DEPO Ventures Cuts First Check From $4.25M Fund Into Ukraine's Zvook

Czech venture firm DEPO Ventures has closed the first deal out of its newly raised $4.25 million fund, backing Ukrainian startup Zvook, Dealroom reports.

The Prague-based investor made Zvook its opening bet from the fresh vehicle. It's a small check by fund standards — $4.25 million in total commitments — but it marks the fund's first capital deployed, and it went to a founder building out of Ukraine.

The deal signals where DEPO Ventures is pointing its new money: early-stage teams in Central and Eastern Europe, including startups operating under wartime conditions in Ukraine itself.

What do we know about the deal?

The facts, as reported:

• Who invested: DEPO Ventures, a Czech seed-stage venture firm.
• Who raised: Zvook, a Ukraine-based startup.
• Amount: The backing comes from DEPO Ventures' new fund, which totals $4.25 million.
• Deal status: This is the fund's first investment since it closed.

Neither the exact ticket size for Zvook nor the startup's valuation was disclosed in the report.

Why does a $4.25M fund matter?

It's a modest vehicle by European seed standards, and that shapes the kind of bets it can make. A fund of this size typically supports a portfolio of pre-seed and seed checks across a handful of companies rather than leading large rounds.

For DEPO Ventures, the calculus here is straightforward. The firm is placing an early marker on Ukrainian talent at a moment when the country's tech sector continues to ship products despite the war.

The first deal sets the tone for the rest of the fund. By choosing Zvook, DEPO Ventures has told its limited partners what geography and stage they should expect from the vehicle's remaining deployments.

What comes next?

Expect the Czech firm to keep deploying from the $4.25 million pool into further early-stage deals, with the Zvook investment as the template: small tickets, regional founders, first-money-in positioning.