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BackingMinds

Strandvägen 7A, Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, 11456, Sweden

Overview

BackingMinds invests in entrepreneurs outside of homogeneous networks that traditional venture capital is missing and by doing so we believe we can make a great return. BackingMinds was founded in 2016 by Susanne Najafi and Sara Wimmercranz and is a VC firm that believes in the business of doing things differently. We look for entrepreneurs where others'​ don't. For us backing is more than capital. Backing is a mindset and backing is commitment and teaming up with founders. We invest in scalable, customer centric businesses with a proven revenue model.

Total investments
15
Lead investments
7
Investments · 12mo
4
Active investors
9

Sector focus

  • Internet
  • SaaS
  • Software
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Investment portfolio

  • SNERPA Power

    Participated · Seed · Aug 2026

    Founded in January 2022 by former power-system and operations experts, SnerpaPower provides a platform that links factory operations directly to electricity contracts and markets to forecast demand and automatically adjust consumption. Its software enables industrial customers to shift or reduce non-essential electricity use to lower costs or receive payments for flexibility while production continues. The company currently manages more than 10 TWh of industrial electricity across roughly 15 Nordic locations, representing over 1% of the electricity used by industry in the EU. SnerpaPower focuses exclusively on high-consumption industrial customers rather than a wide variety of assets. With the latest €3.4 million financing (plus prior rounds including a €2.2 million seed in 2023), the company plans to expand its platform throughout Europe. Founders cite their Icelandic renewable-energy context and system-operator experience as core to the business model.

  • Tavion

    Participated · Seed · Apr 2026

    Tavion develops, owns and operates utility-scale battery storage parks, targeting projects sized 15–70 MW. The company launched with a 1.7 GW project portfolio in Poland, with 300 MW ready for construction, and has chosen Poland as its first market due to high price volatility and growing renewable penetration. Its strategy is to shorten lead times by focusing on mid-sized projects and to retain long-term ownership and operation of assets rather than selling after the permitting phase. Tavion is led by CEO and co-founder Emad Zand, formerly head of the battery systems division at Northvolt, with Polish operations led by Katarzyna Suchcicka and Torbjörn Wahlborg attached as senior adviser. The company raised SEK 76 million in pre-seed equity and has arranged potential debt financing up to SEK 500 million to fund expansion and project delivery. Tavion aims to address Europe's increasing need for flexibility in power systems as electrification accelerates.

  • Helios Innovations

    Led · Equity · Oct 2025

    Helios Innovations AB develops and deploys containerized wastewater treatment units that enable industrial clients to remove heavy metals, oil sludge, and persistent chemicals such as PFAS directly at their own facilities. The solution reduces costly transport of contaminated water and cuts associated CO₂ emissions while meeting tightening EU and national regulations. The company reports treating roughly 70% of Sweden’s firefighting foam and PFAS-contaminated water and has seen revenue grow 170% over the past year. Current customers include Nordic pharmaceutical and other industrial companies facing particularly challenging effluent streams. Helios recently began operations in Norway and is now entering Denmark with plans to expand further across Europe. Looking ahead, the firm also targets liquid waste from oil and glycol sources like airports and large vessels. Founders Jonatan Persson and Johanna Gillberg lead a team focused on scaling production to make the technology a new global standard for industrial water treatment.

  • Cetasol

    Participated · Seed · Sep 2025

    Cetasol is a Gothenburg-based startup building software for the maritime industry. Its flagship platform, iHelm, applies artificial intelligence to real-time vessel data to generate actionable recommendations that improve fuel efficiency, track performance, ensure regulatory compliance, and reduce operating costs. By optimizing voyages, the product enables fleets to lower emissions and increase asset uptime, supporting more sustainable operations. The company sells primarily to commercial vessel operators and plans to deepen its reach in major global maritime markets. With fresh seed capital, management will scale sales and marketing, enhance product features, and strengthen commercial partnerships. While revenue and user figures were not disclosed, the business has attracted repeat backing from existing investor Sarsia, indicating early market traction.

  • Techarena

    Led · Equity · Jun 2025

    Naoma has developed a conversational AI platform that embeds live, interactive video demos directly into a company’s website or product account, eliminating the need for prospects to wait for a human-led Zoom or Meet session. Its AI avatars present, answer questions in multiple languages, qualify leads on the fly, and automatically update CRM records, giving prospects a tailored demo experience in about ten seconds. The six-person team, co-founded by Dmitry Zakharov and Dima Ivanouski, draws on prior experience in high-velocity SaaS sales to address the conversion drop-off caused by delayed or static demos. Naoma differentiates itself from incumbents such as Navattic, Reprise, and Walnut by offering live, AI-driven video rather than pre-recorded walkthroughs. With $440,000 in new capital, the company is expanding its engineering team, enhancing avatar realism, and launching pilot programs with B2B software vendors. Management ultimately envisions running millions of demo sessions annually within the next four to five years, positioning the product as an always-on layer in modern SaaS buying journeys.

Team