SmartCap Venture Capital Fund has invested €5 million in Antler’s Nordic Fund II, strengthening its commitment to early stage startups and innovative technology investment strategies. The fund also has anchor investments from the Danish Export Investment Fund (EIFO) and Finland’s Tesi.
This follows Antar’s first €30 million fund, launched in 2021.
Over the past five years, Antler has backed over 400 European startups, many of which are based in the Nordic countries.
With 140 investments in 2023 alone, Antler is one of the few early-stage VC firms to increase its investment rate during the economic downturn. Antler is also actively committed to removing barriers to entrepreneurship and supporting a new generation of diverse founders.
One-third of Antler’s portfolio companies have at least one female founder, and the founders Antler supports span 145 countries around the world.
Nordic Fund II focuses primarily on the Nordic region, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, and is now expanding into the Estonian market.
Sille Pettai, Director and Fund Manager at SmartCap, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with IPO Capital to bring this investment to market.
“This investment marks a great opportunity for us to join forces with TESI, EIFO and Investinor to create cross-border deal flows across the Nordics and Estonia.
It’s great that Antler is looking to expand its innovative model to Estonia by focusing on a new generation of Estonian founders and opening up their Nordic programs to them.”
Antler’s operating model is based on a 12-week accelerator residency where participants form teams and found startups. Successful teams emerging from the residency receive investments of up to €300,000 to take their startup to the next stage.
“We are thrilled to be working with Antler to bring this technology to market,” said Jussi Kallasvuo, Partner at Antler.
“Estonia has cemented its position as one of the most exciting tech ecosystems in Europe. It is home to some of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe, and Tallinn is home to more unicorn founders than established tech hubs such as Manchester, Madrid and Copenhagen.”
Antler is a global investor committed to backing great founders around the world and we are excited to work with Smartcap to back a new generation of Estonia tech startups.”
Main image: From left: Tobias Bengtsdahl (Antler), Micheal Wiatr (Antler), Antti Törmänen (Antler), Smartcap Investment Manager Karl Järvsalu and Jussi Kallasvuo (Antler). Photo: Uncredited.
