startups. TechAngels’ portfolio so far includes more than 220 startups. With 128 members, the group’s investors are entrepreneurs or experts with multinational companies, with an extensive experience in the Romanian and global markets, in business planning, product development, market approach, sales, marketing, etc. As angel investors, the group’s members provide mentorship and advice to the selected startups.
