Industrifonden pledges to invest €53.1M to boost tech startups’ growth

Swedish venture capitalist Industrifonden has announced plans to allocate more than €53.1 million this year to help accelerate the growth of tech startups.

Founded in 1979, Industrifonden focuses on funding unique innovations that can meaningfully impact society. The venture capital fund manages more than €442.9 million and invests in early-stage startups — mostly in seed and Series A funding.

There are three main areas that the Stockholm-based firm places financial support on — deep tech, transformative tech, and life science. Industrifonden has established an evergreen structure that allows startup founders to work on long-term development plans to help new companies not only in Sweden but also in the entire Nordic region.

Industrifonden invested €39.8 million annually over the past three years. Within that period, its investment portfolio also attracted €885.7 million from other investors. This development allowed the venture capitalist to expand its team by recruiting investment professionals in 2022.

Higer investments 2023

Regarding the company’s plan to boost its annual investment even higher in 2023, CEO Peter Wolpert said it was great timing to be a contrarian in the industry. Due to the uncertain global economy, investors choose to be selective with their funding, making it difficult for startups to raise funds.

Wolpert believes that the quality of innovative startups has increased drastically. Startup valuations have also grown to much higher levels.

“For us, the limiting factor is to find true excellence, in innovations as well as management teams,” Wolpert added. “We’re excited to partner with extraordinary innovators and entrepreneurs to bring more Nordic breakthrough innovations to the world and we’re in it for the long run.”

The company’s initial ticket sizes usually range from €880,000 to €4.5 million, with a high possibility of investing more later. Industrifonden also considers smaller-size tickets in earlier funding rounds for startups that demonstrate “exceptional” tech and team members.