ArcticStartup Media

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ArcticStartup Media

We report on digital startups and growth entrepreneurship from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Own also European startup print magazine called CoFounder.

ArcticStartup is the leading online media reporting on startups and promoting growth entrepreneurship in Northern Europe. Also known for event brands such as Arctic15, Santas Christmas Pitch, Megamatch and Nordic Deep Tech Business Summit. A community for anyone who is interested in the Nordic and Baltic startup scene. ArcticStartup helps the startup ecosystem with matchmaking, connecting, scoutin

g, consulting, sharing information, organizing events, organizing trips to other events, building bridges between large corporations and startups, and also offering internship and job positions in the Nordics and Baltics. ArcticStartup was founded in 2007 and is currently led by Jan Ameri and Vedat Öndas. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. ArcticStartup covers Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Sign up for the weekly newsletter at www.arcticstartup.com
For advertising inquiries, email us at [email protected]

15/01/2026

Lithuanian Cast AI crosses unicorn threshold with new funding and GPU marketplace launch

Cast AI has reached a valuation above $1 billion following a strategic investment from Pacific Alliance Ventures, the U.S.-based venture arm of Shinsegae Group. The funding was announced alongside the launch of OMNI Compute, a unified compute marketplace designed to let enterprises provision and operate GPU capacity across multiple cloud providers and regions without modifying application code. Cast AI develops software that automates infrastructure decisions in Kubernetes-based environments, focusing on resource allocation, cost optimization, and performance management. The new capital will be used to support international expansion—particularly in Asia—further develop its multi-cloud GPU offering, and extend integrations with cloud providers, including Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, as demand for flexible AI compute infrastructure continues to grow.

https://arcticstartup.com/cast-ai-becomes-unicorn/

15/01/2026

Finland’s Mö Foods raises €2.4 million to scale oat-based cheese alternatives

Mö Foods has raised €2.4 million in a funding round led by Nordic Foodtech VC, backing the company’s ambition to make oat-based cheese alternatives a mainstream global staple. Founded in 2017, Mö develops plant-based cheeses made entirely from Finnish oats, using proprietary production technology designed to match dairy in taste, texture, and meltability while significantly reducing environmental impact. The fresh capital will be used to scale manufacturing, further develop its technology platform, and support international expansion across Europe, as demand grows for sustainable, high-performing alternatives that appeal not only to vegans, but to everyday cheese consumers.

https://arcticstartup.com/mo-foods-raises-e2-4-million/

15/01/2026

Finnish Skene secures €800K pre-seed to turn SaaS products into autonomous growth engines

Helsinki-based Skene has raised a €800,000 pre-seed round to help software companies turn well-built products into scalable growth engines using autonomous AI agents. The round was led by Superhero Capital, with participation from executives at NVIDIA. Founded by repeat entrepreneur Teemu Kinos, Skene builds AI agents that read and understand a product’s source code, then guide users toward meaningful outcomes—boosting activation, feature adoption, and retention without relying on heavy sales or customer success teams. The fresh capital will be used to accelerate product development, expand Skene’s agents across the full user journey, and push toward €1M in ARR by spring 2026 as the company positions itself as an autonomous value layer for SaaS growth.

https://arcticstartup.com/skene-raises-e800k-pre-seed/

14/01/2026

Estonian Flashka raises €1 million pre-seed to develop AI-based learning tools for university students

Tallinn-based edtech startup Flashka has raised a €1M pre-seed round led by Outlast Fund, with participation from Ulixes Capital Partners (UCP) and Vento Ventures. Flashka is building AI-powered learning tools that turn any content into flashcards, quizzes, and structured study flows designed to improve retention rather than provide shortcuts. The fresh capital will be used to further develop Flashka’s AI-driven learning engine, expand its product capabilities for university students, and scale its presence across European markets, as the company positions itself within a growing movement focused on outcome-driven, student-native education technology.

https://arcticstartup.com/flashka-raises-e1m-pre-seed/

14/01/2026

Finland’s Homie launches with €1 million pre-seed to scale network-led growth for B2B sales teams

Helsinki-based Homie has launched publicly after securing €1 million in pre-seed funding, led by Superhero Capital with participation from Antler. The startup builds a network-led growth platform that helps B2B sales teams generate pipeline through warm, trusted introductions by activating employee, customer, and investor networks—positioning word-of-mouth as a scalable and measurable revenue channel. With the new capital, Homie plans to expand across Europe and North America and deepen integrations with leading CRM and sales tools, targeting teams increasingly frustrated by declining returns from cold outreach and automated outbound sales.

https://arcticstartup.com/homie-raises-e1-million-pre-seed/

12/01/2026

ICEYE lands multi-year Swedish defense contract for space-based surveillance

Finnish space intelligence company ICEYE has secured a multi-million, multi-year contract to deliver sovereign space-based intelligence capabilities to the Swedish Armed Forces, strengthening its position as a key commercial partner in Europe’s evolving defense and security landscape. The agreement, signed with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), covers the delivery of ICEYE’s Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites, software, data, and ground systems required to establish a fully sovereign ISR capability. The Swedish Armed Forces will own and operate the system, while ICEYE will provide the technology and integration needed to enable persistent, all-weather situational awareness.

https://arcticstartup.com/iceye-partners-with-the-swedish-armed-forces/

12/01/2026

Avenue Biosciences raises $5.7 million seed extension to scale protein manufacturing platform

Avenue Biosciences has raised a $5.7M seed extension to expand its protein engineering platform focused on the cellular secretory pathway, a key constraint in producing therapeutic proteins at scale. The round was co-led by Balnord and Tesi, with participation from existing investors Voima Ventures, Inventure, University of Helsinki, and Dimerent. Based between Palo Alto and Helsinki, the company develops a high-throughput system that tests large libraries of signal peptides to assess and improve how proteins are folded and secreted during manufacturing. The funding will support scaling the platform, increasing data generation, and further development of machine-learning models aimed at improving manufacturability across protein-based therapeutics, including antibodies, vaccines, and gene therapy–related products.

https://arcticstartup.com/avenue-biosciences-raises-5-7m-seed/

08/01/2026

Norway’s Spoor closes €8M Series A as biodiversity compliance tightens for wind developers

Oslo-based Spoor has raised €8 million in Series A to scale its AI-powered wildlife monitoring software for wind farms, as biodiversity compliance becomes a growing constraint for global wind development. The round was led by SET Ventures, with participation from EnBW New Ventures, Ørsted Ventures and Superorganism, alongside existing Nordic backers including Futurum Ventures and Norway’s state-owned climate fund Nysnø. Spoor develops real-time bird and bat detection software that uses computer vision and off-the-shelf cameras to integrate directly with wind farm control systems, enabling automated mitigation and shutdown decisions. The new funding will be used to expand internationally, deepen integrations with turbine control platforms, and grow the team across engineering, sales and deployment as the company moves from early deployments into long-term operational contracts with major wind developers.

https://arcticstartup.com/spoor-raises-e8-million-series-a/

08/01/2026

With €30M+ Series B, Danish Bactolife prepares shift from R&D to commercial scale

Copenhagen-based Bactolife has raised more than €30 million in a Series B round to move its Binding Protein technology from development into commercialization, as the company prepares for its first human health product launch in the US in 2026. The round was led by Cross Border Impact Ventures and EIFO, with continued backing from existing investors Novo Holdings and Athos. Founded in Copenhagen, Bactolife develops food-grade Binding Proteins designed to bind and neutralize harmful metabolites in the gut, targeting applications across dietary supplements, functional foods, and animal health.

The fresh capital will be used to fund large-scale human studies, scale manufacturing via precision fermentation, and support global market entry, with expansion into Europe and Asia planned after the US launch. Alongside its commercial ambitions, the company says it will allocate resources to make the technology accessible to women and children in low- and middle-income countries, positioning Binding Proteins as both a growth product and a global health intervention.

https://arcticstartup.com/bactolife-raises-over-e30m-series-b/

Credit: jeppe carlsen

08/01/2026

Swedish Lumera targets UK growth with acquisition of pensions advisory firm Acuity

Stockholm-based Lumera has acquired UK-based consultancy Acuity to deepen its footprint in the UK and accelerate growth across the Life and Pensions sector, particularly within public sector schemes. The deal brings Acuity’s long-standing relationships with major clients such as NHS and Civil Service pension schemes, alongside its expertise in pensions policy, programme delivery and behavioural insight, into Lumera’s technology-led insurtech platform. Post-acquisition, Acuity will be fully integrated into Lumera’s UK operations, expanding the local team to around 165 employees and strengthening Lumera’s ability to combine software, advisory and change management services for large-scale pension providers.

https://arcticstartup.com/lumera-acquired-acuity/

07/01/2026

Danish Nordic Salt Cycle secures €3.5 million to advance molten salt recycling process

Copenhagen-based startup Nordic Salt Cycle has raised €3.5 million in pre-seed funding from EIFO, alongside existing investor The Footprint Firm and Germany-based Ananda Impact Ventures, to develop a molten salt-based process for recovering critical minerals from end-of-life products. The company is working on a modular technology designed to extract materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements from sources including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and electronics. The funding will be used to advance its prototype, run pilot projects starting with EV batteries, and assess how the technology can be applied to additional waste streams, as Europe seeks to reduce reliance on imported critical raw materials.

https://arcticstartup.com/nordic-salt-cycle-raises-e3-5-million-in-pre-seed/

07/01/2026

Finland’s Aisti raises €20 million in venture debt to bring wood-fibre acoustic tiles to scale

Jyväskylä-based materialtech startup Aisti has secured a €20 million venture debt loan from the European Investment Bank under the InvestEU programme to scale production of its bio-based acoustic ceiling tiles. The financing will fund the expansion of Aisti’s manufacturing facility in Kitee, enabling the company to double its planned annual capacity to 2.5 million square metres ahead of commercial production starting in the second half of 2026. Part of the capital will also be channelled into R&D to further improve the tiles’ acoustic performance and fire resistance, supporting broader European market entry. Made from patented wood-fibre technology, Aisti’s mineral-wool-free tiles target commercial and public buildings, positioning the company at the intersection of sustainable construction, indoor air quality, and the EU’s circular economy ambitions.

https://arcticstartup.com/aisti-raises-e20-million-eib-loan/

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