Nordic early-stage investor Voima Ventures has announced its first closing with a new €90 million fund. The fund will focus on deep-tech and science early-stage start-ups in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Initial investment ticket size ranging from €200K to €3 million and beyond.
Investors of the Voima Ventures Fund III include European Investment Fund EIF, Finnish Tesi and its fund of funds KRR, VTT of Finland, Saminvest from Sweden, and pension funds Nordea Life and Elo, as well as established foundations, and family offices.
Voima Ventures was founded in 2019 by Inka Mero - with a €90 million fund and a target hard cap at €120 million this is its third fund to date. The previous two funds have 30 active companies of which several have grown into globally scaling companies, including 5 exits and one IPO. Its line-up includes Solar Foods, AR pioneer Dispelix, carbon-neutral construction material company Betolar, and AI-based cancer treatment provider MVision.
“Now is the time to scale science-based solutions into action and global markets. People want to preserve the planet and societies need to urgently fix the challenges of aging and health-challenged populations. Science-backed growth entrepreneurship is the only fast enough way to solve pressing global issues and it is generating a massive value growth opportunity for deep tech start-ups and VCs,” says Mero. “Also, science-driven innovation is a crucial driver of new economic growth and a way to build European technology sovereignty. As we move forward, we believe that technology and science-based companies will form the backbone of the Nordic region's next-generation unicorns, economic growth, and talent attraction.”
“We know what it takes to scale from the lab to global markets. Investing in science start-ups requires also a different perspective, network, and expertise than most VCs are capable of offering. It goes beyond money: it involves an understanding of various domains and research commercialisation while developing diverse and multidisciplinary teams,” Mero says.
“With 28 universities and leading research organisations, our home region is the leading hub for science-driven startups, but also for growth startup talent. We expect that within a few years, the number of science-based startups in the Nordics will double. To get there, we need collaboration and support from all corners of society to attract the best scientists, focus on growing the university and research institute spin-off volume, and help researchers meet with Nordic growth talent and turn their science into business,” she adds.
Main image: Jenny Engerfelt and Inka Mero
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