Tera Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Tera Ventures is a Tallinn-based early-stage venture firm that backs born-global digital and deep tech startups at pre-seed and seed. The firm says it wants to find world-class founders tackling big problems and support them on the way to becoming industry leaders. AI-powered products are described as the core of the focus, across both pure enterprise SaaS and robotics or deep tech applications. The firm has invested in AI for more than 15 years. With a cross-industry remit, fintech and security remain stated priority sectors, more so than in its first fund. A July 2026 announcement also names physical AI, industrial technology and next-generation software as high-stakes verticals for the portfolio.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed and seed. The homepage headline reads "pre-seed and seed stage". The firm also follows on across early rounds, and several portfolio companies were later backed by larger funds. Examples: Cino, led early by Tera and then a seed led by Balderton; Flowstep, where Tera led the 2023 pre-seed and joined the 2025 seed; Blackwall, where Tera was the first believer and later rounds were led by MMC, Dawn Capital and AVP.
Check Size
Initial checks for Fund II were reported at EUR 200K to EUR 1.5M per company, with significant follow-on reserves (VentureBeat, 2018). A third-party profile lists an average check of $100K to $500K. These figures are from outside sources and the firm's site does not state them.
Lead Tendency
The firm says "we lead rounds". Its news posts back this up: it led the Flowstep pre-seed and the early Cino rounds. It also participates in later rounds led by others. Lead tendency: both, leaning to lead early.
Recent Activity
- October 2026: Blackwall raised $100M at a $2.2B valuation. The round was led by AVP, with existing investors Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures and Tera Ventures.
- July 2026: Tera added Priit Kaasik and Eric Sato to its advisory board.
- Flowstep raised a $2.6M seed led by Supernode Global; Tera participated after leading the 2023 pre-seed.
- Cino raised a EUR 3.5M seed led by Balderton; Tera, which led the initial rounds, participated.
- SportIQ raised a $6.2M Series A.
- Blackwall raised a EUR 45M Series B led by Dawn Capital.
Third-party trackers show few newly disclosed first checks in 2026, so the firm looks to be investing mostly through follow-ons right now. Fund status is unclear. The firm says it manages multiple funds.
Portfolio Highlights
Blackwall (formerly BotGuard) is now valued at $2.2B and is described as Europe's most valuable cybersecurity scaleup. Other notable companies: Monese (UK digital bank), RealEyes (emotion AI), Cleveron and Clevon (delivery robotics), Scoro, Lingvist, Montonio, Jobbatical and Secfense. Exits include GrabCAD (one of Estonia's top exits), Defendec, Snackable, Fits Me, SelfDiagnostics, NOW! Innovations, Modesat Communications, Cellin Technologies, VitalFields and Startup Wise Guys.
Team
- Andrus Oks, Founding Partner: more than 15 years investing, five exits including GrabCAD; former digital entrepreneur.
- Stanislav Ivanov, Founding Partner: more than 12 years investing; seven years at IBM as country manager; two-time e-commerce founder.
- Eamonn Carey, General Partner (on medical leave): serial founder, runs Techstars programs in London and New York, invested in 90+ companies.
- David Clark, Venture Partner: operator who has mentored 350+ startups.
- Karin Künnapas, Venture Partner: ex-Estonian Business Angels Network.
- Helis Lipping, Operations and Communications.
- Pär Nuder, Chairman: former Swedish Minister of Finance, Chairman of AP3.
- Priit Kaasik and Eric Sato, Advisory Board: AI-native engineering and Japan market access respectively.
Decision Process
Partnership of founding and general partners. The firm names no committee or timeline. It asks for a warm introduction first, and says to write to [email protected] if that is not possible.
Founder Preferences
Ambitious, globally minded founders with technical depth. Founder testimonials stress hands-on help from the first meeting: expert intros, angel intros, and support in first talks with international VCs. The partners describe themselves as entrepreneurs.
Geographic Focus
Estonia is the home market. The firm also invests in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Portfolio companies also sit in the UK and the US. The firm is supported by the European Investment Fund and Estonian EstFund programs. Its advisors help portfolio companies reach US, UK and Japanese investors and corporates.