Metavallon VC Launches New Pre-Seed Brain Gain Fund

Metavallon VC, a venture capital fund investing in early-stage technology startups with ties to Greece, led by Myrto Papathanou, Yorgos Mousmoulas, George Karantonis, and Demetris Iacovide, and others, has launched a new €5 million pre-seed fund. 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 will lead the Brain Gain Fund, deploying €200K–€400K per pre-seed investment in deep-tech and life sciences startups. The fund is backed by international investors and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments, which manages over €2.1B in assets.

The fund name references Greece’s decade-long brain drain after the 2009 financial crisis, when over 600,000 skilled professionals left the country. This trend is reversing due to improved economic stability, R&D tax incentives, a maturing tech ecosystem, and lifestyle-driven returns by Greek talent and international founders.

Demetris Iacovides stated that the fund targets not only Greek founders abroad but also global deep-tech startups seeking scalable European R&D locations with strong talent pools and lower costs than Boston, London, or Berlin.

The Brain Gain Fund builds on the track record of Metavallon VC, which manages €68M in assets and backed deep-tech companies such as Think Silicon (acquired by Applied Materials), Seervision (acquired by Q-SYS), and Purposeful (acquired by PharOS). Although structured as a separate fund, Brain Gain benefits from Metavallon’s deal sourcing, local networks, and founder support platform.

The fund aims to position Greece as a modern technology production hub, following ecosystem trajectories seen in Estonia, Portugal, and Israel. Partnerships are expanding with local accelerators and incubators such as Orange Grove and SDG House Greece to identify and support early-stage teams.

George Karantonis, Partner at Metavallon VC, said Greece’s technical depth and cost efficiency can support global companies, with attracting international R&D teams seen as critical to building a global tech hub. He added that the Brain Gain Fund, led by Demetris Iacovides, is positioned to fund and empower such teams early.

The Brain Gain Fund team invites engagement from Greek founders worldwide and international deep-tech teams considering Greece for R&D, offering weekly office hours for idea refinement, research exploration, and early-stage feedback.