Sofia agrotech startup NASEKOMO has gone into partnership with the French Groupe Grimaud. Through a joint investment, the two companies will equip Nasekomo’s bio development factory near Sofia to breed improved blackflies and larvae for companies with large amounts of organic waste for processing.

The new joint venture Fly Genetics aims to launch on the European market in the second half of 2021. You will find more about the investment in the official announcement here.

Only three months ago, the Sofia-based startup NASEKOMO received an investment of 4 million euros from the Bulgarian funds NV3 and Morningside Hill, supported by the Fund of Funds in Bulgaria, and by private investors from the UK, France, South Africa, and Bulgaria.

Groupe Grimaud is one of the world leaders in multi-species animal genetics, bio-pharmacy, and Novel Farming. It has operations in more than 100 countries, generates € 320 M in turnover, and employs over 1,800 people worldwide.

Vitesse Running is a mobile app for running enthusiasts with workouts created by the best long-distance runners in Bulgaria and participants in Rio 2016- Militsa Mircheva and Yolo Nikolov. 

Vitesse Running is a great solution that is highly useful for beginners and advanced runners alike. The virtual coach in the app generates a plan for each user according to their level and their training days preferences. It later adapts the plan according to the user’s performance. The workouts are meant to show beginners how exciting and diverse the running can be, and also prepare professionals for competitions. 

“The main problem that runners at different levels face when using other apps is that even though they provide good detailed data to their users, that data is not analyzed and presented comprehensively “. – shares Martin Markov, co-founder and adds: ‘’Our goal was to create a mobile app that collects all the data that can be gathered from the user’s device and analyze it by using artificial intelligence in the process. Then we present that data in the form of running tips that we plan to make more personalised for each user’’. 

Workouts by Olympians 

Vitesse Running has more than 100 running workouts with different intensity divided into several categories: Beginners, Fat-Burning, 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon and Marathon. The workouts are created by the professional athletes Militsa Mircheva and Yolo Nikolov. Militsa competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics and finished 108th in the marathon thus becoming the first Bulgarian woman to ever finish a marathon at the Olympics. Besides a professional runner himself, Yolo is the best coach of long-distance runners in Bulgaria. He also specializes in creating personalised training plans and programs. 

“We joined the project because it is absolutely one-of-a-kind! It aims to prepare people on all levels to reach their goals in the most effective and individual way possible. We know that everyone has different talents which is why we created Vitesse Running. Our virtual coach will analyze your runs and show you where you have to work harder while building up the qualities you need for success.“ – says Militsa. 

Why Sofia 

The team developing the app is entirely Sofia-based due to the many opportunities they see for this type of product here. 

“We are originally from Sofia, so starting the business elsewhere was never an option. There are so many talented young professionals here as well as

The French company BIC has officially launched its Sofia office and plans to recruit a team of approximately 200 people by 2021. BIC Sofia Services is the world’s first BIC Shared Service Center and is part of “BIC 2022 – Invent the future” Group BIC Services (GBS) transformation plan, aimed at increasing efficiency and achieving sustainable growth.

The company had carried a long evaluation and destination selection process for its Shared Services office, which began early last year. We are glad that the Invest Sofia team partnered the company to examine the environment in Sofia and choose our beautiful and dynamic city for the place to build its team.

The new center in Sofia will consolidate the company’s administrative activities for BIC’s European Finance, Accounting, Quality Control, and Customer Service operations. The BIC Sofia Services teammates will share 2,200 square meters of office space, in Tower B of Bulgaria Mall, with a great panoramic view over the city. The company is currently recruiting specialists for 11 positions.

BIC is a world leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers. For more than 75 years, the company has provided high-quality, affordable products to consumers in over 160 countries around the world. Some of BIC’s iconic brands feature Cello®, Conté®, BIC FlexTM, Lucky Stationery, Made For YOUTM, Soleil®, Tipp-Ex®, Wite-Out®, among others. In 2019, BIC Net Sales were 1,949.4 million euros.

The construction of the building for the supercomputer in Sofia, part of the EuroHPC network, has officially begun. The processing power of the supercomputer will be unique for Bulgaria and the region. 

Last year, Bulgaria was chosen as one of the eight sites across the EU that will host the first European supercomputers. The other 7 supercomputing machines will be located in Ostrava (Czechia), Kajaani (Finland), Bologna (Italy), Bissen (Luxembourg), Minho (Portugal), Maribor (Slovenia), and Barcelona (Spain). 

The project is implemented by the “Petascale Supercomputer – Bulgaria” consortium with a leading partner Sofia Tech Park, and is located on the territory of the technology park. The supercomputer is planned to start operations by the end of February 2021. The state funding in the project, including the estimated operating costs for the first 5 years of exploitation, is EUR 12 mln., out of which 6 mln. are European funding.

This is the largest EU investment in Bulgaria related to the scientific infrastructure and is part of the pioneering European continent-wide plan to compete with the USA, China, and Japan as a major international player in supercomputing.

The supercomputer in Sofia will be able to execute at least 4 billion operations per second and together with the supercomputers in the other locations will support European researchers, the industry and the business in the development of new applications in a wide range of fields such as designing medicines, fighting climate change, testing and simulation in the aviation and automotive industries, data analysis, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and blockchain. 

„Today’s start of the construction of the digital hub in Sofia is a proof of Bulgaria’s potential to be a regional leader in the field of supercomputers”, said the EU commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth Maria Gabriel at the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony. She emphasized that supercomputers can help ensure more reliable transport, energy saving, effective climate change fighting, and more. She thanked the team of Sofia Tech Park for their diligence, expertise and perseverance in working on the project.  

“Investing in technology, innovation and education is the way Sofia is going. All this is happening thanks to the great support which Sofia receives from the European Union, from our  Commissioner Maria Gabriel, and the government.”, said Sofia’s Mayor Ms. Yordanka Fandakova. She stressed that Sofia and Bulgaria will continue to invest in science, education, and to create quality jobs for educated and