Nordic venture capital firm Wave Ventures has announced the final close of its third fund at €10 million, marking a significant increase from its previous €2 million fund and a decade since it was founded as a student-led initiative in Helsinki.
Fund III is managed by a team composed entirely of investors aged 25 and under and is backed by founders, operators, and investors from companies including Spotify, Wolt, Slack, Bolt, Oura, Nokia, Supercell, GANNI, and Voi, alongside European early-stage venture capital firms and family offices.
Founded in 2016, Wave Ventures focuses on angel and pre-seed investments and is often among the first institutional investors backing Nordic startups. To date, it has made more than 50 investments, including companies such as Inven and Tzafon. In 2024, Wave backed three of the five Nordic startups accepted into Y Combinator.
With the new fund, Wave plans to expand its investment activity across the Nordics, investing up to €300,000 in early-stage companies and backing between 10 and 20 teams annually.
Alongside the fund close, Wave Ventures has launched the Wave Rebellion Grant, a €240,000 programme designed to support early-stage founders across the Nordics. The initiative will provide grants and partner credits to selected entrepreneurs, with support from AWS, Anthropic, Lovable, Modal, and Verda. The programme is aimed at founders at the earliest stages of company building, including those who are pre-idea, pre-funding, or just beginning their entrepreneurial journey.
Some of the most exceptional founders don't fit neatly into existing startup programs, accelerators, or university tracks. Venture capital often relies on pattern matching, but the best founders rarely look obvious before their breakouts. The Rebellion Grant is our way of supporting them earlier,
said Johannes Korpela, CEO, Wave Ventures.
Beyond its investment activity, Wave Ventures has also played a role in developing the Nordic startup ecosystem through its talent network. Alumni of its rotation-based investment programme have gone on to found startups, investment firms, and entrepreneurial communities across Europe, including Founders House, a startup hub operating in Helsinki and Stockholm.
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