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Wrocław-based VC fund supports young tech companies with PLN 7.5 million

26.05.2025

The investment fund Hard2beat, co-founded by Wrocław native Maciej Zawadziński, along with Konrad Trzyna and Maciej Frankowicz, has just announced its first investments. A total of PLN 7.5 million was allocated to three innovative startups: Neuromedical, Defguard, and DefendEye. This is just the beginning – the fund plans to support at least five more young companies by the end of this year. The investments were announced on May 20 during the Hard2beat Connect event – the fund’s official launch. Although a year and a half has passed since the initial announcement of its creation, that time has been well spent. The result is three initial transactions funded through the EU’s FENG program, as part of the PFR Starter initiative. For the market, this is a long-awaited moment – after years of limited early-stage VC funding, this signals a potential revival for financing young, tech-driven companies.

Investing in unique ideas

Hard2beat focuses on companies with a real chance of achieving global success – particularly those developing unique technologies that cannot be easily replicated.

“We invest in teams building something truly unique. These are solutions that cannot be easily copied. Such an advantage is key to becoming part of our portfolio.”
Konrad Trzyna
“We want to finance projects that combine ambitious science with practical application and have a clear path to global scale.”
Maciej Zawadziński

Who received support?

Neuromedical is a Polish-Israeli medical project. The company has developed VGuard – a small device for vagus nerve stimulation. In studies, it has helped patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia improve memory and concentration. With the funding, the company will complete clinical trials and seek regulatory approval in Europe and the U.S.

Defguard is developing an open-source cybersecurity platform that enables secure access to IT infrastructure. Its innovation is the first solution to implement mandatory multi-factor authentication at the VPN protocol level – significantly enhancing data security.

DefendEye is working on an autonomous drone system for both civilian and military applications. The set consists of a drone, launcher, and cloud-based system – all designed for rapid response in emergency situations. The company has raised nearly PLN 5 million, which will allow it to conduct testing and begin pilot production.

Ambitious plans ahead

The Hard2beat team has no intention of slowing down.

“We have more companies in our sights and are in advanced talks with two of them. We’ll finalize at least five new investments by the end of the year.”
Maciej Frankowicz

Hard2beat also plans to continue supporting its portfolio companies – through both capital injections and strategic advisory. This is great news for innovative teams from Wrocław and across Poland seeking early-stage support.

Wrocław on the VC map

According to Paulina Muszyńska, Head of Startup Wrocław, the presence of Hard2beat in the city confirms that Wrocław is firmly on the map of Poland’s key VC centers.

“This is one of the leading funds in the country. We hope its activity will also translate into support for local startups – especially since the fund is backed by experts who know how to invest capital effectively.”
Paulina Muszyńska
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