Swedish venture capital firm Wellstreet has launched a new fintech fund with an anticipated total of approximately $40 million. The funds will go to early-stage B2B and infrastructure tech companies driving efficiency in the global banking and fintech ecosystems.
Backed by top executives from Nordic banks and fintech companies, including Avanza, Collector, Handelsbanken, Swedbank, Northmill, Resurs and Klarna, the VC fund plans to facilitate early growth for Nordic companies.
The Fintech Fund is the second for the company which was founded in 2016 by former Klarna executive Mikael Wintzell.
Its first fund, the Wellstreet Ventures, closed at a total raise of approximately $20 million in 2020 and fully invested in companies, including electric boat innovator X Shore, ad tech provider DanAds and sportswear brand ICANIWILL. The company’s successful exits to date include digital electricity supplier Tibber (backed by Founders Fund), live video shopping platform Bambuser (backed by Capital Group, Tenth Avenue and Harmony Partners, among others) and Checkin.com (IPO in Sweden in 2021).
The first fund achieved a 70 per cent return rate in just three quarters. The VC anticipates an accelerated timeline for the Fintech Fund as well, having made its first two investments prior to the first close.
All startups that receive investment from the Fintech Fund will automatically become part of the Fintech Loft, which will provide them with mentoring and coaching as well as credits from AWS to accelerate product development.
Armando Coppola, partner and fund manager at Wellstreet said: “The main objective of the Fintech Fund is to help banks and other financial institutions adapt to new market standards and become more efficient.
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