BackingMinds has opened its third fund with an initial close exceeding €50 million, equivalent to $56.1 million. The European Investment Fund contributed €20 million; among the notable private pledges are those from Hennes & Mauritz AB scion Karl-Johan Persson and from Conni Jonsson, the founder of EQT AB.
New limited partners from the games industry include Carl Manneh - a Mojang AB co-founder involved in building Minecraft - as well as King co-founder Sebastian Knutsson.
Founders Sara Wimmercranz and Susanne Najafi said the new vehicle aims to invest in 15 to 20 companies, focusing on artificial intelligence, climate and what they call "resilience." Their strategy centers on entrepreneurs outside the usual venture networks, informed in part by their own fundraising experiences as entrepreneurs.
To date, roughly 43% of the founders they've backed are women, another 43% come from immigrant backgrounds, and over 70% of the portfolio originates outside major startup hubs such as Stockholm and Copenhagen.
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Activity is beginning to pick up, yet raising capital is still challenging, the European Investment Fund reported in an October survey. As Najafi put it, "Those investors have been waiting to get distributions so that they can invest in new funds." With few initial public offerings, "capital has been locked up."
Fresh money for early stage bets in AI, climate and "resilience" signals where institutional and seasoned operators see upside forming, even as exits lag. If deal flow keeps warming while fundraising stays selective, managers with distinct sourcing - like backing founders outside traditional hubs - may capture outlier returns that public markets will only see later at IPO or acquisition.
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