It was a milestone year for the wider Greek startup ecosystem in 2021. The data processed by Marathon VC confirm other research and show that last year investments in startup companies of Greek interests broke every record, reaching $ 4.5 billion from $ 1.3 billion in 2020.
However, apart from the amount of capital, which was the largest ever, 2021 was the year that many companies with Greek founders entered the radar of important venture capital funds and other institutional investors abroad.
Among the investors who participated in financing rounds that made startups with “Greek DNA” are big names in the investment world, such as General Catalyst, CVC Capital Partners, Softbank, GGV Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and others.
According to the study of Marathon VC, the investment activity of 2021 was led mainly by foreign funds, which led to 150 investments, ie 86% of the total investment rounds. The rounds led by angel investors increased from 9 to 13. Conversely, the number of investments led by Greek funds decreased from 27 to 12, at 56% compared to 2020 and 75% compared to the maximum observed in 2019.
2021 proved to be the most productive year to date in terms of acquisitions and public registrations in stock exchanges of Greek founders. Marathon VC recorded 24 acquisitions and 3 public subscriptions announced during 2021, a number increased by 93% compared to the previous year and 35% compared to the previous record of 2019.
Abroad most funds
The study of Marathon VC examines all startups with Greek founders regardless of where they are. For another year, most of the funding went to companies not present in Greece, which raised investments of $ 3.5 billion.
Funding for startups with a presence in Greece amounted to 972 million dollars, increasing by 124% compared to the previous year and by 289% compared to 2019.
Among investments in companies employing employees in Greece, the number of Seed level investments remained almost constant at 34, while the number of Series A investments decreased by 20% from 18 to 15 financing. Growth investments increased by 167%, from 6 to 16. It is also worth mentioning the fact that the number of Seed investments accounted for 52% of the total for the year 2021, compared to 59% for 2020 and 84% for 2019. Before 2020, the majority of local activity was Seed Rounds, while today the activity is more extensive at all stages.
Source From: Capital
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