Vendep Capital, a Finnish venture capital firm specialising in early-stage B2B SaaS investments, has closed its fourth fund, raising €80 million from Finnish state-owned Tesi and Elo, alongside family offices and angel investors. This new fund is dedicated to fueling AI-first SaaS startups emerging from the Nordics and Baltics.
Since its inception in 2013, Vendep Capital has built a strong reputation by backing successful SaaS companies, including AlphaSense, Hostaway, Leadfeeder, and Happeo. Founding partner Sakari Pihlava said, “We are excited to continue our work. Nordics and Baltics today offer one of the most thriving grounds globally for building category-defining software companies, and Vendep is uniquely positioned to partner with the next wave of founders driving that growth.”
The team’s experience in SaaS and startup operations allows Vendep to go beyond providing capital by offering mentorship, community engagement, and access to a global network. Their investment strategy covers early rounds, from pre-seed to Series A, with initial investments ranging between €0.1 million and €3 million.
“SaaS isn’t always seen as the most flashy investment theme, but we see it as brilliant because it keeps outperforming. SaaS companies consistently deliver predictable recurring revenues and industry-leading margins. And with AI, SaaS is entering its most exciting era yet. Nearly every meaningful AI product today is delivered and monetised as SaaS,” said Sami Ahvenniemi, General Partner at Vendep.
He added, “AI helps companies solve problems at scale and get smarter with every use case, but the fundamentals haven’t changed. What’s new is that AI agents are turning SaaS products into systems that act independently, with humans in a supervisory role. Great businesses still win by building long-term defensibility, and that will never change,”
TFN reached out to Vendep Capital to comment on their diversity strategy.
Looking ahead, Vendep aims to invest in around twenty early-stage SaaS companies across the Nordics and Baltics. The focus is on founders who build defensible, AI-native platforms with ambition for global reach.
