Maki.vc

What Maki.vc does

Maki.vc is a Helsinki-headquartered venture capital firm that manages three successive early-stage funds — Maki.vc Fund I Ky (€80M, first close December 2017), Fund II Ky (€100M, first close December 2020), and the currently active Fund III Ky (€82.2M active commitment on a €100M announced target, first close February 2024) — for a combined €260M in assets under management. The firm invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in deep tech and brand-driven companies across the Nordics and Northern Europe, writing initial tickets of €300k–€3M with reserves for follow-on rounds, with a stated sweet spot of first-round deals below €5M.

The firm operates as a registered Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) under the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority and runs Fund III under Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, applying a standardized ESG due-diligence checklist with exclusion criteria across fossil fuels, weapons, pornography, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. Around the funds, Maki.vc delivers a service layer to portfolio companies that includes active board engagement, ESG and sustainability reporting integration (achieving a 100% portfolio response rate in the 2025 Sustainability Report), warm introductions to global VCs (HV Capital, Northzone, Creandum, a16z, Felicis, Blossom, Atomico, EQT), and access to a 150+ LP network of repeat founders and operators from Skype, Wise, Supercell, Aiven, F-Secure, Small Giant Games, Smartly, Wolt, and DST Global.

Maki.vc's revenue model is the standard venture fund construct: recurring management fees on AUM plus performance-based carried interest on exits. Portfolio companies have collectively raised €1.4B+ in follow-on capital and employed 1,897 full-time staff as of year-end 2025; 50+ companies are in the portfolio with 42 active, and 29% are female-founded or co-founded. Notable outcomes include Ultimate.ai's acquisition by Zendesk and IQM Quantum Computers' planned US IPO at an initial $1.8 billion valuation. The firm is privately held, partner-owned (Maki Ventures Oy), with six core team members led by Managing Partner Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu following a 2024 leadership succession.

Name

Maki.vc

Legal name

Maki Ventures Oy

Website

https://maki.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Maki.vc is a Helsinki-based seed-stage venture capital firm investing €300k–€3M in deep tech and brand-driven Nordic startups, managing €260M across three funds backed by 150+ LPs including Skype, Wise, and Supercell founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Seed stage investing
• Pre-seed funding
• Deep tech investment
• Startup financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Recurring management fees earned on assets under management across Fund I (€80M), Fund II (€100M), and Fund III (€82.2M). Fund I and II are in selective follow-on mode; Fund III is in the active initial-investment period.
2. Carried Interest / Fund Returns: Performance-based carried interest realized upon successful exits, trade sales, or IPOs of portfolio companies (e.g., Ultimate.ai exit to Zendesk; IQM set to go public at $1.8B valuation).
3. Fund III Capital Deployment (€82.2M): Currently investing from the €82.2M Fund III Ky; ticket sizes of €300k–€3M plus reserves for follow-on rounds across deep tech and consumer-oriented startups in the Nordics and Northern Europe.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Maki.vc is a Helsinki-based venture capital firm that invests pre-seed and seed-stage capital (€300k–€3M initial tickets plus follow-on reserves) in deep tech and brand-driven startups across the Nordics and Northern Europe. The firm operates through three successive Finnish limited partnership funds (Fund I, II, III) and provides portfolio companies with strategic sparring, ESG integration, talent and operator network access, and warm introductions to global VC funds for follow-on financing.

Product overview

Maki.vc is a Helsinki-based venture capital firm that operates a platform-plus-modules architecture through three successive early-stage investment funds — Maki.vc Fund I Ky, Maki.vc Fund II Ky, and the currently active Maki.vc Fund III Ky — together forming its core offering of pre-seed and seed capital to Nordic deep tech and brand-driven startups. Around these funds, Maki.vc delivers a supporting layer of services to portfolio companies, including strategic sparring, ESG and sustainability reporting integration, talent and operator network access, and warm introductions to leading global VCs for follow-on financing. The firm is registered as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) under Finland's FIN-FSA and runs the active Fund III under Article 8 of the EU SFDR, with portfolio support anchored in an annual ESG questionnaire and active board engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maki.vc Fund I Ky Maki.vc's first seed-stage venture capital fund, a Finnish limited partnership. Initial investment period has ended; the fund continues to do selective follow-on investments to its existing portfolio companies across deep tech and brand-driven sectors.
• Maki.vc Fund II Ky Maki.vc's second seed-stage venture capital fund, a Finnish limited partnership. Initial investment period has ended; the fund continues to make selective follow-on investments to existing portfolio companies in deep tech and brand-driven sectors.
• Maki.vc Fund III Ky Maki.vc's third and currently active fund, a €100 million Finnish limited partnership. Investing began in February 2024 with ticket sizes between €300k and €3M plus a follow-on reserve. The fund promotes environmental and social characteristics under Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), with a target that at least 50% of initial investments fit the E/S criteria. ESG due diligence and exclusion criteria (no fossil fuels, weapons, pornography, alcohol, tobacco, or gambling) are applied to every investment opportunity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio companies have raised €1.4B+ in total follow-on capital
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nvidia (Timo Aila, Samuli Laine)coreOthersNvidia Research Scientists Timo Aila and Samuli Laine are part of Maki.vc's broader advisor network contributing technical expertise.
• Epishine, Exeger, Powerfoyle (ONiO ecosystem)coreTechnology or IntegrationIndoor solar cell makers Epishine, Exeger, and Powerfoyle are partners for Maki.vc portfolio company ONiO, whose battery-free microcontrollers harvest ambient energy including indoor solar.
• Aisti co-investors (forest industry partners)minorOthersMaki.vc portfolio company Aisti raised €29M Series A with co-investors to scale production of sustainable wood-fibre acoustic tiles — specific co-investor identities not named in source.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: London-based global VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström — an Maki.vc LP and co-investor in Strise. Provides global-stage capital for Maki.vc portfolio graduates.
• Creandum: Stockholm-based leading Nordic early- and growth-stage VC. Maki.vc connects portfolio founders to Creandum for warm intros and follow-on capital, operating in the broader Nordic venture ecosystem with a wider stage range.
• Northzone: Stockholm-based pan-European early- and growth-stage VC. Led Riff's $16M Series A (Maki.vc follow-on) and Distance's round; functions as a key follow-on capital partner for Maki.vc's portfolio.

Direct peers

• Lifeline Ventures: Helsinki-based pre-seed and seed-stage VC investing across the Nordics. Co-invests with Maki.vc on multiple rounds (Metaktik, Ever Cars) and is among Finland's top 10 VCs operating in the same stages and geographies.
• Voima Ventures: Helsinki-based early-stage VC focused on deep tech and science-based founders. Listed alongside Maki.vc among Finland's top 10 VCs driving the €1.5B+ Nordic startup surge in 2025.
• Wave Ventures: Helsinki-based student-run VC and Founder House operator (now professionalized). Co-invested with Maki.vc in SONO's pre-seed and was co-founded by Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu before she became Maki.vc's Managing Partner.
• byFounders: Copenhagen-based early-stage VC backing Nordic founders from day 0, anchored by a network of Nordic tech founders. Co-invested with Maki.vc in IXI's $36.5M Series A.
• First Fellow Partners: Helsinki-based early-stage investor. Co-invested with Maki.vc in FinanceKey, Quanscient and IXI rounds, operating in the same Nordic pre-seed/seed segment.

Emerging players

• Antler: Global early-stage VC with strong Nordic presence. Co-invested with Maki.vc in QMill's €4M seed round and competes for early Nordic deal flow.
• NordicNinja: Nordic-Japan deep tech VC that led Onego Bio's €40M Series A alongside Maki.vc. Highly comparable as a deep tech investor in the same geographies, with a stronger Japan market angle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MakiVentures
• Facebookfacebook.com/MakiVentures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maki-vc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments98 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maki.vc