For more than a decade, exceptional Greek engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs have built and led frontier technologies abroad. From life sciences to robotics, semiconductors, defense, and space technologies, Greek talent has been at the forefront of global innovation.

In our eight years of investing in and working alongside Greek founders at home and abroad at Metavallon, one conclusion has remained consistent. Talent was never the bottleneck; connection and early conviction were missing. How do we create an environment that enables Greek scientists, engineers, innovators, and entrepreneurs abroad to meaningfully contribute to the country’s evolving economic landscape, while also retaining and empowering the talent already here?

At Metavallon, we have spent years investing at the earliest stages of technology and science-driven companies, guided by a singular mission: to back ambitious founders who use Greece as a springboard for global innovation. 

Where early conviction and long-term support are present, Greek-founded teams have demonstrated what is possible. Portfolio companies such as Think Silicon (acquired by Applied Materials), Seervision (acquired by Q-SYS), and Purposeful (acquired by PharOS) show that world-class deep tech can be built in Greece.

Our conviction in the Greek deep tech ecosystem has led to the launch of the Brain Gain Fund, a €5 million pre-seed fund dedicated to deep tech and life sciences founders who commit to building R&D or product teams in Greece.

Why Now? From Brain Drain to Brain Gain

In recent years, the long-standing brain drain trend has begun to reverse. Greek professionals across engineering, research, applied sciences, academia, and entrepreneurship are returning or actively seeking ways to reconnect and contribute to the country.

The timing is compelling. Advances in remote collaboration, a maturing local venture ecosystem, and stronger institutional alignment have made building globally from Greece increasingly attractive.

The Brain Gain Fund is a dedicated investment vehicle focusing on capitalising on this trend and activating these advantages at the earliest stage, when capital, conviction, and support matter most.

What the Brain Gain Fund Is Designed to Do

The fund will invest between €200,000 and €400,000 in pre-seed startups in deep-tech and life sciences, areas where the Greek talent base, research capability, and operating environment can translate into durable, defensible advantage. Our thematic focus includes:

Deep tech

• AI-native and data-driven systems, Robotics, Autonomy, and Cyber-physical systems
• Compute, microelectronics, and Advanced materials
• Climate, Energy, and Industrial tech
• Secure and mission-critical software infrastructure

Life sciences

• Diagnostic and MedTech platforms
• Biology x Data (TechBio)
• Therapeutic platforms
• Lab automation, Instrumentation, and Research infrastructure
• Digital health infrastructure

We back founders based outside Greece who are willing to establish technical teams locally, alongside Greek university spinoffs commercializing research into scalable products. Beyond capital, we provide hands-on support across company formation, hiring, and early go-to-market strategy, and work closely with institutional partners to catalyze follow-on capital.

Learning from other ‘Brain Gain’ Efforts

Greece is not alone in recognizing the power of diaspora-driven innovation. Countries such as Italy (Italian Founders Fund), Ireland (Back for Business, Global Talent Ireland), and Spain (Rising UP in Spain 2025) have launched targeted initiatives to attract returning founders, researchers, and capital, or to enable global talent to build locally.

While these initiatives differ in structure, the principle is consistent. Talent networks compound when there is a credible pathway to build at home, supported by aligned capital and institutions.

Drawing from Personal Experience

In my work on early-stage value creation in biotech – including the Innovation-to-Translation Ratio (ITR) framework. I emphasized on how scientific translatability alongside novelty when underwriting pre-seed checks for life sciences opportunities. In a similar manner, we looked at deep tech opportunities that can create recursive innovation loops over time.

Overall, our goal is to underwrite strong technical insight and execution capability at the earliest stages.

Join the Movement

Our ambition is to be the first venture check for founders spinning out research or returning to build scalable, transformative technologies with global relevance and local impact.

If you are a founder based abroad with a vision for a deep tech company, or a researcher at a Greek university ready to commercialize breakthrough work, we want to hear from you.

We host weekly office hours -Wednesdays at 12pm (Greece time)- dedicated to the Brain Gain Fund. Whether you have a polished deck or an early research insight you want to explore, our doors are open.

Let’s build globally relevant technology, with Greece at the core.