Investments in startups are growing, but there is a catch. Report from the venture capital market

In the first quarter of 2026, 46 companies obtained PLN 2.1 billion from 47 funds – it was stated in the report summarizing transactions on the Polish venture capital (VC) market prepared by PFR Ventures and Inovo.vc. This amount was significantly influenced by the ElevnLabs financing round worth PLN 1.8 billion.

“In the first quarter of 2026, PLN 2.1 billion flowed through the Polish VC market. This is the total value of capital that Polish and foreign funds invested in 46 transactions in domestic innovative enterprises. After excluding the so-called mega round, the total investment amount was PLN 308 million,” it was written in the report's discussion.

Compared to the first quarter of 2025, the value of invested funds decreased by 32%. In turn, referring to the first quarter of 2024, 80 percent was recorded. growth. In each case, the number of transactions increased – it was added.

The report shows that the market structure in the first quarter of 2026 has clearly shifted towards investments at the seed and preseed stages.

“A total of 35 such transactions were recorded, which constituted nearly 80 percent of all investments. At the same time, no growth transactions were registered, which in the same period last year accounted for approximately one third of the capital employed,” it was written.

In the first quarter, Polish funds made 26 foreign investments with a total value of PLN 235 million.

This is one of the best results in recent years. There is a clear focus on projects in the area of ​​deep tech and defense technologies, which require more capital and advanced know-how, it was written.

The authors of the report indicate that the role of ex-employees of start-ups opening their projects and obtaining financing from venture capital funds is increasing.

“Only in this quarter, we recorded six such transfers, involving a total of 13 people. Booksy stands out in particular – the talent created within this company allowed the launch of three new companies,” it was written.

The overall market picture is still significantly influenced by the so-called mega rounds.

“In 2026, special attention was drawn to the record-breaking financing round of ElevenLabs worth PLN 1.81 billion. The scale of financing for this company is unprecedented in the Polish ecosystem,” it was written.

“In the years 2023–2026, the company obtained a total of PLN 2.9 billion, which constitutes over 45% of all mega-rounds, which also went to Docplanner, Booksy, Brainly and ICEYE,” it added. (PAP Business)

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