Tera Ventures has held the first close of Terra Ventures Fund II with EUR21m in capital commitments. The fund aims to invest in 25-30 seed-stage technology startups located in key tech hubs in Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
The target fund size is EUR55 million with a substantial amount already committed to the second close which is expected in the coming months.
Tera Ventures has offices in Estonia, Finland, and California and will continue investing in born global startups ready to thrive in international markets. Initial check sizes will be between EUR200,000 -EUR1.5 million per company with significant follow-on funding for select investments.
Fund II is vertical agnostic seeking digital startups creating network effects, applying machine learning, and other enabling technologies which will become the infrastructure of our future lives. Tera Ventures Fund I has a number of notable investments including GrabCAD, Cleveron, and Monese which just announced a Series B round.
Tera Ventures was founded in 2016 by Andrus Oks, Stanislav Ivanov, and James McDougall. Andrus and Stanislav have entrepreneurial backgrounds and have collectively managed three early-stage funds with nine exits, creating over EUR150 million in enterprise value to date. James has extensive operational experience as CEO and Managing Director for several early-stage, private and public companies where he has fundraised over EUR250 million from an extensive global network of investors. Complementing the team are California-based Venture Partner, Erik Anderson, who cultivated multiple cohorts of early-stage startup teams at Techstars in London and later Wise Guys in Tallinn, and Operating Partner, Martin Hendre, who has extensive institutional equity investor and asset management company management experience.
“We are committed to offering founder-friendly terms and assisting our investments with our global network of investors, industry veterans and experts. We believe this will enable our entrepreneurs the right foundation to compete on world stage and attract top-tier partners and venture capital in key markets in Europe, US and Asia to ensure the realisation of their vision,” says Andrus Oks, Founding Partner.
Limited Partners of Tera Ventures second fund include The European Investment Fund (EIF), LHV, Mistletoe Venture Partners International, as well Estonian high net worth individuals. EIF investment is made from own resources and the EstFund – an initiative created by cooperation between the Republic of Estonia and the European Investment Fund and financed under European Structural and Investment Funds.
This investment fulfils LHV’s goal to increase its position in a rapidly growing and promising IT sector, says Kristo Oidermaa, Fund Manager of LHV Pension Funds. “Our commitments to Venture Capital currently amount to EUR21 million. Estonia has a good track record for IT growth companies, and the investment in Tera Ventures Fund II gives us a great opportunity to further contribute to this sector,” says Oidermaa.
