A new €5 million pre-seed fund is based on the belief that Greece, long known for exporting its strongest engineering talent, can now attract that talent back or build deep-tech teams locally. The Brain Gain Fund launches with a clear objective: to invest early in deep-tech startups founded outside Greece or in Greek university spin-outs, provided they commit to building R&D or product teams within the country.

Demetris Iacovides, who brings over seven years of investment experience and close collaboration with deep-tech startups in the local ecosystem, will lead the Brain Gain Fund, which is managed by us. The fund will deploy €200,000 to €400,000 per investment, focusing on pre-seed deep-tech and life sciences startups. The Brain Gain Fund is backed by an international investor group with presence in Greece, alongside additional investors and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI), Greece’s sovereign fund of funds with more than €2.1B in assets under management.

The fund’s name reflects Greece’s decade-long “brain drain,” during which more than 600,000 highly skilled professionals left the country following the 2009 financial crisis. This trend has gradually begun to reverse, partly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as many Greeks abroad reassessed proximity to family and quality of life. Increased economic stability, new R&D tax incentives, and a more mature tech ecosystem have further attracted returning talent as well as international founders seeking to establish operations in Greece.

“We are not just targeting Greek founders abroad” said Demetris Iacovides, Partner at the Brain Gain Fund. “There is already a clear movement among global deep-tech startups seeking to build scale R&D in European countries with high-talent base in tech but without the cost overhead of Boston, London, or Berlin.”

The Brain Gain Fund builds on the track record of Metavallon VC, which manages €68 million in assets and has led deep-tech investments including Think Silicon, acquired by Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Seervision, acquired by Q-SYS, and Purposeful, acquired by PharOS. While Brain Gain operates as a separate fund, its foundation within Metavallon’s platform provides strong advantages in deal sourcing, local network access, and founder support infrastructure.

The team is positioning the fund to support Greece’s evolution into a modern technology production hub, following the path of ecosystems such as Estonia, Portugal, and Israel in their earlier stages. In support of this goal, the fund is expanding partnerships with local accelerators and incubators, including Orange Grove and SDG House Greece, to identify and support promising early-stage teams.

“We have strong conviction that Greece’s technical depth and cost efficiency can serve global companies, not just local startups. Attracting global teams to build their R&D in Greece is essential to establishing the country as a global tech hub as the other key ingredients are already in the mix: technical capabilities, talent density, favorable economic tailwinds and capital access”, said George Karantonis, Partner at Metavallon VC. “The Brain Gain fund under Demetris’s leadership is set to fund and empower such teams early on”.

The Brain Gain Fund team welcomes discussions with Greek founders worldwide, as well as international deep-tech teams that view Greece as a strong base for R&D. Whether refining an idea, exploring a research breakthrough, or seeking early feedback, the team hosts weekly office hours and is open to connecting.

For founders who want to reach out directly:
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Every Wednesday 12PM EET, by appointment.

About Metavallon VC

Metavallon VC specializes in funding technology startups at the Pre-Seed to Seed+ stages, supporting ambitious entrepreneurs in building transformative businesses across multiple sectors and geographies. With over €70 million in capital under management, Metavallon VC has invested in more than 35 startups since 2018. The fund is supported by EquiFund, a joint initiative of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Hellenic Republic, as well as HDBI (Hellenic Development Bank of Investments), drawing capital from both public and private investors.