Helsinki-based startup Inven has raised $12.75 million (€11.2 million) in a Series A funding round led by Ventech and Vendep Capital, with participation from angel investor Risto Siilasmaa and existing backers Lifeline Ventures and Joint Effects. Founded in 2022, Inven develops an AI-based platform designed to automate and enhance deal sourcing in private markets by continuously analyzing data from over 21 million companies. The company’s tools are used by investment banks, private equity firms, and consultants to identify and evaluate potential opportunities. Inven plans to use the funding to grow its engineering and product teams, expand its customer support, and accelerate its international expansion, particularly in North America and key financial markets.
Founded in 2022 by former McKinsey and BCG consultants, Inven is tackling one of private markets’ biggest bottlenecks: sourcing high-quality deals. As global markets grow more volatile and crowded, with rising numbers of companies and subcategories, traditional sourcing methods are no longer sufficient. They are slow, manual, and heavily reliant on static databases, making them poorly suited for a market that moves this fast. Inven’s AI-native platform reimagines deal sourcing by continuously mapping and analyzing a network of over 21 million companies.
“At Inven, we’re building the AI backbone of global deal sourcing. Deal sourcing has traditionally been labor-intensive and inefficient, especially in private markets where opportunities are dispersed and often hidden. AI is making the process faster, while revealing opportunities that were once invisible, giving M&A professionals a true competitive edge. This new funding fuels our mission to reimagine how the world’s best deals are found, evaluated, and closed”, said Niilo Pirttijärvi, CEO and Co-founder of Inven.
Inven offers a solution that analyzes millions of data sources and websites, organizing this information to identify meaningful signals and spot overlooked opportunities. Instead of relying on outdated company data, Inven continuously surfaces hidden opportunities and delivers predictive insights to help users prioritize the right moves. Inven provides investment bankers, private equity firms, and financial consultants with a competitive edge by reducing time-to-deal and enhancing sourcing precision – whether they’re identifying potential investments, analyzing new markets, or uncovering opportunities before others know they exist.
“We’re building AI that transforms how high-velocity teams make better decisions. In fast-moving environments, teams don’t have time to dig through scattered and noisy data. They need systems that know what matters and that have all necessary data in one place. That’s why we’re designing Inven as an intelligence layer that filters out noise, and brings the right insight to the surface before it’s even asked for”, said Tommi Kupiainen, CPO and Co-founder of Inven.
The new funding comes at a time of rapid growth for the company. Inven now works with more than 700 firms across the Americas and Europe, including many Fortune 500 companies, and has reached a 670% year-over-year growth rate.
“From the start, we were struck by Inven’s deeply talented, mission-driven team led by Niilo, Tommi and Ekku, and the perfect product-market fit they’ve already validated with customers. Their undisputed first-mover advantage, built on proprietary AI-powered data extraction, and proven traction position them to transform the $12.6 billion M&A data market. By extending their platform from intelligent deal sourcing into due diligence, investment data and CRM, Inven is set to own the full lifecycle of M&A intelligence. At Ventech, we are proud to work with Inven’s amazing people and support their international growth journey on the Board,” commented Tero Mennander, General Partner at Ventech.
With fresh capital secured, the company plans to double or triple its headcount over the next 12 to 18 months, scaling its AI engineering, product development, and customer success teams. It also plans an aggressive expansion across North America and into key financial hubs globally, aiming to make Inven the default platform for anyone sourcing private market deals.
“Having followed Inven’s journey for a while, we became increasingly excited by their deep domain expertise combined with fast execution across both sales and product. Their trajectory so far has been nothing short of exceptional, and we’re thrilled to back such a driven and visionary team as they enter the next phase of their journey”, said Sami Ahvenniemi, General Partner at Vendep Capital.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/inven-raises-12-75m-series-a/
