Participated · Equity · Nov 2023

Linio Biotech is a Finnish biotech spun out from the University of Tampere that develops Tience®, an injectable tissue product designed to accelerate the skin's natural healing for signs of ageing and visible scars. The company says Tience® is currently administered by doctors and nurses in 14 clinics, and the first clinic in Sweden has started offering treatments. Linio received a grant of almost €1M from Business Finland in spring 2023 to support product development. This week Linio raised an additional €4.2M to expand availability of Tience® and advance commercialisation towards international markets. The funding will support further development and rollout while the company reserves the option to bring additional investors into the round until next spring. The company’s leadership includes founders Timo Ylikomi and Riina Uusmies and CEO and partner Karita Reijonsaari.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2022

Theranica is a prescribed digital therapeutics company based in Netanya, Israel and Montclair, NJ that develops advanced neuromodulation devices for migraine and other idiopathic pain conditions. Its flagship product, Nerivio, is an FDA-cleared, prescribed, smartphone-controlled, drug-free wearable worn on the upper arm to treat episodic and chronic migraine in people aged 12 and older. Nerivio utilizes remote electrical neuromodulation to trigger conditioned pain modulation and alleviate migraine headache and associated symptoms. The device is eligible for insurance coverage, can be prescribed by any certified U.S. healthcare provider, and is shipped to patients’ homes through several specialty pharmacies. Theranica intends to use the Series C proceeds to expand its commercial activity in the U.S. Leadership includes CEO Alon Ironi and Chairman and Co-Founder Dr. Shimon Eckhouse. Theranica develops Nerivio Migra, a novel remote neuromodulation device for acute treatment of migraine. The device is currently under review by the FDA and is labeled as an investigational device limited to investigational use in the United States. In October 2018 the company completed a pivotal study across 12 clinical sites in the US and Israel with almost 300 migraine patients; the study met its primary endpoint with high statistical significance and demonstrated high efficacy, safety and tolerability. Founded in 2016, Theranica plans to use new funding to mass-produce Nerivio Migra and, once cleared by the FDA, to deliver the device to millions of migraine patients in the USA. The company positions itself in the electroceuticals space targeting prevalent neurological conditions. Theranica Bio-Electronics develops advanced electroceuticals — drug-free solutions that combine electronics and wireless communication technologies with recent neurology research. Its product line starts with a device for the acute treatment of migraine. The company intends to use Series A proceeds to complete regulatory approval of its first migraine product and to bring that product to mass production. Theranica closed a $6M Series A in 2017. The company was established in 2016 and is based in Netanya, Israel. Founders include Alon Ironi, Ronen Jashek, Slava Barabash and Dr. Shimon Eckhouse. Theranica Bio-Electronics is a Netanya, Israel–based medical device company led by CEO and co-founder Alon Ironi. The company combines neuromodulation therapy with wireless technology to produce proprietary wearable solutions. Its therapeutic 'smart' patches contain a proprietary chip that delivers electrical pulses to neuro-modulate sensory nerves beneath the skin and are controlled by a smartphone app for personalized, portable care. The first commercial application, Nerivio Migra, is a non-invasive, disposable wearable patch used at migraine onset to provide pain relief and often eliminate pain. The company closed a seed financing round for an undisclosed amount. Backers included a group of angel investors led by Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, who will serve as Chairman. The company also assembled a medical advisory board with leading headache and pain experts.

Participated · Series B · Aug 2017

IndoorAtlas provides a SaaS geomagnetic indoor positioning platform that uses built-in smartphone sensors to detect anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field to determine indoor location. Its cloud platform supports Android and iOS and lets developers build location-based services without purchasing or maintaining physical infrastructure. Customers can use the platform’s geoinformation for proximity advertising, search and way-finding within applications. Led by CEO Erik Piehl, the company intends to use the new funding to advance and further commercialize its sensor-fusion positioning technology. The company is based in Oulu, Finland and Palo Alto, California, and its board includes Jari Sonninen, Dongmin Li, Harry Santamäki, Kazuhiro Ninomiya and founder Janne Haverinen. The reported financing round provides additional capital to support commercialization efforts. IndoorAtlas provides a cloud Platform-as-a-Service that uses patented geomagnetic technology to deliver indoor positioning and tracking. Its software leverages the compass sensor in smartphones to detect anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field and achieve sub-two-meter positioning accuracy on Android and iOS. The platform is used by approximately 25,000 developers to build venue-based location services such as proximity advertising, search and wayfinding for shopping centers, airports, hospitals, resorts and other indoor venues. The company emphasizes scalability and cost-effectiveness by avoiding the need to purchase, install and maintain large amounts of WiFi or beacon infrastructure. IndoorAtlas says it will continue focusing on providing new features for developers and platform users. Financially, IndoorAtlas was awarded a €2.2 million grant from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program. IndoorAtlas develops indoor mapping technology that uses the earth's geomagnetic field to determine locations inside buildings with roughly two-meter accuracy. The company creates positioning solutions intended for integration into location-based services and mapping apps. It has entered a strategic partnership with Baidu that grants Baidu exclusive rights to use IndoorAtlas’ technology in China. IndoorAtlas will use the $10 million capital from the deal for research and development, engineering, and business development across the U.S., Asia, and Europe. CEO Janne Haverinen said the partnership gives the company access to over 1.34 billion new subscribers through Baidu. Baidu plans to integrate IndoorAtlas technology into its LBS and mapping products and will demonstrate a customized IndoorAtlas product at the Baidu World conference. Indoor Atlas, founded in 2012 as a spin-off from the University of Oulu, develops a toolbox for indoor positioning and mapping. The solution leverages magnetic anomalies inside buildings together with smartphones to accurately determine indoor positions. It enables businesses and individuals to create indoor location‑aware applications for store promotions, mobile gaming, logistics efficiency and indoor navigation in shopping centers and airport terminals. Use cases cited include analyzing and influencing customer behavior to increase sales, helping universities chart classrooms, aiding hospitals to streamline patient movement, and allowing organizations and governments to track movement for convenience and safety. The company is led by CEO Dr. Janne Haverinen. Financially, the company received an investment from Mobility Ventures; the amount was not disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series B · Nov 2016

Jongla, founded in 2012, is a Finnish startup that specializes in device- and platform-independent mobile messaging. Earlier in the year it launched Jongla Social Messenger, a free app on the App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store that lets users discover new people nearby and has officially rolled out across Africa. The company is developing a second app focused on voice dictation and smart audio processing. Jongla intends to use its new funding to scale globally, strengthen its presence in emerging markets such as Africa, and to innovate with technologies like AI. The business has raised €12 million to date, including the most recent €5m Series B. Jongla is a Helsinki, Finland-based cross-platform instant messaging app led by CEO Riku Salminen. Its IM app features interactive stickers, push-to-talk messaging, photo and video sharing, and YouTube integration. Last month the company launched "Channels", which allows brands and celebrities to create multimedia channels and engage with fans in real time. Jongla is available free on the App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store and Firefox Marketplace. The company closed a €3.4m round of funding and has raised €7.3m to date. It intends to use the funds to scale globally, develop new innovations and grow the team. Jongla is a Finnish, youth-oriented messaging app available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and HTML5, with roots in feature-phone apps. The product emphasizes personalization via animated virtual stickers alongside standard instant-messaging features such as address-book sync, image sharing, location sharing and real-time typing feedback. Revenue is generated through in-app purchases of stickers and other personalization items. The company says the fresh funding will be used to develop its products and roll out a growth strategy focused on international expansion, with Asia and Europe highlighted as priority regions. Jongla cites impressive growth in markets including Thailand, India, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Singapore, but discloses no download or monthly-active-user metrics. Overall investment in the company now totals €3.9 million. Jongla is a Helsinki-based startup that develops mobile messaging apps. Led by founder and CEO Arto Boman with COO Riku Salminen, the company has developed an easy-to-use, cross-platform instant messaging service called Jongla®. It currently employs nine people and is hiring. Jongla raised €1.2m in funding to continue product development and to roll out its business strategy. The company plans a major product relaunch this autumn and will use the capital to support that effort. Backers named in the round include Tekes and individual investors Hannu Syrjänen, Kalevi Sivonen and Janne Leino, among others.