Impetus Capital

What Impetus Capital does

Impetus Capital is a Sofia-based investment firm founded in 2015 that operates as a FSC-registered Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) focused on growth equity and crossover capital for technology companies in Emerging Europe, with a stated preference for Bulgarian and Romanian exposure. The firm runs a concentrated team of nine (three Partners, three Investment Managers/Directors, one Analyst, and three Operating Partners) and has built a portfolio of 20+ companies spanning IoT (Shelly Group), biotech and diagnostics (GlycanAge), green hydrogen (Hydrogenera), women's health (Daye), AI risk tooling (Kikimora.io), enterprise data infrastructure (Tiger Technology) and autonomous delivery (Delivers.ai). Reported check sizes run from approximately EUR 150k at seed to EUR 1.1M+ in late-stage IPO or SPO participation, indicating the firm underwrites across the full growth-to-listing lifecycle rather than concentrating at a single stage.

The firm's business model rests on two revenue engines: (1) conventional fund management against a fee-bearing AUM base, sized for a small regional AIFM rather than a scaled pan-European platform, and (2) carried interest that is materially lumpy and tied to capital markets exits - most prominently the Shelly Group dual-listing via the 'Eurobridge' mechanism from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange onto Xetra and its subsequent SDAX admission. Impetus has extended its brand beyond direct investing by maintaining the IMPTECH Index (launched January 2021, with reported cumulative returns of 241.86% from 2021 to 2026), which functions as a thought-leadership and deal-sourcing channel rather than a separately fee-bearing product. The firm is led by co-founders Viktor Manev (Managing Partner) and Nikolay Martinov, with no disclosed revenue, AUM, or fund vintage data in the available record.

Name

Impetus Capital

Legal name

Impetus Capital OOD

Website

https://impetus.capital

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Impetus Capital is a Sofia-based, FSC-registered AIFM founded in 2015 that invests growth and crossover capital into technology companies across Emerging Europe, with a Bulgarian-Romanian focus and 20+ portfolio companies across software, biotech and clean energy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Equity / Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

• Growth equity investing
• Venture capital services
• Capital markets advisory
• Pre-IPO financing
• Emerging europe investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management: Impetus Capital operates as a crossover investor providing growth capital to Emerging Europe tech companies. Revenue is generated through management fees and carried interest from successful portfolio company exits. They bridge private and capital markets for portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Impetus Capital is a private, FSC AIFM-registered growth equity and crossover investor based in Sofia, Bulgaria, providing growth capital to founder-led technology companies in Emerging Europe from early growth stage through pre-IPO, IPO, and exit. The firm structures equity rounds (seed to post-IPO), IPO/SPO syndications on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse, and Eurobridge dual-listings, while also publishing the proprietary IMPTECH Index benchmark.

Product overview

Impetus Capital is an FSC AIFM-registered investment firm based in Sofia, Bulgaria, focused on bridging private and capital markets to support Emerging Europe's top tech growth stories. The firm backs exceptional founder-led tech companies in the early growth and pre-IPO through IPO to exit phases. Rather than offering a software product or platform, Impetus Capital provides investment capital, capital markets structuring expertise, governance support, and syndication services to portfolio companies. Its portfolio spans diverse technology verticals including IoT/smart home (Shelly Group), biotech/glycobiology (GlycanAge), cybersecurity (Kikimora.io), hybrid cloud storage (Tiger Technology), autonomous last-mile delivery (Delivers.ai), green hydrogen/electrolyser manufacturing (Hydrogenera), gynecological health diagnostics (Daye), and multiple other tech scale-ups across Europe. The firm also maintains the IMPTECH Index, a publicly calculated benchmark of Bulgarian-traded technology companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMPTECH Index: BSE Technology Benchmark Index of publicly traded technology companies in Bulgaria, created and maintained by Impetus Capital

Products and services

• Growth Equity Capital Investment Direct equity investments in founder-led technology companies in Emerging Europe from early growth and pre-IPO stages onward, with Impetus acting as a long-term active investor through to exit. Tickets include seed (e.g., €150k lead in Kikimora.io), participation in priced equity rounds (e.g., $550k in GlycanAge's $5M), convertible notes (e.g., €400k in Tiger Technology's €2M loan), and follow-on rounds. Investment focus is on Bulgarian/Romanian-anchored tech companies expanding worldwide.
• Capital Markets Structuring & IPO/SPO Syndication End-to-end capital markets services for growth-stage tech companies, including IPO structuring, SPO execution, and dual-listing arrangements on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse Xetra via the firm's Eurobridge mechanism. Impetus structures disciplined small IPOs in the €10–20M range that bulge-bracket banks typically ignore and acts as lead investor and syndicator (e.g., 84% of Shelly Group's 2020 SPO of €4.6M).
• IMPTECH Index (Bulgarian Public Tech Benchmark) Proprietary benchmark index of publicly traded technology companies on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, created and maintained by Impetus Capital. Tracks listed Bulgarian technology constituents including Shelly Group, Sirma Group, Telelink Business Services, Wiser Technology, Dronamics, Hydrogenera, Boleron, BIODIT, and Sin Cars. Delivered 241.86% cumulative returns over 2021–2026, outperforming NASDAQ-100 and TecDAX.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shelly Group achieved 90x return in less than a decade, becoming CEE's first traded unicorn
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bulgarian Stock ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership enabling IPOs and listings; created Eurobridge segment connecting BSE to Deutsche Börse Xetra for dual-listings
• Deutsche BörsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEurobridge partnership enables Bulgarian companies to dual-list on Xetra; Shelly Group became first Bulgarian company to trade on Xetra in April 2024
• IMPTECH Index PartnersminorOthersIndex includes Shelly Group, Sirma Group, Telelink Business Services, Wiser Technology, Dronamics, Hydrogenera, Boleron, BIODIT, Sin Cars - tracked on Bulgarian Stock Exchange

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Credo Ventures: Czech-based early- and growth-stage VC investing in CEE tech founders. Highly comparable geography, sector focus, and stage overlap with Impetus, though focused more on early venture rounds than crossover/IPO.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Pan-European tech VC with CEE roots (Digital East Fund). Compares on stage and CEE tech focus; bigger AUM but similar cross-stage, founder-led investment philosophy.
• LAUNCHub Ventures: Sofia-based early-stage VC focused on CEE/Southeast European tech startups. Direct competitor for Bulgarian deal flow; typically pre-seed/seed versus Impetus's growth tilt.
• Day One Capital: Budapest-based early- and growth-stage VC investing across CEE. Comparable regional thesis and stage breadth, though primarily earlier-stage tickets.
• OTB Ventures: CEE-focused growth equity fund investing in European tech scale-ups. Closest functional peer given shared growth-stage, CEE-tech mandate and crossover-style investing.
• Kaya VC: CEE-focused VC backing exceptional tech founders, including Bulgarian companies. Comparable thesis and founder-led approach; growth-stage tilt.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based European tech investor with active CEE deal flow and sector-focused funds. Comparable in stage breadth and CEE origin, though larger and more generalist.
• Eleven Ventures: Bulgarian early-stage VC investing in Southeastern European tech founders. Direct geographic and stage peer; smaller and earlier-stage than Impetus.

Broad incumbents

• Target Global: Pan-European growth investor with sector-specific funds. Broader geographic reach and larger AUM, but comparable growth-stage tech mandate and crossover sensibility.

Regional players

• Notion Capital: London-based growth investor in European B2B SaaS and tech. Comparable stage and crossover-style discipline; UK-anchored rather than CEE, hence regional peer designation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VM_IMPETUS

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments22 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Impetus Capital