Wave Ventures Research
Overview
Wave Ventures is Europe's largest Gen Z-led venture capital firm, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The firm backs exceptional early-stage founders across the Nordics and Baltics, operating from hubs in Helsinki, Stockholm, and Tallinn. Wave is notable for being run entirely by a rotating team of top university students embedded in the startup ecosystems of these cities, giving them a frontline view of emerging talent before traditional investors take notice.
Investment Thesis
Wave Ventures believes the most exceptional founders of the next generation are building from the Nordics and Baltics — a region with disproportionate startup density, strong engineering talent, and a history of producing globally relevant companies (Spotify, Supercell, Wolt, Bolt, Skype). The firm invests as early as possible — at the angel and pre-seed stages — before other institutional investors identify these founders. The thesis is founder-proximity: "We bet on our own generation. We've grown up alongside the founders we back, so we know exactly what exceptional looks like."
With Fund III (€7M, closed May 2025), Wave is doubling down on the Nordics and Baltics, targeting 3–10 new teams per country annually. AI is increasingly central to their thesis: CEO Antonia Eneh notes that "AI is unlocking a new era of speed and scale: young founders are moving faster than ever, thinking bigger, and building globally from day one."
Stage Focus
Wave Ventures focuses exclusively on the earliest stages:
- Angel: Initial checks for founders very early in company formation
- Pre-Seed: The primary target stage, before product-market fit
The firm positions itself as "Your First Investment" — the company's first institutional capital. Wave's model assumes that world-class Series A+ investors (Speedinvest, byFounders, etc.) will follow on as companies mature.
Check Size
Wave invests up to €100,000 per initial investment. This is deliberately small to allow them to invest in 3–10 new teams per country per year. They maintain follow-on reserves from the fund but the initial ticket is angel/pre-seed sized. In USD terms this is approximately $110K.
Fund History
- Fund I: Small founding fund (2016)
- Fund II: ~€2.3M (estimated from Fund III being 3x larger)
- Fund III: €7M (closed May 2025) — Europe's largest Gen Z-led VC fund. Backed by founders of Slack, Bolt, Skype, Supercell, Wolt, Silo AI, and Smartly.io, as well as European early-stage VCs and family offices.
- Total portfolio: 50+ initial investments across first two funds; 42+ portfolio companies tracked
Portfolio Highlights
Wave has backed nearly 80% of VC-backed Finnish startups with CEOs under 30. Notable portfolio companies include:
Climate & Sustainability:
- Carbo Culture (2017): CO₂ conversion into stable carbon with 1,000-year storage
- Normative (2019): Carbon accounting platform
- Paebbl (2022): Sustainable materials, "the re-stored carbon company"
- Intergrid (2023): Accelerating electrification of industrial heat
- Volta Greentech (2019): Reducing methane emissions from livestock
AI & Enterprise Software:
- Inven (2022): AI-powered company discovery platform
- Andon Labs (2024): Custom capability evaluations for LLMs and AI agents
- Scape (2024): AI-native CRM that captures all conversations
- Kenley (2024): AI for consulting
- Hedda (2025): AI-powered bid management for public procurement
- Spiich (2025): AI-driven sales assistant and CRM control
Health & Life Sciences:
- Surgify (2017): Making bone surgery safe
- Vetnio (2024): Disrupting veterinary care through AI (YC W25)
- Sointu AI (2025): AI-powered voicemail assistant that books appointments
- Solace Care (2025): AI platform for future planning and loss management
Consumer & Commerce:
- Boksi (2019): Influencer marketing platform
- Bought (2024): Automated resale platform
- Favora (2025): AI conversational shopping and discovery
- Clair (2025): AI-native assortment and demand planning for fashion
- Bahn Express (2025): Fastest car deliveries in Europe
Deep Tech & Hardware:
- Zettascale (2024): Energy-efficient chips for AI
- Willo (2024): Wireless power technology
- Qualia (2025): Robot Foundation Model Infrastructure
- Tzafon (2024): Expanding the frontiers of machine intelligence
Exited:
- Insurello (2018): Insurance claims simplification — exited
Team
Wave operates with a rotating team of university students across Finland, Sweden, and Estonia:
- Antonia Eneh, CEO: Pursuing M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University. Previously led Slush's finance team and worked as a consultant at McKinsey. Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. Joined Wave in early 2023 and appointed CEO.
- Elis Hodzic, Investment Manager (Sweden): Based in Stockholm, representing Wave in the Swedish ecosystem. Founded his first company at age 17; recognized as one of the 20 most prominent entrepreneurs under 20 in Europe by Wise (2022). Studied at Stockholm School of Economics.
- Bror Nordström, Investment Manager (Sweden): Based in Stockholm, co-building the Founders House community in Stockholm for early-stage Nordic founders.
- Robin Hansson, Investor: Based in Finland, supporting Wave's investment activities.
Geographic Focus
Wave focuses on the Nordics and Baltics:
- Finland (primary): Helsinki HQ, strongest deal flow, nearly 80% of Finnish startups with young CEOs
- Sweden: Stockholm office, growing investment activity
- Estonia: Tallinn presence, Baltic expansion
- Limited but growing interest in Denmark and Norway
Historically Finland-centric, Fund III explicitly aims to scale across all Nordic and Baltic countries, targeting 3–10 new teams per country annually.
Decision Process & Founder Engagement
Wave's rotating student team model means they are deeply embedded in university startup communities, hackathons, and early founder networks. They identify founders through early signals — people who have been building things since their teens. The rotating model gives Wave insight into the next generation of founders before other VCs see them.
Investment decisions appear to be made by the partnership/team collaboratively, given the small rotating team structure. The firm emphasizes speed and responsiveness suited to pre-seed founders.
Co-investors and Follow-ons
Wave positions itself as the entry point before institutional investors. Known follow-on investors in Wave portfolio companies include Speedinvest, byFounders, and various Nordic VCs. A portfolio milestone noted is that Vetnio (YC W25) and Exa Laboratories (YC S24) were later accepted into Y Combinator.
Recent Activity (2024–2025)
- May 2025: Closed Fund III at €7M — tripled from Fund II; Europe's largest Gen Z-led VC fund
- March 2025: Invested in Bahn Express (Pre-Seed)
- 2025: Multiple new investments including Cybret AI, Elva, Favora, Hedda, Librar Labs, Natively, Nimble Fox, Pango, Qualia, Sointu AI, Solace Care, Spiich, Clair, Atlaz
- 2024: 12 new investments including Vetnio, Andon Labs, Bought, Scape, Kenley, Willo, Tzafon, Zettascale
- 2024: Visited South Korea and Japan, meeting 40+ VCs to expand Nordic innovation network in Asia
- 2024: Portfolio company Vetnio accepted into Y Combinator (YC W25)
- 2024: Portfolio company Exa Laboratories accepted into Y Combinator (YC S24)
- June 2025: CEO Antonia Eneh featured on EU-Startups Podcast (Episode 120)