What's new in the KPT Seed Fund investment portfolio?

The holiday period is a time of dynamic change for portfolio companies of the KPT Seed Fund. Companies are expanding their offers, entering the foreign markets, and they are acquiring new partners and investors. The fund is investing in new businesses.

Currently, the Fund's investment portfolio includes 24 companies - the latest ( in July) forDrivers,  the company that created an app to promote safe driving through gamification. ForDrivers application is based on the beacon technology platform Synerise by HG Intelligence (also a portfolio company FZKPT). The ForDrivers product will hit the market this autumn. Drivers, in exchange for driving safely, will collect points which later can be exchanged for rewards and discounts from partner networks.

Another portfolio investment, Sher.ly,  acquired a new investor. KPD Investment, they have invested a million PLN which will be used to create a distribution network in Europe and the United States. The company developed the application Sher.ly, which is a convenient tool to share files without having to use the cloud. It allows easy sharing of files directly from the device on which the files are stored. The startup has also developed a device Sherlybox designed for the Sher.ly apps and for users who need constant access to shared files. In the summer, the first Sherlyboxes was delivered to Kickstarter backers , and those who pre-ordered.

- We are very pleased that many of our companies have developed so well. We try to advise founders in making decisions daily. We support them, help them seek out customers as well as investors who could acquire the  developed technologies of the incubated companies or invest in further development - says Marcin Bielówka, President FZKPT.

Recently, another company concluded negotiations with a more investment from VCs..

- We can not give details yet , but if these transactions are finalized, it will mean that half of our companies have already found another investor or buyer. For us as a "seed capital" fund supported by the EU, this is the main indicator of achievement of the objectives of our business. We invest in projects at a very early stage and by using our resources and professional support, the companies have reached a level of development that is attractive for commercial investors - adds Marcin Bielówka.

Another company FZKPT - Kangur Electronics, which manufactures inkjet printers for marking goods, has recently developed a technology for printing in multiple colors. This gives you the ability to print color logos, pictograms, signage or warning on objects. The newly developed Kangur Electronic ink is also available in white cured with UV light. Prints made with this technology are more durable and do not emit volatile organic compounds, which is more environmentally friendly.

WeGirls has found a partner in online bookshop Legimi. The company has skilfully combined virtual and the real world creating a complex world for girls who wants to improve their personal development, aided by computer games and eBooks. Legimi online store will the exclusive seller e-books of WeGirls.

Indie Designers  had a successfu campaign on Kickstarter and raised money for their new album recorded by the instrument, designed by Leonardo DaVinci. This was created by Polish viola organist, Slawomir Zubrzycki.

Husarion, a  FZKPT portfolio company who invented the "robotic heart", won second place at an important startup event "TechCrunch Let's Meet In Krakow". The company is also ready with a production version of RoboCORE and soon will launch the first major series - including for the Kickstarter campaign .

The Poznan company, Coolomat has installed their first machine (COOLOMAT), a automat with refrigerators where you can collect food from “electronic mail boxes” adapted to store products in temperature down to -20 degrees C. Closely monitor the development of this idea, because this will change the face of e-commerce for food.

We are also very proud of another of our portfolio company, Dr. Omnibus  which uses new technologies used in the diagnosis and treatment of children with developmental disorders and behavior. The company, whose founder is Bogumiła Matuszewska received a grant of 2.33 million PLN from NCBiR for product development.

- With this amount, we want to create a product that supports therapy and special education of children with behavioral disorders and the development of school children over the next two years. We want to use our first tool - games for tablets developing the skills of the child, including a tracking system for the child's progress and planner for therapists - says Bogumil Matuszewska, CEO of Dr.Omnibus.

Krakow Technology Park Seed Fund invests in projects that have a significant chance of commercial success. Its main task is to increase the value of investments and maximize return on investments made. This is done by finding customers who will benefit from the companies’ products and technologies or finding investors who will co-finance their further development.

RoboCORE - a project of the startup Husarion wants to revolutionize the consumer robotics industry

Husarion, a Krakow seed fund KPT investment, successfully gets funded with over $58,000 from 311 backers by the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, for its flagship product RoboCORE. During the first week alone, the project collected almost $19,000.

Advanced robotics are usually associated with  and costly projects, which are implemented by large enterprises technological or military laboratories. The RoboCORE project can completely change people’s

perception of this field while making consumer robotics more user-friendly, cheaper, and available to a wide audience interested in technologies.

In the heart of a robot is RoboCORE, a device equipped with a special intuitive software that allows you to build a basic robot. No smartphone or tablet is necessary. It is compatible with LEGO MindStorms and allows you to control multiple servos and sensors. You can also stream audio and video through it. This product is really interesting because it allows for quick prototyping rather than having to deal with Adruino boards, shields, and relays.

The founders of the Husarion is confident that the consumer robotics market has high prospects for growth, and therefore want to raise another round of funding in order to improve their product.

Meet us during the Speed ​​Networking session at Digital Dragons 2015

ON 21 and 22 of May, Kraków Technology Park invites you to Kazimierz to the Old Depot and Museum of Urban Engineering for Digital Dragons 2015. It is the most important event in Central and Eastern Europe for the B2B and the gaming industry. In the VIP area on the second day of the conference (May 22), a VC Speed ​​Networking will be held. It will be attended by Kraków Technology Park Seed Fund.

- We invest in innovative projects at an early stage of development - says Marcin Bielówka, president Seed Fund Krakow Technology Park. - Although our strategy does not fall directly in the investment of the creation of games, events like Digital Dragons, which brings together people full vision and good ideas is an extraordinary opportunity to find innovative projects in the development of technologies and tools for the gaming industry or its derivative industry. There could be a great potential for wider applications. -

Speed ​​Networking is a very quick business meeting, will rely on a series of short talks that connects companies in the gaming industry and technology startups with potential investors. Business meetings will take place at the tables, and investors interested in cooperation will be able to continue in further talks later. This will allow participants to make new contacts with approx. 2-3 minutes of individual conversations, during which company representatives will have the opportunity to present their activities and projects. After the specified time partners change and entrepreneurs will move on to submit proposals for further investors.

KPT FZ isn’t the only one participating in the VC Speed ​​Networking. Angel investors, private equity investors, and venture capitalists interested in investing in companies with already established position in the market will also be there. Link to register for the meeting here.

KPT Seed Fund Invests in forDrivers, an App that wants to keep the Roads Safe

Every month, 18 people are killed and 135 are injured by over 100 accidents on Polish roads. 500 people are caught charged with DUI.  The App forDrivers, founded in 2014,  is hoping to change those statistics. It implements gamification into the tracking of the movement your smart device while you drive. You get awards for hitting major milestones while driving safely. You can also compete with your friends and strangers for bragging rights and prizes. It may also help companies keep their fleet safe.

It is the 24th company to get investment from the KPT Seed Fund. The app uses the services of fellow fund recipient HG Intelligence to perform its data analysis.

 - We became interested to forDrivers because we see great potential in the idea business of the company. On the one hand, it increases public awareness of safe driving, on the other hand, people will become more committed and engaged by its gamification feature. The combination of these two trends, made us very interested in the ​​application forDrivers. This may prove to be a landmark project. - says Marcin Molo, chief investment officer KPT Seed Fund.

The solution forDrivers attracted the attention of one of the Polish insurance companies - LINK4, which is considering the implementation of policies based on users’ driving data.

- Investment from the KPT Seed Fund will enable us to develop our ecosystem focused on gamification in the area of road safety. In addition, we were selected by the Fund among the innovative companies in their early stages of development, and that means that we can also benefit from the experience of other companies, which FZKPT invested in previous years. We see  a lot of potential in this situation, which we intend to take full advantage of - says Marcin Brysiak, inventor and founder forDrivers.

COOLOMAT to transform e-commerce of food products

Thanks to effective R&D by the Slovenian-Polish team from Coolomat which was funded from investments of KPT FZ, there will be a more convenient to do grocery shopping over the Internet. Coolomat stands will first be rolled out in Poznan, another five will be in Warsaw.

COOLOMAT is a “food automat” for collecting food products purchased on the Web. The first of such machines will be available soon. Coolomat will act as the technology partner in cooperation with a network of Alma supermarkets and the online store Merlin.pl. As a result, the market will soon debut a groundbreaking project Merlinfood by Alma, which could change the face of Polish e-commerce.

How does COOLOMAT work? - Food ordered by the customer can be collected within a few hours. Each terminal box are suitable for storage of products at temperatures as low as minus 20C. As a result, it will enable the safe execution of orders with frozen and refrigerated products -  says Marcin Warzocha, CEO of Coolomat. - Coolomat will be a breakthrough in e-grocery. As the first in Poland, it is no longer a concept, but an actual solution. The production of equipment has started, and the installation of the first group of Coolomats will begin in the near future -  adds M. Warzocha.