REPORT / Q3 2026 UPDATE / DATA TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
Finland startup funding report
Finnish startups raised €899m in 80 rounds in the first nine months of 2026.
Funding data for Finnish startups is scattered. Rounds are announced by companies, funds, angel networks and the press, often months after they close, and no single database has them all or has them right.
This report builds one record from all of them: company, investor and press announcements, investors' own portfolios and posts, and public company records. It leaves out grants and loans that are reported as rounds.
It covers venture rounds and exits of startups headquartered in Finland, and of startups that started here and moved their headquarters abroad. It uses the same rules as our CEE startup funding report and sets Finland against the other Nordic countries.
We add a quarter every three months. If you are raising in Finland, it shows how many rounds close, at what size, and who writes the first cheques.
Highlights
€899m in the first nine months. The largest round is ICEYE's €450m growth round, 50% of the total.
53 seed and later rounds this year, and 80 rounds in all. Pre-seed is where the record of recent rounds is least complete, and its count will rise as late rounds surface.
Seven venture-backed exits by September. Buyers include Ilkka Oyj, Aiven, Real Asset Acquisition Corp and Herenco.
01 / THE MARKET
The market
€899m in 80 rounds so far in 2026.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9M 2026 | 11 | 85 | 181 | 622 | 899 |
Finland raised €899m so far in 2026. The largest round, ICEYE's €450m, is 50% of it.
9M 2026 covers January to September 2026.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9M 2026 | 27 | 34 | 16 | 3 | 80 |
80 rounds so far in 2026. Some rounds are recorded months late, so the latest quarters will rise.
Quarter by quarter, capital swings with the timing of large rounds. The count of rounds is the steadier signal.
The latest quarter is still filling in and will rise.
02 / FINLAND IN THE REGION
Finland in the region
Finland raised €159 per person so far in 2026.
The same record and rules for all five Nordic countries, so the comparison is like for like. Capital per person divides each country's capital by its population.
| Country | €m 9M 2026 | Rounds 9M 2026 | € per person 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2882 | 303 | 272 |
| Finland | 899 | 80 | 159 |
| Iceland | 44 | 21 | 113 |
| Denmark | 506 | 129 | 85 |
| Norway | 390 | 118 | 70 |
Population on 1 January 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|
| Finland | 899 |
| Sweden | 2882 |
| Norway | 390 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|
| Finland | 80 |
| Sweden | 303 |
| Norway | 118 |
So far in 2026, Finland closed 80 rounds, against 303 in Sweden and 118 in Norway.
03 / STAGES AND ROUND SIZES
Stages and round sizes
The typical seed round so far in 2026 was €2.5m.
Rounds by company stage. Where one round can move a stage's total, the count and the typical round tell more than the capital.
| Row | Rounds 9M 2026 | €m 9M 2026 | Median 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 27 | €11m | €1.0m |
| Seed | 34 | €85m | €2.5m |
| Series A | 16 | €181m | €8.4m |
| Growth | 3 | €622m | - |
Median shown where at least three rounds of the stage disclosed an amount.
Pre-seed
27 rounds so far in 2026. The typical pre-seed round was €1.0m.
Seed
34 rounds so far in 2026. The typical seed round was €2.5m.
Series A
16 rounds so far in 2026. The typical Series A round was €8.4m.
Growth
Three rounds so far in 2026.
04 / SECTORS
Sectors
Defence and security raised the most this year: €469m in eight rounds.
By number of rounds since 2026, the largest sectors are AI (31), enterprise software (28) and health and bio (12). A company can sit in several sectors, so sector totals overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|
| Defence and security | 469 |
| AI | 277 |
| Enterprise software | 253 |
| Health and bio | 79 |
| Energy and climate | 46 |
| Mobility and logistics | 26 |
| Hardware and robotics | 6.4 |
| Food and agri | 2.4 |
Ranked by 9M 2026 capital. Sectors overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|
| Defence and security | 8 |
| AI | 31 |
| Enterprise software | 28 |
| Health and bio | 12 |
| Energy and climate | 10 |
| Mobility and logistics | 5 |
| Hardware and robotics | 1 |
| Food and agri | 1 |
Same sectors, counted by number of rounds.
05 / LARGEST ROUNDS
Largest rounds
The largest round this year: ICEYE, €450m.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICEYE | Growth | €450m | Jun 2026 | General Atlantic |
| Verda | Growth | €172m | Sep 2026 | Emergence Capital |
| Kasvu Therapeutics | Series A | €30m | Sep 2026 | Hadean Ventures |
| Qutwo | Series A | €25m | May 2026 | Max Junestrand |
| Algorithmiq | Series A | €18m | May 2026 | United Ventures |
| Kelluu | Series A | €15m | Apr 2026 | NATO Innovation Fund |
| Cactos | Series A | €13m | Jun 2026 | Union Square Ventures |
| CurifyLabs | Series A | €12m | Jul 2026 | Sandwater |
| Capalo AI | Series A | €11m | Feb 2026 | Heartcore Capital |
| Quanscient | Series A | €10m | May 2026 | 55 North |
Rounds with a disclosed amount.
06 / STARTED IN FINLAND, BASED ELSEWHERE
Started in Finland, based elsewhere
Two rounds since 2026 by companies that started in Finland and are based elsewhere. They count in the totals.
Companies that started in Finland, or keep their main team here, but are headquartered elsewhere. They count in the totals, under Finland. Companies that Finnish founders built abroad, with no base here, are not included.
| Company | Based in | Amount | Month | In totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithmiq | Italy | €18m | May 2026 | Yes |
| Audicin | United States | Undisclosed | Apr 2026 | Yes |
07 / INVESTORS
Investors
Innovestor joined the most pre-seed and seed rounds since January 2026: 14.
Most active at pre-seed and seed since January 2026: Innovestor (14 rounds), Superhero Capital (7 rounds) and Lifeline Ventures (6 rounds). Investors are ranked by the rounds they joined, led or followed, in 2026.
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innovestor | n/a | 14 | 0 |
| Superhero Capital | n/a | 7 | 5 |
| Lifeline Ventures | n/a | 6 | 4 |
| Innovestor Angel CoFund | n/a | 4 | 1 |
| Voima Ventures | n/a | 3 | 1 |
| 2C Ventures | n/a | 3 | 0 |
| Kvanted | n/a | 2 | 2 |
| Maki.vc | n/a | 2 | 2 |
| Vendep Capital | n/a | 2 | 2 |
| Antler | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| EIC Fund | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| North Karelia Growth Fund | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Tesi | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Ikorni Invest | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Wave Ventures | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Zach Shelby | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesi | n/a | 7 | 0 |
| Lifeline Ventures | n/a | 4 | 0 |
| EIC Fund | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Ilmarinen | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Innovestor | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Inventure | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Varma | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| 55 North | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| ACME Capital | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| B&C-Gruppe | n/a | 1 | 1 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|
| All rounds | 0% |
Rounds with a fund from outside the Nordics: , of rounds where investor headquarters are known.
Share of rounds where investor headquarters are known: 0 in 9M 2026.
08 / EXITS
Exits
The most recent: Custobar, bought by Ilkka Oyj, August 2026.
Seven venture-backed exits since 2026: 7 in 2026 so far. Deal values are rarely disclosed, so we count exits instead of summing them.
| Company | Month | Type | Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custobar | Aug 2026 | Acquisition | Ilkka Oyj |
| Flow AI | Jul 2026 | Acquisition | Aiven |
| IQM Quantum Computers | Jul 2026 | IPO | Real Asset Acquisition Corp |
| Safera | Jun 2026 | Acquisition | Herenco |
| Emberion | Apr 2026 | Acquisition | Exosens |
| CoreGo | Apr 2026 | Buyout | Bregal Milestone |
| Doublepoint | Mar 2026 | Acquisition | ŌURA |
09 / METHODOLOGY
Methodology
What the report covers
Period: January to September 2026. This record starts in 2026; comparisons with a previous year begin once a quarter can be compared.
Companies: startups headquartered in Finland, and startups that began there or keep their main team there and later moved their headquarters abroad. Every kind of startup is included: software and hardware, business and consumer.
Events: venture funding rounds, and exits (acquisitions, buyouts and stock market listings).
Sources: public sources only, namely company, investor and angel network announcements, investors' portfolios and posts, public company records, and the press.
Every round and exit named in the report links to its announcement. Totals, changes and charts are built from all rounds and are not linked.
This edition covers 80 venture rounds (57 with a disclosed amount) at 79 companies, and 7 exits. Next update: January 2027, adding Q4 2026.
Stages
Stages are the label the company announced or the source assigned. Where a label clearly does not fit the size of the round, such as a very large round called seed, the round is placed by its size. Where there is no label, round type and size decide.
How it is counted
- Funding rounds are equity and convertible venture rounds, including angel network rounds. Grants, loans, state support programmes, crowdlending, secondary sales and investments after a listing are not counted.
- Amounts are in euros, converted at about 1.10 US dollars to the euro. Rounds without a disclosed amount count toward the number of rounds but not toward capital.
- Companies that are not startups are left out even when they raise venture money, such as established manufacturers, service firms and lenders.
- Rounds and exits are cross-referenced against company, investor and press announcements where possible.
Limits
- Public data does not capture every round, so counts are a floor. Small angel rounds are the most likely to be missing.
- Some rounds are recorded months after they happen. Each update adds them to the month they happened in, so recent quarters, the latest above all, will rise.
- Finland's record is our own search of local press, investor portfolios and posts, and companies based abroad (October 2026), without a startup database. It holds most of the disclosed capital; small rounds that were never announced are the most likely to be missing.
- Where a country raises a few dozen rounds a year, one round can move a total by more than half. Read changes in capital with the largest round in mind.
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