Europe's largest Japanese-backed VC, NordicNinja, launches second fund at €200M

NordicNinja, Europe’s largest Japanese-backed VC, announces a €200 million fund for climatetech and deeptech startups. The firm aims to facilitate digital transformation and bridge Japan and Europe.
Europe's largest Japanese-backed VC, NordicNinja, launches second fund at €200M

Stockholm-based backers of Einride, Bolt, and Veriff, and Europe’s largest Japanese-backed VC firm NordicNinja has today announced a second fund at €200 million. The new fund is aimed at continuing the firm’s investments in climatetech and deeptech startups, particularly those working on facilitating a digitalisation transformation.

Founded in 2019 and with names including Tomosaku Sohara, whose CV includes a 10-year stint as deputy director at Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Rainer Sternfeld who spent close to six years as business development manager, Baltic states with ABB, NordicNinja angles to differentiate itself from the crowd by fusing former founders, operators, and engineers turned investors from Northern Europe and Japan.

The firm focuses investments on the critical Series A round, where companies are often established enough to have found a product-market fit but need a fresh influx of working capital to make the leap to the next level of commercial success.

Sternfeld shares:

“As former founders and operators, we know first-hand the difficulties in building and scaling technology businesses – particularly those in the difficult areas of digitalisation of established industries, digital society, and climate tech. Additionally, building a bridge between Japan and Europe serves our long-term mission of investing in the future we want to live in.”

The cornerstone investor in NordicNinja’s new fund is the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC). Additional Japanese LPs investors include Honda and Omron (also backers of the firm’s first fund), with European LPs including BaltCap and Swedbank pension funds.

Lead image: NordicNinja team. Photo: Deed Creative.

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