June 13th, 2023 – Helsinki, FINLAND (Voima Ventures press release)
Nordic early-stage investor Voima Ventures, focusing on science-based companies, announces today its first closing with a new €90 million fund. With the new fund, Voima Ventures’ mission is to support Nordic and Baltic early-stage deep tech companies with globally scalable solutions, with the initial investment ticket size ranging from €200K to €3 million and beyond.
Voima Ventures invests in companies tackling pressing global challenges with science-driven entrepreneurship. The investment thesis focuses on the highest value-creating opportunities in the venture capital domain; solutions that accelerate global green transformation, cutting-edge life science and health technologies, and groundbreaking new technologies, such as quantum, that are changing entire industries.
“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 startups and VCs,” says Inka Mero, Founding Partner of Voima Ventures. “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.”
As an early-stage investor, Voima Ventures supports founders throughout their journey, in scaling their solutions from research laboratories to global markets and eventually becoming unicorns. With a 90M€ fund and a target hard cap at 120M€, Voima Ventures team also has firepower on the long course of deep tech company building.
“We know what it takes to scale from the lab to global markets. Investing in science startups 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 commercialization while developing diverse and multidisciplinary teams,” Mero says.
Since its founding year 2019, Voima Ventures has had a strong track record in investing in high-potential science-based solutions by being an early investor in successful companies and next-generation unicorns like game-changing novel protein developer Solar Foods, AR pioneer Dispelix, carbon-neutral construction material company Betolar, and AI-based cancer treatment provider MVision. The previous two funds have 30 active companies of which several have grown in globally scaling companies, including 5 exits and one IPO.
In the upcoming years, science-based companies present an ever-growing opportunity in the Nordic region.
“With 28 universities and leading research organizations, 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,” Mero says.
Voima Ventures has truly placed its trust in science. Over 70% of the portfolio companies are direct spin-offs or originate from the research ecosystem. To step up in talent attraction for its portfolio companies, the team has launched several initiatives such as “Women-to-Boards” to provide diverse talent for the leadership teams and boards of deep tech companies.
Voima Ventures’ strong networks within both the research community and the industrial sector have laid a firm foundation for growing the best ideas into successful companies. The fund actively collaborates with all Nordic universities and is backed by one of their anchor investors, VTT of Finland, the second-largest research institute in Europe, and also a pioneer in deep tech startup spin-offs.
“Our unique networks are one of the key success factors for us. Due to our close collaboration with universities and the research community, we can access the best groundbreaking innovations when they’re still in laboratories. Additionally, with our strong networks in the industrial sector, we’ve been able to successfully support our portfolio companies to land the first industrial partnerships that are vital for scaling impactful solutions,” Mero tells.
Investors of the Voima Ventures Fund III include among others 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.
“Deep tech innovation is critical in addressing the challenges we are collectively facing in areas such as life sciences, agriculture and clean energy generation. That’s why, with the support of the InvestEU programme, we are excited to be supporting advanced technology investors like Voima Ventures. By supporting startups in taking solutions from research laboratories to global companies, these investments can constitute a powerful tool to tackle so many of the problems we are facing, most notably climate change,” says Marjut Falkstedt, EIF Chief Executive.
“Science-based innovations and companies are at the forefront of tackling the most pressing challenges of our time and shaping our future. We are delighted to continue our partnership with Voima Ventures and together serve as a bridge between research and startups, enabling the most promising scientific discoveries to become opportunities for growth”, says Antti Vasara, President & CEO of VTT.
“The new fund by Voima Ventures makes more growth financing options available for the deep tech startups that are ever-so-important for Finland as well as broadens the local deep tech fund scene. We are also glad to continue supporting a local GP in their ongoing internationalisation efforts. All-in-all, Voima Ventures represents a fine example of our core investment strategy,” comments Tapio Passinen, Investment Director from Tesi’s Fund Investments team.
“We are very pleased to invest in a new fund that specifically focuses on supporting early-stage companies in deep tech. We are convinced that this will be an important contribution to strengthening also the Swedish ecosystem for venture capital in the deep tech field,” says Magnus Skåninger, CIO, Fund Investments at Saminvest.
With the new fund, Voima Ventures continues identifying and supporting the most promising ideas, scientists, and entrepreneurs at an early stage.
“Particularly with science-based companies, grassroots-level work such as visiting factories and labs, and connecting with universities are significant parts of assessing potential companies and supporting founders in the first steps of scaling. We approach all our investment decisions with a co-entrepreneurial mindset, asking ourselves where and how we can help,” Mero says.
Voima Ventures founded in 2019, is a Nordic early-stage investor investing in science-based innovations and companies across the Nordics and Baltics. Voima Ventures help founders to accelerate the growth of deep technology ventures to global markets. Voima Ventures is a team of 12 investment and growth entrepreneurship professionals who share a passion for science-based tech. Voima Ventures holds a strong track record in investing in high-growth science-based solutions by being an early investor in success stories like Solar Foods, Dispelix, MVision, Betolar and EniferBio.
A’Pelago Experience som är verksamt i Skärgårdshavet och Spacent, baserat i Helsingfors, accelererar revolutionen för distansarbete med ett nytt partnerskap. Som ett resultat av samarbetet kan de distansarbetsplatser som marknadsförs av A’Pelago Experience i Skärgårdshavet och Åland nu bokas på Spacents plattform och mobilapplikation. Partnerskapet stödjer företagens omställning till hybridarbete och skärgårdsföretagens förutsättningar för åretruntdrift.
A’Pelago Experiences resa för att främja den hybrida arbetskulturen och livskraften i skärgården fortsätter. Partnerskapet som startar i juni samlar två företag som främjar en ny arbetskultur inom plattformsekonomin. Spacent är känt som den ledande bokningsplattformen för hybrida arbetsutrymmen i Norden. A’Pelago Experience, å andra sidan, gör att de avlägsna arbetsdestinationerna i Finlands unika skärgård är tillgängliga året runt. Båda företagens mål är effektiv användning av faciliteter och människors välbefinnande.
”Med Spacent är vi pionjärer i att förnya arbetskulturen: Kompetenta människor flyttar till företag där de bättre kan kombinera professionell ambition med sin egen livsstil. Att leda team och företag nu och i framtiden kräver empati och förtroende”, säger Timo Ketonen, Partner av A’Pelago Experience och medgrundare av företaget.
”Samarbetet stödjer A’Pelago Experiences uppdrag, det vill säga målet att möjliggöra året runt distansarbete i skärgården, vilket uppmuntrar skärgårdens företagare att investera i året runt service. Att arbeta på distans i skärgården är framför allt en fråga om företagsledningens inställning. Förändringen i arbetskulturen tog fart av pandemin och denna megatrend accelererar.”
”Spacents kunder är pionjärer inom hybridarbete och jag är mycket glad över att vi kan erbjuda våra kunder något unikt med A’Pelago. Vi utökar snabbt vår kundbas i Europa, och jag tror att Skärgårdshavet kommer att bli en internationell hit för distansarbete”, säger Spacents vd Eetu Ristaniemi.
Sett ur dessa synvinklar går företag inte in i samarbete bara för att utöka urvalet av arbetsutrymmen. Med varandras stöd kan företagen stödja framtidens arbete, som genomgår en kulturell omvälvning. Människor, livskraften i skärgården och lokala entreprenörer drar nytta av förändringen.
A’Pelago Experience Ab
Mer information
Timo Ketonen, co-founder, A’Pelago Experience Ab
+358 40 083 1205, timo@apelago.fi
Patrik Anckar, co-founder, A’Pelago Experience Ab
+358 50 408 7730, patrik@apelago.fi
Eetu Ristaniemi, CEO, co-founder, Spacent Oy
+358 40 773 9083, eetu.ristaniemi@spacent.com
Mera >Despite the general economic uncertainty, Finnish buyout and growth investors have continued to invest in growing SMEs at the same pace as in previous years – in 2022, the amount invested again reached over half a billion euros. Record amounts of capital have been raised to private equity funds in recent years, indicating that investments in companies seeking growth partners can be expected in the future as well.
In 2022, Finnish buyout and growth investors invested a total of €530 million into 75 unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
While the early 2020s have been marked by various crises, Finnish private equity investors have maintained a remarkably stable level of investment activity. Over the past five years, Finnish buyout and growth investors have annually invested an average of half a billion euros in around 80 SMEs to accelerate their growth.
“Private equity investors form a stable and reliable engine that drives Finnish companies forward, regardless of market conditions. As statistics show, we have a functioning financing ecosystem for unlisted companies in Finland, which operates steadily despite the turmoil in the world”, comments Anne Horttanainen, Managing Director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association.
The growth expertise of Finnish buyout and growth investors has primarily been harnessed to accelerate the growth of domestic SMEs. Continuing the trend from previous years, over 90% of the investments made in 2022 were directed towards domestic companies. The investments were dispersed throughout the country, with Central Finland and Pirkanmaa receiving the highest investment volumes after Uusimaa.
Some of the companies that received investments in 2022 include digital job search and recruitment services provider Duunitori, staffing services company Bolt.Works, cybersecurity and IT services provider Netox, and electric vehicle managed service provider Eva Global.
“Private equity investors are active owners who invest in companies with growth potential. We offer concrete support to achieve this goal and help companies throughout Finland to grow and internationalise,” says Juhana Kallio, FVCA’s Chairperson of the Board and Managing Director of Intera Partners.
According to a study conducted by the Finnish Venture Capital Association and PwC in 2022, the growth of private-equity-backed companies is eight times faster in terms of turnover and twenty times faster in terms of number of employees than that of peer companies.
Record Capital Raised in Recent Years – Focus Should Also Be on Future Development
Between 2018 and 2022, Finnish buyout and growth funds have raised a record-breaking €3 billion in new funds. There is a significant amount of dry powder, or unallocated capital, in the funds presently.
In 2022, several growth funds that make minority investments were published, as Mandatum Asset Management and Nordia Management launched their second funds, and Voland Partners began its operations as a new player in the growth fund field. Additionally, Taaleri launched a new biotechnology fund and Saari Partners launched its second buyout fund in 2022.
“Currently, there is plenty of funding available for growing companies. Private equity investors, as long-term-focused investors, continue their operations as usual through different economic cycles. New investment opportunities are actively being sought now“, says Kallio.
According to a recent barometer tracking market sentiments among Finnish private equity investors, buyout and growth investors perceive that there are as many high-quality investment opportunities available as before. The barometer examined the current market situation and compared it to the situation six months ago.
On the other hand, fundraising is perceived to have become more difficult, and there is an increased general caution among fund investors.
“To strengthen domestic ownership, our financing ecosystem must grow and become more international. The obstacles to domestic and foreign fundraising for private equity funds must be removed, and funds must have competitive opportunities to attract growth capital to Finland,” Horttanainen comments.
Exits Remained Steady Despite a Decline in IPOs
Private equity investors own a portfolio company for a certain growth phase, after which investors exit, i.e., sell their stake in the company. 2022 saw a sharp decline in initial public offerings both in Finland and globally and exits through IPOs were not made by private equity investors either. About half of the companies listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange between 2015 and 2021 have been private-equity-backed.
However, last year there were 38 successful exits through other routes, which is in line with the average of the last five years. Most exits were trade sales or sales to another private equity investor.
“Companies’ IPO readiness is being developed as usual, and the stock exchange remains an interesting exit option for investors. It’s great that successful exits have been made at a steady pace despite the challenging market situation, and there have been no write-downs in 2022. The profits from the exits are distributed to fund investors, such as Finnish pension funds,” Horttanainen concludes.
Additional information:
Anne Horttanainen, Managing Director, FVCA
+358 40 510 4907, anne.horttanainen@fvca.fi
Juhana Kallio, Chairperson of the Board, FVCA
+358 40 526 6629, juhana.kallio@interapartners.fi
Juulia Korkiavaara, Head of Communications, FVCA
+358 40 673 8376, juulia.korkiavaara@fvca.fi
FVCA is the industry body and public policy advocate for the venture capital and private equity industry in Finland. As the voice of the Finnish VC and PE community and the entrepreneurs they fund, it is our role to demonstrate the positive impact of the industry on the Finnish economy. FVCA – Building growth.
