Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Good for Business, Investments

Andrus Oks, founder and partner of the investment company with a portfolio including Estonian startup success stories like GrabCAD, Cleveron and Monese, said that the risk capital fund that currently raised 21 mln euros is planning to carry out another financing round in the next few months and increase the volume of the fund to 55 mln euros.

Limited partners of the Tera Ventures Fund II include the European Investment Fund (EIF), LHV, Mistletoe Venture Partners International, as well Estonian high net worth individuals. The EIF investment is made from own resources and EstFund - an initiative created by cooperation between the Republic of Estonia and the European Investment Fund and financed under European Structural and Investment Funds.

"Closing the first round of funding will enable the fund to start active investment activity. All seed-stage startups with a high potential from Estonia and its neighboring countries that meet the investment criteria of the fund will be able to apply for investments from the fund for expanding their activity," Oks said.

The fund aims to invest in 25-30 seed-stage technology startups located in key tech hubs in Estonia, including eligible e-residents, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. The fund is seeking digital startups creating network effects, applying machine learning, and other enabling technologies which will become the infrastructure of our future lives. Initial check sizes will be between 200,000 euros and 1.5 mln euros per company with significant follow-on funding for select investments.

"We are committed to offering founder-friendly terms and assisting our investments with our global network of investors, industry veterans and experts. We believe this will enable our entrepreneurs the right foundation to compete on world stage and attract top-tier partners and venture capital in key markets in Europe, US and Asia to ensure the realization of their vision," Oks said.

This investment fulfills LHV's goal to increase its position in a rapidly growing and promising IT sector, Kristo Oidermaa, fund manager of LHV Pension Funds, said. "Our commitments to venture capital currently amount to 21 million euros. Estonia has a good track record for IT growth companies, and the investment in Tera Ventures Fund II gives us a great opportunity to further contribute to this sector," Oidermaa said.

The founder of Monese, fintech startup that announced a 60 million dollar series B funding last week, Norris Koppel said that the team at Tera Ventures has been a critical component in the success of Monese. "What they have brought to the business extends far beyond their investment. They have a deep understanding of the support that an entrepreneur needs as they their business grows and have been genuine partners throughout our journey from early stage to scale-up. We are delighted that they are a part of our team and excited for the journey ahead," Koppel said.

Founded in 2016, Tera Ventures is one of Estonia's largest technology sector risk capital companies that directs investments in startups with a global development potential. The company, with offices in Tallinn, Helsinki and California, is focused on investing in Estonian, Scandinavian and Central and Eastern European seed-stage technology companies.