About us

We back relentless founders creating the data economy of the future
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At OpenOcean, we believe in the power of data to create a wiser world. We trust in true science and data used in the right way, which can be much more powerful than just anecdote, gut-feeling, instinct or intuition alone.

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OpenOcean in short

OpenOcean is a pan-European early-stage Venture Capital investor with offices in Helsinki and London. Our investment strategy focuses on leading or co-leading Series A investments with initial ticket sizes up to €5m in European companies driving the data economy, including  B2B platforms and Enterprise Software technology.
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Our founding team members include key persons behind MySQL AB (sold to Sun Microsystems Inc. for $1 Billion in 2008), after which the team jointly built category leader MariaDB Corporation Ab, as well as forming and managing OpenOcean.

Our DNA is rooted in having a deep understanding of the underlying technology and software stacks, which drive the growth of innovative new digital platforms and services. Our strong technical background and expertise allows us to identify and invest in the next game-changing and category winning startups at the early-stages, whose unique solutions can be rapidly scaled and adopted globally.

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Our history

Our pioneering role in driving the new data economy began when our partners built companies like MySQL, MariaDB, and many more. We are now actively supporting the next early-movers in their journey to accelerate growth globally.

In 2011 OpenOcean launched its first institutional fund with ca. €45m in total commitments. Fund 2011 made 13 investments and has realized top decile European venture returns.

In late 2015 OpenOcean started the second institutional fund with ca. €80m in total commitments. Fund 2015 also made 13 investments and the investment period is now closed.

In 2018 an Opportunity Fund was raised with the purpose of making growth round investments in three to four pre-selected growth-stage software companies from Fund 2011. The Opportunity Fund was closed at €23m.

We have launched the latest Fund 2020 to support relentless European founders to build solutions for the future where technology and data enable better decision making for consumers and businesses. The final closing of the fund completed in Q1, 2022.

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Our vision

At OpenOcean, we believe in the power of data to create a better world.

We support relentless founders who are creating easy-to-love data solutions, with data at the core of their technology. The startups we invest in are building the new data economy, where technology enables better decision making for businesses and improves the lives of consumers.

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