BackingMinds raises €50 million in first close of third fund to invest in Nordic startups

Swedish venture capital firm BackingMinds has raised €50 million in the first close of its third fund, BackingMinds Invest III. The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the anchor investor with €20 million, committed through the EU's InvestEU programme. The fund remains open to selected additional investors, and its final close is expected in the first quarter of 2027.

The fund plans to back around 20 early-stage companies, with at least 90% of its capital earmarked for the Nordics and the remaining 10% open to other European markets. Initial investments will be €1 million to €3 million per company, with further capital held back for follow-on rounds. Besides the EIF, the fund has drawn established private investors and technology entrepreneurs who have founded and scaled European companies.

It will focus on three areas: climate and resilience, AI and digital sovereignty, and human potential. BackingMinds, founded in 2016 by Sara Wimmercranz and Susanne Najafi, who previously built Nordic e-commerce businesses, uses data-driven sourcing to find founders outside traditional venture networks, including those based outside major cities and those with immigrant backgrounds. The firm says 71% of the 23 companies backed through its first two funds were founded outside Stockholm, and 43% had at least one founder with an immigrant background, the same share as had at least one female founder.

The new fund has already made several investments, including in energy storage company Tavion. BackingMinds says Tavion's valuation has reached €175 million, six times the level at which it invested, though the timing of that valuation was not given.

Najafi said the first close is already larger than the firm's entire previous fund. She argued that talent is everywhere but capital is not. Wimmercranz said venture capital tends to find companies through networks that filter out what they don't recognise.