Tallinn-based SmartCap venture capital fund has invested €5 million in Antler’s Nordic Fund II to strengthen its support for early-stage startups and innovative technology investments.
Nordic Fund II has secured anchor investments from the Danish Export Investment Fund (EIFO) and Finland’s Tesi. The fund marks Antler’s second focus in the Nordic region, after launching its first €30 million fund in 2021.
SmartCap: Estonian fund supporting greentech startups
SmartCap, a subsidiary of Enterprise and Innovation SA, has been operating under a license from the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority since 2011. The company focuses on developing the Estonian venture capital market through its two main funds: SmartCap Venture Capital Fund and SmartCap Green Fund.
The Venture Capital Fund will support venture capital funds and Estonian start-ups with global ambitions, while the Green Fund will be a greentech-focused venture capital fund and will invest directly in greentech companies.
As a subsidiary of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, SmartCap aims to foster innovation, invest across the entire economic cycle and fill market gaps in the Estonian startup ecosystem.
Supporting Estonia’s new generation of technology startups
Antler claims to be one of Europe’s leading early-stage VC firms. Over the past five years, the company has backed over 400 startups across Europe, with a focus on the Nordic region.
Antler’s Nordic Fund II is primarily focused on the Nordic region, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, with a presence in the Estonian market.
Sille Pettai, Director and Fund Manager at SmartCap, said: “This investment represents a great opportunity for us to join forces with TESI, EIFO and Investinor to generate cross-border deal flow across the Nordics and Estonia.”
“With talented new tech executives emerging from the startup scene who could potentially become founders, active deal flow generation and team building is crucial at this stage of market development.”
“It’s great that Antler is looking to expand its innovative model to Estonia by focusing on a new generation of Estonian founders and opening up their Nordic programs to them,” Petai added.
Antler runs a 12-week accelerator program where participants form teams and launch startups. Successful teams can access investments of up to €300,000 to accelerate their growth.
In 2023, Antler made 140 investments, bucking the trend of increased investment rates during economic downturns. The firm actively supports diverse entrepreneurship, with one-third of its portfolio companies led by female founders and founders from 145 countries around the world.
Jussi Kallasvuo, Partner at Antler, said: “Estonia has solidified its position as one of the most exciting tech ecosystems in Europe. It is home to some of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe, and Tallinn is home to more unicorn founders than established tech hubs such as Manchester, Madrid and Copenhagen.”
“Antler is a global investor committed to backing talented founders from around the world and we are thrilled to be working with Smartcap to support a new generation of Estonia tech startups.”
