STARTHUB Ventures
STARTHUB Ventures focuses on providing financial support and a vast network to visionary entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and seed stages. They aim to boost leading young entrepreneurs and take their businesses to the next level, step by step, until they reach the sky. Their investment strategy revolves around identifying founders who combine vision with execution excellence, can build and lead outstanding teams, and have the courage and ability to change markets. They look at around 1,500 to 2,000 early-stage startups per year, primarily through recommendations from other investors, founders of portfolio companies, databases, media publications, accelerator graduates, and events. They emphasize the importance of early-stage capital and leverage their network, particularly in international logistics, to assist portfolio companies. The firm is open to various fields but primarily invests in digital companies within specific sectors. Their investment process includes sourcing, contact, deal screening, co-investor meetings, due diligence, contract negotiations, closing/signing, and payment. The duration can vary from 2 hours to 2-3 weeks depending on the startup's investment readiness. The firm looks for companies with founders who have experience and where contracts are finalized already. Alternatively, they also invest in companies coming out of accelerator programs and are ready to take the lead on first round investments. They aim to be the largest private investor in the first round. The firm wants a referral from an existing portfolio company or co-investor.
Saarbrücker21
Saarbrücker21 (SB21) is a group of friends and internet/tech entrepreneurs who invest in young startup and digital companies. They operate as active business angels, providing seed funding to founders with promising ideas. Their core value proposition extends beyond capital, emphasizing hands-on support and guidance to help founders avoid common pitfalls based on their own experiences. They offer introductions to relevant contacts, leveraging their collective experience to assist startups in various aspects of company building. The SB21 team consists of individuals with diverse backgrounds who have all successfully built, sold, or IPO'ed companies. This collective experience allows them to provide valuable insights across different industries. They believe in the power of cross-industry knowledge transfer to unlock new opportunities and add value to their portfolio companies. SB21 prides itself on being quick decision-makers and readily available to support their portfolio companies. They act as a sounding board for new ideas, providing introductions to key contacts, and offering general support whenever needed. The group's strength lies in their shared experiences as founders and their commitment to helping other startups succeed.
Sagard NewGen
Sagard is a global multi-strategy alternative asset management firm that invests across venture capital, private equity, private credit, and real estate. The firm focuses on providing flexible capital, an entrepreneurial culture, and a global network to help accelerate companies' paths to success. Sagard emphasizes its core values of entrepreneurship, innovation, collaboration, rigor, and authenticity. They aim to empower progress and build one of the most respected and impactful global alternative investment management firms by investing capital, culture, and network to drive returns for their clients and communities. Specifically, within venture capital, Sagard operates through Portage Ventures, Portage Capital Solutions, and Diagram. Portage Ventures focuses on early-stage fintech opportunities from seed to Series C, while Portage Capital Solutions provides flexible capital to later-stage businesses. Sagard aims to be more than just a capital provider, offering hands-on support in areas such as go-to-market strategy, technology and cybersecurity, business acceleration, mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships. Sagard also demonstrates a commitment to leveraging its global network of investors, portfolio companies, commercial partners, advisors, and value-creation experts to create tangible value for its portfolio companies. The firm's multi-strategy approach allows it to deliver capital across various stages and asset classes, providing a comprehensive solution for companies seeking growth and development. Sagard's overarching strategy is to actively support the leaders reshaping their respective industries. They emphasize a dynamic and supportive ecosystem that gives partners the advantage needed to learn, grow, and win at every stage, focusing on building long-term value through deep industry knowledge and entrepreneurial experience.
Sagene Tech Ventures
Sagene Tech Ventures is a pre-seed venture fund established in Oslo in 2016, focusing on B2B SaaS companies based in Norway. They look for startups that are headquartered in Norway and structured as a Norwegian (Aksjeselskap - AS) limited company, reflecting a commitment to local Norwegian entrepreneurship. Their evaluation process involves assessing the startup's team and the tangible progress of their product or service. They require evidence of paying customers before considering investment, indicating a preference for ventures that have demonstrated market validation and initial traction. The firm prioritizes startups led by genuine and motivated founders, favoring realistic plans and a solid understanding of their market over standardized pitches and unrealistic projections. They conduct a rapid evaluation, involving rounds of questions and answers, followed by a vote among the investment team, reflecting a streamlined decision-making process. Sagene Tech Ventures aims to assist its portfolio companies using its experience and network, offering support that may include board involvement, demonstrating a commitment to active mentorship. Sagene Tech Ventures collaborates with Innovation Norway and Investinor, leveraging their co-investment programs to match their investments with equity and/or loans. This strategic alliance enhances their investment capacity and provides startups with access to additional funding and resources. Their investment approach is marked by a practical, hands-on philosophy, seeking to identify and support promising B2B SaaS ventures within Norway that have the potential for growth and impact.
Samara Asset Group
Samara Asset Group's mission is to invest in innovative builders and alternative asset managers, fostering their growth by providing capital, strength, and guidance. They believe the future of finance is democratized and decentralized, driven by Bitcoin and emerging technology. The firm aims to democratize access to high-growth sectors through its listed shares, while holding Bitcoin. They aim to be a 'samara' - protecting and dispersing a tree's seeds - for the builders they invest.
Scania Growth Capital
Scania Invest, the in-house global venture capital arm of Scania, focuses on accelerating the shift towards a sustainable transport future. They invest across all stages, from seed to late, providing not only capital but also leveraging Scania's core capabilities to drive value as long-term partners. The fund aims to support innovative technologies and visionary entrepreneurs that contribute to a cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable future within the transportation ecosystem. They believe in diversity as a key driver of success, bringing together different perspectives to build stronger, more resilient companies, and emphasize the strength of partnerships to drive stronger outcomes. Scania Invest strives to create a sustainable impact by supporting innovations that contribute to financial growth and environmental responsibility.
Scania Ventures and New Business
Scania Ventures and New Business, as part of the Scania Group, focuses on driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system. Their investment thesis revolves around supporting technological innovation and smart transport solutions to create a world of mobility that is better for business, society, and the environment. This includes investing in companies that contribute to decarbonization, circular business models, and people sustainability within the transport sector. Scania is particularly interested in electrification, autonomous solutions, and innovative technologies that can shape the future of transport. They aim to create lasting value for all stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and society, by providing profitable and sustainable solutions. Scania emphasizes partnerships and collaborations as essential for driving change. They actively seek to collaborate with customers, transport service buyers, energy suppliers, infrastructure providers, and industry peers. This collaborative approach allows them to leverage collective knowledge and resources to accelerate the adoption of sustainable transport solutions. The firm is also committed to managing its environmental and social impact across the entire value chain, ensuring that their investments align with their vision of sustainable development. Their focus on innovation is a key driver of their investment strategy. Scania actively develops new ideas and technologies through internal research and development, as well as through investments in external startups and innovative companies. They leverage new tools and ways of working to rapidly develop solutions that address the evolving needs of the transport industry. The firm's commitment to sustainability and innovation positions them as a leader in the transition towards a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem. Scania’s strategy is rooted in a clear understanding of the evolving landscape of the transport industry. They continuously analyze future trends and challenges to identify investment opportunities that align with their long-term vision. Their focus on electrification, autonomous solutions, and connected services reflects their belief that these technologies will play a crucial role in shaping the future of transport. Scania actively supports the development and commercialization of these technologies through investments, partnerships, and internal initiatives.
SciFounders
SciFounders focuses on backing strong technical leaders building world-changing technologies from pre-seed to Series A. They emphasize their experience in building research-heavy companies, citing their involvement in companies like Mammoth Biosciences and Conception. Their strategy involves providing not only capital, but also hands-on mentorship to help technical founders succeed. They also run a SciFounder Fellowship program which offers up to $1M to get companies started.
Seeder Fund
Seeder Fund is a Venture Capital fund dedicated to accelerating the first financing rounds of promising digital entrepreneurs in Belgium and beyond. They aim to make quick investment decisions, offer individualised support, and provide access to a large network, with the potential to double down in subsequent fundraisings. The firm is composed of experienced entrepreneurs & investors, and their commitment is to help entrepreneurs build solid foundations and successfully kickstart their ambitious growth journey. From the portfolio page, it is obvious that Seeder Fund focuses on digital startups, across a variety of industries, with investments generally being in the seed stage. Their recent investment activity points to a preference for B2B SaaS and tech-enabled services. Their team's experience suggests they provide hands-on support to their portfolio companies. Their quick decision-making process mentioned on the home page points to an understanding of the importance of speed in seed investing, and also points to the autonomy given to investment partners to pursue deals.
Seraphim Accelerator
Seraphim VC is a global leader in SpaceTech investment, focusing on companies solving the world’s greatest problems. They invest in the brightest minds and smartest ideas to provide trailblazing, high-value solutions that disrupt, transform, and improve life. Their mission is to accelerate humanity’s next giant leap by transforming science fiction into science fact. They support space entrepreneurship from inception to exit, providing capital, expertise, and global partners. Seraphim backs pioneering space and deeptech ventures at the forefront of global security, sustainability, and resilience. Their portfolio companies redefine how critical infrastructure is protected, defense capabilities are strengthened, and pressing global challenges are tackled, including real-time Earth observation, secure communications, and climate intelligence. They aim to harness the power of space to build the next generation of game-changing companies. Their interconnected model is designed to identify, support, and grow early-stage SpaceTech companies across the full lifecycle, from inception to exit. They are backed by leading space corporations and international space agencies across their activities, including investors in their funds like Airbus, SES, Teledyne, and Telespazio, SSTL MDA. They also have accelerator partnerships with the UK and European Space Agency. Their approach generates co-investment opportunities for their LPs at Series B and beyond. Seraphim identifies as “mission control” for Spacetech founders.
Sisu Game Ventures
Sisu Game Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund exclusively dedicated to investing in game development companies. Founded in 2014, they aim to support promising founders in the global game industry. They prioritize investing in the team behind the games, rather than solely focusing on individual IPs or metrics. Beyond capital, they invest significant time and expertise to help companies grow and prepare for the next phase. Sisu embraces a collaborative approach, fostering knowledge sharing and open communication among their portfolio companies and co-investors to accelerate development and enhance competitiveness. The fund prefers to be the first money in, investing very early, often pre-revenue and pre-product. They place high value on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and honesty within their portfolio and co-investor network. This approach is intended to accelerate company development, providing a competitive edge. The firm embraces experimentation and celebrates both successes and failures as learning opportunities that contribute to long-term success. Sisu views their portfolio companies as a 'family,' emphasizing a supportive environment characterized by a 'sisu spirit' of perseverance. They actively support and empower founders, recognizing that building enduring game companies requires business acumen, creativity, and data-driven insights. The testimonials highlight their valuable industry insights, extensive network, and practical support in areas such as strategy, team formation, and overall business development.
Skagerak Capital
Skagerak Capital invests in companies that contribute to sustainable, long-term value creation. They focus on companies with positive impact, believing that technological innovations will contribute positively to people and the planet. They are particularly interested in companies addressing megatrends such as climate change and resource scarcity. They look for ambitious talent and companies that want to change the world for the better, making long-term commitments to investment decisions, and partnering with driven founders who aspire to make a positive global impact. Skagerak Capital aims to bring competence, network, and capital to help founders achieve their ambitions. They emphasize active ownership and providing support to their portfolio companies to achieve international success and deliver returns for their investors. They seem particularly interested in AI and climate tech, as evidenced by the focus of some of their partners. They invest in companies that leverage AI to improve their offerings significantly and have substantial net positive climate impact, highly correlated with customer value. The portfolio companies are diverse, providing solutions across multiple industries. Friar Venture, an investment fund to accelerate growth in tech companies in Telemark and Vestfold, seems to be associated with Skagerak Capital, although the nature of the relationship is not explicitly stated on their website. It focuses on companies with a head office address in Telemark and Vestfold to meet the need for risk capital in the region.
SmartCap Green Fund
The Green Fund, financed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), targets investments in companies driving Estonia’s green transition. It prioritizes projects aligned with sustainability goals, climate action, and circular economy principles, deploying capital within a strict regulatory framework to achieve predefined impact milestones.
Smartlink VC
Smartlink Partners inwestuje w startupy o wysokim potencjale wzrostu, łącząc kompetencje biznesowe polskich przedsiębiorców (m.in. z Corporate Connections) z profesjonalizmem doświadczonych inwestorów. Celem jest wspieranie przedsiębiorców przez doświadczenie, międzynarodową sieć kontaktów oraz dostęp do kapitału na skalowanie. Ekosystem inwestycyjny obejmuje wsparcie od fazy pre-seed do pre-IPO, zapewniając długoterminowy rozwój startupów.
Social Tech Trust
Social Tech Trust is an impact investor that focuses on backing early-stage ventures utilizing technology to address social and environmental challenges. They aim to improve lives, strengthen communities, and protect the planet by investing in startups and impact funds that are creating more equitable outcomes. The Trust prioritizes ventures that are underserved by traditional investment models and are seeking flexible, aligned capital. The Social Tech Ventures fund, seeded by Social Tech Trust, is designed to back promising UK impact tech startups, offering founder-first investments tailored to the needs of ventures pursuing scalable social and environmental change. This includes flexible equity structures, such as revenue-based growth or hybrid models, demonstrating a commitment to achieving measurable and scalable impact.
Sondo Capital
Sondo Capital is a venture capital firm backing pre-seed and seed stage teams with a link to Norway. They focus on early-stage investments, emphasizing idea quality, team, product-market fit, technology risk, and financing risk. They currently assess that sustainability risk is not materially relevant for their products/mandates in the pre-seed/seed phase and do not integrate sustainability risks as standalone decision criteria beyond ordinary financial and operational risk assessments. They also do not consider principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors within their investment processes for current mandates, citing data limitations and the dominance of other risk factors at the early stages of investment.
Sony Innovation Fund
Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) cultivates new ideas and promising innovations for a connected world. Building on Sony’s long history of innovation and creativity, they invest in transformational technology-driven startup companies shaping the future of business, entertainment, and society. They act as a bridge to Sony, driving deeper engagements with startups who can benefit from their technical and business expertise, IP, R&D, and access to a global partner network to scale. They invest in consumer and enterprise-facing startups that are bringing new forms of Entertainment, FinTech, Enterprise SaaS, DeepTech and ClimateTech to global markets. SIF emphasizes a "Founders First" approach, actively championing entrepreneurs and fostering a thriving startup culture. They prioritize stakeholder collaboration, orchestrating connections within Sony and beyond with entrepreneurs, corporates, and investors. Diversity and respect are core values, building trust through a multidisciplinary team that values diverse global perspectives. They seek transformative impact, investing in game-changing technologies and businesses that create meaningful societal, environmental, and financial outcomes. The firm manages multiple investment vehicles, including Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) for early-stage companies, Innovation Growth Fund (IGF) jointly established with Daiwa Investment Management, Inc. for mid- to late-stage startups, Sony Innovation Fund: Environment (SIF : E) focusing on early-stage startups solving global environmental challenges, Sony Innovation Fund 3 (SIF3) investing in mid- to late-stage start-ups, and Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF : AF) supporting seed to early-stage startups in the African Entertainment industry. They also consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues in their investment process.
Sozo Ventures
Sozo Ventures invests in and supports technology-enabled ventures with global expansion, leveraging deep networks and expertise to provide market knowledge, deployment support, and strategic relationships. They focus on companies that are ready to scale internationally, offering hands-on assistance from seed to pre-IPO stages.
Space Ventures Investors
Space Ventures Investors Ltd (SVI) focuses on building a Strategic Space Value Chain by researching trends in space commerce, forming joint ventures and partnerships, and investing in space companies that have a niche role in this value chain. They target opportunities often overlooked by institutional funds, venture capital, and public funding, aiming to provide seed funding to innovative space startups. SVI aims to build and manage an evolving space portfolio to match changes in technology, and ultimately deliver returns to investors for decades to come. The firm conducts proprietary research on the space industry and markets and performs due diligence on numerous space companies, especially early-stage ones. They have invested in earth observation startups, launch companies, and lunar resources ventures. SVI sees the next wave of innovation in infrastructure-level operations, such as cheaper and more environmentally friendly launch solutions, new spaceports, space-based solar power, lunar resource extraction, orbital servicing, space debris mitigation, and orbiting data centers. SVI leverages its experience and research to identify and support European space entrepreneurs and companies developing innovative technology, especially those focused on space resources, from mining engineers to planetary academics working on harvesting resources for commercial gain. This extends from sifting platinum group metals from Lunar regolith to developing space-based solar power constellations. They also consider the legal aspects of space commercial ventures.
Space3ac
Space3ac connects startups and corporations to foster innovation, primarily in downstream space technologies, but also open to solutions in IoT, AR/VR, Smart City, Prop-Tech, and AI. They focus on maximizing employee engagement, innovating HR platforms, Hardware and Software solutions for seaports, telecommunications companies, spedition, gas stations, and the aerospace industry. Their core activity includes facilitating collaboration between startups and corporations, evident through their acceleration programs and corporate innovation program design services. They aim to help startups refine their products, achieve product-market fit, and scale their businesses, while simultaneously helping corporations solve specific challenges through innovative solutions from these startups. This approach is facilitated through customized programs tailored to each corporation's needs, leveraging Space3ac's understanding of both startup and corporate dynamics. Their founder's book on startup-corporate collaboration underscores their expertise and provides a unique model for strategic planning and efficient partnership between large enterprises and small companies.
SpaceVC
Ambition Capital partners with early-stage founders building critical technologies to address the world's most pressing challenges. They invest in transformative solutions like hypersonics, data center thermal infrastructure, orbital space defense, and desalination systems from inception to seed stage.
SparkLabs Global Ventures
SparkLabs Global Ventures is a seed-stage fund that believes business is now truly global. They focus on finding exceptional entrepreneurs building category-defining companies at advantageous valuations, regardless of location. The firm is experienced in helping entrepreneurs develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets worldwide. Their strategy involves providing practical and realistic guidance, leveraging their own experiences as entrepreneurs. They aim to be investors, mentors, facilitators, talent sources, and supporters of their portfolio companies from day one.
SpecialistVC
Specialist VC invests in ambitious founders across the Baltic states, Finland, Ukraine, and Belarus, focusing on B2B, SaaS, fintech, platforms, and deep tech. The firm emphasizes hands-on support, long-term relationships, and early-stage intuition to identify high-potential startups with transformative potential.
Spot VC
Spot VC is a venture capital firm focused on backing Y Combinator (YC) founders early in their journey, providing them with unwavering support for life. Founded by two-time YC alumni, Jay Reno and Ryan Wegner, the firm leverages their firsthand experience building companies from the ground up, navigating the challenges of Demo Day and beyond. They understand the difficulties founders face, including sleepless nights, tough decisions, and moments of uncertainty. Spot VC positions itself as more than just an investor, aiming to be a trusted voice, offering strategic guidance, and providing a supportive ear when the journey feels overwhelming. Their investment approach centers on genuine relationships built on empathy and experience. They are actively looking to connect with exceptional YC founders who are building the future and aim to lead with their heart. Their value proposition is rooted in their understanding of the YC experience, having been founders themselves, allowing them to provide more relevant and empathetic support. Their portfolio showcases a wide range of companies, primarily within the AI space, indicating a strong interest and focus on this sector. The firm invests across different stages, including pre-seed, seed, and beyond. Spot VC’s strategy involves providing not only financial backing but also mentorship and support, especially for founders needing guidance during critical decision-making processes. This is highlighted by their tagline "believing in you early and in your corner for life." Overall, Spot VC aims to be a supportive and accessible partner for YC founders, leveraging their personal experiences and industry connections to help them succeed. Their investment strategy is centered on building authentic relationships and providing founders with the resources and guidance they need to navigate the challenges of building a startup.