Helsinki-based Lifeline Ventures has launched its sixth fund to continue supporting early-stage startups and founders across Europe.
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Helsinki-based Lifeline Ventures, a sector-agnostic early-stage VC firm, has announced the launch of Fund VI, a €400M vehicle aimed at supporting Europe’s next generation of startups.
The firm claims to have delivered top-quartile returns and was the first investor in Finnish seed-funded unicorns, including Supercell, Wolt, Oura, ICEYE, and Aiven.
Lifeline Ventures mentions that this is its sixth and largest fund, at €400M, among only a few of this scale in Europe. The launch marks both Finland’s role in the continent’s tech ecosystem and Europe’s capacity to scale companies globally.
Timo Ahopelto, Partner and co-founder at Lifeline Ventures, says, “From Oura to Wolt to Supercell, Europe has proven it can build companies that matter globally. What’s changing now is that, together with our Limited Partners, we can support founders from their very first steps all the way to global scale.”
Aims to back Europe’s next wave of unicorns
Since its founding in 2009, Lifeline Ventures has been backing technology startups from their earliest stages. The firm often invests before a pitch deck exists and stays involved as companies scale globally, providing follow-on capital in later rounds.
Over the past 15 years, the Finnish startup ecosystem has grown dramatically. Annual funding for Finnish startups has risen from just over €100M in 2009 to a projected €2B by 2025.
Unicorns, once rare, are now emerging at a rate of two to three per year, while the founder talent pool has expanded fivefold, with nearly 40,000 people employed in venture-backed tech companies.
Lifeline Ventures’ latest Fund VI aims to build on this momentum. By continuing to support Europe’s most promising founders from day zero, the firm seeks to ensure that innovative startups have the resources they need to scale successfully.
Timo Ahopelto says, “Finland has shown that even a small ecosystem can consistently produce global leaders. Fund VI reflects a maturing ecosystem that’s ready to compete and win on the world stage. The country is a model for how smaller ecosystems can rapidly grow into global tech powerhouses.”
Brief about Lifeline Ventures
Lifeline Ventures is a sector-agnostic early-stage venture capital firm. Founded by serial entrepreneurs, the firm partners closely with resilient founders from day one, providing funding, talent, and support to help build category-leading companies.
The firm invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups, working with ambitious and determined teams that have the potential to become industry leaders. Lifeline’s team has global experience in building and scaling companies, both as founders and in various CxO roles.
To date, Lifeline Ventures has invested in over 150 companies. The firm’s recent investments include pre-seed funding for Kova Labs and seed funding for companies such as Illutherm, Arctic Instruments, Bought, Vaire, Soldera, Louhe, Nordcraft, In Parallel, and HyCom Core. These investments reflect Lifeline Ventures’ focus on partnering with founders from the earliest stages to provide support as their companies grow.