Early-stage VC, Helsinki

Maki.vc

Venture capital firm · Helsinki · Founded 2018

Quick read

Maki.vc is a seed-stage VC firm founded in 2018, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. It manages €260 million across three funds and has backed 50+ companies, writing initial cheques of €300k–3m into deep tech and brand-driven startups across the Nordics and Northern Europe. Its third fund closed at €100m and had already deployed into seven companies at close.

Key facts

Founded
2018
Founders
Ilkka Kivimäki
Employees
11-50
Sectors
saas, ai, enterprise, healthcare
Website
maki.vc

Investment thesis

Maki.vc backs pre-seed and seed-stage deep tech and brand-driven companies in the Nordics and Northern Europe, writing €300k–3m initial cheques and reserving two-thirds of each fund for follow-on into founders who challenge category norms.

Recent activity

  • Jun 2025investment
    FinanceKey secured €3M in funding with Maki.vc participating alongside First Fellow Partners. tracxn.com
  • 2025investment
    Maki.vc backed Lightsonic, a fiber optic sensing platform for infrastructure monitoring, in a €3.3M round as sole investor. maki.vc
  • 2025investment
    Maki.vc invested in Sera, an Estonia-founded AI sales agent startup, in a €1.5M round alongside Specialist VC. maki.vc
  • Nov 2024fundraise
    Maki.vc closed its third fund at €100M, bringing total AUM to €260M across three funds. More than 50 founder LPs backed the vehicle, including builders from Skype, Wise, RELEX Solutions, Aiven, and Supercell. Seven investments had already been made at close, including Distance Technologies, QMill, and Ever Cars. vcwire.tech
  • Nov 2024fundraise
    Maki.vc launched its third fund at €100M, targeting pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the Nordics and Northern Europe. The fund is classified as Article 8 under SFDR. Initial tickets range from €300K to €3M, with two-thirds reserved for follow-on investments. Seven investments had already been made at launch. en.ain.ua
  • 2025investment
    Maki.vc invested in Lightsonic, a fiber optic sensing company for infrastructure, which raised a €3.3M round. maki.vc
  • 2025investment
    Maki.vc backed TrackSights (Tracksight), an AI-powered data intelligence platform for the automotive industry, in a €1M round. maki.vc
  • 2024investment
    Maki.vc co-invested in Distance Technologies alongside FOV Ventures and GV. Distance raised €10M and has built a glasses-free mixed reality solution targeting automotive and aviation applications. maki.vc
  • Apr 2024press
    AIN Capital published an interview with Maki.vc's Marketing & Platform Manager covering the firm's 2023 portfolio activity — including investments in Databutton, Strise, CarbonCloud, and Ever Dye — and its 2024 plans. The firm reported €180M AUM at that time. ain.capital
  • Feb 2026investment
    Maki.vc participated in Ever's €31m Series A funding round. cbinsights.com
  • Jan 2026investment
    Portfolio company Jennis exited — Maki.vc's most recent portfolio exit. cbinsights.com
  • 2025investment
    Maki.vc made 11 investments across the year, its most active annual deployment on record. tracxn.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Ilkka Kivimäki · Co-founder & Partner
  • Pauliina Martikainen · Partner
  • Ella Eskelinen · Partner
  • Mona Saurén · Team Member (ESG)
  • Petra Koivuvaara · Team Member
  • Matias Tekoniemi · Team Member
  • Pirkka Palomäki · Founding Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Maki.vc?+

Maki. vc is a seed-stage VC firm founded in 2018, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

Where is Maki.vc headquartered?+

Maki.vc is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

When was Maki.vc founded?+

Maki.vc was founded in 2018 by Ilkka Kivimäki.

What sectors does Maki.vc invest in?+

Maki.vc focuses on saas, ai, enterprise, healthcare. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Maki.vc?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated July 9, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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