Node.vc Secures €71M for First Fund, Targeting Nordic and Baltic Startups

Stockholm, October 2024 – In a significant move for the European venture capital landscape, Swedish entrepreneur-led VC firm Node.vc has closed its first fund with €71 million to invest in startups across the Nordics and Baltics. Node.vc joins a rising number of European funds that are driven by the motto “entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs.”
The firm’s managing partner, John Elvesjö, believes this could mark the start of a wider trend in Europe. “Europe has traditionally lagged behind the U.S. in terms of operational experience within VC investors,” said Elvesjö. “There’s often a lot of talk about being founder-led, but the experience can be superficial. At Node.vc, we aim to go deeper.”
Node.vc’s entrepreneurial roots are evident not only in its leadership team but also in its limited partners (LPs), which include 70 founders who, beyond their financial contributions, bring their extensive expertise to the table. The firm’s co-founder, Elvesjö, previously launched Swedish eye-tracking company Tobii, which went public in 2015.
Institutional investors also played a crucial role in helping Node.vc reach this milestone, with key contributions from Saminvest, Sweden’s fund-of-funds, and Nordea’s life and pension arm. These backers give the fund both credibility and a solid foundation for long-term success.
Taking a unique approach, Node.vc has deliberately built an oversized team for its fund size, with eight full-time and eight part-time employees, many of whom have experience at Nordic VC firm Brightly Ventures. “We are entrepreneurs ourselves, building a venture capital firm,” Elvesjö explained. This structure positions Node.vc to support the seven startups it aims to back each year.
The fund is sector-agnostic but focuses on three core themes: the future of entertainment, the future of work, and platform technologies. These themes align with the Nordic region’s strengths in areas such as fintech, IoT, cloud infrastructure, and machine intelligence. Node.vc has already made three investments, including gaming studio Roro (future of entertainment), and work-related startups Lemonado and Starhive (future of work).
Elvesjö is particularly bullish on the region’s talent pool, noting that recent layoffs from several Nordic unicorns have made talent more accessible than it has been in the last five years. As AI tools continue to disrupt industries, Elvesjö believes the Nordics are exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on these shifts.
Node.vc’s €71 million fund promises to inject fresh energy into the Nordic and Baltic startup ecosystems, further solidifying the region’s reputation as a hub for innovation.