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OpenOcean

Seed–Series A · 15 people tracked

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Investment thesis

OpenOcean partners with technical founders to build durable, scalable businesses in AI-native software, automation, and data-intensive technology that reshape knowledge work systems. Leveraging deep technical expertise and operator experience from building MySQL and MariaDB, the firm leads or co-leads Seed and early Series A rounds, investing up to €5 million per company.

Source: firm website, verified Jul 17, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Series A
Check
$2.2M – $5.6M
Leads rounds
Leads
Tracked investments
49

Team · 15 people

from the firm's website
Patrik Backman· General Partner

General Partner at OpenOcean focused on data-intensive investments. Co-founder of MariaDB and former product/business development leader at MySQL AB, where he served as Director of Software Engineering and managed strategic partnerships. Previously worked in management consulting at eCraft Management Solutions and A.T. Kearney. Holds degrees in Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology and Finance from Hanken School of Economics.

Ralf Wahlsten· Chairman
Sam Hields· Partner
Tony Nysten· Partner
Crystal van Oosterom· AI Venture Partner
Duleepa Wijayawardhana· Venture Partner
Adrien Levacic· Investment Associate
Kulpreet Singh· Operating Advisor
Lisa Edgar· Strategic Advisor
Mirva Laatunen· Senior Investment Associate
Oliver Johnston-Watt· Investment Associate
Raoul Lehtonen· Finance Director
Toby Obstbaum· Fund Controller

Investments · 49 tracked

  • Api.video
  • AppGyver
  • Arbio
  • Authologic
  • Binalyze
  • Bitrise
  • Booksy
  • Cambri
  • DreamFold
  • Droppe
  • Embeddable
  • EyeEm
  • Favrit
  • HeavenHR
  • Hygraph
  • Import.io
  • IQM
  • Kevin
  • LatticeFlow
  • Leadoo
  • Levels
  • LoopMe
  • MariaDB
  • MindsDB
  • Minerva
  • MySQL
  • NearGroup
  • Nosto
  • NTC
  • Operations1
  • Oppex
  • Outlyer
  • Passfort
  • Personalyze
  • Platform.sh
  • Purple Dot
  • RapidMiner
  • Sitegeist
  • Strong Network
  • Sunlight
  • Supermetrics
  • Surglogs
  • Tapdaq
  • Thimble
  • Truecaller
  • Unacast
  • Verto Analytics
  • Workfellow
  • Zentyal

Frequently asked questions

What stage does OpenOcean invest at?
OpenOcean invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
What is OpenOcean's typical check size?
OpenOcean typically writes checks of $2.2M – $5.6M.
What sectors does OpenOcean focus on?
OpenOcean focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Data & Infrastructure.
Does OpenOcean lead rounds?
Yes, OpenOcean leads investment rounds.

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