RunwayVC hits €40M first close to back Nordic industrial tech
What's the deal? RunwayVCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Norwegian early-stage venture firm, has reached a €40 million first close for Fund II, targeting companies across industrial AI and software, robotics, automation, and autonomous systems. It invests from pre-Seed to Series A, mainly in Norway and the Nordics, with selected deals elsewhere in Europe and the US.
Who's backing it? AkerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the sole LP in Fund I, returns as cornerstone investor. New LPs include HalliburtonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Aker BPDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Aker SolutionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, pension giant KLP, and state-owned InvestinorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, alongside Norwegian industrial families and technology and finance investors.
The firm notes that several LPs are themselves industrial operators — and potential buyers of the technologies the fund backs.
What's the endgame? Fund II plans roughly 20 investments over the next three to five years, with typical initial cheques of NOK 5–10 million plus follow-on capital. It has already made two: Minerva HumanoidsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, building rugged humanoid robots for dangerous industrial work, and HIVE Autonomy, which makes existing industrial machines autonomous.
The track record: Since 2022, RunwayVCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has invested in 24 companies through Fund I, completed 23 follow-ons, and logged two exits. Those portfolio companies have collectively raised more than NOK 2 billion in external capital.
Why now? "We are in the middle of a technology shift in industry that will create the next generation of global technology companies," said Tor Bækkelund, founder and managing partner. "With Fund II, we can back even more strongly the companies that will define it."
The signal: RunwayVC's model pairs venture capital with industrial customers and real operating environments — a bet echoed by Aker president and chief executive officer Øyvind Eriksen, who cited Cognite and Nscale as proof that new technology "creates opportunities and value when combined with deep industrial expertise." As industrial AI and robotics attract fresh capital, the firm is wagering that proximity to buyers is its edge.
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