Whether you were at Slush 2021, participated in the side events or followed from afar, this past week has been very active in the Nordics&Baltics startup ecosystem. If you’ve been struggling to keep up with the huge amount of news coming out, we’ve compiled some highlights here.
Metaverse company Varjo receives €20 million in financing from EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing up to €20 million in financing to Finnish virtual and mixed reality company Varjo.
“Varjo is extremely proud to be a VR/XR company headquartered in Europe but operating globally, offering our customers around the world the most advanced immersive technology in the market,” added Timo Toikkanen, Varjo CEO. “As we scale and develop the next computing paradigm for human communication, we are pleased about the continued encouragement of the European tech ecosystem.”
Singa expands to North America and launches crowdfunding campaign backed by top investors and artists
Singa makes history by being the first Finnish streaming service launched in the US.The company reveals 4,4M€ before unpublished funding and launches a crowdfunding campaign .Anchor investors include top investors and local Finnish artists. 1.4M€ anchor Investment comes from Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, Ilkka Kivimäki’s Maki.vc, Superhero Capital, Corporatum and Icebreaker.vc’s partner Kristian Pentti. Frontline investors from the music industry include some of Finland’s biggest stars: JVG’s record label PME Records, Pyhimys, Teflon Brothers.
Female entrepreneurs are revolutionizing the elderly services in Europe, building a billion-dollar company and are expanding globally
Elderdy service company Gubbe was founded in November 2018, because the elderdy service field lacked a positive and customer-oriented player. Gubbe connects young individuals to elderly who need help with housework, staying active, transportation, and technology. Three years later the company has raised over 2,5 million euros in funding and employ more than 70 office workers and thousands of young people, mostly students, in Finland and Sweden work as “gubbes” to promote the well-being of the elderly and to delight their daily lives.
NEW AUTONOMOUS SHUTTLE BUS COLLABORATION BETWEEN SENSIBLE 4 OY AND MOOVE GMBH
The German – Finnish collaboration between MOOVE GmbH and Sensible 4 Oy was announced, and the vehicle launched at the world’s leading startup event Slush in Helsinki. Together the companies are aiming to bring a new self-driving serialproduced shuttle bus to the European market in 2023. In the new collaboration, Finnish self-driving technology company Sensible 4 will automate the PeopleMover, a customizable vehicle that can carry up to 19 passengers. Trials with the automated PeopleMover will take place in February 2022 in Aachen, Germany.
Printify Announces Closing a $50M Series A Funding Round
Last month leading print-on-demand company Printify closed Series A funding round and raised a total of $50M. The latest investment round was joined by a number of experienced angel investors and founders from the Baltics to Silicon Valley bringing in their expertise and sharing knowledge for further expansion. Printify will use the majority of investment to grow its team and develop the marketplace globally. Meanwhile $10M of the funds have been paid directly to the company’s long-term employees after selling their shares.
Payroll automation provider Pento pockets $35 million
Copenhagen’s real-time automated payroll software platform Pento has raised $35 million in a Series B round co-led by investment powerhouse Tiger Global and Avid Ventures. Pento’s fresh payout is expected to power product development, partner integrations, and prolonged expansion into new European posts. The company closed a Series A round just shy of six months ago, and brings the total funding to date to a respectable $53.4 million.
Electric vehicle e-commerce marketplace Carla raises €10 million
Sweden’s e-commerce marketplace to lease, buy, or sell an electric vehicle Carla has raised €10 million in a Series A funding round. The funds are set to be used to drive key hiring in marketing and development, continued development of the company’s infrastructure, and charge up international expansion efforts. To date, the company has raised €13 million in funding.
€20m round from a16z for Finnish MMO game studio Mainframe
Mainframe studio announced it had raised an additional €20.3m led by Andreessen-Horowitz, who also led the company’s Series A in 2020. This is making them the first European games studio and the first Nordic startup the renowned firm has backed.
Round2 Capital invests EUR 4 Million in Finnish company Vainu
With its investment of a total of EUR 4 millions in several tranches in the Finnish SaaS company Vainu, Round2 Capital, the leading European revenue-based finance provider, expands its commitment to the Nordic tech market. The investment fund, based in Vienna, Berlin and Stockholm, has been working with Vainu since 2019 and provided both revenue-based financing and equity in the current round. With this fresh capital, Vainu was able to transform its business, doubling its annual average customer value (ACV) while systematically moving away from a small standalone customer segment.
Finnish buying intent platform NinaData has raised $2M USD in funding
Finnish buying intent platform NinaData has raised $2M USD in funding to help brands connect with audiences in a meaningful privacy-first environment by leveraging its proprietary AI. The round was a hybrid of equity from previous investors, and public and private loans completing the round. The funding will be used to further accelerate the development and adoption of NinaData’s purpose-built AI for contextual buying intent.
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Originally published on ArcticStartup : Original article