New Business Venture Fund

What New Business Venture Fund does

Nýsköpunarsjóðurinn Kría (New Business Venture Fund, "NSK") is an Icelandic state-owned evergreen investment fund created in 2025 through the merger of Nýsköpunarsjóður atvinnulífsins (Innovation Fund of Icelandic Industry) and Kría — sprota- og nýsköpunarsjóður (Startup and Innovation Fund). The fund operates under the Act on the Innovation Fund Kría with a mandate to address market failures in Icelandic early-stage financing, investing patient capital where private investors are insufficient. It manages over ISK 9 billion in total assets across a portfolio of 67 companies and 5 venture capital funds, with historic deployment of up to ISK 25 billion at present value.

NSK's business model is split into two complementary categories: (1) direct evergreen investments in early-stage startups and innovation companies, with no fixed investment horizon, and (2) long-term investments in specialized venture capital funds, including international funds. Programs include Frumsjóður (2023 and 2025 cohorts) for general early-stage startups and Heilsu Kría, a healthcare-focused initiative allocating ISK 300 million via 10% interest loan notes with conversion rights. The fund targets Icelandic startups as defined by law (not yet established, in early growth stages, small, developing specific business ideas) and explicitly avoids competing with private investors, instead activating co-investment from angel networks and other funds.

Deal flow is generated through open application processes (e.g., Frumsjóður, Heilsu Kría), direct outreach, and ecosystem referrals via partners such as Framvís, KLAK, Rannís, and Drift EA. The investment committee process moves from initial meeting through review, board approval, due diligence, and portfolio monitoring with board representation. The fund generates returns through capital appreciation and exits, recognizing ISK 55 million in gains from asset sales in 2025 against ISK 311 million in new investment activity. Operating with a 5-person core team (CEO plus two Investment Managers and a Marketing/PR lead) and a 5-member board chaired by Svanhildur Nanna Vigfúsdóttir, NSK pursues ecosystem influence through memberships in InvestEurope, NordicInnovation, EIF, and EVFIN.

Name

New Business Venture Fund

Legal name

Nýsköpunarsjóðurinn Kría

Website

https://nyskopun.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nýsköpunarsjóðurinn Kría (New Business Venture Fund) is an Icelandic state-owned evergreen investment fund that provides early-stage capital to startups and innovation companies, managing ISK 9B+ across 67 portfolio companies and 5 venture funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Innovation Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Evergreen / Open-Ended Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Startup investment fund
• Innovation financing
• Evergreen investment vehicle
• Early-stage equity investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: The fund generates returns through capital appreciation and exits from its portfolio companies. The fund operates with an evergreen approach for direct investments, meaning it has no fixed investment horizon. Returns are recognized upon sale of assets. During 2025, investments totaled ISK 311 million and gains from asset sales were ISK 55 million.
2. Fund Management: Two main categories of investments: 1) Fund investments in venture capital funds with a long-term approach, and 2) Direct investments in early-stage startups with an evergreen structure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nýsköpunarsjóðurinn Kría is a state-owned Icelandic evergreen investment fund that provides patient capital to early-stage startups and innovation companies. It operates two main investment categories: direct investments in startups (with no fixed investment horizon) and investments in venture capital funds, including dedicated programs such as Heilsu Kría (healthcare innovation) and Frumsjóður (early-stage startup acceleration).

Product overview

The New Business Venture Fund Kría is a government-owned innovation fund in Iceland that operates through two main investment categories: Direct Investments (evergreen, early-stage startup investments with no fixed horizon) and Fund Investments (investments in specialized venture funds). The fund also manages specific initiatives including Heilsu Kría (Kria Health) for healthcare innovation with ISK 300 million allocation, and Frumsjóður programs (2023 and 2025) for early-stage startup acceleration. The fund provides financing where market gaps exist, targeting startups that are not yet established, in early growth stages, and developing specific business ideas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Heilsu Kría (Kria Health): Investment initiative focused on strengthening innovation in healthcare through direct investments in startups at idea and early stages, with ISK 300 million allocated.
• Frumsjóður

Products and services

• Direct Investments Evergreen direct investment program in early-stage Icelandic startup and innovation companies, providing capital in exchange for equity or convertible loans. Targets companies that are not yet established, are in early growth stages, and are developing specific business ideas.
• Fund Investments Long-term investments in specialized venture funds and investment funds focused on startup financing, including Icelandic and now also international venture funds, supporting the broader innovation ecosystem.
• Heilsu Kría (Kria Health) Dedicated healthcare innovation investment initiative with ISK 300 million total allocation. Provides loan notes (10% interest, up to 3-year conversion right at 20% discount on next equity round, max valuation ISK 500M) to health startups. Indicative individual investments of ISK 50–70 million require matching co-financing.
• Frumsjóður 2023 Early-stage startup investment initiative launched in 2023 focusing on accelerating promising startups and encouraging angel investor co-investment. Ten companies were selected for participation.
• Frumsjóður 2025 2025 edition of the early-stage startup investment initiative, selecting 11 companies (9 completing the program) and continuing the goal of accelerating promising startups and encouraging angel investor participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• ISK 9 billion+ in total assets under management
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Drift EAcoreOthers · 25 September 2025Center for entrepreneurship and innovation. NSK signed a cooperation agreement with Drift EA to strengthen innovation in Iceland.
• FramvíscoreOthersFramvís is an association of angel investors and venture funds. NSK collaborates with Framvís on investment initiatives and ecosystem development. Framvís compiles statistics on startup investments used by NSK in its reporting.
• KLAK – Icelandic StartupscoreOthersKLAK is Iceland's startup hub and accelerator. NSK maintains membership and collaborative relationship with KLAK. KLAK appeared on Financial Times list of Europe's leading startup hubs in 2026.
• InvestEuropecoreOthersInvestEurope is the European venture capital and private equity association. NSK maintains membership, providing access to European networks and best practices.
• Nordic InnovationcoreOthersNordic Innovation promotes cross-border innovation in the Nordic region. NSK maintains membership contributing to Nordic innovation ecosystem development.
• European Investment Fund (EIF)coreOthersEIF is shown as a member/partner. The EIF provides financing to SMEs and startups through venture capital and guarantees.
• RanníscoreOthersRannís is the Icelandic Centre for Research, managing research grants and innovation funding. Listed as additional support organization for innovation on NSK website.
• European Women's Venture Capital NetworkminorOthersNSK maintains membership in European Women's Venture Capital Network, supporting gender equality in venture capital.
• EVFINminorOthersEVFIN is a European venture finance network. NSK maintains membership for network access and collaboration.
• ÍslandsstofacoreOthersBusiness Iceland (Íslandsstofa) promotes Icelandic business internationally. Listed as additional support organization for innovation ecosystem.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Business Finland: Business Finland is Finland's state-owned innovation funding agency that provides early-stage capital, grants, and innovation services to Finnish startups. It is the closest direct Nordic counterpart to NSK in mandate (state-backed, market-gap-filling, early-stage focus) and structure (mix of direct investments and fund-of-funds activity).
• Innovation Fund Denmark (Innovationsfonden): Innovationsfonden is a Danish state-backed fund that invests in startups and knowledge-based projects, with a mandate similar to NSK's to address market failures in early-stage financing. Both funds target ambitious early-stage companies and partner with private investors to catalyze co-investment.
• Frumtak Ventures: Frumtak is Iceland's leading venture capital fund focused on Icelandic early-stage technology companies. It is a portfolio investment of NSK's and a direct operational peer, investing in many of the same sectors and stages that NSK's Frumsjóður initiative targets.
• Investinor: Investinor is Norway's state-owned investment company that makes direct and fund investments in Norwegian early-stage and growth companies. It mirrors NSK's structure of combining direct evergreen investments with fund-of-funds commitments within a national innovation mandate.
• Spring Capital (Iceland): Spring Capital is an Icelandic private venture capital fund investing in Icelandic and Nordic early-stage technology companies. It is a direct domestic peer to NSK, operating in overlapping sectors and stages within the same Icelandic ecosystem.

Regional players

• Vinnova (Swedish Innovation Agency): Vinnova is Sweden's government innovation agency funding research and startup growth. While more grant-heavy than NSK, it shares the Nordic-state-backed mandate to bridge market gaps in innovation financing and supports early-stage companies across a single national ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• European Investment Fund (EIF): EIF is a major European supranational fund-of-funds that backs VC funds and provides growth financing to SMEs across Europe. NSK is a member and partner of EIF; EIF is comparable as a multi-manager VC platform operating at much larger scale with a broader geographic mandate.
• Bpifrance: Bpifrance is the French state-owned investment bank providing direct equity, loans, guarantees, and fund-of-funds commitments to French startups and SMEs. It operates at vastly larger scale but shares NSK's core mandate of addressing market gaps in early-stage financing.
• KfW Capital: KfW Capital is the German state-owned venture capital fund-of-funds, investing in German and European VC funds. It is comparable to NSK as a state-backed multi-manager platform but operates at substantially larger scale across a more mature ecosystem.

Others

• Klak – Icelandic Startups: KLAK is Iceland's startup hub and accelerator, recently recognized on the Financial Times' list of Europe's leading startup hubs. NSK partners closely with KLAK; while KLAK is an ecosystem enabler rather than an investor, it is a key partner and adjacent player in the Icelandic innovation chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NB_VentureFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/Nyskopunarsjodur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments40 records

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Frequently asked questions about New Business Venture Fund