Sparkmind.vc’s edtech-focused VC fund reaches €55 million

The fund focuses on supporting ambitious edtech founders, with entry points ranging from Seed stage to Series B. It supports businesses in a broad range of education pillars, from early childhood and K12 to corporate and lifelong learning. The fund’s geographic focus is on Europe, but it has a mandate to invest in companies outside the region, too.

Since its launch in January 2020, Sparkmind has invested in eight category-leading companies such as Fuzu, Kide Science, CanopyLAB and Lexplore. “We are seeing strong deal flow and favorably developing market. With the €55 million fund, we are looking to invest in 20-25 companies while being able to comfortably lead investment rounds and support our portfolio companies also in their later financing rounds,” says Kai Talas. Following the strong deal flow and the increased fund size, Sparkmind has also expanded its core team, as Marc-Johann Kavantsaari has joined the team as an Investment Director.  

“Sparkmind Fund has enjoyed unusually high interest from professional LP-investors as a sector specialist VC fund. Especially notable have been the commitments from both domestic and international foundations and VC professionals, also welcoming their networks to support our portfolio companies to succeed,” says Marko Kyyrönen.

In addition to the cornerstone investors Tesi (Finnish Industrial Investment) and KRR fund-of-funds, other notable investors in the fund include, among others, Jacobs Foundation from Switzerland, OP Banking Group, Elo Pension Insurance Company, University of Jyväskylä, Kelonia, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Taaleri (Aktia) Impact Fund and several family offices and high-profile private investors from Europe.

For media interviews and further information, kindly contact:

Marko Kyyrönen, Managing Partner
+358 44 5069740
marko@sparkmind.vc

For further information:

Riitta Jääskeläinen, Investment Director, Fund Investments
+358 50 309 2733
riitta.jaaskelainen@tesi.fi

Sparkmind is the first Nordic venture capital company exclusively focused on the learning sector. The company invests from Seed to Series B stages in teams transforming how the world learns. Its investments are focused on solutions that improve learning outcomes, increase access and efficiency of learning or use data insight to better support educators and learners. www.sparkmind.vc

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of transformative economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 1.9 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFII