NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A.

What NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A. does

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A. (NIF) is a Polish government-backed venture capital co-investment fund established in 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju (NCBR), the executive agency of the Minister of Science and Higher Education. Operating as an Alternative Investment Company (ASI) under Article 8a of the Polish Act on Investment Funds, NIF invests exclusively on a pari passu basis with accredited private VC and PE funds, requiring at least 50% co-investor participation and at least 30% private capital per transaction. The fund targets innovative Polish small and medium-sized enterprises (under 250 employees, turnover under EUR 50 million) that are in growth or expansion phases and commercialising R&D results, with tickets ranging from PLN 3 million to EUR 15 million per portfolio company.

NIF's operating model is structurally passive: it does not source deals directly but routes deal flow through a continuously recruited network of 15+ accredited partner funds (including ffVC, 4growth VC, Simpact Ventures, Fidiasz, EIT InnoEnergy, ARIA, PGE Ventures, IPOPEMA TFI, DC24 ASI, and KIROI) and institutional partners (Łukasiewicz, ARP, PAIH, PARP, NASK). With a PLN 700 million investment budget allocated for 2020–2026 (approximately PLN 100 million per year) and a paid-in share capital of PLN 160 million, NIF blends public capital with private fund capital to fill a documented growth-stage funding gap in the Polish market. The portfolio spans defence technology (FlyFocus), industrial automation and digital twins (DBR77 Robotics), biotech/genomics (IMAGENE.ME, Human Biome), healthcare AI (Saventic Health), marketing automation (Digital First AI), agritech (HiProMine), cybersecurity (Nethone), and circular-economy rentals (Plenti).

The fund is led by President of the Management Board Piotr Sieradzan alongside Member of the Management Board Marcin Syposz, with a lean 1–10 person team headquartered at ul. Chmielna 69, Warsaw. GTM is channel-led via partner funds; monetisation comes from capital appreciation at exit rather than management fees, and the fund explicitly does not integrate ESG/sustainability factors into its investment decisions under SFDR disclosure. Recent strategic activity (2024–2026) shows accelerating deal cadence, expansion of the partner network, and institutional positioning moves such as joining Pracodawcy RP (Employers of Poland) and partnering with Kielecki Park Technologiczny.

Name

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A.

Legal name

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A.

Website

https://nifasi.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A. is a Polish government-backed venture capital co-investment fund, wholly owned by the National Centre for Research and Development, that invests PLN 3M–EUR 15M per deal alongside accredited private VC/PE funds in innovative Polish SMEs commercialising R&D results.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Co-Investment / Direct Allocation Platforms (alongside FoF) (FSANAGAK)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Co-investment capital
• Growth equity financing
• R&D commercialization
• SME innovation 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

Revenue model

1. Investment returns and capital gains: NIF generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. The main investment objective is to increase asset value through appreciation of held investments. Revenue comes from capital gains upon exit of portfolio companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A. (NIF) is a co-investment venture capital fund that provides growth equity capital ranging from PLN 3 million to EUR 15 million per transaction to innovative Polish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the growth or expansion phase that are commercializing research and development results. NIF invests exclusively on a pari passu basis alongside one or more accredited VC/PE partner funds, with at least 50% of each investment coming from co-investors and at least 30% from private investors, drawing on a PLN 700 million investment budget for the 2020-2026 period.

Product overview

NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A. is a co-investment venture capital fund that provides investment capital to innovative Polish SMEs commercializing research and development results. The fund operates as a single product (the co-investment fund) with a mission to support R&D+I projects. Its investment budget is PLN 700 million, with individual investments ranging from PLN 3 million to EUR 15 million. The fund works exclusively with verified Partner Funds on co-investment opportunities, investing on equal terms (pari passu) with private capital. The fund does not operate as a software product company but as a financial services institution providing equity capital to its portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Co-Investment Fund Services Venture capital co-investment fund providing growth equity capital of PLN 3 million to EUR 15 million per transaction to innovative Polish SMEs in growth or expansion phase that are commercializing research and development results, investing on a pari passu basis with accredited VC/PE partner funds.

Named customers13 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

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core partner and institutional.

• Pracodawcy RP (Employers of Poland)minorOthers · 25 June 2026NIF joined as member to one of the most important organizations representing entrepreneurs' interests in Poland. Opens new collaboration opportunities with business representatives, investors, public institutions, and experts.
• Kielecki Park Technologicznycore partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Partnership agreement signed to develop innovation ecosystem and create mechanisms for identifying and supporting promising technology ventures. Aims to facilitate startup access to capital for development and commercialization.
• Industrial Development Agency S.A. (ARP S.A.)institutionalOthersState-owned company within Polish Development Fund Group. Manages special economic zones (SEZ EURO-PARK MIELEC and TSEZ EURO-PARK WISŁOSAN). Portfolio includes manufacturing companies in construction, energy, and electromechanical engineering sectors.
• Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH)institutionalOthersGovernment agency increasing foreign direct investment inflow and supporting Polish enterprise internationalization. Operates both in Poland and through Foreign Trade Offices.
• Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP)institutionalOthersGovernment agency reporting to minister of economy. Manages state budget and EU funds supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and human resource development.
• ŁukasiewiczinstitutionalOthersThird largest research organization in Europe and largest in Poland. Provides complete technological solutions, proposing solutions to technological problems within 15 days across 50+ locations.
• NASKinstitutionalOthersNational Research Institute supervised by Chancellery of Prime Minister. Key activities include Internet security, operating CERT Polska team and serving as one of three national CSIRTs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KfW Capital: German state-backed venture and growth fund-of-funds manager under KfW Group, providing equity to German VC/PE funds — structurally analogous to NIF as a government-sponsored capital catalyst for innovation financing.
• PFR Ventures: Polish state-backed venture fund-of-funds under Polski Fundusz Rozwoju, operating a co-investment model with private VCs that closely mirrors NIF's pari passu structure in the Polish SME market.
• Bpifrance: French public investment bank providing direct equity, co-investment, and fund-of-funds capital to French innovative SMEs, operating a comparable state-backed mandate focused on R&D-intensive growth companies.
• CDP Venture Capital: Italian state-backed venture capital operator under Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, deploying public capital through co-investment and direct mandates to scale Italian deeptech and growth-stage SMEs — a near-perfect structural analogue to NIF.
• British Business Bank: UK government-backed economic development bank with VC and growth capital programs supporting innovative SMEs, sharing NIF's public-capital-plus-private-partnership mandate to address domestic venture funding gaps.

Broad incumbents

• European Investment Fund (EIF): EU-level fund-of-funds and VC investor that anchors many national co-investment platforms across Europe; NIF and partners like EIT InnoEnergy frequently tap EIF commitments, making it a meta-level peer in the same ecosystem.
• Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK): Polish state development bank managing EU funds and national development programs including VC and SME financing instruments, operating at a broader scale but in overlapping public-capital deployment mandates.

Emerging players

• ff Venture Capital (ffVC): Tech and gaming-focused VC with a Warsaw office that is one of NIF's most active co-investment partners; operates in the same Polish tech ecosystem and competes for similar early-stage mandates.
• Simpact Ventures: Poland's first impact-investing VC fund, backed by EIF, that co-invests alongside NIF in Polish SMEs; shares the same deal pool and partnership-driven sourcing model.
• 4growth VC: Polish fintech and insurtech specialist VC founded by former Alior Bank executives, frequently co-investing with NIF on Polish SMEs and competing for the same Series A/B tickets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nif_ncbr
• Facebookfacebook.com/NCBiR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ncbr-investment-fund-asi-s-a

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments10 records

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

Frequently asked questions about NCBR Investment Fund ASI S.A.