Skagerak Capital
Skagerak Capital invests in companies that contribute to sustainable, long-term value creation. They focus on companies with positive impact, believing that technological innovations will contribute positively to people and the planet. They are particularly interested in companies addressing megatrends such as climate change and resource scarcity. They look for ambitious talent and companies that want to change the world for the better, making long-term commitments to investment decisions, and partnering with driven founders who aspire to make a positive global impact. Skagerak Capital aims to bring competence, network, and capital to help founders achieve their ambitions. They emphasize active ownership and providing support to their portfolio companies to achieve international success and deliver returns for their investors. They seem particularly interested in AI and climate tech, as evidenced by the focus of some of their partners. They invest in companies that leverage AI to improve their offerings significantly and have substantial net positive climate impact, highly correlated with customer value. The portfolio companies are diverse, providing solutions across multiple industries. Friar Venture, an investment fund to accelerate growth in tech companies in Telemark and Vestfold, seems to be associated with Skagerak Capital, although the nature of the relationship is not explicitly stated on their website. It focuses on companies with a head office address in Telemark and Vestfold to meet the need for risk capital in the region.
SmartCap Green Fund
SmartCap is a fund manager with a mission to develop Estonia's venture capital market, invest throughout economic cycles, and address identified market gaps. It operates three investment funds: the SmartCap Venture Capital Fund, the SmartCap Green Fund, and the SmartCap Defence Fund. The Venture Capital Fund backs VC funds to create a resource-rich environment for Estonian startups. The Green Fund invests in Greentech-focused VC funds and directly in Greentech companies. The Defence Fund supports companies developing military and dual-use products and technologies, as well as private funds focused on defence companies. SmartCap's investment strategy emphasizes supporting innovative, research and technology-focused companies from Estonia, aiming to contribute to the development of a strong and modern Estonian economy.
Smartlink VC
Smartlink Partners inwestuje w startupy o wysokim potencjale wzrostu, łącząc kompetencje biznesowe polskich przedsiębiorców (m.in. z Corporate Connections) z profesjonalizmem doświadczonych inwestorów. Celem jest wspieranie przedsiębiorców przez doświadczenie, międzynarodową sieć kontaktów oraz dostęp do kapitału na skalowanie. Ekosystem inwestycyjny obejmuje wsparcie od fazy pre-seed do pre-IPO, zapewniając długoterminowy rozwój startupów.
Social Tech Trust
Social Tech Trust is an impact investor that focuses on backing early-stage ventures utilizing technology to address social and environmental challenges. They aim to improve lives, strengthen communities, and protect the planet by investing in startups and impact funds that are creating more equitable outcomes. The Trust prioritizes ventures that are underserved by traditional investment models and are seeking flexible, aligned capital. The Social Tech Ventures fund, seeded by Social Tech Trust, is designed to back promising UK impact tech startups, offering founder-first investments tailored to the needs of ventures pursuing scalable social and environmental change. This includes flexible equity structures, such as revenue-based growth or hybrid models, demonstrating a commitment to achieving measurable and scalable impact.
Sondo Capital
Sondo Capital is a venture capital firm backing pre-seed and seed stage teams with a link to Norway. They focus on early-stage investments, emphasizing idea quality, team, product-market fit, technology risk, and financing risk. They currently assess that sustainability risk is not materially relevant for their products/mandates in the pre-seed/seed phase and do not integrate sustainability risks as standalone decision criteria beyond ordinary financial and operational risk assessments. They also do not consider principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors within their investment processes for current mandates, citing data limitations and the dominance of other risk factors at the early stages of investment.
Sony Innovation Fund
Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) cultivates new ideas and promising innovations for a connected world. Building on Sony’s long history of innovation and creativity, they invest in transformational technology-driven startup companies shaping the future of business, entertainment, and society. They act as a bridge to Sony, driving deeper engagements with startups who can benefit from their technical and business expertise, IP, R&D, and access to a global partner network to scale. They invest in consumer and enterprise-facing startups that are bringing new forms of Entertainment, FinTech, Enterprise SaaS, DeepTech and ClimateTech to global markets. SIF emphasizes a "Founders First" approach, actively championing entrepreneurs and fostering a thriving startup culture. They prioritize stakeholder collaboration, orchestrating connections within Sony and beyond with entrepreneurs, corporates, and investors. Diversity and respect are core values, building trust through a multidisciplinary team that values diverse global perspectives. They seek transformative impact, investing in game-changing technologies and businesses that create meaningful societal, environmental, and financial outcomes. The firm manages multiple investment vehicles, including Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) for early-stage companies, Innovation Growth Fund (IGF) jointly established with Daiwa Investment Management, Inc. for mid- to late-stage startups, Sony Innovation Fund: Environment (SIF : E) focusing on early-stage startups solving global environmental challenges, Sony Innovation Fund 3 (SIF3) investing in mid- to late-stage start-ups, and Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF : AF) supporting seed to early-stage startups in the African Entertainment industry. They also consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues in their investment process.
Sozo Ventures
Sozo Ventures is a global acceleration and expansion venture capital firm focused on creating meaningful impact on a global scale. They leverage deep networks and personal experience to provide market knowledge, deployment expertise, entity formation guidance, sales channels, hiring, strategy advice, and relationships needed to expand and thrive internationally. Sozo Ventures understands that global expansion is not a one-size-fits-all approach and actively engage with companies from seed to pre-IPO stages, supporting them across multiple financing stages. They invest in ‘Readiness Stage’ technology companies, which they define as companies possessing a strong management team and culture, stable long-term investors, credible and recognizable customers with demonstrable traction, and appropriate organizational structures for their target international customers. Readiness is achieved at different stages for different businesses, and Sozo aims to be a long-term, flexible partner for companies they invest. Sozo Ventures looks for companies early in deciding expansion plans but can add value across all stages of company building. They prioritize investments where strong traction in home markets can accelerate foreign customer acquisition, where patient, long-term backers are in place, where management teams are flexible and adaptable to different business cultures, and where thoughtful approaches to each foreign market are evident.
Space Ventures Investors
Space Ventures Investors Ltd (SVI) focuses on building a Strategic Space Value Chain by researching trends in space commerce, forming joint ventures and partnerships, and investing in space companies that have a niche role in this value chain. They target opportunities often overlooked by institutional funds, venture capital, and public funding, aiming to provide seed funding to innovative space startups. SVI aims to build and manage an evolving space portfolio to match changes in technology, and ultimately deliver returns to investors for decades to come. The firm conducts proprietary research on the space industry and markets and performs due diligence on numerous space companies, especially early-stage ones. They have invested in earth observation startups, launch companies, and lunar resources ventures. SVI sees the next wave of innovation in infrastructure-level operations, such as cheaper and more environmentally friendly launch solutions, new spaceports, space-based solar power, lunar resource extraction, orbital servicing, space debris mitigation, and orbiting data centers. SVI leverages its experience and research to identify and support European space entrepreneurs and companies developing innovative technology, especially those focused on space resources, from mining engineers to planetary academics working on harvesting resources for commercial gain. This extends from sifting platinum group metals from Lunar regolith to developing space-based solar power constellations. They also consider the legal aspects of space commercial ventures.
Space3ac
Space3ac connects startups and corporations to foster innovation, primarily in downstream space technologies, but also open to solutions in IoT, AR/VR, Smart City, Prop-Tech, and AI. They focus on maximizing employee engagement, innovating HR platforms, Hardware and Software solutions for seaports, telecommunications companies, spedition, gas stations, and the aerospace industry. Their core activity includes facilitating collaboration between startups and corporations, evident through their acceleration programs and corporate innovation program design services. They aim to help startups refine their products, achieve product-market fit, and scale their businesses, while simultaneously helping corporations solve specific challenges through innovative solutions from these startups. This approach is facilitated through customized programs tailored to each corporation's needs, leveraging Space3ac's understanding of both startup and corporate dynamics. Their founder's book on startup-corporate collaboration underscores their expertise and provides a unique model for strategic planning and efficient partnership between large enterprises and small companies.
SpaceVC
Backing early-stage founders solving the world's most pressing challenges with a focus on critical technologies. Invests in companies at inception, pre-seed, and seed stages with $1M-$5M checks.
SparkLabs Global Ventures
SparkLabs Global Ventures is a seed-stage fund that believes business is now truly global. They focus on finding exceptional entrepreneurs building category-defining companies at advantageous valuations, regardless of location. The firm is experienced in helping entrepreneurs develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets worldwide. Their strategy involves providing practical and realistic guidance, leveraging their own experiences as entrepreneurs. They aim to be investors, mentors, facilitators, talent sources, and supporters of their portfolio companies from day one.
SpecialistVC
Specialist VC invests in early-stage tech companies that are solving meaningful problems with scalable solutions. Focus on B2B, SaaS, fintech, platforms, software-enabled hardware, and deep tech. Emphasis on founders with grit, customer obsession, and long-term vision. Provides hands-on support, mentorship, and access to a network of founders and experts from top tech companies in the region.
Spot VC
Spot VC is a venture capital firm focused on backing Y Combinator (YC) founders early in their journey, providing them with unwavering support for life. Founded by two-time YC alumni, Jay Reno and Ryan Wegner, the firm leverages their firsthand experience building companies from the ground up, navigating the challenges of Demo Day and beyond. They understand the difficulties founders face, including sleepless nights, tough decisions, and moments of uncertainty. Spot VC positions itself as more than just an investor, aiming to be a trusted voice, offering strategic guidance, and providing a supportive ear when the journey feels overwhelming. Their investment approach centers on genuine relationships built on empathy and experience. They are actively looking to connect with exceptional YC founders who are building the future and aim to lead with their heart. Their value proposition is rooted in their understanding of the YC experience, having been founders themselves, allowing them to provide more relevant and empathetic support. Their portfolio showcases a wide range of companies, primarily within the AI space, indicating a strong interest and focus on this sector. The firm invests across different stages, including pre-seed, seed, and beyond. Spot VC’s strategy involves providing not only financial backing but also mentorship and support, especially for founders needing guidance during critical decision-making processes. This is highlighted by their tagline "believing in you early and in your corner for life." Overall, Spot VC aims to be a supportive and accessible partner for YC founders, leveraging their personal experiences and industry connections to help them succeed. Their investment strategy is centered on building authentic relationships and providing founders with the resources and guidance they need to navigate the challenges of building a startup.
Spread Ventures
Spread Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on empowering sustainable fashion solutions. They aim to improve the future of fashion by investing in creative minds and turning seemingly impossible ideas into the new normal. Backed by Spread Group, a global provider of customized fashion and lifestyle products, Spread Ventures combines operational e-commerce and made-to-order production know-how with venture capital expertise. They leverage this combination to drive change in the fashion and creator industry. Spread Ventures invests in tech-driven early-stage companies, primarily in the pre-seed and seed stages. Their investment strategy centers around partnering with startups, founders, and visionary pioneers who possess the potential to redefine the fashion and creator industry. They seek companies aligned with a vision for a better and more sustainable future. The firm focuses on specific sub-sectors within the fashion tech and creator economy, including made-to-measure, mass customization, production-on-demand, digital creator services, content creation and monetization, virtual fitting, avatar & metaverse, phygital fashion, sustainable materials, supply chain & circularity solutions, and new textiles & circular fashion. This targeted approach allows them to leverage their operational background and market knowledge to support their portfolio companies effectively.
Square One
SquareOne is a venture capital firm that invests in B2B tech entrepreneurs at the pre-seed and seed stages. They focus on entrepreneurs who are deeply committed to solving complex problems in large, expanding markets. Their website highlights a focus on industry expertise, product advising, tech advising, mentorship, and customer connections to provide value beyond capital. The firm appears to take a hands-on approach, assisting portfolio companies with building, connecting, facilitating, and hustling. SquareOne's investment strategy seems centered around identifying and supporting companies developing innovative solutions, often involving deep tech or software, as evidenced by their portfolio. They aim to actively assist their portfolio companies in scaling and navigating the challenges of early-stage growth. The inclusion of veteran mentors and guaranteed connections indicates an emphasis on practical guidance and leveraging a strong network. Their approach to 'squaring ideas' likely encompasses a rigorous evaluation process coupled with active involvement in refining and executing the company's vision. Given the repeated reference to assistance with 'building, hustling, connecting, and facilitating,' SquareOne seems to position itself as an active, operationally-focused investor, rather than solely a provider of capital. The fund invests in startups across various sectors including AI, robotics, cybersecurity, ecommerce, and green technology. They appear to offer a strong network through their industry, product, and tech advisors to help with customer connections and problem-solving.
Start-up BW Innovation Fund (managed by MBG Baden-Württemberg)
MBG Baden-Württemberg, managing the Start-up BW Innovation Fund, focuses on providing flexible financing solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Baden-Württemberg. They offer both mezzanine capital and venture capital to facilitate growth, business start-ups, and succession planning. The firm aims to act as a neutral and bank-independent financial partner, providing long-term stable financing instruments through both silent and open participations. MBG actively supports companies through various stages, from seed to Series A and beyond, focusing on increasing the long-term value of the invested companies. MBG emphasizes the importance of maintaining the entrepreneur's freedom in making business decisions, refraining from interfering in the daily operations of the companies they invest. They provide access to a broad network of associations, chambers, and consultants to assist with business model evaluation, entrepreneur preparation, and problem-solving. This network also facilitates the exchange of ideas between established corporations and startups, fostering innovation and offering new perspectives to traditional businesses. The firm aims to strengthen the equity base of companies, primarily through silent participations that are considered economic equity by banks due to their subordinated status in case of insolvency. This can positively influence the company's credit rating. MBG aims to provide a financial structure that offers a solid foundation for entrepreneurial flexibility, enabling companies to remain agile in a dynamic environment with rapidly changing conditions. MBG Baden-Württemberg also takes pride in its ability to link the Old and New Economy, by connecting startups and established companies to foster innovation and new ideas. They emphasize the collaborative nature of their investment approach, combining their long-standing experience in financing and participations with the industry know-how of their clients to successfully implement business plans.
Startup Wise Guys Venture Capital Fund
Startup Wise Guys is a global VC fund and accelerator focused on early-stage B2B startups. Their core strategy revolves around identifying and investing in overlooked founders in emerging markets, providing them with initial funding, tailored mentorship, and access to a global network. They aim to be the first international investor in these startups, facilitating their access to future fundraising opportunities. With over a decade of experience, Startup Wise Guys has refined their approach to focus on specific verticals, providing startups with the tailored support needed to achieve exponential MRR growth. They are not afraid to do the hard work to find high potential startup founders before they realize their own potential. Their approach is to help startups solve key challenges at every stage.
StartupHighway
StartupHighway is a Baltic startup accelerator and early seed stage fund based in Vilnius, Lithuania, established in 2011. They focus on value maximization for innovative technology startups through an individually tailored support program. They provide seed funding, free working space, mentorship from international mentors, and access to international networks and markets. The program is customized to the needs and business scope of each startup. They don't limit themselves to a short-term acceleration program but evaluate each case individually. Based on results and collaboration, they may offer follow-up funding and extended support, including connecting startups with potential investors in London through individual or team roundup meetings and roadshows. Since its inception, StartupHighway has invested in 17 companies from various countries, with more than half of these companies subsequently attracting further investment. They offer up to €25,000 in seed funding in exchange for up to 7.5% equity stake, in addition to free office space and mentorship.
Station F
Station F is not a traditional venture capital firm, but rather the world's biggest startup campus. Its investment "thesis", if one can call it that, revolves around creating a high-impact ecosystem that supports startups from their earliest stages to scale-up. The core strategy is to bring together a large and diverse group of startups (1000+) under one roof, providing them with access to top-tier partners, established entrepreneurs, and a vast network of investors (600+). This ecosystem fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, and access to resources that would otherwise be difficult for early-stage companies to obtain. Station F focuses on removing friction, opening doors, and connecting the right people, creating an environment where startups can experiment, test, and launch their ventures faster. Station F aims to reshape the French tech ecosystem by fostering a sense of community and collaboration that was previously lacking. By creating a central hub for innovation, Station F has helped France move up the ranks in global innovation. The campus operates like a launchpad, with programs designed for speed and purpose, and partners that actively build alongside founders. This approach aims to back bold bets early on, clearing roadblocks and enabling founders to focus on core business objectives. Station F plays a role in supporting AI startups with Europe's largest AI startup community. They also focus on specific areas like AI meeting specific modalities, enterprise-grade use cases, and distribution discipline. An important aspect is the commitment to open-weight AI models and public-interest infrastructure, evaluation, adaptation, and governance research, solidifying Europe's influence through the open ecosystem. By backing AI outliers and prioritizing revenue, Station F aims to showcase the long-term viability of European AI ventures. They emphasize that the era of AI theater is ending and that sustainable businesses that are AI native are most important. By fostering collaborations with leading AI players, Station F strengthens Europe's position in the global AI landscape. It has established partnerships with Mistral AI and OpenAI and launched F/ai, an AI program gathering all major AI leaders. These initiatives provide startups with access to technology, expertise, and global resources to advance their AI projects and contribute to a robust AI ecosystem in Europe.
Stephen Industries Inc.
Stephen Industries is a single-family office that invests in innovative companies creating solutions for a better world. Their investment strategy centers on Healthtech, Deeptech, and Greentech. They aim to partner with companies that have the potential to become Finnish success stories and remain so, avoiding premature acquisitions by foreign entities. They emphasize investment cooperation and a deep understanding of the obstacles to growth. A core aspect of their investment philosophy is a commitment to strict ESG values, reflecting a dedication to sustainable and responsible investing. They focus on companies that demonstrate a drive for excellence, reflecting the firm's own vision since its inception.
Styx Urban Investments
STYX Urban Investments is a venture capital firm focused on investing in entrepreneurs who are reimagining the urban environment. They aim to support startups that offer innovative solutions for greener cities and buildings. Their investment strategy revolves around providing not only capital but also access to their 'Urban Living Labs,' which allow startups to test and validate their products in real estate assets across key European markets. STYX targets pre-seed funding rounds, helping urban tech startups prepare for seed rounds. They consider themselves to be more than just an investor, viewing themselves as an enablement partner and an Urban Living Lab VC.
Sunfish Partners
Sunfish Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in deep tech startups originating from Eastern Europe (CEE). Their core mission revolves around bolstering Europe's autonomy through strategic investments in the space and defense sectors, alongside hardware and software startups. They provide pre-seed funding with ticket sizes between €150k to €300k. The firm's investment strategy targets companies that contribute to technological advancement and independence within Europe, particularly within the space and defense industries. They invest in both hardware and software, acknowledging the critical intersection of these domains in fostering impactful innovation. Geographically, they prioritize founders based in Eastern Europe (CEE). Sunfish Partners emphasizes providing early-stage capital and expertise to support the growth of promising startups. They actively engage with the space and defense tech ecosystem, participating in events and sharing insights through articles and videos. They are dedicated to fostering the next generation of deep tech companies in the region.
Superangel.io
Superangel is an early-stage VC fund based in the Baltics & Nordics that invests in tech companies building solutions to improve the world. They focus on founders with the ambition and drive to create global impact. As an early-stage fund, they aim to provide not only capital but also the necessary network, tools, and expertise to transform startups into successful ventures. They emphasize collaboration, agility, and a willingness to take risks and learn from failures, mirroring the mindset of a startup. With a team founded, run, and backed by tech entrepreneurs, Superangel brings firsthand experience of the challenges and opportunities faced by founders, enabling them to offer relevant and practical support. The fund values having a positive impact on the world, and therefore focuses on companies with that same value. Furthermore, they aim to be agile and quick decision makers.
Superseed
SuperSeed focuses on backing technical founders who are bringing AI to the physical world, specifically B2B startups. They leverage their team's experience, with 90% having built and exited startups, to help founders commercialize faster. Their approach involves assisting with go-to-market strategies, hiring through their in-house talent team, and connecting founders with customers and investors. They are not just providing capital, but offering what they call the "applied VC Edge," indicating a hands-on approach to helping founders navigate the complexities of building and scaling AI-driven businesses in the physical world. Their portfolio companies suggest they are interested in areas such as 3D printing for high-end manufacturing, autonomous systems, demand forecasting, and luxury hospitality e-commerce. SuperSeed invests across various areas, from AI applications to SaaS platforms. They seem to favor startups that are developing innovative technologies that can transform traditional industries or create new markets. Their journal entries indicate an interest in market trends, startup operating systems, fundraising, hiring, positioning, product development, and sales, reflecting a comprehensive approach to supporting their portfolio companies.