Spotlight on AI innovation in the CEE region: V4 FireSide Chat heads to the Czech Republic

The V4 FireSide Chat project successfully concluded its online program with the final series of events – the Czech AI Chapter, organized by Look AI Ventures. Held during the first two weeks of January 2024, this chapter focused on pre-seed and seed-stage projects driven by AI, serving as a platform to spotlight innovation within the Czech Republic and the broader V4 region. This unique initiative provided startups with an opportunity to refine their skills, establish connections with investors, and expand their presence.

Throughout the chapter, selected early-stage AI startups actively participated in a series of events, including a mentoring session, meetings with investors, and the grand culmination of it all – a Demo Day, to not only enrich their knowledge but also network within the Central and Eastern European ecosystem.

Meetup Stage

The program’s virtual Meetup Stage, held on January 10th, played a pivotal role. Participating startups had an opportunity to interact with ecosystem experts and speakers who conducted workshops aimed at elevating founders’ knowledge and enhancing their skills for investor meetings. The speaker lineup included:

• Dehua Zhu, Risk Manager Private Equity, AI and Microelectronics Expert at Innosuisse, Investor — Workshop: “Risk Management is everything – And here is why”
• Angelo Burgarello, Partner at Look AI Ventures — Workshop: “Navigating Startup Fundraising with VCs”
• Giulio Segantini, Sales Trainer & Consultant at Underdog Sales — Workshop: “Selling for Startups”
• Keynote speech: Radim Petlach, AI Consultant & Founder at AI Crunch

Demo Day

The V4 FireSide Chat: Czech AI Chapter’s grand finale occurred online on January 10th. Seven of the most promising AI solutions of the chapter pitched their innovations in front of a jury composed of seasoned VC and ecosystem experts. The showcased solutions included OpinioAI, Cequence, Readmio, MingleMinds.ai, REVital, BatteryCheck, and Kamo Ai.

The jury seats were taken by:

• Andrej Petrus, Chief Investment Officer at ZAKA VC
• Jakub Krikava, Associate at Credo Ventures
• David Clark, Venture Partner at Tera Ventures
• Angelo Burgarello, Partner at Look AI Ventures
• Maciej Sadowski, Co-Founder & CEO at StartUp Hub Poland
• Giulio Segantini, Sales Trainer & Consultant at Underdog Sales

Following careful evaluations, the judges selected Cequence, a contract lifecycle management solution, as the winner of the V4 FireSide Chat: Czech AI Chapter Demo Day. Big congratulations!

As the V4 FireSide Chat: Czech AI Chapter concludes, Look AI Ventures expresses gratitude to the speakers, jury members, and participating startups for their invaluable contributions. The collaborative efforts have not only elevated individual startups but have collectively contributed to the growth of the CEE ecosystem, strengthening its position on the global innovation stage.

About the program

The V4 FireSide Chat project is powered by StartUp Hub Poland in collaboration with Look AI Ventures and Pozi and co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The fund aims to promote sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. The program, with previous chapters hosted virtually in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, reached its completion with the Czech AI Chapter.