Press room
CROWDFUNDINSIDER: Early Investment Crowdfunding Firm Symbid Acquired by SeedBlink as Pan-European Rules are Set to Change Industry
Symbid, one of the earliest European investment crowdfunding platforms, has been acquired by a relatively new provider SeedBlink, according to a company statement. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. SeedBlink did share that they approached around 30 different firms before deciding on acquiring Symbid.
Article originally published in Crowdfundinsider.com on August 16, 2022.
Seedblink is a Bucharest, Romania-based operation with pan-European aspirations. Launched in 2020, SeedBlink reports more than 12,000 investors that have funded 60 different companies from 12 different countries. SeedBlink promotes its “co-investor” approach where institutional participants back firms, and smaller investors may join in a funding round.
SeedBlink’s stated mission is to create an “efficient investment infrastructure for individual and institutional investors to work together to fund innovative European technology companies.”
Symbid was founded in 2011 by a group of individuals that understood the potential of online capital formation as funding leveraged the internet to match money with early stage private firms. At one point, Symbid was listed on OTC Markets foreshadowing global ambitions. In the first ten years of operation, approximately €35 million was originated for 180 private firms pitching convertibles and equity. But the relative newness of the concept and fragmented regulatory ecosystem made execution challenging for the Dutch company. Today, years later, regulations are becoming more harmonized and issuers have become more comfortable with raising capital online.
The two companies combined report having raised more than €110 million.
In a company statement, SeedBlink said that Symbid aligned with a key aspect of their ambitions – individual investors and institutional money working together to fund young firms. SeedBlink anticipates that by acquiring a Netherlands-based operation, this will accelerate their European goal of consolidating and creating a platform to provide access to capital for tech firms at all stages.
Ionuț Pătrăhău, Managing Director & Corporate Development at SeedBlink explained that both companies have made a name for themselves in providing private investors with unique opportunities to invest in European startups. He described the acquisition as a “natural move,” anticipating more consolidation in the coming months.
“Innovation is driving the new economy, and the combination of SeedBlink and Symbid will support portfolio diversification and investment infrastructure, putting together both east and the west advantages,” said Pătrăhău. “Benelux is on everyone’s mind as it remains a strong tech region in Europe thanks to the presence of top tech cities, wealthy countries, a strong government presence, and a well-connected and educated workforce.”
Symbid co-founder Robin Slakhorst shared that they believe Europe needs more tech innovation to become more competitive on the global stage.
“Bold founders need to be financed with sufficient capital to fuel those ambitions, and individuals need professional and structured access to these venture opportunities. The combined forces will help us lead the entrepreneurial ecosystem, by offering a unique digital financing infrastructure, a secondary market and a fast network of professional investors co-investing with individuals throughout Europe.”
Slakhorst will become a consultant to the merged entity and Robbin Hoogstraten will become the Country Manager of Netherlands, SeedBlink. Steve Slakhorst will become a member of the product management team.
SeedBlink stated that in the near future, the Symbid team will continue to lead the investment efforts in Benelux while predicting that Symbid investors will benefit from new opportunities and gain access to pan-European investment opportunities through greater coverage and resources. By the end of the year, offerings, tech and investor services are expected to be aligned.
In 2023, new tools and features will be introduced, including follow-on offerings, a secondary trading platform, portfolio management tools, and more.
The “Symbid division” is expected to complement SeedBlink’s strategy of investing in pure technology firms and act as a co-investor alongside institutional investors in such opportunities.
In November 2021, the European Union approved pan-European investment crowdfunding rules (ECSPR) that enable firms to raise up to €5 million across all member states. This is expected to fuel growth in online capital formation in Europe while creating opportunities for industry consolidation. The new rules will also aid the development of a more risk driven, innovation-focused European economy – one that provides greater access to retail investors to promising private firms. SeedBlink said that it expects to be approved to become an approved ECSP by the end of 2022.
SeedBlink indicated that it continues to seek out potential acquisition targets in Europe while plans are established to open multiple new offices, including an address in France. More acquisitions may take place in 2023.
PublishedAugust 19, 2022
Share on
Be the first to know all about tech-trends, European growth, investments, and get exclusive access to all resources offered by our community!
Tudor Goicea
Co-founder of Aqurate
-
As a startup founder, I am happy to witness SeedBlink’s dedication to expanding their support for early-stage companies beyond funding, towards a healthy equity management via Nimity. A solution to help better navigate relations with stakeholders, employees and future investors is needed in Europe. Less admin work and bringing transparency to the cap table are immediate benefits I was able to test.
Delia Iliasa
Managing Partner
SanoPass
SeedBlink is a transparent solution that connects entrepreneurs with great business plans, with investors, at different stages in their development. It is a great tool for us, a democratization of access to funding, I would say.
Ioan Iacob
Founder
FLOWX.AI
We really loved the SeedBlink journey. We reached our fundraising goal within hours of launching. About 100 investors joined our vision and invested almost $2 million in FLOWX.AI through the Private Deal Room. At the same time, working with SeedBlink to prepare for the funding round was an excellent exercise for our entire team, and we received and felt the support from the SeedBlink team members who took on an advisory role.
Dan Vidrașcu
CEO
VOXA
SeedBlink made the (investment) process run smoothly. We appreciate all the support SeedBlink's professional team has provided.
Tinu Bosinceanu
Founder and CEO
Upgrade Education
It's important to look for and choose a platform that you resonate with, that shares your mission with, a platform & its people with which you feel you can have good working relationships. we got an excellent relationship going forward; we talked a lot and we were in touch on a lot of matters and I think this was important. Having people who believe in your idea is of great help.
Kimmo Rytkönen
Founder and CEO
Income
Running the financing round was like any other fundraising; we had to be active in our community as well as in SeedBlink's investor community. After the launch, everything happened very quickly, and SeedBlink organized several pitch events for investors, which we found very useful for the round momentum.
Svilen Rangelov
Founder and CEO
Dronamics
We immediately clicked with the SeedBlink team as their fundraising expertise was immediately obvious and their no-nonsense approach really appealed to us. After all, fundraising is only a means to an end, and we liked how the SeedBlink team was really focusing on supporting us and on getting things done.
Mihai Darzan
Founder
Procesio
Our main expectation has been to raise the amount we were aiming for, and both rounds launched on Seedblink exceeded our targets, so we’re very happy with that! Even though the launched funding campaigns have been purely crowdfunding rounds, we are thrilled to actually receive extra support from some of the investors, who have chosen to get involved and help us generate product awareness, whenever they can.
Catalin Mester
Founder
Voxa
I am recommending SeedBlink without hesitation, to every founder that raises capital, especially early-stage tech startups. SeedBlink is a crowd investment platform that will also provide their startup with visibility, for Angels and VCs.
Dragoș Iliescu
Founder and CEO
Brio
In the early stages, we have been funded by several early (angel) investors, and one and a half year ago through an equity crowdfunding campaign on SeedBlink. Of course, this impacted our growth in many positive ways, partly due to the cash influx that, evidently, was sorely needed, but in a larger part due to the fact that our responsibility towards our shareholders has become more stringent and explicit, becoming embodied in our market approach.
Costin Tudor
Co-founder and CEO
Undelucram
Given the accelerated growth we observed at the end of last year and the beginning of 2021, we want a new capitalization, quickly. This is a bridge round that we will use for one year, and the advantages that SeedBlink offers are the speed at which we were able to list for financing and the experience that we gain as a result of this public listing, similar to a listing on the stock exchange.
Diwaker Singh
Co-Founder & CEO
Crikle
As a platform that only serves technology ventures, SeedBlink can connect the start-up with more than just money. SeedBlink investors are primarily technocrats who understand the objectives of the fundraising company and are also able to post-funding contribute with business opportunities. The minimum investment threshold, and technology focus, differentiates SeedBlink from other fundraising platforms. A perfect fit for a technology start-up seeking intelligent funding.
Florin Stoian
Co-Founder & CEO
Milluu
SeedBlink boosted our brand exposure and facilitated the financial support we were seeking. Having a campaign on the platform allowed us not only to meet a team of professionals - that guided and helped us prepare the necessary materials - but also opened doors for increasing our brand awareness and have discussions with VCs & angel investors we have never reached before. This campaign gave us the encouragement we needed to push the product further, while the record-breaking fundraising (only 2 hours from the launch of the campaign!) was a great confirmation that our product is needed in this market and that we should continue innovating.
Raluca Jianu
CEO & Co-founder
Epic Visits
SeedBlink has created a vital ecosystem for startups at the beginning of their journey by equipping entrepreneurs with expertise, encouraging honest and sometimes uncomfortable but necessary discussions about risks and vulnerabilities through a suite of tools, and facilitating connections with investors who share the founders' vision and can contribute to their success. I have greatly appreciated the constant support of Eric and the entire team at all stages of the campaign. Thank you so much!
Join our newsletter
Your go-to source for European startup news, equity trends, VC insights, and investment opportunities.
© 2025 SeedBlink. All rights reserved.
