OpenOcean

👋 Team OpenOcean is heading to Slush! Catch up with us to chat about recent developments in the data economy, our latest investments or to say hello. Whether you’re building, investing or just curious, we are happy to connect with you. We are of course also very excited to host OpenOcean's Legendary Slush Poker Tournament on Tuesday November 19th! OpenOcean team members at Slush: Tom Henriksson, Ekaterina Almasque, Patrik Backman, Tony Nysten, Sam H., Lisa Edgar. Crystal V., Mirva Laatunen, Joanna Graiver, Katariina Marttinen & Cyrus Hessabi.

Honoured to join the panel “How deep is your tech? Investing in future technologies” chaired by Mike Butcher ✍️, TechCrunch and The Europas founder, at Web Summit yesterday. As a long-standing investor in AI, Quantum and Data Infrastructure, I would like to reiterate: 🚀 Venture Capital is our bridge to the future. Yes, it involves risk-taking, but it is our tool to build the future we want to live in.  🏆  For the founders wanting to build outliers, frontier tech businesses, be strategic about your investor-base. Partner with venture capital funds that understand the challenges of being pioneers. The smartest capital will come with passion for the new emerging market you are addressing, and mindfulness about your scaling journey. Stay away from the funds that only care about pattern recognition and predictability.  🌟 Currently the environment in Europe is tough (er than we want it to be) for frontier tech companies. Especially in growth stages, beyond Series A. The challenges are across a number of fields - from the difficulty of raising A+ rounds to risk-averseness of customers, to accessing global markets and commercial talent. There are however amazing minds (and great friends!) working relentlessly to make it easier for the founders to build global leaders out of Europe. This panel is the proof. Excellent point made by Lars Frølund, EIC Fund board member, that we still need to activate pension funds to have more private capital available for the frontier tech. Specifically, the most ambitious future tech platforms need more growth capital from private sources. Great point made Laurie Menoud from At One Ventures that technical expertise makes a hell of a difference if you want to invest in (or build) a frontier tech business. Jeff Crusey, 7percent Ventures, has a great playbook of investing in early-stage deep tech. Last but not least, Mike made a great point about The EU Inc Petition, which can further strengthen the position of the European tech industry. Hope that the EU Inc indeed will be our new reality. Share your thoughts and reach out if you are working on something amazing. OpenOcean

This week, OpenOcean's General Partner, Ekaterina Almasque, takes the stage at the Web Summit to discuss about two important themes within the startup and tech ecosystem: 1️⃣ Investing in future technologies: In today's competitive deep-tech landscape, finding the right investor means more than just securing funding for founders. Ekaterina will join other panelists to explore what truly matters in backing transformative technologies and how OpenOcean supports founders beyond capital, focusing on long-term growth and impact. She will be joined on stage by Laurie Menoud from At One Ventures, Lars Frølund from the European Innovation Council, Jeff Crusey from 7percent Ventures and Mike Butcher from TechCrunch. 2️⃣ The AI-SaaS landscape: As AI reshapes the tech ecosystem, Ekaterina and fellow panelists will examine the shifting dynamics for SaaS. In light of AI's rapid expansion, they'll tackle the pressing question: Has AI consumed all the SaaS funding? Sharing the stage with her will be Yuri Dvoinos from Aura, Tamara Steffens from Thomson Reuters Ventures and João Tomé from Cloudflare. Web Summit brings together over 70,000 people and companies redefining the tech industry. Stay tuned for Ekaterina's insights and takeaways on the future of tech and investment on our LinkedIn.

A big shoutout to IQM Quantum Computers for securing the top spot on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Finland! We are proud to have backed IQM since 2019, joining them in their seed round as they set out to redefine the future of quantum computing.

"Have a massive ambition and don't be shy about it." In a recent Billion Dollar Moves Podcast episode, Sarah Chen-Spellings interviewed our General Partner, Tom Henriksson, about what it takes for European entrepreneurs to succeed on the global stage. His key insights? 💡 Tom believes Finnish founders and aspiring entrepreneurs shouldn't hold back. Set big goals, embrace bold ideas and communicate your vision confidently to the world. Ambition drives growth, but it starts with owning your vision and making it known. 💡 Ambition alone isn't enough—real success comes from having substance behind your goals. Tom highlights the importance of leveraging your unique skills and background, such as intellectual property or technical expertise, to support your vision. As Tom puts it, combining big ambition with substance is the key to standing out. Catch the full conversation for more of Tom's insights on what it takes to scale globally. Link to the episode in the comments.

The much-awaited UK’s Autumn Budget was the talk of the town last week. Our General Partner, Ekaterina Almasque comments on the budget were featured in outlets like PitchBook, UKTN, IFA Magazine, and FStech, among others. One of key changes Ekaterina discussed was the capital gains tax increase on carried interest. While less severe than expected, she emphasised the carried interest's crucial role in fostering long-term, high-risk investments, especially in R&D-heavy sectors like quantum computing and AI – sectors that Ekaterina has successfully invested in at OpenOcean too. For more of Ekaterina’s insights, see the links in the comments.

In a recent Billion Dollar Moves Podcast episode, Sarah Chen-Spellings interviewed our General Partner, Tom Henriksson, about OpenOcean's early days and its founding investment thesis. Here’s what stood out from Tom’s conversation: 🔹 A strong focus on Europe’s tech evolution: OpenOcean was founded with the understanding that standout software companies can emerge from any corner of Europe. Today, 14 years later, Tom still believes in Europe’s untapped potential and sees the continued growth of data-driven innovation across the continent. 🔹 Leveraging experience: Drawing from the team's history with MySQL, OpenOcean's mission is to support fellow entrepreneurs in building impactful software businesses. While each entrepreneurial journey is unique, sharing insights and experiences can create a strong foundation when business owners come together to support one another. In the episode titled “Data & Disruption: From MySQL to Truecaller,” Tom talks more about OpenOcean’s origins and shares his insights on what it takes to build and back transformative software companies within the data economy. Check out the full interview to hear more about OpenOcean’s journey and Tom’s perspective on what’s next for data-driven companies. Link to the episode in the comments.

“As the world becomes increasingly digital, secure identity and convenient verification is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.” We’re happy to share a "Why we invested" blog post by our Partner Tony Nysten on our latest investment, Authologic. The company announced yesterday their Series A funding round of $8.2 million. We at OpenOcean led the round, with strong support from Y Combinator, Peak Capital and SMOK Ventures. Authologic is a leading provider of digital identity verification solutions, helping businesses across the globe streamline their KYC, AML and KYB processes. Their mission is to simplify and secure online identity verification by integrating cutting-edge e-ID technologies, biometric checks and Open Banking data into a single, flexible platform. As the European Union is implementing eID regulations across its member states, Authologic’s solution addresses the main issue of fragmentation across the industry providers. Authologic is offering a global hub for digital IDs, identity wallets and Bank IDs as well as legacy biometric verification for regions and users without access to eID systems yet. Their solution is already in use by companies in highly regulated sectors, including financial services, gaming and gambling as well as ecommerce. Trusted by industry leaders, Authologic is growing rapidly. They currently have offices in San Francisco, London and Warsaw. We at OpenOcean are proud to be part of Authologic’s journey! More on our blog. Link in comments.

We are excited to announce our new investment – Authologic! 🎉 Authologic, a global digital identity verification platform, streamlining KYC and AML processes with secure e-ID solutions to combat fraud and meet compliance, announced today an $8.2 million Series A funding round. The round is led by OpenOcean, with strong participation from Y Combinator, Peak Capital, and SMOK Ventures. Authologic addresses the critical flaw in legacy KYC systems that rely on document images for digital identity. With AI making it easy to create fake documents, these outdated methods are increasingly vulnerable to fraud, identity theft, and compliance failures. Authologic’s unified e-ID platform aggregates hundreds of e-ID systems, helping businesses to bridge the gap between legacy systems and the future of digital identity. Its secure digital verification process preserves privacy and builds trust—eliminating outdated methods like plastic IDs and photo uploads that expose unnecessary personal data. By integrating seamlessly with existing KYC infrastructures, Authologic allows companies to adopt secure e-ID solutions wherever possible, easing the transition towards digital IDs. For decades, people in the Nordics have used bank e-IDs to sign contracts, purchase items, and even book dentist appointments online. With the Nordics having paved the way in digital identities, we believe Authologic is on the cusp of driving a revolution on a global scale. The demand for secure, efficient and easy-to-use identity verification is universal, and Authologic's approach is precisely what the market needs. Congratulations to the whole Authologic team – we at OpenOcean are proud to team up with you on this exciting journey!

Tom, our General Partner, was interviewed by Sarah Chen-Spellings on the Billion Dollar Moves Podcast. In the episode "Data & Disruption: From MySQL to Truecaller," Tom shares invaluable insights on navigating the competitive VC landscape and driving success for data-driven software companies reshaping industries today. Key takeaways from Tom’s interview: 💡 In the midst of the AI boom, data software remains a crucial investment area for venture capital firms. The intersection of AI and data software presents interesting opportunities for new enterprise solutions. AI can be, for example, leveraged to enhance data management, analytics, and decision-making processes in enterprises. 💡 Building a solid business foundation is a key for success. By focusing on generating revenue – and eventually profits – we ensure that these companies will yield solid results, which in turn should lead to positive outcomes for our funds. However, it’s important to acknowledge that timing plays a crucial role, and an element of luck is often necessary for success. 💡 OpenOcean's leadership philosophy, inspired by Tom's experience at Nokia, involves listening, coaching, and empowering team members to take calculated risks, rather than always leading from the front. This enables team members to work together more efficiently to identify, invest and work with the most promising startups. Many thanks to Sarah and the team at Billion Dollar Moves for a great episode! Check out the full episode below. Link in comments.