Innovestor closes first round of new fund to focus on industrial technology startups in the Nordic and Baltic regions
Helsinki-based Innovestor wraps up €30M first close of new fund to become the first VC in the Nordics and Baltics to focus on Industry 4.0.
Finnish venture capital firm Innovestor has today announced the first close of its new B2B Industrial Technology Fund at €30M. The fund, which will be capped at €100M, is the first in the Nordics and Baltics to focus exclusively on early-stage B2B industrial technology companies.
Innovestor’s new fund will offer pre-series A to series A investments to companies in the Nordics and Baltics that focus on Industry 4.0 and sectors benefiting from the fourth industrial revolution such as smart cities, cyber and physical security, and digital energy.
“Our focus is extremely specific because we are aware that adjacent megatrends close to Industry 4.0 such as sustainability, connectivity, and data security will grow in the long-term future and require more support, and we will be at the forefront of that,” says Innovestor CEO Tommi Äijälä.
“The companies that best fit this fund will already have product-market fit and traction, and are ready to scale internationally in order to introduce new technologies that combine physical, digital, and biological elements that will impact multiple disciplines, economies, and industries,” continues Äijälä.
According to Innovestor, there’s a significant vacuum in their target market such that many promising startups are at risk of going out of business despite having growth potential.
“There’s a current trend in the market today where VCs and other investors are either betting on early-stage startups with many seed round investments or maturer companies where also buyouts and mergers are taking place,” says Myron Seto, Partner at Innovestor. “A massive funding gap has developed for good Series-A companies who are being overlooked or underfunded due to the lack of investors in the market. This crunch creates opportunities to invest in comparatively de-risked but moderately valued companies,” continues Seto.
Within the Innovestor ecosystem, the company has witnessed disruption become an unavoidable challenge for industrial corporations.
“Industrial corporations know that disruption is coming and they must cooperate with agile partners or risk losing significant business. In addition to our capital, our unique network of founders, investors, advisors, talent, and corporate partners has shown us one of the best ways for corporations to compete on a global scale is to work alongside scaling companies that can provide new innovation,” says Pekka Viljakainen, Venture Partner at Innovestor.
The fund is backed by institutional investors such as Mandatum Life, family offices, and high net worth individuals. The fund will make its first investments as early as Q2 of 2020.
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For additional information:
Anna Koponen
Marketing & Communications Manager
+358 40 0700 194
anna.koponen@innovestor.fi
About Innovestor
Innovestor is an early-stage venture capital investor also offering direct co-investment syndication opportunities and building growth programs. To date, the firm has a total of €123M across 3 funds and currently manages one of the largest private venture-backed portfolios in the Nordics, consisting of over 100 high-tech companies in multiple fields of technology such as cleantech, consumer, enterprise software, health, industrial technologies, and life science.
Our aim is to be the best home for future Nordic success stories. At our core, we boost the success and growth of companies by giving access to capital, know-how, and networks by utilizing our unique ecosystem of co-investors and partners. For more information, visit www.innovestorgroup.com.
