RunwayFBU Research
Overview
RunwayFBU is the Fornebu, Norway ecosystem behind RunwayVC, an industrial-technology venture fund. The site at runwayfbu.com runs the Tech Hub (60+ industrial tech companies at Aker Tech House), an AI and Robotics Lab with industry partners, and community programming. The investing arm now lives at runway.vc under the RunwayVC name; the fund management company is RunwayFBU Fund Management AS. RunwayFBU was founded in 2021 by Kjell Inge Røkke and Tor Bækkelund (a former co-founder of StartupLab). The firm record in F4-OS is keyed to runwayfbu.com, but the investment profile below comes mainly from runway.vc.
Investment Thesis
RunwayVC believes some of the next major global technology companies will be built in industrial technology. AI, data, software, robotics and autonomous systems are moving into factories, energy systems, machines and critical infrastructure. Fund II frames the thesis in three connected areas: Connectivity and IoT (connecting machines, sensors, assets and data), Industrial Intelligence and Orchestration (turning data into decisions and control), and Robotics and Automation (bringing that intelligence into the physical world). The firm says it is not interested in technology just because it carries an Industrial AI or Physical AI label. Its stated values are efficient, sustainable and resilient.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed to Series A. First investments are typically EUR 0.5M to 2M, with capacity to follow on in the strongest companies. Fund I made 24 investments and 23 follow-ons.
Check Size
First checks of EUR 0.5M to 2M as stated on runway.vc. Fund II is planned to make roughly 20 investments over three to five years.
Lead Tendency
Not stated directly. In Minerva Humanoids the firm invested alongside General Catalyst and Long Journey, and in Hive alongside SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall and Nysno, so it co-invests in syndicates. Lead tendency is recorded as unknown.
Recent Activity
- August 2026: first close of Fund II at NOK 400M (EUR 40M). Aker is the cornerstone investor, joined by Halliburton, Aker BP, Aker Solutions, KLP, Investinor, Norwegian industrial families and technology and finance investors.
- Fund II's first two investments are Minerva Humanoids (teleoperated humanoid robots for hazardous work) and Hive (a physical-AI platform that makes existing industrial machines autonomous).
- 2026 investment story on AirHub, an operations center for security and defense drones.
- Firm AUM is stated as EUR 75M across two funds, with 25+ portfolio companies.
Portfolio Highlights
Fund I: OTee (virtual PLC), Sonair (ultrasonic sensing for robot safety), Muybridge (volumetric sports capture), Telgea, AirHub, iPercept (CNC machine health), Shapemaker, Phantasma Labs, Cardboard, Reggy, Plaace, PLAATO, AdminKit, ComplAi, Just, Sparkel, Mion, CuttingRoom. Exits: WSense and Celsia. The Fund I portfolio has raised more than NOK 2B in external capital. The portfolio is broader than pure industrial hardware, with several compliance, spend-management and SaaS companies from Fund I.
Team
- Tor Bækkelund, Managing Partner and Co-Founder: investor and operator, backing founders since 2007 and has led six funds.
- Sagar Chandna, Senior Partner and CTO: early Opera employee, built Opera India, CTO roles, 120+ startup investments at Katapult.
- Peder Hjermann, Associate Partner: formerly M&A and strategy at Bain & Co; focused on Physical AI.
- Hanna Selvaag Wangsmo, Investment Director: formerly McKinsey and Dignio.
- Anders W. Botten, CFO: transactions, finance and audit background.
Decision Process
Investment decisions rest with the RunwayVC investment team (a partnership). The LP base, including industrial operators, provides insight and access but not control. Industrial access is built into diligence: the firm uses its operator network (Aker BP, Aker Solutions, Cognite) to validate problems before investing and to open pilots after.
Founder Preferences
Founders who know the problem from the inside, build for markets worth billions, and move faster than the industry they target. Partners emphasize founder-problem fit, ambition, stamina and a first painful yes customer.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Norway and the Nordics, with selected investments elsewhere in Europe and the US.
Gaps
Exact lead tendency, decision timeline and warm-intro requirements are not published. AUM is stated in euros and left unconverted. Stage-at-investment per portfolio company is not sourced and is omitted.