Finland joins NATO Innovation Fund - Tesi invests EUR 35 million in the fund globalsecurity.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globalsecurity.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Finland s recent approval of its application to join NATO s Innovation Fund has opened up exciting possibilities for early-stage startups in the country. As part of this development, Tesi, the state-owned investment company, will invest EUR 35 million in the fund. This move not only provides Finnish startups working on emerging technologies with access to cooperation and financing opportunities but also strengthens Finland s involvement in NATO s central operations and networks.
Anne Horttanainen has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA). She will step into the new role at the beginning of 2023.
Horttanainen, who has worked at management positions at the Finland Chamber of Commerce for over ten years, is a lawyer by training. Previously, she has also worked as a lawyer at the Finland Chamber of Commerce and Finnish Pension Alliance TELA.
At 2021 Finnish startups broke the previous records and raised a total of 1,2 billion euros of capital. Now, on November 14th 2022, Finnish startups have already exceeded last year s numbers: the total amount of equity capital raised is over 1,3 billion euros.
"This figure includes only publicly announced equity funding in Finnish startups pre-Slush.
Finnish startups have raised a significant amount of funding from venture capital investors during the first half of the year. The €276 million pot is the second-best half-year in history. Of the amount, €159 million came from domestic investors and €117 million from foreign investors. In particular, the number of seed stage investments increased significantly. The beginning of the year saw high levels of fundraising and investment activity of Finnish venture capital funds.