Nordic Foodtech VC has announced the €40 million first close of its second fund, which is targeting a total of €80 million. The fund focuses on early-stage investments in startups developing technologies for the food and agriculture sectors, particularly those addressing challenges around resource efficiency, sustainability, and system resilience. Continuing its model of working closely with universities and research institutions, the firm aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and commercial application. Backers include institutional investors such as Tesi and Elo, alongside industry-related contributors like Valio Pension Fund and Heino Group. The capital will be used to support startups across the Nordics, Baltics, and Europe, with investments ranging from a few hundred thousand euros up to €2 million.
Nordic Foodtech VC is a venture capital firm based in Helsinki and Copenhagen that invests in early-stage companies developing technologies for the food and agriculture sectors. The firm focuses on startups emerging from research environments, particularly in the Nordics and Baltics, and supports projects addressing areas such as resource efficiency, food production, and agricultural monitoring. Its investment approach includes close collaboration with universities and research institutions, with typical initial investments of up to €2 million and provisions for follow-on funding.
The fund continues its successful recipe of working together with universities and research institutions to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and concrete industrial applications. The second fund is backed by institutional investors such as Tesi and Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and by food industry stakeholders such as Valio Pension Fund and Heino Group.
“Being able to raise funds in the current complex market is not an easy feat. However, it’s clear to us and our investors that the current global food system is largely inefficient and not adequate to meet the needs of the planet or its people. As a specialist investor, we’re here to back the startups turning breakthrough science and solutions into real-world food system impact and solid returns. Food security, health and nutrition, and sustainable food systems will be catalysts for this sector,” says Louise Heiberg, Partner at Nordic Foodtech VC.
Nordic Foodtech VC’s first fund successfully invested in 18 companies from the Nordics and Baltics, including Finnish Enifer and Kuva Space, Danish Chromologics and Evodia, Estonian ÄIO, Swedish Melt&Marble and Ironic Biotech. The whole portfolio tackles significant industry challenges by producing affordable protein ingredients, functional fats and oils, natural food colors and aroma compounds, capturing nutrients from wastewaters and recycling waste streams into fertilizers, and by providing essential insights from fields and the environment with hyperspectral imaging from Earth’s orbit.
Despite the downturn in VC investments that has affected the food sector as well, the fundamental need for solutions in the food system has not changed. Nordic Foodtech VC’s strategy has been to invest in companies that solve business-critical problems for and together with the industry. With universities and research institutes having limited access to options for early-stage risk capital, Nordic Foodtech VC plays a crucial role in helping companies to spin out successfully.
“New technologies contribute significantly to sustainable food production. Nordic Foodtech VC is a unique player in the food tech sector in the Nordics with excellent prospects for growth. The team has strong expertise both in research, and in the commercialization of innovations. Nordic Foodtech VC is therefore an excellent source of venture capital for early food tech companies, also in Finland,” explains Peter Platan, Investment Director in Tesi’s Fund Investments team.
The fund will continue to collaborate closely with universities and research institutions, especially in the Nordics and Baltics, to find the best ideas, teams and technologies that have potential for global scaling. Nordic Foodtech VC will continue to lead the early seed and pre-seed rounds in the Nordics and Baltics and co-invest in the rest of Europe with ticket sizes ranging from a few hundred thousand euros up to €2M. The fund will hold a reserve for significant follow-on investments, too.
With the first closing of the second fund at €40M, Nordic Foodtech VC doubles its total capital managed. The fundraising will continue towards the €80M target for final closing.
“We invest in planet-sized business opportunities in bite-sized chunks. With our whole team’s experience and expertise in investing in this sector, we are able to spot early on the startups that are solving tangible enough problems to generate good returns within a fund cycle. We are excited to continue supporting both existing and new portfolio companies in their growth paths that all together build towards a food system that fits in the planetary boundaries,” concludes Lauri Reuter, Partner at Nordic Foodtech VC.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/nordic-foodtech-vc-announces-first-close-of-second-fund/
