Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Enterprise capital (VC) agency Lifeline Ventures immediately introduced a recent €150 million ($163 million) fund geared toward early-stage startups throughout Finland.

Based in 2009, Helsinki-based Lifeline Ventures has invested in round 115 corporations so far, with greater than a dozen exits to its identify together with activity-tracking app Strikes, which Fb acquired again in 2014; meals supply firm Wolt, which DoorDash snapped up in a $8.1 billion all-stock deal two years in the past; and gaming large Supercell, which Tencent doled out $8.6 billion for a majority stake in 2016. Lifeline Ventures has additionally backed unicorns comparable to open supply enterprise infrastructure firm Aiven, which hit a valuation of $3 billion final 12 months.

Lifeline Ventures usually invests on the “angel” and seed-stage, with some follow-on investments within the Collection A realm. Whereas “angel” normally refers to rich people investing with their very own money, on this occasion the corporate signifies that it typically backs corporations at a super-early stage, earlier than they’ve something significant to point out from a product perspective. Such investments have included blended actuality headset maker Varjo and good ring maker Oura, which just lately claimed a valuation of $2.55 billion.

“We invested in Oura ‘pre-PowerPoint’ — which means we’ve been there earlier than an precise product was ever made,” Lifeline Ventures founding companion Timo Ahopelto instructed TechCrunch.

With its new fund, the corporate says it can look to make investments starting from anyplace between €150,000 and €2 million. And whereas the overwhelming majority of its investments (95%, TechCrunch is knowledgeable) are geared toward home Finnish startups, it has been identified to take stakes in corporations hailing from elsewhere, together with Germany, France, the U.Ok., and U.S. when invited to take action. 

Lifeline Ventures’ founding companions Petteri Koponen and Timo Ahopelto Picture Credit: Lifeline Ventures

Sowing seeds

Whereas VC funding has typically declined throughout all levels, knowledge means that earlier-stage funding has been somewhat extra resilient. Definitely, we’ve seen a spate of recent early-stage funds rising in Europe of late prior to now few months alone. For instance, London’s Playfair Capital closed a $70 million pre-seed fund, whereas France’s Emblem and Ovni Capital every introduced new €50 million ($54 million) funds. Elsewhere, the U.Ok’s Amadeus Capital Companions partnered with Austria’s Apex Ventures for a €80 million ($87 million) fund focused at early-stage deep tech startups.

“The early stage is probably the most recession-proof enterprise, each for founders and traders, as you’re more likely to at all times develop quicker than markets can go down,” Ahopelto mentioned.

Lifeline Ventures’ newest fund represents its fifth so far, with its inaugural €29 million fund closing in 2012, adopted by fund two in 2014 which amounted to €17 million; a €57 million fund three in 2016; and a €130 million fund three years later. Whereas loads has occurred on the earth since 2019, Ahopelto says that it’s just about enterprise as traditional from an funding perspective.

“Nothing has actually modified for us when it comes to funding technique — we’re nonetheless the primary traders in lots of instances,” he mentioned. “We’re nonetheless seeing a lot of startups being based, in Finland particularly. The ecosystem in Finland is in its early days and can develop two-to-three occasions when it comes to high quality and dimension throughout the subsequent 5 to 10 years. There’s room for that kind of progress in Finland.”

Lifeline Ventures’ most up-to-date funding was in Origin by Ocean, an Espoo-based startup working to rid the oceans of dangerous algae by reworking it into purposeful items spanning meals, cosmetics, textiles, and extra. And that is one space specifically that Ahopelto reckons will proceed to thrive within the years forward.

“We really feel that local weather startups will increase their heads much more as time passes,” he mentioned. “Equally, we’ll see extra local weather funds investing within the sphere.”

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