Forty.5 Ventures has closed its debut fund at $30 million, money it plans to put behind pre-seed and seed founders in Southeastern Europe, with a smaller share reserved for opportunities in the United States and Asia Pacific.
The cheques will run from $200,000 to $1 million. Forty.5 says it will focus on vertical AI, fintech and cybersecurity, alongside a consumer group that covers gaming, sports, media, entertainment and the infrastructure behind the creator economy. The fund is aimed at initial investments, and the firm says a second one will follow to handle follow-on rounds and Series A.
From SEE to USA and Asia
What sets the pitch apart from the usual regional fund is geography. Forty.5 keeps offices in Los Angeles, Belgrade and Singapore, and it describes its job as being useful at both ends of a company's life: capital and conviction at the start in Southeastern Europe, and introductions in Los Angeles and Singapore once a founder is ready to sell abroad.
"The best companies from this region don't stay regional. We're built to be useful on both ends of that journey — capital and conviction at the start in Southeastern Europe, and real doors in Los Angeles and Singapore when it's time to go global."
— wrote on Linkedin Zoran Vasiljev, Founder and Managing Partner at Forty.5 Ventures.
The firm runs two arms. F5V Capital is the investing side described above. F5V Build is a venture-builder programme that offers early founders hands-on support and up to $1 million in credits to get from an idea to a first product.
Forty.5 was set up in 2020 and has been operating as a studio and investor since, with a portfolio that already includes qooob, OTLRS, yooop, GetStuffDone, Maestro, Hi-Duke, Sportfolio Group, Arena+ and ANDEIM.
This first fund was raised entirely from family offices, angels and company operators spread across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific, with no institutional or sovereign backers involved. Vasiljev addressed that in the announcement, thanking the people who committed before the firm had results to show.
"A first fund is bought with belief, not track record," Zoran said.
Who is behind the fund
Forty.5's team is built around operators who have run and sold companies, and the firm treats that experience as its main selling point to founders. Chairman and venture partner Riccardo Monti summed up the firm's approach: the team has “built companies, and we've sold them, so we know what a founder actually needs at pre-seed, and it usually isn't advice.”
Zoran Vasiljev is a serial entrepreneur with six exits to his name, who splits his time between the US, Singapore and Serbia. His career spans digital payments, telecom and technology: he was group CEO of mobile payments company Centili and CEO of Apigate, and held senior roles at Vega IT, Axiata Digital, StarHub and Infobip. He later joined games-commerce company Xsolla as senior vice president of global strategic partnerships and became president and Global Head of Sports at sportstech company Constructor Tech.
Danijela Vasiljev is a founder and investor based in Los Angeles, with ties to several companies in Forty.5's portfolio. She founded and runs YOOOP and co-founded qooob, both backed by the firm. Her earlier ventures include FEMALE NET, which she started in 2020, the Female Leadership Summit, launched the year before, and TAO Concept, founded in 2024. She also mentors for UN Women and speaks internationally on leadership and entrepreneurship.
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