Butterfly Ventures

Butterfly Ventures is a leading seed-stage focused venture capital firm in the Nordics, specializing in deep tech, hardware, and hardware-interfacing software. The firm is particularly interested in companies that demonstrate a clear social or environmental impact. They adopt a cooperative approach, working closely with founders from the early stages, often investing when companies have no revenue, and aiming to help them generate revenue within six months of the initial investment. Butterfly Ventures has a significant capacity for follow-on investments to support portfolio companies as they scale.

Founded in 2012, Butterfly Ventures has established itself as one of the most active early-stage VCs in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The firm operates offices in Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; and Copenhagen, Denmark. Notably, Butterfly Ventures was recognized by Forbes as the first VC fund in Europe to operate 100% carbon neutrally, underscoring their commitment to sustainability and responsible investment practices, aligning with EU Article 8 and the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation.

The firm's portfolio showcases a diverse range of innovative companies. Notable investments include Zenniz, which is developing an end-to-end smart tennis court system; SpinDrive, focused on cutting industrial energy waste with magnetic levitation bearings; Geyser Batteries, specializing in high-density energy storage; Surgify, which aims to set new bone-surgery standards; Cerenion, providing solutions for measuring brain function in intensive care; Naava, addressing global health problems; KNL Networks, offering SATCOM replacements; and Valossa, known for its advanced multi-modal video AI. These investments reflect Butterfly Ventures' focus on disruptive technologies with tangible real-world applications.

The Butterfly Ventures team comprises experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and technology management. Key partners include Matti Kanninen (Co-Founder and Managing Partner), Juho Risku (Co-Founder and Partner), Ville Heikkinen (Partner), and Tanya Marvin-Horowitz (Partner). The team's collective expertise and hands-on approach are integral to their strategy of supporting startups from inception through various growth stages, fostering innovation, and driving value creation in their portfolio companies.