Industrifonden (a Swedish industrial development fund) is publishing The Swedish Tech Funding Report twice a year. The report provides insights into the investment activity in one of the world’s most active start-up ecosystems. The first half of 2016 shows an active venture tech market in Sweden, and especially in the Stockholm region. There are attractive companies to invest in as well as venture investors with sufficient funds.
Sweden is right now a good place to be in when investing in venture capital to boost young companies. I have since a couple of years had the privilege of being a member of the board of directors in Industrifonden. The fund invests in young companies with the potential to become global players impacting innovation and the development of Swedish enterprises – in Sweden as well as outside of Sweden. But first and foremost, Industrifonden backs ambitious people and teams with great visions, a strategic approach, and the ability to turn plans into reality.
Industrifonden is an evergreen fund with a capital of c. SEK 4 billion. As an evergreen fund, Industrifonden has a unique position in the Swedish venture capital market since the fund is not limited in time. In practice, this means that Industrifonden has no limited holding period for its investments. An evergreen fund is especially valuable when investing in young companies since development and growing the businesses often take longer times than expected.
This week, Industrifonden launched the Swedish Tech Funding Report Q1-Q2 2016. Björn Bergström, Investment Manager, summarizes the results:
- The first half of 2016 has been intense. Both the number of deals and total invested capital has surpassed the overall numbers for last year. However, the data also reveals increasingly diverging views between different types of investors. There is a significant inflow of capital in the early stages, both from new and experienced investors. Angel investors are more active than ever. Even though there is sizable venture capital available, the competition is fierce—only the best companies get access to sufficient capital.
- Still, Nordic-based investors remain most relevant for businesses in the early phase. International investors invested mainly in larger rounds when companies are at a later stage of development. The most active investors in the Swedish tech company have been the seed investor Almi Invest, Industrifonden, and Northzone.
If you want to read all of the Swedish Tech Funding Report, please visit Industrifonden’s website (link below) or click the image:
Last but not least: “Industrifonden invests in large companies while they are still small.” Read more about Industrifonden at www.industrifonden.com.