Record breaking. This is a simple way to sum up, 2022, not only for our office but also for the Czech startup scene. The founding partners of Novalia back in 2015 were at home in the technology world, but that world was small in size compared to what we see today.  The Czech startup scene has grown exponentially since then and Novalia’s footprint with it. Over the past year Novalia has handled a record number and value of transactions since its foundation.

It’s been a ride! The year 2022 brought several record-breaking transactions to the Czech startup world. And Novalia was there for many of them.

Our biggest and most significant transaction was Alter (Omnipresence Inc.), which was (quietly) acquired by Google. This is one of the largest exits with a Czech footprint on the domestic scene, and lawyers Bill Finney and Kamil Stanek from Novalia, who were in charge of the Czech part of the acquisition, were also involved. For several months, the deal was not public at all before TechCrunch released the information.

We also had the honor of exiting the Czech startup Roivenue, which was bought by the Dutch company ScanmarQED. CzechCrunch wrote about the transaction.

In addition to large, successful exits, we have been at the table for significant VC investments. Our long-term client Productboard caused a big stir. Currently the  most valuable Czech startup with a valuation of over $1.7 billion, Productboard acquired a 100% stake in SatisMeter. This is the first acquisition of  the second Czech unicorn. Pavel Marc, a founding partner of Novalia, who managed the transaction as Productboard’s Czech legal advisor, ensured its smooth progress. More information was brought by the CzechCrunch.

We are happy to have been part of the beginning of Convertim, a new and important startup that was founded by our long-term client Petr Svoboda. In less than a year, he has managed to get investment with this startup newcomer, adding three large e-shops to his portfolio and five more are in implementation.  He is already active in eight countries. Read more at CzechCrunch.

Czech data startup Keboola has also made its debut. It announced its first-ever investment last year and raised $4.5 million in a seed round, or about CZK 107 million. Forbes wrote about investment.

Travel is reporting a renaissance, and with it, the startup Daytrip, which received a cash injection in the form of a giant investment that Novalia, for the umpteenth time, oversaw from the legal side for the startup’s founders. 

However, Novalia does not only represent startups but also funds, even foreign ones. We are pleased to be able to help bring the Czech scene to the world, to open doors for foreign capital. Last year, for example, the Estonian fund Tera Ventures chose our office as a lead investor in the Czech startup Superface. The closing of the investment was legally led by Jakub Císař. More information was provided by Lupa.

In the Czech legal environment, few people will have more experience with startup transactions than Jakub. Last year we had several opportunities to comment on the Czech startup scene in the media. The big topic was employee shares, which Jakub discussed together with Pavel Šíma, the head of Roivenue, in an episode of the podcast Na vlně podnikání. Jakub also commented on the same topic for the Ekonom weekly or E15.