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Butterfly Ventures

OuluBUTTERFLY-VENTURES
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Classification
Slugbutterfly-ventures
HQOulu
Stage FocusSeed stage startups particularly from Finland and Sweden,…
Intel StatusAccepting submissions
🔥 BERNIE'S HOT TAKE

These guys are the rare VC fund that actually gets hardware and deep tech - not just buzzword deep tech, but real industrial engineering problems. According to their internal data, hardware and deep tech companies perform best because they focus on revenue early and have protectable IP almost right away. What's refreshing is they're hands-on without being micromanaging control freaks - they join each investment in 'sales and business development' sprints for a few weeks of heavy focus followed by reassessment. The founding partners complement each other well: Risku knows product-market fit from the operator side, Kanninen handles the complex deal structuring, and they're genuinely helpful post-investment rather than just board meeting attendees. The downside? They're geographically focused on the Nordics, so if you're not Finnish/Swedish or willing to relocate there, you're probably not on their radar.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Best for: Hardware/deep tech startups with university research origins in Nordics
  • Known for: Hands-on post-investment support and strong technical due diligence
  • Watch out for: Geographic focus limits opportunities outside Finland/Sweden
Investment Thesis

Looking for deep tech, HW and HW interfacing SW with an either social or environmental impact. Focuses on deep tech, hardware, and hardware-interfacing software startups with social or environmental impact, typically investing at seed stage, often when they have no revenue. 80% of portfolio companies don't have any revenue at the time of their entry.

Stage & Sector Focus

Seed stage startups particularly from Finland and Sweden, but also from other Nordic countries and Baltics, preferring to get involved with companies early on. Primarily invests in Seed round in Finland based startups across High Tech (24 investments) and Enterprise Applications (19 investments) and HealthTech. Deep tech hardware focus with strong university research connections.

Notable Portfolio
CubiCasaValossaCerenionZennizSpinDriveSurgifyEmbeDLPolar Light Technologies
Key Partners
Matti Kanninen
Co-Founder, Managing Partner

Professional manager who knows how corporations and listed companies work with a super strong IPR background. He's razor sharp when it comes to agreements, deals and details. Chairman and managing director. Strong on structuring deals and next financing rounds.

Juho Risku
Co-Founder, Partner

Serial entrepreneur since 1996, founder in four companies, M.Sc. in Economics with thesis about VC-Founder relationship quality, VC since 2012, participated 100+ investment rounds. Often the first contact for startups, passionate about great products and enjoys deep dives into competitive landscape.

Ville Heikkinen
Partner

Hands-on transaction and fund management specialist with 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, VC financing, M&A and technology management, L.LM and M.Sc. Recently shared thoughts on M&A market outlook for 2025 and believes sustainability will be as important as financials.

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