Runa Capital
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Serg Bell, Ilya Zubarev, Dmitry Chikhachev |
| Headquarters | Luxembourg , Luxembourg |
Area served | Europe, North America |
Key people | Konstantin Vinogradov (General Partner), Michael Fanfant (General Partner), Andre Bliznyuk (General Partner), Jinal Jhaveri (Venture Partner) |
| Products | Venture capital funds |
| Website | runacap |
Runa Capital is a global venture capital firm based in Luxembourg, specializing in early-stage investments within deep tech, enterprise software, and fintech infrastructure sectors. Since its inception in 2010, the firm has accumulated approximately $500 million through four distinct funds, deploying capital into over 100 startups across more than 14 countries spanning Europe and North America. Its portfolio includes prominent companies such as Nginx, MariaDB, Zopa, Brainly, drchrono, Smava, and Mambu.
History
The firm was established in 2010 by technology entrepreneurs Serg Bell and Ilya Zubarev, known for founding Acronis and Parallels, together with their colleague Dmitry Chikhachev from MIPT. The idea for Runa Capital originated in 2009 before formal incorporation. The initial funding came from the founders’ own resources, supplemented by international investors including Achim Weiss and Andreas Gauger—founders of German hosting company 1&1—as well as Edward Nicholson, former CEO of Brunswick-UBS.
In 2011, Andre Bliznyuk joined the team as General Partner. By 2022, Konstantin Vinogradov and Michael Fanfant were elevated to general partners, managing the firm’s European and U.S. divisions respectively. Serg Bell departed from his role as general partner in 2023. Additionally, venture partner Jinal Jhaveri became part of Runa Capital in 2020.
Starting in 2020, Runa Capital began releasing the Runa Open Source Startup (ROSS) Index on a quarterly basis, which ranks the fastest-growing open-source software startups. Alongside this, the firm publishes an annual report analyzing trends within commercial open-source software.
Funds
- Runa Capital I, which began in 2010, had accumulated $135 million by 2012, concentrating on investments from seed stage through Series B. Initially, the fund focused on startups in Eastern Europe working in cloud computing, machine learning, virtualization, mobile technologies, and internet applications before broadening its scope to include Europe and the United States.
- Runa Capital II, initiated in 2014, also secured $135 million by 2016 with significant contributions from previous investors. This fund emphasized Series A and B financing rounds. To enhance its footprint in the US market, the firm established an office in California in 2015.
- Runa Capital III, finalized at $157 million in May 2020, exceeded its original $135 million goal. It continued to prioritize deep technology ventures, adding a particular focus on companies developing quantum computing solutions.
- Runa Capital Opportunity Fund I, launched in May 2022, raised $69 million by late 2022.
Investments
Runa Capital generally allocates between $1 million and $10 million per investment, primarily targeting Series A round financings. Between 2010 and 2022, the firm invested in more than 100 enterprises, with an approximately equal distribution across North America and Europe:
| Company | Description | Headquarters | Investment Year | Acquisition Year | Acquirer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nginx | Open-source web server | San Francisco | 2011 | 2019 | F5 |
| Mambu | Cloud-based banking platform (SaaS) | Berlin | 2012 | — | — |
| Brainly | Social learning platform | Kraków | 2014 | — | — |
| Anyroad | Platform for managing experience relationships | San Francisco, CA | 2021 | — | — |
| Lendio | SME loan marketplace | Lehi, UT | 2013 | — | — |
| Pasqal | Developer of quantum computing hardware | Palaiseau | 2021 | — | — |
| Smava | Consumer lending portal | Berlin | 2018 | — | — |
| drchrono | Platform for electronic health records | Mountain View, CA | 2017 | — | — |
| Zopa | Peer-to-peer lending service | London | 2013 | — | — |
| MariaDB | Relational database management system provider | Espoo; Redwood City, CA | 2015 | — | — |
| Acumatica | Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) | Bellevue, WA | 2013 | 2019 | EQT AB |
| Zype | Video content management solution | New York | 2017 | — | — |
| Reelgood | Streaming content aggregator | San Francisco | 2019 | — | — |
| Zipdrug | Personalized pharmacy services | New York, NY | 2019 | 2020 | IngenioRx |
| Ecwid | SaaS e-commerce platform | Encinitas, CA | 2011 | 2020 | Morgan Stanley, PeakSpan Capital |
| Oxygen | Digital banking platform | San Francisco, CA | 2019 | — | — |
| Procurify | Cloud procurement software | Vancouver | 2016 | — | — |
| StopTheHacker | Anti-malware security service | Burlingame, California#Burlingame,_CA | 2012 | 2014 | CloudFlare |
| OfficeRnD | Flex workspace management platform | Sofia | 2021 | — | — |
| Capptain | Mobile analytics provider | Paris | 2012 | 2014 | Microsoft |
| bunny.net | Cloud storage services | Ljubljana, Slovenia | 2022 | — | — |
Affiliated funds
In 2012, Runa Capital introduced the $30 million Quantum Wave Fund (Qwave), concentrating on emerging companies within the field of quantum technology and acting as a complementary branch focused on materials science within its investment portfolio. Later, in 2019, Runa Capital took on the role of a limited partner in 1confirmation’s second venture fund dedicated to cryptocurrency, thereby broadening its involvement in blockchain-related ventures.