Lifeline Ventures

Lifeline Ventures is a Helsinki-based venture capital firm founded in 2009 that invests at the pre-seed and seed stages on a sector-agnostic basis. The firm describes its aim as being the first person an entrepreneur contacts in times of trouble and joy, backing ambitious teams that can become industry leaders and supporting them through subsequent growth. Its team combines operating experience as founders and in CxO roles with investing experience, and the firm has invested in more than 150 companies to date.

The partnership includes founding partners Timo Ahopelto (co-founder and founding CEO of CRF Health, long-time Slush chair and board member) and Petteri Koponen (founder of five companies including Jaiku and First Hop, former chairman of Supercell, Grand Cru and Everywear Games, currently chairman of Varjo), managing partner Juha Lindfors (previously a partner at EQT, joined in January 2016 when Lifeline Ventures Fund III Ky was raised), and partners Jyri Engeström (co-founder of Jaiku and Ditto, former True Ventures investor, also partner at Yes VC), Teemu Mattila (joined 2023, previously a partner at DN Capital) and Elina Holkko (partner and CFO, joined 2022). Additional roles cover finance, fund administration, talent (Maija Muntila, talent lead), operations and data engineering.

Portfolio and stated focus areas span consumer, enterprise, marketplace and government-facing businesses, along with themes such as consumer goods, education, energy and greentech, and media and entertainment. The firm has been a seed investor in several of Finland's best-known technology companies, including Supercell, Wolt, Oura, ICEYE and Aiven, and continues to make new pre-seed and seed commitments in areas such as quantum hardware, industrial heat and materials, AI-native software and consumer marketplaces.

Founding story

The firm was established in 2009 by serial entrepreneurs, including founding partners Timo Ahopelto, who co-founded and led CRF Health before its 2018 exit to Genstar at EUR 1.1 billion, and Petteri Koponen, founder of five companies including Jaiku, which was sold to Google in 2007.

Business model

Lifeline Ventures operates as a venture capital fund manager, raising capital from institutional and other limited partners and deploying it into equity stakes in early-stage companies. Alongside capital, the firm provides hands-on support including talent recruitment and operational guidance, and it reserves capital to follow into later growth rounds of existing portfolio companies.

As a fund manager, the firm's economics derive from managing committed limited partner capital and returns on portfolio equity holdings; its most recent vehicle is a EUR 400 million fund with Tesi as a major investor.

Traction

More than 150 companies invested in since 2009; portfolio companies include Oura, ICEYE, Aiven, Supercell, Wolt, Inven and Ever Cars. Recent portfolio milestones include ICEYE's EUR 150 million Series E at a EUR 2.4 billion valuation, Oura's $200 million Series D, Inven's $12.75 million Series A and Ever's $31M+ Series A, all with Lifeline participation. Earlier exits in the portfolio include Applifier (acquired by Unity), BetterDoctor (acquired by Quest Analytics), Akkurate (acquired by Sandvik) and Arex (acquired by Bankable).

Latest developments

In October 2025 Lifeline Ventures announced the close of its sixth fund at EUR 400 million, described as Finland's largest single VC fund focused on unlisted growth companies, with Tesi making its largest fund commitment to date. Portfolio activity in the same period included ICEYE's Series E led by General Catalyst (December 2025), Ever Cars' Series A led by Eclipse (February 2026), Inven's Series A led by Ventech and Vendep Capital (May 2025), and new pre-seed and seed investments in companies such as Elea & Lili, Proteins.1, CRACI Corporation, Elva, Kova Labs, Clair, Illutherm, Arctic Instruments, Bought and Vaire.