Sparkmind.vc announces first Nordic EdTech venture investment fund
Sparkmind.vc announces first Nordic EdTech venture investment fund
- Sparkmind.vc announces the first closing of its EdTech specialist venture fund at €40m
- Sparkmind.vc has seen strong local and international interest for the fund, with Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi) and KRR III joining as cornerstone investors alongside institutional and private commitments
(HELSINKI, 10 Mar 2020) Helsinki,Finland headquartered Sparkmind.vc is pleased to announce the launch and €40m initial closing of its maiden venture capital fund, focused on the EdTech sector.
Domiciled in Finland, the fund will focus on supporting EdTech founders, with entry points ranging from the Seed stage to Series B rounds.
The fund’s geographic sweet spot is Northern Europe, but it has a mandate to invest in companies domiciled outside of the region. It aims to support businesses in a broad range of education pillars, from early childhood and K12 to corporate and lifelong learning.
Sparkmind Fund (formerlyEduimpact Fund) is advised by Sparkmind.vc, whose founders Marko Kyyrönen, Antti Korhonen, Kai Talas and Vesa Laakso have collectively accumulated 80 years of experience in developing startups and mature businesses in the education sector, alongside venture capital investing and finance.
Commenting on the announcement, Marko Kyyrönen says: “Measured by the total spending,education is one of the largest sectors in the world. However, the aggregate market capitalization of learning companies is relatively low. The education sector is on the verge of an upsurge in innovation and capitalization. These fundamentals create a unique opportunity for a specialist VC to create value during the 2020s and beyond. Our fund offers access to limitedly available learning sector for institutional investors seeking increased diversification,as evidenced by strong interest in the first close.”
“We are arriving to the market at a fascinating time,”says Kai Talas” Nordic and Baltic countries are producing an impressive array of EdTech startups, but until today the region has lacked a sector focused venture investor. We are seeing highly professional teams emerging with world class pedagogical know-how at their core. Also, scaling startups has become faster as buying digital learning products has entered the mainstream of education,both in the B2B and B2C context.”
Alongside Tesi and KRR III, other investors include, among others, OP Banking Group, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, the University of Jyväskylä and the City of Espoo.
Sparkmind.vc will continue fundraising through 2020 to reach the fund’s €60m hard cap target for the final close by year end. The fund expects to announce further investments in the interim, also in partnership with selected US and European specialist investors.
For media interviews and further information, kindly contact:
Managing Partner Marko Kyyrönen
PHONE: +358 44 5069740
EMAIL: marko@sparkmind.vc
About Sparkmind.vc
Sparkmind.vc is the first Nordic venture capital company focused on the learning sector. The company invests in teams transforming early childhood, K12, higher, secondary and vocational education as well as corporate and lifelong learning. The investment sweet spot of the company is from seed to international growth phase with single investments up to €5m. For more information, please visit www.sparkmind.vc