Estonia-based SmartCap invests €5M in Antler’s Nordic Fund II to boost early-stage tech startups

Tallinn-based SmartCap Venture Capital Fund has invested €5M in Antler’s Nordic Fund II, to strengthen its support for early-stage startups and innovative tech investments.

The Nordic Fund II secured anchor investments from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) and Tesi from Finland. This fund marks Antler’s second focused effort in the Nordic region, following the launch of their initial €30M fund in 2021.

SmartCap: Backing Estonian Funds and greentech startups

SmartCap, a subsidiary of Enterprise and Innovation SA, has been operating under an Estonian Financial Supervision Authority license since 2011. The firm focuses on developing Estonia’s venture capital market through two main funds: the SmartCap Venture Capital Fund and the SmartCap Green Fund.

The Venture Capital Fund supports VC funds and Estonian startups with global ambitions, while the Green Fund invests in Greentech-focused VC funds and direct Greentech companies. 

As a subsidiary of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, SmartCap aims to foster innovation, invest across economic cycles, and fill market gaps in Estonia’s startup ecosystem.

Backing a new generation of Estonian tech startups

Antler claims to be one of Europe’s leading early-stage VC firms. In the past five years, the firm has backed over 400 startups across Europe, with a focus on the Nordic region.

Antler’s Nordic Fund II focuses primarily on the Nordic region, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, and is expanding into the Estonian market.

Sille Pettai, SmartCap board member and fund manager, says, “This investment is a great opportunity to join forces with TESI, EIFO and Investinor and create cross-border deal flow across the Nordics and Estonia.”

“Active deal-flow generation and team building are crucial for our current market development stage, as we are witnessing new talented tech executives with founder potential growing out of our startup scene.”

“It’s great to see that Antler aims to extend its innovative model to Estonia, by putting new generation of Estonian founders on its radar and opening the Nordic program for them,” adds Pettai.

Antler runs a 12-week accelerator programme where participants form teams and launch startups. Successful teams can receive investments of up to €300K to accelerate their growth.

In 2023, Antler made 140 investments, bucking the trend with an increased rate of investment during economic downturns. The firm actively supports diverse entrepreneurship, with a third of its portfolio companies led by female founders and founders from 145 different nationalities globally.

Jussi Kallasvuo, Partner at Antler, says, “Estonia has consolidated its position as one of the most exciting tech ecosystems in Europe. It has produced some of Europe’s fastest growing tech companies and Tallinn is home to more unicorn founders than established tech hubs like Manchester, Madrid and Copenhagen.”

“Antler is a global investor committed to supporting the best founders around the world and we are very excited to work with SmartCap to back a new generation of Estonian tech startups.”