This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
The first quarter of 2026 in the venture capital (VC) market was dominated by a single transaction that significantly shaped the overall outcome for the period. At the same time, the market continued to show a clear tilt toward seed-stage rounds, with low activity in later-stage financing.
The first three months of 2026 in venture capital produced both a record quarterly investment value in startups with Polish roots and a decline in activity – depending on how the data is framed. A single company, ElevenLabs, had a decisive impact: in February it raised PLN 1.81 billion (approximately EUR 420 million), markedly inflating the headline figures.
According to the report “Transactions on the Polish VC Market Q1 2026,” prepared by PFR Ventures and Inovo.vc, the total market value in the first quarter amounted to nearly PLN 2.12 billion (around EUR 490 million). However, excluding the ElevenLabs mega-round, the figure drops to PLN 308 million (about EUR 71 million).
Over a five-year horizon, only two quarters have recorded lower results – among them a period of transition in EU funding policy, when existing funds were being phased out while new ones were still being launched.
Rozalia Urbanek, acting president of PFR Ventures, noted that the results for the start of the year are 80% higher than in 2024, while being 32% lower than in 2025. Against the average for the first quarters of the past three years, however, the trend remains broadly stable.
Interactive chart Megarounds as the center of gravity in the VC market
Analysts cited in the report emphasize that ElevenLabs’ megaround accounts for nearly half of all such transactions in the Polish ecosystem. Between 2023 and 2026, the company raised a total of PLN 2.9 billion (approximately EUR 670 million). By comparison, the startups Docplanner, Booksy, Brainly, and ICEYE – which completed the largest funding rounds – raised a combined PLN 3.5 billion (around EUR 810 million) from investors between 2019 and 2025.
As Karol Lasota, partner at Inovo.vc, notes in the report, in venture capital it takes “just that one right one.”
“I believe there will be more and more of these outliers. Experienced founders with proven track records and large exits see the opportunities opened up by artificial intelligence (AI) and want to build something even bigger,” Mr. Lasota said.
AI valuations and the question of what makes a company “Polish”
According to Luiza Nowacka, investment manager at Vinci, ElevenLabs’ mega-round stands out and suggests that companies capable of competing globally may emerge from the Polish ecosystem. At the same time, from the perspective of the domestic market, ElevenLabs’ valuation – around PLN 40 billion (approximately EUR 9.3 billion) – is high, although further growth remains plausible given the pace of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and the company’s expansion trajectory.
Regardless of market reports and analyses, participants in the ecosystem repeatedly return to the question of how to classify companies developed from the outset under an international model – and to what extent they can still be considered Polish. It is worth noting that each of the so-called outliers currently has its main headquarters outside Poland. This raises the question of whether this is a natural stage of development or rather the effect of limitations within the domestic startup support ecosystem.
Interactive chart High seed activity amid a lack of growth rounds
Excluding ElevenLabs, 46 companies secured funding from 47 funds. In the first quarter, seed-stage rounds clearly dominated, covering 35 startups. At Series A stage, there were eight transactions, while Series B saw one deal, and D/E rounds also accounted for a single transaction.
The lower overall investment value may be attributed to a smaller number of large rounds. A single quarter, however, is not sufficient to determine whether this is a lasting trend.
“We have just seen the strongest start to the year in terms of the number of seed-stage transactions. We recorded a 60% increase compared with the same period in 2025. At the same time, there were no growth-stage deals, which in the same period last year accounted for roughly one-third of deployed capital. This had a significant impact on the result. I expect that in the coming quarters we will see an increase in the number of Series A and A+ transactions,” said Maciej Małysz, partner at Inovo.vc.
Investor's perspective
Europe and the illusion of investment
Europe, including Poland, has turned bricks into the hero of the story. The problem is that scattering bricks across a construction site does not produce a house. And it certainly does not ensure they end up in the hands of the best builders. Today, the system works the other way around. It is not the builders who attract capital – it is capital that looks for ways to be “distributed.” What matters is absorption of funds, not the quality of outcomes. PR, unfortunately, beats reality.
The result? The market appears active, but is inefficient underneath. This is not the fault of officials. They act rationally within a system that rewards safety, procedure, and the absence of risk. No one ever lost their job for choosing a “safe project.” Yet innovation, by definition, is not safe. If we want more “houses,” we do not need more bricks. What we need is better selection of builders, a higher tolerance for risk, and a system that rewards results rather than distribution. Until that changes, we will continue to have more bricks – and fewer buildings.
Average investment values and sources of funding
The average transaction value in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to PLN 6.9 million (approximately EUR 1.6 million). This was lower than in each quarter of the previous year. The median, meanwhile, stood at PLN 3.4 million (around EUR 790,000).
The main source of capital was PFR Ventures, which implements, among other initiatives, programs backed by EU funds. It accounted for 46% of total transaction value. Private foreign investors were responsible for 25%, while private Polish investors accounted for 17% of the overall value.
Key Takeaways
- The average transaction value in Q1 2026 stood at PLN 6.9 million (approximately EUR 1.6 million), while the median was PLN 3.4 million (around EUR 790,000). The main source of capital was PFR Ventures, which accounted for 46% of total transaction value. Private foreign investors were responsible for 25%, while private Polish investors accounted for 17% of the overall value.
- In the first quarter of 2026, the single most significant factor shaping total investment value in the VC market was the ElevenLabs transaction, worth PLN 1.81 billion (approximately EUR 420 million). Its scale materially boosted the overall quarterly result. Excluding this deal, invested capital amounted to PLN 308 million (around EUR 71 million).
- In terms of deal structure, seed-stage rounds clearly dominated the first three months of 2026, covering 35 companies. At Series A stage, eight transactions were recorded, while Series B saw one deal and D/E rounds also accounted for a single transaction. No growth-stage transactions were recorded in the period under review.