Iceland’s early-stage investor Frumtak Ventures has launched a fourth fund with a complete volume of 84 million US dollars.
The Frumtak IV fund was oversubscribed and is the successor to the $57 million Frumtak III fund from 2021.
Frumtak Ventures' compelling, focused investment philosophy is predicated on backing entrepreneurs who’re using cutting-edge technologies to resolve difficult real-world problems and will not be afraid to mix software and AI with deeptech or hardware components. Although the fund is industry agnostic, it has previously made the vast majority of its investments in B2B SaaS startups at seed or Series A stage.
Frumtak Ventures sees further potential for Fund IV in doubling down on opportunities on the intersection of software, artificial intelligence and deeptech in industries that construct on Iceland's historical strengths in areas akin to marine technology and logistics, healthcare, travel, energy, climate and gender equality.
Icelandic firms are increasingly gaining international attention, fostering a burgeoning innovation sector known for its resilience, the corporate said. Iceland's startup ecosystem now has the very best invested capital per capita of any Nordic country. A 2023 report by the Icelandic Angel & Venture Capital Association, Framvís, in collaboration with KPMG found that foreign investment in Icelandic startups tripled in comparison with the previous 12 months.
The country's thriving technology landscape features standout firms akin to digital therapeutics pioneer Sidekick Health and pharmaceutical supply chain innovator Controlant. Frumtak Ventures was an early investor in each firms.
Sidekick Health (first invested in 2017) works with five of the world's largest healthcare firms and has strategic partnerships with industry giants akin to Pfizer, Bayer and Eli Lilly. As a part of its latest phase of expanding its services and markets, the corporate recently acquired cancer support and girls's health specialist Pink!. Sidekick Health recently announced an 80% compound annual growth rate driven by successful expansion, contracts and partnerships.
Controlant (first invested in 2011) is currently ranked by the Financial Times as one in every of Europe's 25 fastest-growing firms. The scale-up's Icelandic headquarters supports a world network with offices within the US, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands. Controlant partnered with Pfizer at the peak of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and played an important role in vaccine distribution.
Frumtak Ventures' other high-growth portfolio firms include Icelandic pioneers Treble (first investment 2023: sound simulation and spatial audio technology); Plaio (first investment 2021: visual planning solution for the generic pharmaceutical industry); 50skills (first investment 2022: recruitment software and power for onboarding, crossboarding and offboarding); Abler (first investment 2022: sports management technology); and Alda (first investment 2022: software solution for workplace culture inclusion).
Svana Gunnarsdóttir, managing partner of Frumtak Ventures, said in a press release: “Frumtak Ventures was founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. We are pleased with our portfolio firms: their success confirms our belief that Frumtak Ventures offers a novel toolkit that allows ambitious founders to successfully advance and grow their firms.”
Gunnarsdóttir added: “Iceland has persevered and thrived despite challenges, each natural and human. Accordingly, we have now developed expertise in several domestic industries – and learned to future-proof them through innovation. Frumtak IV, as an industry-agnostic fund, will support the following stars of those industries. I would really like to thank our recent and existing investors for his or her continued support. We are proud to have closed 4 funds in 15 years and backed a few of the very best firms on the planet.
Iceland’s most successful firms and the team at Frumtak Ventures are looking forward to deploying Frumtak IV within the Nordic ecosystem and supporting the following wave of winners.”
