ZAKA VC

What ZAKA VC does

ZAKA VC is a pre-seed and seed-focused venture capital fund headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, with additional operating offices in Bratislava, London and Silicon Valley. Founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneurs Jan Kasper and Peter Zalesak as a family office deploying private capital, the firm formalised its structure in July 2024 with the launch of ZAKA VC Fund I (€15M target, €10.5M first close). ZAKA invests primarily in Health & Biotech and Industrial/Deep Tech startups across Europe and the United States, with a stated focus on capital-intensive R&D sectors such as mRNA/gene therapy, AI-driven drug discovery, semiconductors, robotics, fusion, quantum and space tech. As of the most recent data, the firm holds 95 portfolio companies across 25+ countries, has recorded 4 exits, and in October 2025 became an economic shareholder of hospitality-tech unicorn Mews via the acquisition of portfolio company Flexkeeping.

The fund's core operating model combines direct investing (typical ticket €300-350k for 3-5% equity) with co-investment alongside tier-1 funds such as Y Combinator, First Round, General Catalyst, RA Capital, Illumina Ventures, BlueYard, Speedinvest and Pioneer Fund, alongside which it has co-led or participated in rounds including ParcelBio ($13M seed, May 2026) and DeepSeq.AI (co-led with Illumina Ventures, January 2026). Deal-flow is sourced through an inbound pitch-deck portal, an outbound scout network, the AceON Accelerator (jointly with Accace, running Spring/Autumn batches from 49+ countries) and TRUESDAYS community events in Bratislava and London. Limited Partners can participate in Fund I from a €130k minimum ticket, with standard VC fund economics (management fees plus carried interest). The firm employs roughly 9-11 named investment and operating professionals and is registered as a Czech alternative investment fund (ZAKA VC I, osoba rizikového kapitálu, a.s., ID 215 14 992) with the Czech National Bank, though not CNB-supervised.

ZAKA's differentiators are an operator-founder GP base (the founders run 50+ family businesses with cumulative sales near €1.4 billion), a permanent four-office EU-US bridge (Silicon Valley opened January 2025), a vertically specialised Health & Biotech book that the firm itself describes as one of the best in continental Europe, and a proprietary 71-question assessment framework that screens ~3,500 opportunities per year down to roughly 10 investments.

Name

ZAKA VC

Legal name

ZAKA VC I, osoba rizikového kapitálu, a.s.

Website

https://zaka.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ZAKA VC is a Prague-based pre-seed and seed venture capital fund with offices in Bratislava, London and Silicon Valley, investing across Europe and North America with primary focus on Health & Biotech and Industrial/Deep Tech startups from a €15M Fund I.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital Fund

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Pre-seed investing
• Seed-stage capital
• Healthcare biotech investing
• Deep tech investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Capital gains from portfolio exits: Primary economic engine. Returns generated when portfolio companies exit (e.g., Flexkeeping acquired by Mews in 2025 made ZAKA an economic shareholder of unicorn Mews — first unicorn in the fund).
2. Limited Partner fund management (Fund I): ZAKA VC Fund I, sized €15M with €10.5M first close in July 2024, is open to qualified investors with minimum LP ticket of €130k. Standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed/invested capital plus carried interest on exits.
3. Family office capital deployment: Pre-2024 the fund operated purely on private family-office capital from founders Jan Kasper and Peter Zalesak (combining 50+ companies with cumulative sales of ~€1.4 billion).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ZAKA VC is a pre-seed and seed-focused venture capital fund that invests in tech startups across North America and Europe, with thematic emphasis on Health & Biotech and Industrial/Deep Tech verticals. The fund deploys typical tickets of €300-350K for 3-5% equity, operates Fund I (€15M target, €10.5M first close in July 2024), and provides portfolio support, EU-US bridging, and co-investor network access. It runs complementary programs including the AceON Accelerator (with Accace Slovakia) and the public-facing Pitch Deck Submission Portal for deal flow.

Product overview

ZAKA VC's offering is a platform-plus-program architecture centered on ZAKA VC Fund I, a €15M pre-seed and seed venture capital fund operating from Prague, London, and Silicon Valley. The core "product" is capital deployment alongside co-investment partners (Y Combinator, General Catalyst, First Round, BlueYard, RA Capital, Illumina Ventures, etc.) into 95+ portfolio companies, with thematic emphasis on Health & Biotech and Industrial/Deep Tech. Layered on top are two complementary programs: the AceON Accelerator, an online pre-seed program for European founders (Spring/Autumn batches) operated jointly with Accace Slovakia, and the Pitch Deck Submission Portal, the public-facing intake tool at zaka.vc/submit-pitchdeck/ through which startups are evaluated by ZAKA's investment committee. The portfolio spans Health & Biotech holdings (ParcelBio, DeepSeq.AI, Sensible Biotechnologies, Olio Labs, Eigen Therapeutics, KiraGen Bio, Lime Therapeutics, ExcepGen, Bullseye Biosciences, Alixia Therapeutics, Nephrogen, Cirrus Therapeutics), Industrial Tech & Deep Tech (Sygaldry Technologies, Ateios Systems, Zephyr Fusion, Verne Robotics, Mbodi AI, Inversion Semiconductor, ExoMatter), AI/Data (Human Archive, AxionOrbital Space, CellType, Superlinked), and selected B2B SaaS/consumer plays (Mews, Orderlion, Stackt, Talkie.ai, Readmio).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZAKA VC Fund I Pre-seed and seed venture capital fund sized at €15M (first closing €10.5M in July 2024), targeting pre-seed and seed startups in Europe (Central Europe, Baltics, UK, DACH) and the US, with emphasis on B2B software, AI applications in B2B, biotech, and health tech. For startups: typical investment of €300-350K for 3-5% equity. For LPs: minimum ticket of €130k for qualified investors.
• AceON Accelerator Online pre-seed and idea-stage accelerator program for European founders operated jointly with Accace Slovakia. Offers up to €70k investment per startup across multiple annual batches, mentorship, and Demo Days. Cohorts have included founders from 49+ countries.
• ZAKA VC Pitch Deck Submission Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Invests in ~10 of ~3,500 evaluated opportunities per year (~0.3% conversion)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Accace Slovakia (AceON Accelerator)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-running partner of the AceON Accelerator together with Startup Kitchen, launched in 2023. AceON is ZAKA's flagship deal-flow engine, running pre-seed/seed programs with €40k investments and Demo Days, with applicants from 49+ countries. Joint with Accace, ZAKA also co-hosts the TRUESDAYS event in Bratislava.
• Startup KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the AceON Accelerator alongside Accace Slovakia. ZAKA and Startup Kitchen partnered to bring the TRUESDAYS event to Bratislava for its second international edition.
• Merck Digital Sciences Studio (DSS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerck DSS is listed as a leading accelerator that has supported DeepSeq.AI (a ZAKA portfolio company). Indirect relationship — ZAKA co-invests in DSS-backed companies.
• Stanford StartXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStanford StartX is listed as an accelerator that has supported DeepSeq.AI (ZAKA portfolio). Indirect relationship via co-invested companies.
• Berkeley SkyDeckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBerkeley SkyDeck is listed as an accelerator that has supported DeepSeq.AI (ZAKA portfolio). Indirect relationship via co-invested companies.
• Slovak PRO – Slovak ProfessionalsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerZAKA VC announced a partnership with Slovak PRO in September 2024 to expand its network of Slovak founders and professionals abroad.
• Embassy of the Czech Republic in LondonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerZAKA co-hosts CZ/SK Tech Founder Meet-ups at the Czech Embassy in London, including the London Tech Week side event.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Creandum: European early-stage VC with strong seed franchise and pan-European reach; comparable on stage, geography and health/deep-tech portfolio overlap. Direct competitor for top European pre-seed deals.
• Speedinvest: Pan-European pre-seed/seed VC with deep operational playbook; Speedinvest co-founder Michael Schuster mentored ZAKA's Jan Kasper into VC. Same stage and geography focus, making it the closest functional comparator.
• Pioneer Fund: US pre-seed/seed fund investing primarily into Y Combinator startups; ZAKA is an explicit investing partner of Pioneer Fund. Same stage, same deal-flow engine, and explicit alliance — the most directly aligned peer.
• Seedcamp: One of Europe's original pre-seed/seed funds with first-check focus and pan-European coverage. Directly comparable on stage, geography and 'first institutional capital' positioning; key competitor for the same European pre-seed founder pool.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Long-established European seed/early-stage VC with HealthTech/biotech vertical (Earlybird Health). ZAKA's Health & Biotech focus directly overlaps, and both serve as early-stage European capital for life-sciences founders.
• Octopus Ventures: UK-headquartered early-stage VC with health and deep-tech exposure; listed as a top-tier ZAKA co-investor. Comparable on stage, sector overlap (health/biotech), and UK-European bridge positioning.
• LocalGlobe: London-based pre-seed/seed fund known for founder-first early checks; shares ZAKA's London base and pre-seed orientation. Comparable on deal-stage focus and pan-European startup sourcing.
• First Round Capital: US seed-stage VC with strong founder-community brand and structured seed programs; co-investor with ZAKA across multiple US deals. Closest US-comparable peer on seed-stage mechanics and brand-building.
• Startup Wise Guys: CEE-rooted accelerator and seed fund; ZAKA holds an LP position in Startup Wise Guys and sponsors its Young Entrepreneurs program. Direct peer on CEE geography and pre-seed orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Dominant global pre-seed accelerator; ZAKA holds 8 YC-backed portfolio companies and is partner of Pioneer Fund. Far larger scale, but operates upstream of ZAKA at the pre-seed stage and is effectively an alliance partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zakastartup/posts/?feedView=all

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments113 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZAKA VC