Even Newsletter July 2024
Thank you so much for being here and reading these very first lines of our 3rd edition of Even monthly newsletter.
This is a monthly roundup of insights, opportunities, and updates on the latest in the startup world and women’s entrepreneurship. With so much happening, we know it can be tough to stay in the loop, so we're here to make it a bit easier for you by bringing forward only the hottest and most relevant content. Our first edition landed in subscribers' inboxes last Friday, and here's a sneak peek into what they were reading about.
Subscribe to our monthly round-up by signing up here.
What’s up from Even Founders
We’ve rounded up incubators, accelerators and VCs supporting women founders in the Nordics.
Equal investment opportunities for women are still a goal, not the norm yet. The conversation around women founders and the funding gap has been heating up in the past few years, leading to the creation of several funds, incubators, and accelerator programs aiming to bridge this gap.
We’ve put together a blog post highlighting organizations and programs in the Nordics that support women to move from their initial ideas to landing their first customers and securing funding. Read more.
Mark your calendars for 29th August!
If you're based in Copenhagen, we can’t wait to see you at our next Zero-to-One event! We’re running this event as a series because, while we hear a lot about closing seed rounds, we want to dive deep into what it really takes and hear stories from those who’ve been there and done that.
So if you’re curious join us on Thursday, August 29th! Space is limited, so be sure to sign up soon! Sign up here.
🚨 P.S. If you’re still thinking about joining our Startup School, now’s the time to apply! We’re already reviewing applications and, with the ideas we’ve seen so far, we really can’t wait to start this cohort! Apply here.
This month’s hot potatoes
€3.16 Billion raised by women-founded and co-founded startups in Europe in the first half of 2024.
Series A rounds took the lead, accounting for nearly 33% of the total, followed by seed funding. FinTech and InsuranceTech sectors were at the forefront. The UK topped the charts with 101 investments, the highest of any country. In the Nordics, Sweden secured 16 rounds, Denmark 12, and Finland and Norway each had 4.
Source: Female Founders
Women in the Nordics jointly raised more than €32.5 Million this July.
If you thought July would be a slow, quiet month for funding news, these women have just proven you wrong! Scroll down to our Funded! section at the end of this newsletter to see the full list.
Nearly $30 Trillion in women’s hands by 2030—up from an estimated $10 trillion today.
This massive shift means more women will be at the forefront of investment decisions and shaping capital markets. With women-led VCs investing in women entrepreneurs three times more often and generating higher revenues, this change is poised to drive systemic improvements.
Source: Impact Alpha
This might be relevant for you
Which universities rank highest by startup founders?
PitchBook’s university rankings show which schools have the most founders getting their first round of venture funding. Since universities play a huge role in shaping future founders, but also and bridging the gender gap in entrepreneurship, here’s a quick look at how the Nordics stack up.
🏆 Female Founders: Lund University and Uppsala University are the only Nordic institutions ranked on the global list for female founders.
Undergraduate: Copenhagen Business School stands out at 6th in Europe and is the only Nordic school in the Top 100 Global ranking. Aalborg University and Aarhus University are ranked 41st and 46th in the Top 50 EU list.
Graduate:
Several Nordic schools made the Global Top 100 including:
#37 Lund University
#51 Copenhagen Business School
#58 KTH Royal Institute of Technology
#66 Uppsala University
#67 Chalmers University of Technology
#83 DTU - Technical University of Denmark
#85 Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
#87 Stockholm School of Economics
#90 University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet).
In the EU graduate category, Aalto University, University of Helsinki, and University of Oulu also join the Top 50 list.
MBA: None of the Nordic schools made it to the global ranking list for MBA, but both the Stockholm School of Economics and Copenhagen Business School rank in the Top 25 in Europe.
Check out the rankings here: Global, European, and Female founders edition.
Disruptive AI 2024
If you're an early-stage AI startup with a bold, high-risk, high-reward innovation, you might want to check out Disruptive AI 2024 by EIT. It's a program that gives you personalized mentorship, investment opportunities, and visibility within the EU AI community. It's all free, and you get to connect with top industry leaders and access resources valued at over €5000. Application deadline is August 20th. Apply here.
We want to see women in tech featured in The Nordic 100!
TechBBQ’s and The Nordic Web’s initiative will recognize the 100 most impactful and influential figures in the Nordic tech scene. If you know a woman who deserves the spotlight for her work, whether she's an entrepreneur, investor, or community builder, nominate her before August 9th! Complete form.
Funded!
We want to change the narrative around women founders, and the continued focus on how little money women receive. Let’s start talking more about the amazing companies they are building!
Norway: At the end of June, Norway-based Fortifai, on a mission to demystify and democratize ESG regulatory implementation, secured a €502K pre-seed round led by RunwayFBU, Startuplab, and Belgian VC Impact Shakers Ventures. Led by CEO and Founder Abbey Lin, the startup aims to accelerate product development, support its existing pilot customers, and onboard new ones who lack full-time in-house sustainability resources.
Here’s another exciting update from June! Livv Health, co-founded by Ishita Barua MD PhD, raised €1.5 million to revolutionize healthcare and empower patients through medical data ownership. The pre-seed round was led by ByFounders, Inventure, and Calm Stores.
Sweden: Swedish startup Hypertype, founded by Teenie Fung and Beatrice Baltscheffsky, scored €600K in their pre-seed round in July and is set to scale in the Nordics and the US. Hypertype is enhancing business communications with an AI-powered email service. The funding round was primarily led by Butterfly Ventures and Bust, along with other new and returning investors.
Louise Gauffin, CEO of Arkion (formerly Skyqraft), announced the closing of a €4M Series A funding round! The investment, led by Subvenio Invest with participation from existing investors Neptunia Invest and Antler, will drive growth and innovation in AI-powered asset analytics for power grids.
Healtech startup Meela, based in Gothenburg, secured a €2.6M in July! Co-founder Tiffany Boswell and her team are working to improve mental health by connecting people with inclusive, high-quality therapy through a research-based matching algorithm. Their well-deserved seed round was led by Peak, The Inner Foundation, Unconventional Ventures, and Calm/Storm.
Denmark: Moving over to Denmark, Copenhagen-based Dynelectro, which focuses on sustainable energy solutions, just raised €11M! Co-founder Samantha J. Phillips, a seasoned leader in natural resources and energy, announced that they’re now entering the scale-up phase for their clean hydrogen technology. The funds will be used to develop, manufacture, and deliver a dynamic 1-MW solid-oxide electrolyzer unit.
Agrobiomics, co-founded by Mathilde Nordgaard and Ling Ding, has secured €4M in funding from Noon Ventures. Agrobiomics is all about creating innovative natural solutions to ensure a sustainable food supply and make agriculture more climate-resilient. Their products help farmers around the globe increase crop yields, even in tough conditions like salinity and drought.
Wrapping up our roundup with exciting news from Female Invest, who are dedicated to closing the financial gender gap. Founded by Camilla Cloëtta Falkenberg, Emma Due Bitz, and Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, Female Invest has just closed a Series A round of over €10.3 million. The round was led by Educapital and Rubio Impact Ventures, with most existing investors joining in.
So, that’s it from July! If you’ve made it to the last lines of this newsletter, besides catching up on the hottest news, you’ve also gotten to know 12 incredible women founders along the way.
Share your thoughts with us and feel free to drop us a message if you have anything on your mind that you'd like us to cover next month.
Have a lovely rest of the summer!
Until next time,
Jasmina from Even Founders
