Wave Ventures, a Gen Z-led venture capital firm based in Finland, has launched its third fund, raising €7 million—more than triple the size of its previous fund. Since its founding in 2016, the firm has focused on early-stage investments in startups led by founders under 30 across the Nordics and Baltics. The new fund plans to support 3 to 10 new startups per country each year, primarily through angel and pre-seed investments up to €100,000. The firm operates with a small team of Gen Z investors embedded in key regional startup ecosystems, aiming to identify promising entrepreneurs early in their journeys. This latest fund comes as technological advances like generative AI and no-code tools lower barriers to startup creation in the region.
Founded in 2016, Wave Ventures has established a strong track record in identifying exceptional early-stage talent. Over its first two funds, Wave Ventures has made over 50 initial investments as the first backer and invested in nearly 80% of VC-backed Finnish startups led by CEOs under 30. Wave Ventures’ previous investments include, for example, Inven, Intergrid, Exa Laboratories (YC S24), Vetnio (YC W25), Paebbl, Normative, and Carbo Culture.
Wave’s model is grounded in a core principle: proximity to the next generation of builders. The fund is operated entirely by a small rotating team of top Gen Z investors embedded in startup ecosystems across Helsinki, Stockholm, and Tallinn. This structure provides Wave with real-time access to the communities where the most ambitious Gen Z founders are emerging, often before they appear on the radar of VCs.
Antonia Eneh, CEO of Wave Ventures, said: “AI is unlocking a new era of speed and scale: young founders are moving faster than ever, thinking bigger, and building globally from day one. This generation understands the problems that matter and has the tools to solve them. Wave is built to find them and back them first.”
Now, with Fund III, Wave plans to scale this approach across the Nordics and Baltics, aiming to invest in 3 to 10 new teams per country each year, focusing on first-ticket angel and pre-seed rounds up to €100,000.
Cal Henderson, co-founder of Slack, said: “Wave Ventures has a truly unique advantage, connecting to the most promising young European entrepreneurs before any other investors could ever have them on their radar. Having seen firsthand the incredible talent and drive of the youth emerging from Finland and the Nordics, I believe we’re about to witness a wave of incredible new companies built by this next generation of founders.”
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/wave-ventures-launches-e7m-third-fund/
