Vest Ventures invests 1 million euros in four startups

The accelerator fund Vest Ventures is awarding investment tickets totaling 1 million euros to Smartsy, BioSync, Jobful, and PeMarket.ro—the finalists of the PROWpeller competition. Vest Ventures has announced investments totaling 1,000,000 euros in four startups: Smartsy, BioSync, Jobful, and PeMarket.ro. These were the finalists of the second edition of PROWpeller: Startup Competition & Expo, held as part of the PROW Conference at the Timișoara Convention Center. This total represents the combined value of the investment tickets granted to the four teams for the next six months.

The four companies were selected from a group of 12 startups featured in the Startup Expo, where they showcased their products to investors and partners. Other participating startups included Fiora5, CautCurier, Revelio Medical, QuickLegal, Ixaria, Harmonia Technologies, Defensive Pedal, and Alpha by Zendra—some of which were previously part of the first cohort of the Vest Ventures Accelerator.

The startups selected for investment operate in diverse sectors. Smartsy is a pet-tech startup that develops smart dog houses and is expanding its operations into the DACH region in partnership with the retail group BILLA. BioSync, founded by Vlad Morar, is developing a healthtech device for measuring biomarkers in saliva, with an initial launch planned for Romania in June 2027. Jobful provides an HR tech platform for building talent communities, reporting over €500,000 in ARR and zero customer churn over the last seven years. PeMarket.ro, founded by Marius Nanu and Cătălin Rusu, integrates the automotive and real estate markets into a single platform, currently featuring over 21,000 active listings and nearly one million monthly visits.

Andrei Munteanu, Programs Managing Director and Co-Founder of Vest Ventures, stated that PROWpeller was created to provide startups with the capital and expertise needed for growth. He noted that the finalist teams demonstrated the qualities the fund looks for: ambitious founders, the ability to solve real-world problems, strong execution capabilities, and scaling potential. Vest Ventures is a €16.5 million acceleration fund dedicated to startups in Romania’s Western Region, supported by the Western Regional Development Agency. The fund is managed by a consortium comprising Startup Wise Guys, Cowork Timișoara, Growceanu, and Iceberg Plus, offering investments, acceleration programs, and mentorship across various development stages—from MVP to international expansion.

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