Finland-based early-stage VC Kvanted Ventures closed its first fund of €70 million. Investors in the fund include prominent industrial players, including the established Finnish industrial owner Oras Invest, offering its portfolio entrepreneurs unique access to industry networks and decades of experience in supporting industrial innovations.
First Nordic industrial tech fund
The fund will invest in nearly 20 companies with initial investments ranging from €500K to €3 million. It also focuses on a longer-than-average investment term to align with the longer development cycles in the industrial domain.
Kvanted is also joined by an impressive group of Venture Partners with backgrounds in growth companies and large industries. They include Suvi Haimi, founder of biomaterial company Sulapac and board member at the Finnish Startup Community; Lars Peter Lindfors, Head of Innovation at Neste; and Kai Öistämö, CEO of Vaisala and board member at Nokia. They will actively support and work with Kvanted’s portfolio companies with their knowledge, skills, and broad networks.
Portfolio of investments
Founded by Maria Wasastjerna, Eerik Paasikivi, and Axel Ahlström in 2023, the VC firm operates with a mission of building a more sustainable and efficient industry. Also, seasoned private equity and venture capital investor Heikki Westerlund acts as Kvanted’s chair of the board. Westerlund, former CEO of Nordic private asset management and investment company CapMan, brings to the team a wealth of know-how and experience from the broader investment landscape in the Nordics and beyond.
Kvanted connects traditional industries with innovative technology startups. It invests in both hardware and software alike, and service companies developing new solutions for the industrial value chain, with a strong focus on industrial automation, sustainability and supply chain resilience.
The first investments of Kvanted include the following:
- Fractory: An Estonian automated on-demand manufacturing platform that connects engineers with production capacity, which was founded in 2017.
- Resoniks: A Dutch-Finnish company founded in 2022, which develops an AI-powered acoustic analysis solution for quality control.
“The industrial sector is the cornerstone of the European economy. But in terms of technological development and digital transformation, there is still a lot to be done – and a lot of untapped potential. To remain competitive and to contribute to a more sustainable world, the industrial sectors in Finland, the Nordics, and beyond need to evolve. This can be done by accelerating industrial innovation with technology, which in turn requires smart capital and deep industrial expertise – and a connector that can bring traditional industrial players and innovative startups together,” said Kvanted’s founding partner Maria Wasastjerna.
“Kvanted’s focus and unique expertise in the industrial sector are exactly what companies focusing on industrial technology need to grow. I’m excited to be involved as a venture partner in supporting the journey of entrepreneurs who are transforming the foundations of the industrial sector,” added Venture Partner Kai Öistämö.
“Kvanted understands exactly what we are doing. The team’s broad industry experience and unique networks provide us with exceptional access to new growth opportunities. Kvanted is the best possible strategic partnership for Fractory at this stage. With Kvanted’s support, we are excited to continue helping companies in Finland and beyond grow with our solution,” said Martin Vares, co-founder and CEO of Fractory.
“We’re honored to have Kvanted onboard as a strategic investor, recognising their invaluable industry expertise and envisioning a fruitful, long-term partnership”, noted Felix Wassmann, co-founder and CEO of Resoniks.
