About This Fund
500 Emerging Europe Fund II is a €70 million early-stage venture capital fund focused on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), managed by 500 Emerging Europe — a regional venture platform originally affiliated with 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups), the Silicon Valley–based accelerator and multi-stage VC firm. The fund targets founders from the CEE and Turkey region building globally scalable technology companies, with a particular emphasis on identifying 'emerging talent arbitrage': highly skilled, globally ambitious founders operating in markets where early-stage capital has historically been underrepresented relative to the density of engineering talent. The fund maintains independent operational decision-making, with the 500 Global affiliation providing access to the Silicon Valley network and follow-on syndication reach.
Fund II deploys initial tickets of up to €1 million for 5–10% equity stakes at the seed and early Series A stages. Geographic emphasis falls on Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, and Turkey, which together account for approximately 50% of portfolio allocations, with the balance split across the broader CEE corridor from the Baltic to the Adriatic. Portfolio companies span enterprise SaaS, fintech, machine learning operations tools, and developer infrastructure — sectors where CEE engineering depth has historically produced high-output founding teams with global ambitions. The fund has made 36 investments across its deployment cycle.
Fund II was launched in 2022 and reached its €70 million target. The fund's total portfolio of companies has collectively raised over $3 billion in follow-on funding from top-tier global investors including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with several portfolio companies nearing unicorn valuation thresholds. In November 2024, the 500 Emerging Europe team rebranded the firm as e2vc, reflecting an evolution from the 500 Global affiliation toward a fully independent identity, while Fund II continues to operate under its original structure and investment mandate.