ArK Kapital brings another €100 million aboard, now offering €400 million in financing as it expands to Germany

Stockholm-based ArK Kapital has announced that it’s secured another €100 million in presumably debt funding from a rather secretive Swedish bank. Could this be the same operator that contributed €150 million back in July of ‘22? ArK is being rather tight-lipped about it, but the wording around the “who?” question was remarkably similar to the last time I asked.

Beyond the causal 4/10th of the way to a billion EUR in non-dilutive financing ArK Kapital is serving up, you’ll be keen to remember that ArK is (yet another) brainchild of EQT Growth founding partner ​​Henrik Landgren, also the same mind behind EQT Ventures’ Motherbrain, a rather unique approach and application in the VC world, and the same folks that released the tech that they use to drive lending decisions (at least in part, IP isn’t free you know) with AIM (Ark Intelligence Machine).

While ArK has been floating in and around Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK since 2021, as of today, the Swedes are adding Germany into the fold, offering German founders access to capital and the AIM that their cross-boarder counterparts have already had access to.

“We’re happy to bring something new, plus access to more capital, to the German tech ecosystem. And given the current macro trends pressuring founders companies to redraw their playbooks and establish a path toward profitability we believe the timing couldn’t be better,” said Landgren. “Since the founding of Ark Kapital, we’ve seen a growing need for access to capital offered on founders' terms, with longer repayment periods, flexibility outside traditional equity rounds, and as a complement to venture capital.”

Mariam Koorang, ArK’s general manager, Germany added, “In Germany, the concept of non-dilutive loans to extend runway, optimise for future growth, or master the shift to profitability is still fairly untapped, at least compared to markets like the UK, a market which historically been responsible for the disproportionate share of debt financing. I’ve seen the pain points of raising capital up close, and finally, there's an unbiased and data-driven alternative to securing access to capital. This means more German tech companies can fuel their future growth, especially in between rounds.”

ArK Kapital is backed by no less than seven unicorn founders and a German banking veteran including:

• Frank Strauß, formerly Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Postbank Group
• Hjalmar Winbladh of Epidemic Sound and founding partner of EQT Ventures
• Jacob De Geer of IZettle
• Timo Soininen of Small Giant Games
• Ilkka Paananen of Supercell
• Sebastian Knutsson of King
• Riccardo Zacconi of King
• Steve Anavi of Qonto

... bas well as LocalGlobe (a member of Phoenix Group), and Creandum.

If you want to hear more, straight from the source, I’ll be sitting down with ​​Henrik Landgren at the Tech.eu Summit, on the 24th of May in Brussels. Grab your ticket today!