Turbine Capital's $58M Fund: The Nordic DeepTech Bet That's Paying Off

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-19

Turbine Capital, a Swedish venture capital firm, just closed its first fund at €54 million (about $58 million at current exchange rates). That's a big deal for early-stage DeepTech in the Nordics. But what makes this close truly interesting isn't the number—it's the model behind it. ### A Different Kind of VC Most venture funds keep their distance from industry giants. Turbine Capital does the opposite. Its investor base reads like a who's who of Nordic manufacturing: Saab, Scania, Volvo Cars, Stena, and now Mycronic, a high-tech company specializing in precision production equipment. Add in family offices and institutional backers like Saminvest and the European Investment Fund, and you've got a powerful network. So why does this matter? Because DeepTech startups often struggle to bridge the gap between lab and market. They need more than cash—they need manufacturing partners, pilot customers, and industry expertise. Turbine's multi-corporate approach gives them exactly that. > "Closing our first fund at more than SEK 600 million, with an investor base ranging from leading Nordic industry to European institutions, confirms that our model meets a real need. During our first year, we have shown that multi-corporate venture capital works in practice, not just in theory," says Anders Ösund, Founding & General Partner at Turbine Capital. ### The Secret Sauce: University Incubators Turbine isn't just leaning on big corporations. It's also built close ties with seven university-affiliated incubators across the Nordics: ABI, Uminova, UIC, Sting, LEAD, GU Ventures, and IDEON. These partnerships give the fund early access to cutting-edge research and founders before they hit the radar of larger VCs. For startups, this means more than capital. They get a direct line to industrial partners who can help them scale. For investors, it's a window into the next wave of innovation. It's a win-win that's rare in the VC world. ### A Growing Trend in European DeepTech Turbine's close comes amid a flurry of specialized fund announcements across Europe in 2026. In Sweden alone, Norrsken Evolve closed €62 million (about $67 million). Copenhagen's The Footprint Firm raised €76 million ($82 million) for climate and DeepTech. PSV Tech finalized a €56 million ($60 million) early-stage fund, and Climentum Capital secured a €60 million ($65 million) first close for climate HardTech. France's 360 Capital also announced an €85 million ($92 million) close for its research-driven DeepTech fund, Poli360 2. Together, these funds represent roughly €393 million ($424 million) in new capital. That's a lot of dry powder aimed at deep tech—a sector that's often capital-intensive and slow to mature. But with the right support, it can produce world-changing companies. ### What Mycronic Brings to the Table Mycronic's addition to Turbine's investor base is particularly telling. The company is deep into semiconductor technology, photonics, and advanced manufacturing—all key areas for DeepTech. And it's growing fast, driven by AI infrastructure investments and defense electronics. "Mycronic brings cutting-edge expertise in semiconductors and advanced manufacturing that strengthens our entire industrial network," says Pär Hedberg, founder of Sting and co-founder of Turbine Capital. "Together with Saab, Scania, Volvo Cars, and Stena, we have a base of industrial partners spanning defense, transport, electrification, and now also semiconductor technology—exactly the kind of cross-sector platform Europe's DeepTech companies need to scale." ### The Bottom Line Turbine Capital's fund close is more than a financial milestone. It's proof that a collaborative, cross-sector approach to DeepTech investing can work. By bringing together industry leaders, universities, and institutions, the fund is building an ecosystem where startups can thrive. And in a world where deep tech is increasingly seen as the key to solving big problems, that's a model worth watching.