MyCol, a company making temperature-sensitive labels, will be the first to receive investment funds from the Vesna venture capital fund, a joint effort of Slovenian and Croatian development banks aiming to promote deep tech projects from both countries.

The seed investment contract was signed on 18 September, but the parties did not disclose the financial details.

Founded in 2017, MyCol is a spin-out of the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana. It offers innovative solutions for a sustainable visual control of temperature.

The company creates smart labels with temperature-sensitive chromogenic material printed in different shapes that change colour when a certain temperature is exceeded.

The investment will allow MyCol to boost marketing and sales activities, as well as presence at fairs and conferences, said Marta Klanjšek Gunde, CEO of MyCol. They will also expand production, so bigger facilities and more production staff will be required.

"The Vesna venture capital fund is an important step in the development of Slovenia's innovation ecosystem," said the director of the Institute of Chemistry Gregor Anderluh.

"I am glad that the first investment contract the fund signed with a Slovenian company was with a spin-out of the Institute of Chemistry. That is especially important in light of the growing importance of scientific and technological innovations in addressing global challenges," Anderluh said.

He believes innovations developed in the institute's laboratories should live on in the form of new products and services. "Many disruptive ideas grow into viable solutions with the transition to spin-out companies, which increases their positive effect on the society," Anderluh added.

Vesna, the first regional venture capital fund specialised in investing in deep tech projects and startups, was launched earlier this year with a view to supporting ventures that will help solve the planet's most urgent problems.

The fund has been developed by the Slovenian Export and Development Bank, the Croatian Development Bank and the European Investment Fund.

The essence of Vesna is to turn basic research into commercial services, Nina Dremelj, a managing partner, told the Slovenian Press Agency in June.

"We're going to invest in innovative ideas from Slovenia and Croatia. We are looking for ideas in very early phases that emerge in research groups," she said.

They are aiming to find either university teams that have lab prototypes and encourage them to start a company, or existing companies that need venture capital to accelerate growth.

An early-stage startup may get €1.5 million. If they are successful, they may get another €1.5 million in subsequent rounds of financing, Dremelj said at the time.