News

SmartCap Venture Capital Fund invests €5 million in Antler Nordic Fund II, further strengthening its commitment to early-stage startups and innovative tech investment strategies.

SmartCap Venture Capital Fund has made its first investment since updating its strategy at the end of last year, committing €10 million to Plural Fund II. The fund, led by seasoned operators including the co-founder of Wise, closed at €500 million.

SmartCap updated the terms of the Green Fund Direct Investment Programme, which focuses on green technology start-ups. The changes increase the maximum amount of investment in a single company and shift the focus to start-ups that have reached maturity to invest in their growth and international expansion.

Commissioned by SmartCap, at the end of 2023 EY conducted a study to identify internationally recognized deep-tech business accelerators, compare them, as well as analyse critical elements of their success and activities offered to startups after completing the acceleration program. The results of the study contribute to the development of the Estonian ecosystem.

Through its “Greentech Fund 2022/09” as an anchor investor SmartCap Green Fund is investing 20 million euros in 2C Ventures, Estonia’s first investment fund focusing on clean technologies. The 2C Ventures fund with a total size of 50 million euros, aims to improve capital accessibility for startups developing clean economy technologies of the future.

Kaari Kink, the Head of Investments at the venture capital fund Superangel, has been elected as the new Chairman of the board of the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA). The new board will continue to develop the organisation and PE/VC market for the period of 2023-2025. Among others, SmartCap’s board member, Sille Pettai, is part of the new board.

In late November, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur awarded the Ministry of Defense’s Badge of Merit to SmartCap’s board member and fund manager, Sille Pettai, for her significant contribution to the establishment of the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF).

SmartCap offers you an exciting and challenging opportunity to participate in creating a vibrant capital market and shaping the community. Your work will contribute to the development of an innovative and entrepreneurial Estonia.

UP Catalyst, a pioneer in sustainable carbon material production directly from CO2 emissions, successfully closed a €4 million seed investment round to advance its ground-breaking technology.

In October, the nearly two-year-long science accelerator for health technology research teams and startups initiated by SmartCap and led by the University of Tartu came to an end. The goal of the accelerator was to support the establishment and development of health technology deep tech startups.

SmartCap updated the investment strategy and investment process of its Venture Capital Fund, offering fund managers the opportunity to raise capital from the Venture Capital Fund, including for anchor investment.

Bisly, the startup that is making it economically feasible to turn any building into an energy-efficient building, has closed a €3.6 million round of fundraising. The round was led by Aconterra with support from Second Century Ventures and REACH UK, SmartCap Green Fund, and Pinorena Capital, as well as several angel investors.