A fresh Czech venture capital fund has attracted approximately €27 million in backing from the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of a broader push to turn academic breakthroughs into commercially viable enterprises. IP Lab Ventures Fund I, supported by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade via the country's National Recovery Plan, aims to raise more than €50 million overall and will focus on technology transfer from universities and research bodies, with emphasis on artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, biotechnology and allied fields.
Targeting 40 deep-tech projects across Czechia and CEE
The vehicle intends to support roughly 40 projects, with primary concentration in Czechia but extending into Central and Eastern Europe more broadly. Investment priorities include university spin-offs and research-driven ventures working on AI, autonomous systems, robotics, smart mobility, biotechnology, cybersecurity, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
Beyond capital deployment, the fund will collaborate with universities and research facilities to spot emerging technologies, facilitate their path to market and enable research teams to build internationally competitive operations. The initiative tackles a persistent weakness in Czechia's innovation landscape: the disconnect between academic discovery and real-world commercial success.
Data from the European Commission illustrates the scale of the challenge. Business-funded public research and development represented just 0.02% of Czech GDP in 2024, trailing the EU average of 0.06%. The Commission points to weak links between academia and industry, red tape surrounding intellectual property rights and inadequate institutional drivers for research commercialization as major impediments.
Czech science and research have enormous potential, which we must be able to turn into real economic success and globally competitive companies. This new fund is precisely the missing link that will connect cutting-edge ideas from our universities and research organisations with the capital and business support they need.
Karel Havlíček, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade
Building on experience in technology transfer
The management team behind IP Lab Ventures has been operating as a unit since 2023 and has already shepherded seven technology initiatives through commercialization, including the formation of spin-off companies. The EIF cited this track record in technology transfer as instrumental in selecting the team following a process that commenced in August 2025.
We believe they will also succeed in turning more good ideas into successful companies and firmly placing the Czech Republic on the map of European leaders in artificial intelligence and related technologies.
Marek Mora, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank
The fund has already forged ties with multiple Czech universities and research institutions and intends to deepen these collaborations. Leadership is provided by Filip Fingl, who previously headed Czech food delivery service Dáme jídlo and held roles at BCG and Rockaway Capital. Co-partners include Jiří Navrátil and Andrew Hladký, a US-based entrepreneur of Czech heritage with backgrounds at SpaceX and Tesla.
We have excellent universities, talented people and technologies that can compete globally. We want to be their partner and offer a helping hand where capital and commercialisation expertise are lacking.
Filip Fingl, Managing Partner at IP Lab Ventures
Part of Czechia's broader startup investment strategy
The €27 million commitment represents the second venture capital investment channelled through the RRF Fund of Funds, a programme financed via the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility and administered by the EIF for the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. The overall initiative carries an allocation surpassing €54 million and previously supported a fund run by Czech venture capital firm Tensor Ventures.
With the IP Lab Ventures Fund I backing now in place, the full allocation under the Fund of Funds initiative has been deployed.
