Ilkka Kivimaki

Founding Partner

2017 - Current

Venture capital funding from inception to Series A We're a deep tech and brand-driven VC investing in early stage companies from their inception to series A and beyond. We share in the vision of founders as champions and challengers, drawing on our experiences from scaling some of the strongest tech companies ourselves. We do venture capital investments with a global mandate and our portfolio companies includes category-leading startups in the Northern Europe and the US.

Board Member

2021

The Finnish Startup Community was founded in the autumn of 2021 to advance the interests of Finland as a whole. The community’s founding members felt that Finland needed a new kind of force to drive positive changes in our society. In the Finnish Startup Community, we believe that technology and entrepreneurship are at the heart of the next industrial revolution and sustainable development. About half of the world’s largest companies have been established relatively recently.

Chairman of the Advisory Board & Co-Founder

2016

Startup Sauna foundation was founded in fall 2012 together with fifty-seven serial entrepreneurs, investors and executives to support the tech ecosystem in Scandinavia. The foundation funds grassroots initiatives in the region, while it's the legal entity behind Startup Sauna and Slush. Startup Sauna is an early-stage accelerator program with a heavy focus on Northern Europe and Russia. In spring 2013, Startup Sauna was recognised as the leading young university accelerator in the world (i.e. accelerators less than five years in operation) by UBI Index. For more information, visit: http://startuplife.fi/ http://startupsauna.com/ http://slush.fi/

Chairman & Co-Founder

2012 - 2016

Startup Sauna foundation was founded in fall 2012 together with fifty-seven serial entrepreneurs, investors and executives to support the nascent tech ecosystem in Scandinavia. The foundation funds grassroots initiatives in the region, while it's the legal entity behind Startup Sauna and Slush. Startup Sauna itself is an early-stage accelerator program with a heavy focus on Northern Europe and Russia. It has graduated 110 companies to date, who've raised more than $35M in funding. In spring 2013, Startup Sauna was recognised as the leading young university accelerator in the world (i.e. accelerators less than five years in operation) by UBI Index. For more information, visit: http://startuplife.fi/ http://startupsauna.com/ http://slush.fi/

Member

2016 - 2025

Research and Innovation Council works together with the Finnish Government in developing the national research and innovation policy. Council is chaired by the Prime Minister Mr Juha Sipilä and Vice Chairman is education and culture minister Mrs Sanni Grahn-Laasonen. Other members are Minister of Econimic affairs Mr Olli Rehn, Minister of Social Affairs and Health Mrs Hanna Mäntylä, Partner Ilkka Kivimäki, Professor Sirpa Jalkanen, Rector Liisa Laakso CTO Jyrki Ovaska and CEO Antti Vasara,

Vice Chairman of the Board

2023 - 2024

Board Member

2019 - 2023

Chairman of the Nomination Committee

2019 - 2023

Boardmember

2018 - 2019

Chairman

2016 - 2018

Kasvuryhmä literally means Group for Growth. It’s a group of Finnish entrepreneurs, chairmen of boards and CEOs that want to grow and help each other to unleash the hidden potential of Finnish companies. Growth and constant renewal are in the essence of responsible ownership and entrepreneurship of the 21st century. Both are also necessary for Finland’s future. Kasvuryhmä’s vision is to make Finland home to the most agile and growth-oriented companies in the world. Kasvuryhmä is a private, non-profit-seeking association. It was founded by 30 entrepreneurs, owners and seasoned business leaders. Currently Kasvuryhmä consist of 200+ Owners/CEO's of the leading Finnish companies.

Vice Chairman

2013 - 2016

Kasvuryhmä literally means Group for Growth. It’s a group of Finnish entrepreneurs, chairmen of boards and CEOs that want to grow and help each other to unleash the hidden potential of Finnish companies. Growth and constant renewal are in the essence of responsible ownership and entrepreneurship of the 21st century. Both are also necessary for Finland’s future. Kasvuryhmä’s vision is to make Finland home to the most agile and growth-oriented companies in the world. Kasvuryhmä is a private, non-profit-seeking association. It was founded by 30 entrepreneurs, owners and seasoned business leaders. Currently Kasvuryhmä consist of 200+ Owners/CEO's of the leading Finnish companies.

Chairman of the Board, first investor

2014 - 2018

DoorDash aquired the food delivery company Wolt for about $8.1 billion in 2021. Wolt is a Helsinki-based technology company with a mission to bring joy, simplicity and earnings to the neighborhoods of the world. Wolt develops a local commerce platform that connects people looking to order food, groceries, and other goods with people interested in selling and delivering them. Wolt was founded in 2014 and joined forces with DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH) in 2022. Together, we operate in more than 30 countries today, 28 of which are with the Wolt product and brand. Together our aim is to build the best possible platform to serve merchants, consumers, and couriers in our existing and future markets. Our two companies share a strong vision for local commerce, and working side by side, we can accomplish more for all our stakeholders.

Chairman of the Board, first investor

2015 - 2018

Umbra was aqcuired by Amazon. Umbra is on a mission to make it possible to display any 3D content in real time on any hardware. Umbra has been powering up graphics performance in more than 100 video games during the last 10 years. Clients include internationally renowned game studios that have produced commercially successful AAA productions such as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Batman Arkham Knight, Quantum Break, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Destiny.

Chairman

2012 - 2018

Slush is the focal point for startups and tech talent to meet with top-tier international investors, executives and media. In 2016, Slush brought together over 17.000 attendees and more than 3500 companies for the two-day event. More than 1100 investors came to Helsinki to meet startups in nearly 6.000 pre-booked meetings. Next Slush will take place in Helsinki on November 30th - December 1st, 2017. Slush is a non-profit event organized by a community of entrepreneurs, investors, students and music festival organizers. Although Slush has grown from a 300-person event to become one of the leading events of its kind in the world, the philosophy behind it has remained the same: to help the next generation of great, world-conquering companies forward. More info at http://slush.org

Chairman of the Board, first investor

2015 - 2017

Stellantis N.V. acquired aiMotive November 2022, aiMotive is a leading developer of advanced artificial intelligence and autonomous driving software. This acquisition enhances Stellantis’ artificial intelligence and autonomous driving core technology and expands its global talent pool. “Acquiring aiMotive’s world-class artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology is an important contribution to becoming a sustainable mobility tech company,” said Yves Bonnefont, Stellantis Chief Software Officer. “aiMotive’s class-leading expertise and startup spirit will accelerate our journey to deliver our Dare Forward 2030 goals.” aiMotive’s technology product portfolio is focused on four key areas within artificial intelligence and autonomous driving: • aiDrive: Embedded software stack for autonomous driving • aiData: Artificial intelligence operations and data tooling *In July 2021, Stellantis announced its plans to invest more than €30 billion through 2025 in electrification and software development • aiWare: Expertise and intellectual property for silicon microchips • aiSim: Software simulation for development of autonomous driving