What Rockaway Ventures does

Rockaway Ventures is the venture capital arm of Rockaway Capital, founded in 2014 by Jakub Havrlant and based in Prague. It invests in late Seed to Series A stage technology startups in Central and Eastern Europe and the DACH region that digitize traditional industries, with a stated ESG mandate and UN PRI subscription. The fund is sector-focused on retail and e-commerce, travel and hospitality, digital logistics, digital media, cybersecurity, defense, CleanTech, and PropTech, deploying up to EUR 15 million per company. Fund II closed at approximately EUR 55 million in May 2025 against a EUR 100 million target, and the firm maintains a 60/40 CEE/Western Europe and US-diaspora split. Distribution to qualified investors is enabled via the RVF SICAV fund vehicle, administered by Amista and distributed through J&T Bank and Conseq with a CZK 1 million minimum.

The underlying platform combines direct capital with hands-on operational support: monthly board participation, GTM and fundraising assistance, hiring support, and introductions across the Rockaway Capital PE portfolio (Euromedia, Heureka, Bezrealitky) and broader CEE/US networks. The team of approximately 15-20 includes two General Partners (Dušan Zábrodský, formerly SVP at AVG Technologies; Petr Šmíd, formerly 11 years at Google), a COO from PwC, a CTO from AVG, a Fund CFO from KPMG, and operating partners with senior Google and retail experience. Since 2014 the firm has executed 22 investments with 11 exits and reports a 46% annual IRR and 140%+ of invested capital returned; the portfolio includes Czech unicorn Productboard (valued at $1.725B) and Balkan platform Gjirafa.

Strategic positioning is anchored on three differentiated assets: (1) operational pedigree from cross-portfolio work and senior hires (Google, McKinsey, AVG, KPMG); (2) early ESG integration and the European Startup Embassy in San Francisco, which institutionalizes a CEE-to-US bridge; and (3) co-investment syndication with tier-one names including Draper Associates, Inovo VC, J&T Ventures, Speedinvest, and Redalpine. The portfolio's recent tilt toward AI (Filuta AI, ValkaAI, BottleCap AI, CulturePulse, Navigara, Float) and defense (Vermeer) reflects an active expansion of the core digitization thesis.

Name

Rockaway Ventures

Legal name

Rockaway Ventures Fund

Website

https://rockawayventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rockaway Ventures is a Prague-based venture capital fund under Rockaway Capital that invests up to EUR 15 million in late Seed to Series A tech startups in CEE and DACH digitizing traditional industries, with Fund II closed at ~EUR 55 million and a 46% reported IRR since 2014.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable/Thematic Investing (Climate, Clean Tech, Water, Biodiversity) (FSAAALAB)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Seed to series A investing
• Central eastern europe startups
• ESG investment management
• Digital transformation investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Portfolio Company Returns: Rockaway Ventures generates returns through equity investments in startups, exiting via IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary sales. They have generated returns of more than 140% of invested capital from previous VC investments and target total returns of more than 4x MoM multiple and 35%+ IRR.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rockaway Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests up to EUR 15 million per company into late Seed and Series A stage tech startups in Central and Eastern Europe and DACH regions, focused on digitalizing traditional industries such as retail, e-commerce, travel, hospitality, logistics, digital media, cybersecurity, defence, CleanTech, and PropTech. The fund pairs capital with operational support including board participation, strategic guidance, hiring assistance, and network access, while applying ESG principles to every investment decision. Qualified investors can access the strategy via the RVF SICAV fund structure administered by Amista and distributed through J&T Bank and Conseq.

Product overview

Rockaway Ventures is a venture capital fund under Rockaway Capital group that invests in tech startups at late seed to Series A stage. Since 2014, the fund has been investing in areas of deep expertise including retail and e-commerce, travel and hospitality, digital logistics, digital media, cybersecurity, defence, CleanTech, and PropTech. The fund follows ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) principles and focuses on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and DACH regions (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), with 60% of investments allocated to CEE and 40% to Western Europe and diaspora-led startups from Czechia operating in the US. Rockaway Ventures manages a €55 million fund (Fund II) and currently holds 11 portfolio companies with investments ranging up to €15 million per company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rockaway Ventures Fund (Direct Venture Investment) Direct venture capital investment product targeting late Seed and Series A stage tech startups in CEE and DACH regions, with investments of up to EUR 15 million per company. Provides capital, board participation, strategic guidance, hiring support, go-to-market assistance, and follow-on fundraising coordination for founders in retail, e-commerce, travel, hospitality, digital logistics, digital media, cybersecurity, defence, CleanTech, and PropTech sectors.
• RVF SICAV Qualified Investor Fund Czech SICAV fund vehicle allowing qualified investors to invest in the Rockaway Ventures strategy with a minimum commitment of CZK 1 million. Distributed through Czech financial institutions Amista, J&T Bank, and Conseq, providing regulated access to CEE venture capital exposure with fund administration, ESG screening, and reporting oversight.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46% annual IRR achieved since 2014
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• European Startup EmbassyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Physical hub in San Francisco Bay Area to help CEE founders scale in US market; co-founded with Czech/Slovak startups and funds; addresses barriers to US market access

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inovo VC: Leading Polish early-to-growth VC fund focused on CEE tech founders; Inovo is a direct competitor for Series A rounds in CEE and a frequent co-investment partner (e.g., Navigara $2.5M seed).
• J&T Ventures: Czech VC arm of J&T Banka investing in CEE tech startups at seed-to-Series A; co-invested with Rockaway in ValkaAI's EUR 12M pre-seed round and competes for the same Czech founder pipeline.
• Tensor Ventures: Czech deep-tech and AI-focused VC; very comparable thematic overlap (AI, defense, deep tech) and rounds, co-invested with Rockaway in ValkaAI and competes on the same AI founder pool in Prague.
• Credo Ventures: Czech/Slovak early-stage VC investing in CEE tech founders; similar check size, stage focus (pre-seed/seed), and geography, often competing for the same founding teams in Prague and Bratislava.
• BlackWood Ventures: Denmark-based early-stage VC; Joachim Enegaard (now at Rockaway) spent 3 years at BlackWood, and the firms share a similar early-stage, Northern/Continental European thesis and ESG orientation.
• Simpact Ventures: Czech impact-focused VC fund; direct co-investor with Rockaway (CulturePulse Series A) and shares the ESG/sustainable-investment mandate that differentiates Rockaway within CEE.

Broad incumbents

• Speedinvest: Large Austria-based sector-focused VC (fintech, deep tech, industrial tech) investing across Europe; co-invested with Rockaway in Raus and competes for DACH Series A rounds at higher ticket sizes.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Europe's largest early-stage VCs with deep DACH roots and multiple sector funds; competes with Rockaway on cross-border DACH/UK Series A rounds at meaningfully larger AUM scale.
• btov Partners: European VC with Digital and Industrial Tech funds covering DACH and CEE-adjacent markets; comparable stage focus and founder-support orientation, with broader pan-European mandate.

Regional players

• Springtide Ventures: KKCG-backed Czech cybersecurity/healthcare VC; jointly acquired a 32.2% stake in ThreatMark alongside Rockaway and competes for the same CEE deep-tech and cybersecurity deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RockawayVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/106273995

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments25 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Rockaway Ventures