I probably shouldn’t be this ecxited, but I am. Swedish Neo Technology, developer of Neo4j, an open source graph database, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to boost Neo4j’s presence in the emerging NonSQL movement market space.
I just received a happy call from Emil Eifrem, CEO Neo Technology, at the moment in US to talk about semantic web, NonSQL movement and the next step in Neo Technology’s life.
Continue reading »
Estonian Crystalsol, a photovoltaic developer, closed 2,5 million euros first round financing two weeks ago by Conor Venture Partners, Energy Future Invest and public agencies (a link to press release).
Crystalsol’s revolutionary technology, now on prototype level, enables the solar based electricity generation at the cost levels competitive with the conventional energy sources. ” The use of proceeds include for further development of the semiconductor material, upscaling the production as well as module process design” said Jari Mieskonen, Managing Partner at ConorVenture Partners last week.
Crystalsol targets commercialization within the next three years: the technology is applicable for all grid connected solar installations. The next round will follow within the 18 months estimated Jari Mieskonen. Continue reading »
Chip-packaging company Imbera Electronics announced that it raised $15 million from NorthZone Ventures, Index Ventures and Conor Venture Partners. NorthZone led the round. Imbera is the developer of patented Integrated Module Board technology for 3-D semiconductor packaging
Previously Imbera had raised $2 million in a first institutional round and just under $1 million in seed money before that.
The newly raised money will go to kick start a new high-volume manufacturing operation in Sangsong-ri, South Korea, and to continue Imbera’s embedded technology evolution through its R&D activities located in Espoo, Finland.
According to VentureBeat Risto Touminen, Imbera’s chief technology officer, had worked on the technology as a student at the Helsinki University of Technology since 1999.
You can read more about Imbera’s chip packaging technology at VentureBeat here.
It’s good to see a Nordic VC’s Nordic VCs active, when the Venture Capital industry in Silicon Valley is coughing.
Eniram, A Finnish startup providing dynamic decision support systems for the shipping industry, has closed a five milliong euro investment round.
The company does not operate in the consumer web remit, but when the mainstream press is doing its best to fuel the economic despair we want to show that every coin has two sides and that great startups will always find funding. In fact, now that the tougher times weed out the clones and other cowboys who’re in it for a quick buck it’s a lot easier to get your message our there and find that smart money you need.
In the same spirit, great ideas know no boundaries either and best opportunities wait at the intersection of different industries be it micromessage systems, ship building or clean tech.
In Eniram’s case the investment will allow the company to increase the pace of expansion of its global sales, distribution and support operations. Stronger presence in key markets will help Eniram respond to the growing demand for the company’s flagship product Dynamic Trimming Assistant (DTA), introduced in July 2008 to the global maritime market.
Eniram DTA helps vessel officers optimize trim at all times, minimizing water resistance, decreasing fuel consumption, and reducing emissions. The system continuously collects and displays real-time data of the vessel attitude, allowing timely action in changing circumstances. The key metrics are brought to vessel officers in an easy-to-read graphic form, to facilitate faster and better informed decision-making.
The investment round closed in December 2008 was led by Ferd Venture, one of Norway’s leading venture capital investors focused on ICT companies in the Nordic region. Other investors include Conor Venture Partners, a Finnish early-stage technology venture capital firm, and Finnish Industry Investment, a government-owned investment company. Conor Venture Partners previously invested in Eniram in the company’s Series A funding round in March 2008.
It’s shitty time to build your career in almost any big company as they need to cut cost and tighten the screw in every possible way. Hell, even Google is cutting the perks and laying off part-time workers. This makes it an ideal time to give that idea of yours a shot. Don’t quit your day job, but build a proto during the weekend and even during the week when your employer is not looking. When the old methods are not working everyone is looking for new alternatives, which makes it an ideal time to bring your proto to the investors to see.
Blyk, the free Finnish born (but operates only in UK) mobile network for 16 to 24 year-olds funded by advertising, has signed a frame agreement with Aito Technologies, a Customer Experience Management (CEM) solution provider, for the delivery and implementation of its Business-Driven CEM software product, Aito, to UK market. This follows a successful 3-month pilot installation, which began in May.
Aito takes business intelligence from network traffic data and offers Blyk an easy-to-understand, in-depth analysis of service usage, member behavior patterns and trends.
The information that the software generates is given to key staff directly involved in business management – sales and marketing managers, member service teams, product managers – in a form which is easy to use and act on.
In essence, Aito is an easy-to-implement tool that’s a user-friendly method of making sure mobile subscribers are having a great network experience, at all times, whether making a voice call, sending a text or MMS, or, in the case of Blyk, receiving relevant mobile adverts with their services. The carrier-grade Aito will provide Blyk with a 360° view of the activities and overall experience of its entire subscriber base. .
CEO of Aito Technologies, Anssi Tauriainen, said, “Like Blyk, we know that mobile advertising is set to be one of the most important business models and revenue-generating network activities offered by operators in the future [...]“
Mobile advertising has been already coming from years and is still as annoying as ever. 
Yet, this is hardly Aito’s fault and I admit not having tried Blyk services. That said, even if Blyk works like charm, I already pay fixed monthly sum for practically unlimited calls, SMS and data and can’t really imagine the future any other way. For cash-strapped 16 to 24 year-olds teens who adore brands there seems to be something there though. Blyk users receive 6 sms/mms from the chosen brands per day in exchange for 217 txts and 43 minutes of voice calls each month.
For the segment the service seems to be working: Blyk has currently 200,000 member in the UK, which is the only market they are currently serving. Now Blyk is ready to slice and dice the market data into an easy-to-use format with Aito Technologies’ help and are well equipped to follow their plans to go pan-European in 2009 potentially reaching 40 million young consumers.
The advertisers seems to be happy as well: Big brands like L’Oreal have seen tremendous results with average click through rates of 29% (ranges between 12 and 43%). Quite a lead from the average mobile advertising average CTR that hovers around 3-6%.
Finnish media Digitoday knows that in addition to Blyk, Aito Technologies has currently six commercial pilots running in Europe, including Finland. Digitoday also reports that Aito has around 700 potential customers, traditional and virtual mobile operators. Along with these, Aito is going after ring tone, community and added value service providers in the mobile space, which there are around 2000 to 3000.
Aito Technologies is owned by the employees as well as two reputable Nordic investement funds, Creandum and Conor. The company has currently 25 employees.
Eniram received a major investment from Conor Venture Partners earlier this month. The exact amount was not disclosed, but it’s believed to be around €1 million (major by Finnish standards). The purpose of the investment is to strengthen Eniram’s marketing and sales operations in order to expand globally.
Eniram was founded in 2005 as a spin-off from US-based engineering consultant Edec, which remains a partner to Eniram. Eniram focuses on the maritime industry, providing system integration solutions allowing its customers to save costs and lower emissions through lower fuel consumption. The team reportedly has a great deal of knowledge of the industry and software development. The rumor also has it that Pekka Roine from Conor joined Eniram’s board, bringing the company extensive experience of running technology and software business.
Aito technologies secures financing from Conor Venture Partners. Conor Venture Partners have recently taken Mr Jari Mieskonen aboard to become a Managing Partner. Mr Mieskonen has also joined the Board of Directors in Aito with the investment. The amount invested is not disclosed, but it will help Aito in the product developement and market growth (Press release).
Biovakka Suomi Oy 
BitbarHelsinki, Wroclaw, Oulu, Cambridge
