Updated:
SMOK Ventures
SMOK Ventures bridges Silicon Valley to CEE, backing early-stage software founders with partners Diana Koziarska, Borys Musielak, and Paul Bragiel.
SMOK Ventures
Borys Musielak and Diana Koziarska launched the firm out of Poland's startup-building infrastructure they helped create — including the Reaktor coworking space, the ReaktorX acceleration program, and the Startup Poland think tank. Musielak sold his previous startup Filmaster to Samba TV in 2015, and Koziarska was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. Paul Bragiel sits in San Francisco, where his track record includes seed investments in Uber, Stripe, and Niantic. That three-way partnership — founders with deep CEE community roots and a partner who has written checks into multiple technology unicorns — defines the firm's origin. The firm writes early-stage checks into software startups originating in or led by talent from the CEE region. Its portfolio spans enterprise software, AI, gaming, fintech, and cybersecurity. Confirmed positions include Authologic, Alokai, inStreamly, Slickshift, and Primio, alongside more recently disclosed investments in Juo, Slicker, and intoDNA. The firm's geographic coverage reaches Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states, and the CEE diaspora in London and Western Europe. While the investment vehicle structure is not publicly detailed, the firm presents itself as a direct, early-stage investor rather than a fund-of-funds. Operational footprint stretches across offices in Warsaw, Prague, Kyiv, Tallinn, San Francisco, and Munich. The partnership includes Dan Bragiel and Oleksandr Yatsenko, who bring boots-on-the-ground presence in Ukraine and the Baltic states. In January 2026, the firm publicly disclosed its investment in intoDNA, a Polish genomic data platform, continuing a cadence of public deal announcements that included Juo in June 2025 and Proteine Resources in October 2024. SMOK's structural differentiator is its embedded bi-continental partnership — Bragiel's seat in San Francisco alongside his Silicon Valley deal flow, combined with Musielak's and Koziarska's on-the-ground CEE network built from founding the region's startup infrastructure. This gives the firm a traditional venture posture but with a sourcing funnel that funnels CEE-trained engineering teams toward US go-to-market paths without requiring founders to relocate permanently.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Poland
City
Warsaw
Corporate office
ul. Lektykarska 27/2 Warsaw, Poland
Additional offices
Prague · Kyiv · Tallinn · San Francisco · Munich
Principals
Diana Koziarska
Partner
Borys Musielak
Partner
Paul Bragiel
Partner
Dan Bragiel
Partner
Oleksandr Yatsenko
Partner
Sonia Piórek
Investor
Tomasz Kościelniak
Investor
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at SMOK Ventures?
The partnership is led by Diana Koziarska, Borys Musielak, and Paul Bragiel. Additional investing partners include Dan Bragiel and Oleksandr Yatsenko, who cover specific geographies such as Ukraine and the Baltic states. Each partner's sector focus and past deals are publicly listed on the firm's team page.
How does SMOK Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources through a deep network built from founding Poland's startup ecosystem infrastructure — including the Reaktor coworking space, ReaktorX accelerator, and Startup Poland — combined with Paul Bragiel's Silicon Valley pipeline. This creates a bilateral flow that surfaces CEE-trained founders early and connects them to US go-to-market resources.
Is SMOK Ventures structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
SMOK operates as a traditional venture firm, not a family office. While the underlying fund structure is not publicly detailed — AUM is undisclosed — the firm's public positioning and partnership model align with an institutional early-stage VC rather than a single-family investment vehicle.
Does SMOK Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm's public materials describe only direct, early-stage investments in software companies. There is no public indication of fund-of-funds commitments or LP activity. The portfolio page and team deal lists reflect principal investments at pre-seed and seed stages.
What investment stages does SMOK Ventures target?
SMOK targets pre-seed and seed-stage software startups. Its team members list investments in companies from the earliest founding phase, and the firm's 'What we look for' criteria emphasize founder-market fit and early-stage sector understanding rather than later-stage metrics.
How is SMOK Ventures related to Bragiel Brothers or BRISE Capital?
Paul Bragiel is managing partner of Bragiel Brothers, an early-stage fund with over 30 pre-seed and seed investments, and Dan Bragiel is a managing partner at BRISE Capital, a CEE-focused family office. Both operate under separate mandates while the partners serve simultaneously at SMOK, creating overlapping but distinct investment vehicles.
Does SMOK maintain a presence in Ukraine, and how does it operate there?
Yes, SMOK lists a Kyiv office and partner Oleksandr Yatsenko leads coverage of pre-seed startups from Ukraine and the Baltic states. The firm has publicly backed Ukrainian-related companies such as LetsData, and its post-invasion operational posture appears to maintain the same early-stage commitment to the region's startups.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: