Finland-based Failup Ventures secures €30M in first closing of its new early-stage fund; Know more

Helsinki-based Failup Ventures, a new early-stage venture capital fund, has announced the first closing of €30M of its new early-stage fund of €50M.

Business Finland Venture Capital Oy acted as the anchor investor in Failup Ventures’ new fund.

Topias Soininen, co-founder and General Partner at Failup Ventures says, “We are thrilled to launch Failup Ventures as the first-ever Finnish VC fund to have its core foothold in the US as well. Our global approach and grassroots networks enable us to identify truly promising early-stage teams and support them from the start.”

Soininen further adds, “Many of our previous investments have received follow-on investments from renowned firms like A16Z, NFX, General Catalyst, and Tiger Global. This is a testimony to our understanding of truly brilliant teams and efforts in grassroots work.”

A Finnish-American venture capital fund

Failup Ventures, founded by Jesse Heikkilä, Topias Soininen and Oscar Andersin, is a Finnish VC firm supporting early-stage startups. The firm’s initial investments range from €200K to €1M, with the capacity for larger follow-up investments.

According to the firm, what sets Failup apart is its presence in the US, providing extensive networks and international deal flow. 

This global perspective allows the firm to identify and support startups in both the Nordic region and the US, attracting interest from a diverse group of fund investors, including entrepreneurs.

The founding members of Failup, Heikkilä and Soininen, gained expertise in high-growth startups and product-market fit through their startup Playven, a SaaS sports facility management and marketplace company later acquired by Playtomic. 

Meanwhile, Andersin, with experience as an Investment Manager at Vencubator, a Helsinki-based startup incubator, brings his insights to the team. Collectively, the trio has been involved in building and investing in almost 40 startups through previous angel investments.

Co-founder Heikkilä says, “We have seen that founders prefer to work with individuals who have firsthand experience in building a company and have faced similar challenges in the past. And that’s exactly what we’ve done before founding Failup.”

“We are excited to pave the way for next-generation founders with our fund by next-generation investors, and thrilled to have some of the brightest entrepreneurs backing us as Limited Partners.”

Failup’s investment themes

The fund, adopting a sector-agnostic approach, targets mission-driven founders making a positive impact on society, work, health, or the environment.

Co-founder Andersin says, “Our commitment lies in supporting founding teams that are building solutions capable of making a real improvement. We also only want to invest in teams that align with our values.”

“In fact, the very first meeting we had with the Failup team revolved around our values: what we believe in and what kind of world we want to contribute to building.”

Failup has already made three investments in early-stage teams from its fund. The startups are: Foundernest, a Generative AI that helps corporations improve their market landscaping, exploration, and insights; Ever, an electric vehicle marketplace; and Vested Health, a company that wants to transform healthcare.

Failup Ventures focuses its investments on themes such as the Future of Work, Future of Consumption, Dynamic Marketplaces, Digital Infrastructure, and Commercial Climate Tech. These themes guide the fund to support startups that shape the evolving landscape in these sectors.