VTT and the EIF will anchor Voima Ventures’ fund, which is aiming to raise $56.1m to invest in deep tech businesses based on science and research from the Nordics and Baltics.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland on Monday joined EU-backed European Investment Fund (EIF) to anchor a targeted €50m ($56.1m) deep tech-focused venture fund being raised by Voima Ventures.
The vehicle’s limited partners will include unspecified Finland-based institutional investors and individuals.
EIF has committed up to $22.5m to the project in conjunction with the European Commission-run InnovFin Equity Facility and the European Fund for Strategic Investments, a subsidiary of the EU-owned European Investment Bank.
Voima Ventures will adopt a focus on deep tech businesses built on science and research from the Nordic and Baltic regions. Mikko Kumpulainen, a former vice-president of VTT Ventures, the research institute’s investment arm, co-founded the vehicle together with Inka Mero, an investor in startups who will lead as managing director.
Deep tech investments currently represent approximately one-fifth of the capital invested in Europe while accounting for a lower share in the Nordics region, Mero said, though there were 6.6 times more deals in the space last year than in 2013.
He added: “As the largest global challenges require a combination of scientific innovation, entrepreneurship and capital, we strongly believe the next decade of ground-shaking companies come from the field of deep tech.”
Jyrki Katainen, a vice-president at the European Commission with responsibility for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, said: “The startups that Voima Ventures will invest in are making scientific breakthroughs and high-tech innovations that could change our lives. For such novel projects based in deep tech and science, financial support is crucial and this is where the EU is playing an important role.”
