Silicon Gardens II is a follow-up to Silicon Gardens I, which was established in 2014 to support ten early-stage companies, six of which are still active and growing, the community has announced.

Silicon Gardens, which was formed in 2010, added that the new fund was established in October 2019 and raised EUR 4 million from private investors by the end of last year, investing the funds in five digital companies so far.

According to Peter Ribarič, director of Silicon Gardens I, the new venture capital fund is a logical continuation, associating successful entrepreneurs who want to share capital and know-how with the new generation of start-up founders.

The plan is to raise and invest a total of EUR 5 million, with the main purpose being active assistance to start-ups in reaching a stage at which they will be comfortable and ready to hit international markets.

The investors come from successful technological companies, including the Slovenian subsidiary of the Swiss sports data analysis company Sportradar, video game developer Outfit7, software company Cosylab and e-commerce companies Studio Moderna and Mimovrste.

Silicon Gardens II has invested in companies which it believes have the potential to grow fast, with their teams being active in Slovenia or abroad and expanding on international markets, the press release says.

Gregor Rebolj of Sportradar, director of the new fund, said that the main problem in Slovenia was marketing and globalisation. "We want to jump over this hurdle and help Slovenian entrepreneurs enter international markets."