This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Venture capital investment in Poland reached PLN 5.03 billion in the first three quarters of 2026, although two major deals accounted for much of the total. Despite signs of recovery, the market still lacks sufficient capital to finance startups at later stages of development.
In the third quarter of 2026, 48 startups secured funding. Investors provided them with a combined PLN 407 million for further development, according to Transactions on the Polish VC Market Q3 2026, a report prepared by PFR Ventures and Inovo.vc.
The value of venture capital (VC) investments in the first three quarters of the year reached PLN 5.03 billion – an all-time record. However, this result was largely driven by two major transactions. ElevenLabs raised PLN 1.81 billion, while ICEYE secured PLN 1.913 billion. The previous record stood at PLN 3.644 billion, set in 2022.
Are we witnessing a two-speed market?
"Financing innovative companies through venture capital funds is a race, regardless of the country. There is always a small group of the best, most interesting and fastest-growing companies, followed by the peloton.
"Just like in cycling, nothing is predetermined. Securing a major funding round from international investors, even one worth more than PLN 100 million, does not guarantee victory.
"So, in a simplified sense, the VC market is indeed a two-speed market. That is an inherent feature of the industry," says Aleksander Mokrzycki, vice president of PFR Ventures.
Interactive chart FENG fuels seed investment. What about later stages?
Poland's venture capital market is gradually gaining momentum. Since the sector remains heavily dependent on public capital, much of the recovery can be attributed to funding provided through PFR Ventures programmes.
"After a somewhat weaker two years, Poland's VC market is starting to accelerate again. Two years ago, an average of 28 seed-stage transactions were completed each quarter.
"New EU funding from the FENG programme [European Funds for a Modern Economy – editor's note] has increased that figure to 36 investments per quarter. I expect the number to rise further by the end of the year," Mokrzycki says in the report.
Nevertheless, a shortage of larger, later-stage funding rounds remains evident.
The third quarter saw nine transactions classified as Series A rounds, just one Series B round and one growth-stage investment.
A substantial funding gap has persisted in these segments for years.
Interactive chart Investor's perspective
Capital is not everything. Expertise and risk assessment matter too
Young companies need funding to validate their technology and build a business, while investors often expect proof that the commercial model already works.
This is particularly evident in biotechnology, where the journey from discovery to commercialization is long and progress must be assessed through research results and successive milestones.
The challenge is finding the right balance between caution and a willingness to take risks.
Regardless of whether capital comes from private or public sources, investment decisions should be based on a thorough assessment of the technology, the team and the market.
Public funding, including capital provided through PFR funds, plays an important role in developing the ecosystem. However, it should be accompanied by clear principles of accountability and performance evaluation.
The role of a VC fund is not to take risks at any cost, but to identify which risks are worth financing and what results would justify further investment.
That is why the expertise of fund managers is just as important as access to money.
Experience in building companies, supported by industry knowledge, helps investors evaluate ambitious projects and support founders when development does not proceed as expected.
This combination of capital, expertise and informed risk-taking can help Polish startups turn promising technologies into businesses operating on an international scale.
Foreign investors finance Polish companies
Among the largest transactions in the third quarter supported by PFR Ventures, the report highlights investments in Pathway, Sportano, Pstryk and DefendEye.
According to Aleksander Mokrzycki, dual-use technologies are currently among the fastest-growing segments of the European VC market. These are technologies with both civilian and military applications. He expects this trend to continue.
One transaction that caught the attention of the PFR Ventures vice president was an investment in Polish company DefendEye, which attracted funding from In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm backed by the CIA.
Pathway, meanwhile, has raised substantial capital – PLN 130 million over the past several years.
Its investors in 2022 included Inovo.vc and Market One Capital. In 2024, Id4 Ventures, TQ Ventures and Kadmos Capital joined the group. The 2026 funding round was backed by Red Bridge Ventures and WS Investment, the investment arm of law firm Wilson Sonsini.
Over the past three months, more than half of the capital invested in Polish companies came from private international investors.
Interactive chart Polish funds are increasingly investing abroad
In recent years, not only have Polish companies become more successful at attracting foreign investors, but domestic VC funds have also grown increasingly willing to venture beyond Poland.
In the first three quarters of 2026, they participated in 81 such transactions worth a combined PLN 669 million.
Another increasingly visible trend is investment in startups established abroad, including in the United States, by Polish founders.
In such cases, it is easier for Polish funds to build networks and gain access to companies.
"Polish funds, particularly Expeditions Fund, Balnord and OTB Ventures, are becoming key players in developing Europe's defense and resilience ecosystem.
"We have seen unprecedented activity by domestic investors in dual-use, defense and deep-tech companies.
"Polish capital has supported companies working on autonomous systems and unmanned vehicles (Orqa Holding, Regent Craft), software for analytics and countering disinformation (Osavul, Project Q), strategic photonics and advanced hardware (INLEAP Photonics), and space infrastructure (Infinite Orbits).
"Polish funds play a very important role in building transatlantic sovereignty.
"At the same time, we are also seeing investments of this kind in Poland itself, including DefendEye and semiQa," says Radosław Kuchar, investment manager at PFR Ventures, quoted in the report.
According to Karol Lasota, a partner at Inovo.vc, plenty is happening behind the scenes in Poland's VC market. The final quarter of the year could therefore bring some interesting transactions.
He emphasizes that funding rounds are no longer assembled slowly over extended periods. The process has become considerably shorter, with investment decisions often made very quickly.
Frequently, they are based on established relationships and trust built over many years.
Key Takeaways
- Record VC investment figures do not tell the whole story of the market. Funding reached PLN 5.03 billion in the first three quarters of 2026, but a substantial share came from major rounds involving ElevenLabs and ICEYE. In the third quarter alone, 48 startups raised a combined PLN 407 million.
- Early-stage funding is growing, but later-stage investment remains a major gap. Capital flowing into the market through the FENG programme has increased the average number of quarterly seed investments from 28 to 36. However, the third quarter saw only nine Series A rounds, one Series B round and one growth-stage investment. Capital for financing more mature startups remains scarce.
- Polish VC funds are becoming increasingly active abroad, particularly in strategic technologies. In the first three quarters of the year, they participated in 81 international transactions worth a combined PLN 669 million. Their main areas of interest include dual-use technologies, defense, deep tech and space infrastructure.