Stories

In this year’s Building Growth competition organised by the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA) and PwC, Europe’s fastest-growing electric vehicle charging platform, Virta, emerged as the winner. The jury was particularly impressed by Virta’s unique concept, which has been used to systematically build international growth from the get-go.

Entering the 2010s, electric vehicle development as we know it was starting to take shape, but there were only few who held the belief that the future of transportation would be heavily reliant on electricity. Among these few were Jussi Palola and Elias Pöyry, the founders of Virta. With their vision, initial support from Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, now Business Finland), and a collective effort from Finland’s energy sector, electric vehicle charging platform Virta was born. On its journey to global expansion, Virta has been supported by multiple venture capital and private equity investors. Today, it is the fastest-growing electric vehicle charging platform in Europe, operating in over 35 countries across Europe and Asia.

Indoor climate and energy optimization software provider Freesi today announced a new investment from Swedish Hydda, a fast-growing PropTech group, backed by BLQ Invest and Vasakronan. The investment further strengthens Hydda’s service offering in energy efficiency, ESG and Smart metering.

Voltfang, the clean-tech startup for energy storage from second-life electric vehicle batteries, has secured €5 million in new capital to scale its production. The consortium is led by the lead investor PT1 - PropTech1 Ventures. Other investors include Helen Ventures, Aurum Impact, Eviny, and the existing investor AENU.

Finland-based Virta Ltd, a global leader of the fast-growing Electric Vehicle charging platforms industry*, has secured new €85M growth funding. The funding round is among the biggest in the sector during recent years. The sum consists of €65M equity investment from Virta’s existing investors, led by the private equity firm, Jolt Capital, and co-invested by Future Energy Ventures backed by E.ON., Helen Ventures, Vertex Growth Fund, Finnish Industry Investment, Lahti Energy, Vantaa Energy, and Kotka Energy. 20 million euros will be received from Business Finland, which offers innovation funding for companies and research organizations.

Helen Ventures, Capricorn Partners and energy innovation fund ENERGIIQ are jointly investing €1.9 million in Gradyent, a Dutch energy analytics solution company. Gradyent has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) cloud platform that helps improve the management and efficiency of district heating networks, making them more sustainable and cost-effective. The investment will allow Gradyent to commercialise its services and further develop its innovative software.

Helen Ventures’ Münich-based portfolio company EcoG has closed its Series A financing round.

Mitta Group has acquired Helen Ventures' portfolio company Think Outside on 8 November 2022. Think Outside is a technology startup developing innovative products for hydropower markets with the mission to provide a detailed, digital understanding of mountain snowpack. Based in Bergen, Norway, Think Outside provides accurate snow data – making forecasting faster, cheaper and more accurate, optimising the production of hydropower.

Solar Monkey raises €4M in growth capital to expand its organisation and increase worldwide impact. The Investment was co-lead by Finnish Helen Ventures and Eneco, who joined the journey to empower their sustainability mission together with the current investors, including 4impact capital and InnovationQuarter.

Gradyent has raised €10 million in a Series A funding round from existing investors Helen Ventures, Capricorn Partners, ENERGIIQ and new investor Eneco. Dutch climate scale-up Gradyent raises €10 million to make district heating systems more efficient and sustainable. These grids still lose a quarter of their heat yearly. This problem is becoming even more urgent with the rising fuel prices and the strong need for CO2 reduction. Gradyent has developed software that helps heating companies to optimize their heat systems and to reduce CO2, so that they can continue to supply affordable and reliable heat.

LiveEO, the leading provider of satellite analytics, announced it has secured €19M in funding in what is one of the largest investments to date in Earth Observation in Europe. The round included €17M of venture capital funding led by MMC Ventures, and further funds from the European Commission and Investitionsbank Berlin. Also, Helen Ventures participated in the round together with other investors. LiveEO is looking to accelerate market expansion for its infrastructure monitoring products, as well as enter new markets.