ArcticStartup raises funding from celebrity investors like GaryVee
With new startup conferences in new locations and the launch of a new deep tech focused community, ArcticStartup aims to be a leading matchmaker for investors and startups.
HELSINKI, Finland (May 19, 2022) ArcticStartup, organizer of Arctic15, the key matchmaking startup conference in the Nordics and Baltics, has concluded a successful bridge funding round as it resumes physical events for the first time post-pandemic. With the fresh funding, ArcticStartup will take its winning startup event and ecosystem-building concept to the world, starting with Stockholm and Oslo after organizing its flagship Arctic15 Helsinki conference in June.
The funding round was closed with the help of several famous angel investors, including US-based investor Gary Vaynerchuk, who invested in the company for the second time, becoming the third-largest shareholder. Widely known as GaryVee, Vaynerchuk is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber. In total, 11 investors participated in the round, including Curiosity VC, Tharald Nustad, the founder of Katapult, and Markus Räikkönen, Investor at global VC firm Headline and husband of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
“The friendship we have built with Jan and ArcticStartup over the years has been fantastic, and I am looking forward to future adventures together. As I am so much heads down on my own businesses and especially launching my VeeFriends NFT Series 2 right now and my conference VeeCon in May, I am not currently looking for new startup investments. But I am very interested in collaborating with cool Nordic brands,” says Vaynerchuk.
“I’m very excited to welcome so many great people as new backers. We did well throughout the pandemic with online events, but meeting in person is so invaluable when it comes to forging both new business connections and friendships,” says Jan Ameri, Chair of Board of ArcticStartup.
“Everyone we’ve spoken to has told us that they are ready to travel again, making this a pivotal moment where we get to reconnect in the same physical space. It’s been three years since our last Helsinki event and it's time for us to bring back the real thing. We all want to see people in rooms again and not just as images on screens,” says Ameri.
In addition to the expansion plans, the raised funding will be used to launch the Nordic Deep Tech community and Business Summit to support the commercialization of science and research-based startups. ArcticStartup also prepares to launch funding services for startups by connecting them with relevant investors.
“Even though I represent a global multi-stage VC looking to back the next Nordic success stories, I wanted to participate in this round as an individual as I see the great value ArcticStartup creates for the whole startup ecosystem via their media and event activities,” says Markus Räikkönen.
The ambitious expansion plans will be overseen by the new ArcticStartup CEO, Vedat Öndas, who has over 15 years of international business management and executive experience.
“Startups are solving the world's biggest problems, and we aim to solve startup problems. ArcticStartup has been a great player in the Nordic startup and investor ecosystem for the last 15 years via well-known Arctic15 events and media outlets. Now, it's time to carry this success to the global level. Our ambition is to extend our conferences and media arm to four continents and continue to serve the global ecosystem in the coming years. Our growth strategy includes creating and acquiring events and media outlets as well as opening new services to help startups,” says Öndas.
In the future, ArcticStartup takes a deeper dive into food tech and deep tech industries with the help of other investors who participated in the round, including Mårten Mickos CEO of HackerOne, Juha-Petteri Kukkonen (exited Kaslink to Fazer), Maija Itkonen (exited Gold&Green to Paulig), Elias Aalto (Wolt co-founder, exited to DoorDash) and Henrik Poulsen (exited Fort Deli to Orkla).
“Now, after handing over my duties as the CEO of ArcticStartup, I can focus more on the expansion plans and food tech activities,” concludes Ameri.
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** Free to publish **
Media accreditation for Arctic15 Helsinki event here
For additional information:
Media kit with pictures
Jan Ameri, Executive Chairman
ArcticStartup Events
+358 50 588 3111
jan@arcticstartup.com
Arctic15 is the most effective matchmaking startup event in Northern Europe, hosting 1,500–2,000 attendees every year. The focus is on making deals and quality networking. The two day event brings together a focused international crowd of startups, investors, corporates, media and influencers. 15 tracks are focused on various industries, technologies and topics ranging from Digital Health and AI to Social Impact and Scaling. Industry players can use the time efficiently and gather under one roof. The core of it all is one-on-one meetings in the Deal Room. The event is organized by ArcticStartup, a startup media covering the Nordics and Baltics since 2007.
