Finland’s FOV Ventures invests in Atopia, a developer of metaverse for arts and culture

Munich-based Atopia has secured a six-figure pre-seed round for its cultural industry game with VR technologies. The investment was co-led by FOV Ventures and Heartfelt_ (formerly APX), and joined by several angel investors.

• Established in 2022, by a cultural consultant and violinist, Valentin Diehl, a trained historian, Atopia develops a platform that allows one to visit any museum, gallery, heritage site, or music ensemble in VR, or via any browser. The startup’s business strategy includes both licensing to institutions and revenue generation on the consumer side.
• Atopia’s market entry coincides with the launch of Apple’s new VR headset. The founding team wants to use this opportunity to establish itself early as a market leader in the under-supplied VR app stores. 
• The lead investors in this round:
  • Finnish FOV Ventures, with partners based in London and Helsinki. The VC fund invests at the pre-seed and seed stage in founders building the Metaverse. Its initial size of investments is up to €500,000.
  • Munich-based Heartfelt Capital, an early stage sector agnostic startup investor. The firm was launched by the managers of APX, a Berlin-based VC backed by publisher Axel Springer and carmaker Porsche.
• With fresh funding, Atopia aims to make culture accessible to all via VR-technology.