Silicon Gardens

What Silicon Gardens does

Silicon Gardens is a Slovenia-headquartered early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 and operating as a "founders for founders" fund focused on the Adria region (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro) and Central & Eastern Europe. The firm manages three successive funds: Fund I (€300k experimental fund, 2014, 10 investments, 2.1x DPI returned), Fund II (€6M, launched 2019, fully deployed by September 2024), and Fund III (€33M+, launched June 2023, investing through summer 2027). Silicon Gardens invests at pre-seed and seed stages with initial tickets of €300k–€1.5M, with reserved follow-on capital for best-performing portfolio companies. Sector focus is B2B SaaS, marketplaces and network-effect businesses, consumer apps and games, and innovative D2C products.

The firm operates with a nine-person core team (plus a five-person advisory board) composed of former founders and operators of exited Adria/CEE tech companies including Sportradar (via Klika), Outfit7, Microblink, Photomath, and Celtra. Silicon Gardens is backed by 120+ limited partners who are themselves successful regional tech entrepreneurs from companies such as Cosylab, Dewesoft, Nordeus, Runtastic, and Zemanta. In November 2025 the firm opened a Palo Alto office led by Partner Nina Leskovec to bridge Adria/CEE portfolio companies with the Silicon Valley investor and customer ecosystem, and it has established co-investment relationships with tier-1 US funds including a16z, Menlo Ventures, True Ventures, and General Catalyst.

Silicon Gardens' revenue model follows standard VC economics: management fees on committed capital (primary revenue stream) plus carried interest on profitable exits. The firm runs a multi-channel deal sourcing and ecosystem-building operation including a Typeform-based pitch submission portal, co-organization of Podim Conference, annual State of Adria Tech reports, 3-day Founders' Meets for portfolio companies, VC Roadtrip events, and an active LinkedIn presence. Notable portfolio outcomes include Bird Buddy (smart bird feeder, $100M revenue in 2024, exit), Daytona (dev environment orchestration, exit), Prepia (AI education platform, exit), Bible Chat (10M users, $15M annualized revenue, $14M Series A), and InsiderCX (500K+ patients served, tripled revenue in 2024).

Name

Silicon Gardens

Legal name

Silicon Gardens Fund III, fund management, d.o.o.

Website

https://silicongardens.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Silicon Gardens is a Slovenia-based early-stage VC firm managing a €33M+ Fund III, investing €300k–€1.5M at pre-seed and seed in B2B SaaS, marketplaces, consumer apps, and D2C products across the Adria region and CEE, backed by 120+ entrepreneur LPs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geography-Focused Venture Capital (Regional/Emerging Markets) (FSANAAAE), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Pre-seed seed investing
• Founders for founders
• Adria region startups
• CEE technology investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Ljubljana

HQ country

Slovenia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Carried Interest: VC fund returns generated from successful portfolio company exits. Silicon Gardens earns a share of profits above the return of capital to LPs, typically the primary revenue driver for venture funds.
2. Management Fees: Annual fees charged on committed capital under management to cover operational expenses of the fund management entity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Silicon Gardens is a "founders for founders" early-stage venture capital firm that invests €300k–€1.5M tickets at pre-seed and seed stages in B2B SaaS, marketplace and network-effect businesses, B2C digital products (mobile apps and games), and innovative D2C companies. The firm operates three funds (Fund I €300k in 2014, Fund II €6M in 2019, Fund III €33+M in June 2023) and supplements capital with hands-on mentorship, GTM strategy support, and introductions to a 120+ LP network of successful Adria-region tech entrepreneurs. Primary geographic focus is the Adria region (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro) and CEE, with active deal flow from CEE diaspora founders globally and a Bay Area office opened in Palo Alto in November 2025.

Product overview

Silicon Gardens is a "Founders for Founders" early-stage venture capital firm operating across three funds: Fund I (€300k experimental fund launched 2014 with 10 investments, 2.1 DPI return), Fund II (€6 million launched 2019, fully invested as of September 2024), and Fund III (€33+ million launched June 2023, investing until summer 2027). The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed stages with ticket sizes of €300k-€1.5M, targeting B2B SaaS, marketplaces & network effect businesses, B2C digital products (mobile apps and games), and innovative direct-to-consumer products. The primary geographic focus is the Adria region and Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), with operations expanded to the Bay Area (San Francisco/Palo Alto office opened November 2025).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Silicon Gardens Fund III Silicon Gardens Fund III is the firm's currently active venture capital fund vehicle. It invests pre-seed and seed tickets of €300k–€1.5M in technology startups primarily in the Adria region and CEE, with reserved follow-on capital for best-performing portfolio companies. The fund is open to LP commitments and will deploy capital through summer 2027.
• Silicon Gardens Fund II Silicon Gardens Fund II is the firm's second venture capital fund vehicle, a €6M vehicle launched in 2019 and fully invested by September 2024. The fund's portfolio includes marketplace, B2B SaaS, consumer app, and D2C companies in the Adria/CEE region. Capital has been deployed; remaining activity is portfolio management.
• Silicon Gardens Fund I Silicon Gardens Fund I is the firm's inaugural experimental venture capital vehicle, a €300k fund that made 10 early-stage investments in Adria-region startups. It returned a 2.1x DPI to LPs, demonstrating strong early returns that justified scaling to Fund II and Fund III.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fund I achieved 2.1x DPI (Distribution to Paid-In capital)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Podim ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilicon Gardens joined as co-organizer of Podim Conference, one of the region's most important startup events. Curates the Builders Stage featuring regional tech leaders.
• American Slovenian Education Foundation (ASEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ASEF to host Silicon Gardens' first US event at Stanford University, bringing together Adria/CEE founders, researchers, and diaspora community.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Speedinvest: A leading European early-stage VC with multiple sector-focused funds and ~€1B+ AUM. Speedinvest actively invests in CEE founders alongside Western European startups, making it a comparable early-stage investor targeting similar founders but at much larger scale.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Europe's largest early-stage VCs with deep tech and fintech focus, actively investing across CEE including Adria-adjacent founders. Comparable on stage (seed/Series A), sector breadth (B2B SaaS, consumer), and founder support model, though at much larger AUM.

Direct peers

• Credo Ventures: Czech-based early-stage VC investing across CEE at pre-seed and seed stages in B2B SaaS, consumer, and marketplaces. Most directly comparable peer given similar stage, regional focus, founders-for-founders ethos, and similar fund size (Credo Fund III ~€60M).
• LAUNCHub Ventures: Bulgaria-based seed-stage VC focused on Southeast European founders, with strong community and ecosystem-building approach. Directly comparable as a regional seed fund targeting CEE/Balkans founders in similar sectors (SaaS, consumer, marketplaces).
• Eleven Ventures: Bulgarian early-stage VC investing in SEE and CEE founders at seed stage. Comparable regional focus, stage, and founders-for-founders positioning, with similar community-driven approach (Founders' Lounge events, ecosystem reports).
• GapMinder Venture Partners: Croatia-based early-stage VC focused on CEE founders in B2B SaaS, marketplaces, and consumer. Directly comparable as a regional seed investor; notably an active co-investor with Silicon Gardens (e.g., led InsiderCX round where SG participated).
• Early Game Ventures: Romanian early-stage VC focused on CEE founders at seed stage. Comparable on stage, regional focus, and sectors (SaaS, consumer, marketplaces); active co-investor in Silicon Gardens' rounds (Bible Chat Series A).
• Underline Ventures: Romanian early-stage VC targeting CEE founders at pre-seed and seed. Directly comparable on stage, region, and sector focus; co-invested with Silicon Gardens in Bible Chat Series A.
• South Central Ventures: SEE-focused early-to-growth VC backed by the Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility. Comparable regional focus across Adria/Western Balkans at seed and Series A stages in similar sectors.
• Fil Rouge Capital: Slovenia-based early-stage VC (Fund I €25M+) investing in CEE/Adria founders across seed and Series A. Directly comparable given shared Slovenian base, regional focus, similar sectors (SaaS, consumer, marketplaces), and stage orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silicon-gardens

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

Investments47 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Silicon Gardens