OpenOcean seeks €130 million fund for European AI and software start-ups

Early-stage VC invests specifically in disruptive software companies with an AI focus. The new fund aims to take data-driven innovation to a global level

Helsinki/London, March 2025 - Pan-European venture capital fund OpenOcean has closed the first financing round of its fourth main fund with €100 million and is targeting a final closing of €130 million in the first half of 2025. The fund focuses on early-stage startups in the fields of AI, data and software development.

Strategic support for emerging technology start-ups

Created by the founders of MySQL and MariaDB, OpenOcean invests specifically in tech, data-driven startups with global growth potential. With its hands-on approach, the fund offers strategic support, access to an international network and operational expertise.

Our strategy is to support exceptional teams with deep industry knowledge. We invest in startups with early successes and a clear market need that challenge traditional industries with innovative and defensible solutions.

Patrik Backman, General Partner at OpenOcean

First investments and focus on transformative AI applications

With the current funding, OpenOcean has already made two investments:

• Embeddable, a customer-centric analytics solutions company that provides developers with better data tools.
• Dreamfold.ai, a platform for protein search and design using artificial intelligence.

OpenOcean brings not only capital, but also deep expertise in data products. This strategic partnership will significantly accelerate our growth and innovation.

Tom Gardiner, CEO of Embeddable

Track record and future outlook

OpenOcean has a track record of successful exits, including Truecaller (IPO), LoopMe (sold to Mayfield Equity) and RapidMiner (sold to Altair).

Tom Henriksson, General Partner at OpenOcean, sees great potential for targeted investments in the current market situation: "While the focus of many investors is narrowing to mega funds, there are tremendous opportunities to support Europe's most innovative startups. The future market leaders will be founded by teams with unique perspectives and technical excellence."

With its deep technical understanding and experience from its own successful software start-ups, OpenOcean is ideally positioned to support Europe's next generation of AI and software start-ups on their path to global market leadership. Especially in the current tense political and economic situation, any additional capital for the startup economy is very welcome.