Partnering with technical founders shaping how humans and technology thrive together

About OpenOcean

OpenOcean is a pan-European early-stage venture capital firm partnering with technical founders at Seed and Series A. We typically lead or co-lead Seed and early Series A rounds, investing up to €5m tickets initially, in European-founded companies reshaping knowledge work and the systems required to scale it, across AI-native software, automation, and data-intensive technology.

Our founding team includes key individuals behind MySQL AB, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems for $1bn in 2008. Following that, the team went on to jointly build MariaDB Corporation into a category leader, listed on the NYSE in 2022.

This experience shapes how we invest today. With deep technical understanding and operator-level experience, we work closely with founders through critical technical and strategic decisions, helping turn durable, data-driven advantage into globally scalable businesses.

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OpenOcean's core values

Measuring what matters

We are a unified, data-driven team of analytical individuals with STEM backgrounds, with a track record of founding and funding many businesses in the data economy. We strive to quantify our investment reasoning with data.

Diversity brings returns

Diversity & Inclusion is at our heart and is championed by our own multicultural and multinational team, and that of our portfolio companies.

Fostering transparency

We are passionate about backing and growing revolutionary technology companies. Transparency is at the core of how we operate. As an enthusiastic, compassionate and pragmatic team, we build strong partnerships with founders through our open, direct and transparent approach.