Seed Capital's $140M Bet on Nordic Startups: What It Means

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-11

Seed Capital, the Copenhagen-based seed-stage investor, just closed its fifth fund at €130 million — that's roughly $140 million. The fund plans to back 15 to 17 companies with initial checks between €3 million and €6 million (about $3.2 million to $6.5 million). They're zeroing in on FinTech, cybersecurity, resilience, and AI-driven B2B. But here's the interesting part: they're not just sticking to Denmark anymore. With Fund V, Seed Capital is expanding across the Nordics, with a particular focus on Sweden. ### Why the Nordic Expansion Makes Sense "Broadening into the Nordics is a natural extension of the fund model we've built over 20 years," said Christian Brøndum, Managing Partner at Seed Capital. He added that staying close to founders is central to how they work — and in the Nordics, they can be on the ground in under an hour. That proximity matters. It's one thing to write a check; it's another to actually show up when a founder needs help. Seed Capital has been doing this since December 2004, making it one of the region's most experienced seed funds. Their track record speaks for itself. Portfolio companies have collectively raised more than $2.6 billion. That includes Flatpay (Denmark's fastest unicorn to date), Trustpilot, VEO, Lunar, and Templafy. Not too shabby. ### New Leadership, Same Hands-On Approach Alongside the fund news, Seed Capital announced some leadership changes. Brøndum, former CEO of Planday, is stepping in as Managing Partner. Geeta Schmidt, former CEO and co-founder of Humio, joins as General Partner. They team up with Lars Andersen, who brings over 20 years of VC experience and has been a GP across all five Seed Capital funds. The firm describes its model as a deliberate hybrid — mixing former operators with investment professionals. That way, they can understand founders' challenges firsthand while bringing the strategic focus needed to guide companies. ### A New Focus on Cybersecurity and Resilience Cybersecurity and resilience are new investment themes for Fund V. The firm has already made its first investments, including Fortiv, Moxso, Repodo, and Oplane. "There are right now great opportunities at the intersection of security and AI," Schmidt said. "As companies are building faster with AI, secure software becomes essential." She pointed to Oplane as a prime example of the kind of team they're looking for: deep expertise, a needed product, and ambition to build for where the world is headed. ### What's Next? Seed Capital is also evaluating opening a Swedish office to strengthen its close-to-founders approach. For now, the fund is actively deploying capital and looking for its next batch of Nordic startups. If you're building in FinTech, cybersecurity, resilience, or AI-driven B2B, this is one fund worth watching. The check sizes are meaningful, the team has serious operational experience, and they're clearly committed to being hands-on. Could your startup be next?