Founded by Estonians Lightyear raises $23M
Estonian-founded investment platform Lightyear has raised $23M in Series B. The round was led by NordicNinja. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Metaplanet, Skaala, Superangel, SpecialistVC, Sir Richard Branson, Taavet Hinrikus from Wise, Markus Villig from Bolt also participated in the round.
Lightyear will use the funding received to expand its presence in all European countries, starting with Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Lightyear is a UK-based fintech startup providing investment services in 22 countries across Europe. Lightyear offers investments in international stock exchanges, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities, BlackRock money mutual funds, and accrues interest on uninvested capital for individuals and companies. It was founded in 2020 by Estonians Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer. In July 2022, Lightyear raised $25M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by US venture capital firm Lightspeed, with participation from other high-profile investors including Virgin Group and Richard Branson.
NordicNinja is a venture capital firm that focuses on climate technology, deep tech and digital society. The company invests in startups that seek to solve global challenges in areas such as transportation, healthcare and digital infrastructure. The company was founded in 2019. It is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in various sectors including technology, healthcare, fintech and consumer markets. The company was founded in 2000 in the United States.
Metaplanet Holdings is a venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype. The company is based in Tallinn, Estonia, and focuses on early investments in deep tech startups that promise long-term social and civilizational impact.
Skaala (formerly Taavet+Sten) is an investment company from Estonia. Founded in 2021 by former Skype executives Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi. The company's goal is to create meaningful long-term value. The portfolio includes private equity, real assets and impact-oriented projects.
Founded in Tallinn in 2018 by Veljo Otsason and Rain Rannu, Superangel focuses on pre-seed and seed investments in the Baltics and Nordic countries. General partners are Marko Oolo and Veljo Otsason. The Estonian investment firm focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, energy, mobility, data and infrastructure. The typical ticket size is between €300K and €800K.
Specialist VC is a venture capital firm founded in 2017, based in Tallinn, Estonia. The company specializes in investing in promising technology startups at pre-seed to series A stages. Founders: Riivo Anton and Gerri Kodres.
