What SMOK Ventures does

SMOK Ventures is a Warsaw-headquartered venture capital fund founded in 2019 by Paul Bragiel, Diana Koziarska, and Borys Musielak, investing $100k-$1M USD in pre-seed and seed-stage software startups across Central and Eastern Europe and the CEE diaspora. The fund operates two vehicles: SMOK Ventures Sp. z o.o. ASI S.K.A. (Polish law, vintage 2019, now out of investment period) and SMOK Ventures II COÖPERATIEF U.A. (Dutch law, vintage 2022, $25M, currently investing), with combined AUM of approximately $35M USD. SMOK invests primarily in software development tools and AI companies led by serial entrepreneurs with global ambitions, and manages an associated angel network (SMOK Angels) of 220+ founder-turned-investors.

The fund's core proposition is bridging CEE founders to Silicon Valley and global capital. Managing Partner Paul Bragiel's track record (200+ investments including Uber, Stripe, Niantic, Unity, Zappos) anchors a global fund network across 4 continents with $400M+ under management, enabling SMOK portfolio companies to source ~80% of their follow-on funding from Western Europe, Silicon Valley, and Asia. The team is ex-founders themselves (Borys Musielak sold Filmaster to Samba TV; Koziarska and Musielak co-founded Reaktor coworking space, ReaktorX acceleration program, and Startup Poland think tank). Revenue mechanics follow standard VC economics: ~2% annual management fees on committed AUM plus 20% carried interest on profitable exits above LP capital return. The firm has made approximately 47 portfolio investments, with 23 headquartered in Poland, 17 as Delaware C-Corps, and the balance across Estonia, Ukraine, and other CEE jurisdictions.

Name

SMOK Ventures

Legal name

SMOK Ventures spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością ASI spółka komandytowo-akcyjna

Website

https://smok.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SMOK Ventures is a Warsaw-based venture capital fund investing $100k-$1M in pre-seed and seed software startups across Central and Eastern Europe and the CEE diaspora, with ~$35M AUM across two funds and deep Silicon Valley connections through Managing Partner Paul Bragiel's global fund network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds (FSANAGAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early stage funding
• Seed stage investment
• Pre-seed investment
• CEE startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: VC funds typically charge annual management fees on committed capital (usually 2% of AUM), which cover fund operations and team salaries.
2. Carried Interest (Carry): The fund earns carried interest (typically 20%) on profits from successful portfolio exits above the return of capital to LPs. This is the primary economic incentive for the GP and aligns fund manager interests with LP returns.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SMOK Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests $100k–$1M USD in early-stage startups across Poland and the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, with primary focus on software development tools and AI companies. The fund operates two vehicles — a Polish ASI fund (vintage 2019) and a Dutch cooperative fund (SMOK Ventures II, vintage 2022, $25M) — alongside an affiliated angel network (SMOK Angels) of 220+ founder-turned-investors for co-investment. Beyond capital, the fund provides portfolio companies with global network access (Silicon Valley, Western Europe, Asia), fundraising support, and Y Combinator application assistance.

Product overview

SMOK Ventures operates as a venture capital fund (not a product company) with two funds: SMOK Ventures Spółka z o.o. ASI S.K.A. (Polish law, focused on Poland, vintage 2019) and SMOK Ventures II COÖPERATIEF U.A. (Dutch law, focused on Poland, CEE & diaspora, vintage 2022). The firm manages approximately $35M AUM across both funds, investing in early-stage software startups through pre-seed and seed rounds of 100k-1M EUR. They are supported by an associated angel network called SMOK Angels with 220+ investor members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMOK Ventures VC Fund A venture capital fund investing $100k–$1M USD in early-stage startups across Poland and the CEE region, with primary focus on software development tools and AI companies. Provides portfolio companies with capital, global network access, fundraising support, Y Combinator application help, and hiring connections. Operates as two fund vehicles under Polish and Dutch law.
• SMOK Angels A CEE angel investor network of 220+ founders-turned-investors that co-invests alongside the SMOK Ventures VC fund. Helps portfolio companies close angel investors from CEE towns quickly and enables faster fundraising while founders focus on building. Co-invested with the fund into intoDNA as an example.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 out of 12 Year 1 portfolio companies raised follow-on rounds with valuations growing 4x+ in under 12 months
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ReaktorXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoland's first private acceleration program, co-founded by Borys Musielak and Diana Koziarska. SMOK uses it as a talent pipeline for identifying first-time founders to potentially back. Attendance at ReaktorX is recommended as a way to get to know founders before SMOK invests.
• Startup PolandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMOK co-founder Diana Koziarska is an ambassador of Startup Poland, the largest tech think tank in Poland. SMOK benefits from and contributes to the Polish startup ecosystem through this connection.
• Y CombinatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMOK has helped two portfolio companies get into Y Combinator by working together on the application and connecting founders to dozens of YC alumni to arrange mock interviews. Authologic was accepted into YC Winter 2021 batch within a month of SMOK's pre-seed investment.
• 101 FellowshipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint program across the Bragiel fund network to attract the best young people to venture capital globally. SMOK participates alongside sister funds Golden Gate Ventures, Savannah Fund, Niu Ventures, and Sisu Game Ventures.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Speedinvest: Vienna-based multi-stage European VC with significant CEE exposure and sector-specialized funds. Larger and broader than SMOK but increasingly competes for the same CEE pre-seed/seed deals as it expands regionally.
• Atomico: London-based European VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström. Larger-scale generalist European fund that increasingly invests in CEE-origin founders, serving as both a comparable and a follow-on syndicate partner for SMOK's portfolio.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Germany-based pan-European VC with strong CEE heritage and portfolio of CEE tech startups. Larger fund size and broader mandate than SMOK but a relevant comparable for how a CEE-focused fund scales.

Direct peers

• Inovo Venture Partners: Polish VC fund investing in early-stage founders across CEE and beyond. Comparable ticket sizes, founder-friendly positioning, and CEE focus — a direct peer in the Polish seed-stage market.
• Movens Capital: Polish early-stage VC investing in tech startups with CEE/global ambition. Co-led Mos Health's pre-seed with SMOK, indicating direct overlap in target companies and founder relationships.
• Concentric: London-based early-stage VC with growing CEE and emerging Europe focus. Co-led Paypercut's seed round alongside SMOK, demonstrating direct overlap in deal flow across the CEE fintech ecosystem.
• Day One Capital: Hungary-based early-stage VC investing in CEE tech startups. Similar pre-seed/seed ticket range, regional CEE mandate, and operator-led investment thesis that overlaps with SMOK's geographic and stage focus.
• Kaya VC: Polish early-stage VC founded by successful operators, focused on CEE and CEE-diaspora founders. Competes directly for the same Polish pre-seed and seed deal flow as SMOK.
• Market One Capital: Poland-based early-stage VC investing in CEE founders with similar ticket sizes and seed-stage focus. Direct competitor for the same Polish founder pool, with comparable follow-on syndication model and recently co-led Juo's seed round with SMOK.
• Credo Ventures: Czech Republic-based early-stage VC investing across CEE. Similar pre-seed/seed ticket sizes, geographic mandate (Czechia, Slovakia, CEE), and founder-operator leadership model — making it one of the closest functional peers to SMOK.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smok-ventures
• Xx.com/smokvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments66 records

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

Frequently asked questions about SMOK Ventures