SNÖ Ventures is deeply rooted in the Nordic tech ecosystem. The team leverages global connections to bring capital, scaling experience, and strategic access to founders in a region that produces many unicorns per capita yet lacks large-scale VC infrastructure. Recently, the partners of the VC firm announced their decision to wind down operations under the SNÖ brand and will continue investing independently as solo general partners.
“Building on SNÖ’s success, and our reflections on how we can best create value as investors, we, the partners at SNÖ, have each decided to launch our own new funds. These next chapters will allow each of us to go deeper into our individual strengths and passions, while keeping the same spirit of backing ambitious founders in a lean and agile way,” says the VC firm in a LinkedIn post.
Backed by Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and partner at Founders Fund, SNO Ventures launched its second fund targeting $100M – to invest in visionary Nordic entrepreneurs in 2021. According to the VC firm, its first fund (SNÖ Fund I, size: $12M) has delivered top-percentile returns, and Fund II is already showing strong early momentum toward the same. The second fund still has capital left to allocate, and the partners remain “fully committed to supporting the SNÖ portfolio,” reports Sifted.
“More importantly, the SNÖ journey has given us the chance to partner with extraordinary founders and build lasting relationships that continue to inspire us,” claims the VC Team.
Magne Uppman, Founding Partner, mentioned that the firm was ready to raise its third fund, but the partners decided to discuss SNÖ’s future during the summer. “SNÖ Fund III would have been the safe choice. But this is the one that feels right,” wrote in a LinkedIn post. “We believe venture is changing — and new strategies will be needed to succeed. We’re opting for smaller, faster, more focused capital – closer to founders, and better suited to the earliest stages,” continuous Uppman.
Uppman also revealed that they will continue to work together on SNÖ Fund I and II while also collaborating on new initiatives. “But there will be three different funds, each adapting to where we can create the most value for the ecosystem, for founders, and for our investors,” he concludes.
Among notable Portfolio Companies are: PortalOne (hybrid gaming/live experiences), Sky Mavis / Axie Infinity (blockchain-based gaming), Aris Machina (AI for complex manufacturing), Nordic Air Defence (drone defense tech). Others include IntuiCell, Speechly, Confrere, Kitemaker, Sceneri, Ignite, and more.
