Top Angel Investors in Finland

Finland’s economy is projected to grow by 2.6% in 2021 and 2.7% in 2022, led by consumption and exports. The country’s location in the northeast corner of the European Union makes it a great place for companies looking to expand to Europe. Finland’s capital Helsinki has been viewed as the startup center of Northern Europe. The country’s educational system is consistently ranked among the best in the world, and the greater Helsinki region consistently ranks in the European top 10 for productivity and global competitiveness. Finland provides an extremely stable and well functioning business environment that a startup needs to be successful and a modern and attractive city for entrepreneurs.

The country has become increasingly attractive for both Finnish and international investors. A large number of accelerators, incubators, and venture capital funds are ready to invest in promising startups. The Finnish government has been actively supporting technology companies, investors and entrepreneurs in many ways. The government offers funding and services for innovative early-stage companies and supports universities in commercializing their ideas. Angel investors play a critical role in expanding the pipeline of investible businesses by providing early-stage ventures with essential resources including capital to bridge the funding gap and by sharing their expertise and networks to unlock business opportunities that facilitate growth.

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1. Petteri Koponen:

Petteri Koponen is a Founding Partner of Lifeline Ventures, a Helsinki-based early-stage VC. He actively invests in the strongest teams and works intensively with them, often through their whole journey. Before becoming an investor, Petteri founded four mobile and Internet -related software and service companies, last of them being Jaiku. He is also the Chairman of Wolt.

Sector: Healthcare, Consumer Internet, Games, Biotechnology.

Portfolio: Grand Cru, IndoorAtlas, Ninchat, MakieLab.

Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn

2. Petri Lehmuskoski:

Petri Lehmuskoski is the Managing Partner of Gorilla Capital, the most active early stage investment fund for Finnish and Estonian startups. Since 2010, Petri has been a fulltime Angel investor in pre-seed / seed rounds investing in multiple promising early-stage startups every year. Petri Lehmuskoski is a portfolio entrepreneur turned business angel with strong business growth and international background.

Sector: Consumer Internet, Digital Media, E-Commerce, Games.

Portfolio: Bitbar, Agilefant, Duunitori, Grib.

Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn

3. Sami Lampinen:

Sami Lampinen is the Managing Director and Partner of Inventure, one of the most experienced Nordic venture funds that specializes in helping its portfolio companies with talent and expansion. Sami Lampinen has been an active angel investor and mentor. He also sits on the board of Prodeko Ventures. He actively invests in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Denmark regions.

Sector: Clean Technology, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile.

Portfolio: BeiZ, 46elks, Beddit, Detectify.

Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn

4. Sami Ahvenniemi:

Sami Ahvenniemi is a General Partner of Vendep Capital, a firm that invests in pre-Series A SaaS companies mainly in Finland. He has a broad expertise as a VC and business operator. Sami provides excellent guidance on fundraising and corporate governance issues. He has made more than 16 angel investments.

Sector: Clean Technology, Enterprise Software, Big Data, SaaS.

Portfolio: AirPair, Eniram, Matcmade, Crystalsol.

Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn

5. Timo Ahopelto:

Timo Ahopelto is the Founding Partner of Lifeline Ventures, an early stage venture fund based in Finland. He is an early-stage investor and entrepreneur ranging from biotech to software and consumer products. Timo Ahopelto has been an active angel investor and mentor. He also sits as a Board Member of OURA and Slush.

Sector: Clean Technology, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Healyhcare.

Portfolio: Enevo, Ductor, uBiome, Cambrian Genomics.

Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn

6. Ari Korhonen:

Ari Korhonen is an angel investor and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Lagoon Capital investment company. He invests in tech companies both privately or from Lagoon Capital. Ari has been a successful technology entrepreneur for 20 years and a full time business angel for 15 years. He developed his company Komartek into an international success story. Within the last 15 years, Ari has made angel investments in 40 companies. In those he has participated in 135 investment rounds.