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Based in Prague, InsightArt was launched in 2018 and is a subsidiary of the company ADVACAM – a NASA-certified supplier and developer of patented WidePIX single-photon processing detectors that grew from Medipix chip research at CERN. Right now, this is the only company on the international art authentication market today using scanners with single-photon processing detectors. No competitor can match the level of quality and information that InsightArt can provide.
In January 2018 was the fashion brand Nahmias established and its worn today by world-famous celebrities.
The collections are currently stocked by luxury boutiques and department stores such as Harrods in London.
Nahmias is based in Los Angeles, which is fast becoming the Paris of the West and city of fashion in the USA.
Ivan has been involved with Slovakia’s startup community from its inception, both as an entrepreneur as well as a speaker at Startupcamp events. With his background in digital presentation & development he is able to help the product see the market and reach its desired target group. Ivan is passionate about critical thinking, tabletop games, new technologies and pizza. He likes to deeply understand anything he does and challenge founders who do not run their projects with thorough understanding.
He gained valuable experience from his time at Zaraguza — one of Facebook’s Top 10 marketing agencies in the world — he co-founded his first IT venture 10 years ago.
He joined MiddleCap in …. and he works closely with Air Ventures which is a venture capital investor that became part of MiddleCaps portfolio. He is looking for valuable investments in the market of startups and after their acquisitions is helping to lead the startups into valuable business.
Vaclav has 10 years of experience of developing brands in multiple regions, a skill he is providing to support the portfolio companies with strategic insight into their (potential) customers. At the end, it’s not an investor but it’s a customer who decides whether the startup will be a rocket heading to stars or whether it explodes during take-off. With own entrepreneurial past, Vaclav knows how it feels to step into founders shoes – we might call it founders empathy. Vaclav runs, reads, writes, mix vinyl grooves and stands behind SWCsummit.com event.
Launched: 2016
Acquired: 2018
Acquired: 2018
Acquired: 2019
The Air Ventures start-up fund is planning an investment expansion in the coming years. He will be helped by his new partner, the Slovak advisory and investment group MiddleCap Group. As a result, the Group not only expands the investment scope of Air Ventures, but also supplies know-how to process larger investments.
The agreement on the entry of Slovak investors into Air Ventures was signed by representatives of both companies. In the next three years, startup investors will support talented teams and projects of up to € 10 million. Startups interested in investment and cooperation can be submitted by filling out the form at www.airvcs.com.
The first joint investment is heading to the Czech Republic. Air Ventures enters InsightArt, a startup dedicated to recognizing the authenticity of art with a patent based on space technology.
“The unique know-how of the Prague team tested, among others, at a space station, years of honest research and a very interesting art market that needs a thorough reform,” calculates Air Ventures CEO Vaclav Pavlecka for the reasons why his company invested in Startup.
InsightArt is already planning a pilot operation at the European Art Trade Center in London. He also cooperates with the Prague Gallery of Fine Arts and selected experts. “The global art market has overslept technologically in the century. Revolution awaits. Current methods of art analysis are outdated. InsightArt moves to the 21st century and allows analysis of the authenticity of works, but also gives restorers an unprecedented amount of information about the fabric Simply put – it allows to preserve more effectively the enormous cultural value of historically valuable works,”adds Pavlečka. In addition to the investment from the Prague incubator and ESA BIC, InsightArt is also receiving the first seed investment to move technology to the European market during the year.
For the MiddleCap Group investment holding, joining Air Ventures is a way to build your startup division and complement your service portfolio with venture capital. Startups add to the existing areas of MiddleCap Group – the company acts as a long-term real estate investor and actively seeks opportunities with hidden investment potential in the areas of private equity, venture capital and capital markets.
“Venture Capital’s investment opportunities mapping is a natural result of market developments and our sincere interest in promoting young talent and innovation. Acquiring a majority stake in Air Ventures’ venture capital fund is thus the logical outcome of our long-term plans in this segment. In Prague, Middlecap Group will serve as a platform to buy new startups, helping new startups grow and offer our know-how, as we have announced, over the next three years, Air Ventures has the ambition to invest up to 10 million euros,” commented acquisition of CEO MiddleCap Group, Matej Majerčák.
Potential startups want Air Ventures to offer resources as well as expert help with the market strategy. The co-founders of the fund are brand communication experts – Václav Pavlečka worked as a strategic planner for global agency Le Burnett, and also worked for clients in New York and Shen Zhen, China. Michal Nýdrle is the founder and owner of the privately-owned communication group in Central Europe – Kindred Group.
Since January, Ivan Kristel has been a new partner of Air Ventures, who will enrich the team with experience in creating and managing digital products.
The Air Ventures strategy makes it possible to invest both in emerging projects and in established larger and dynamically growing companies. “The so-called” angel phase “is interesting for Air Ventures only when the startup has some feedback from the market,” emphasizes Air Ventures partner Ivan Kristel. “We do not just invest in ideas on paper. Founders must show their will, even if minimized, to sell to customers,” he adds, adding that newcomers can apply to the form at www.airvcs.com.
General information about Air Ventures
AIR VENTURES is actively developing and investing by newcomers from all over Central and Eastern Europe. To work with newcomers, a team of long-term experience in the field of marketing, communication and building digital products is used. For more information, visit www.airvcs.com
General information about MiddleCap Group, S.A.
MiddleCap Group, S.A. is an established investment and consulting company based in Luxembourg with branches in London, Bratislava, Prague, Dubai and Monaco with a diversified portfolio of assets.
Under the MiddleCap brand, it has been operating on the market since 2011 and provides a full range of financial advisory services, acting as a long-term real estate investor and actively seeking opportunities with hidden investment potential in private equity, venture capital and capital markets. Over the past three years, the company has provided transactional advice in excess of 800 million euros. The total volume of real estate projects carried out so far exceeded EUR 110 million.
Partners of the MiddleCap Group, S.A. are Miroslav Výboh, Matúš Výboh, Matej Majerčák, Roman Guniš and Michal Kviečinský.