Finland’s Lifeline Ventures raises €150M for its fifth fund

Helsinki-based early-stage VC firm Lifeline Ventures has raised €150 million for the fifth fund — its biggest one to date. Several pension funds backed the firm to allow Lifeline Ventures to continue investing in Finnish startups, Sifted reports.

• Founded in 2009 by Timo Ahopelto and Petteri Koponen, Lifeline Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in startups, growth capital, and early-stage investments across Finland’s ecosystem. The firm invests between €500,000 to €2 million, and over time it can invest up to €15 million in a company.
• Lifeline’s primary focus is on the sectors of healthcare, games, web based, and general high technology. The firm tries to support about 10 new companies yearly. So far, it has invested in 120 startups, typically being the first institutional investor in them.
• For the latest fifth fund, the fund is largely backed by pension funds, as well as some family offices and private entrepreneurs.
• In recent months, Lifeline supported several Finnish startups, including the Espoo-based biotech company Origin by Ocean, as well as the Helsinki-based VR/XR-tech company Varjo and Inven, a financial data platform.