PreSeed Ventures closes 412m DKK fund, its biggest yet earmarked for early-stage tech founders

PreSeed Ventures have launched a venture fund dedicated fully and wholeheartedly to backing early-stage founders. With LPs believing firmly in the potential of Danish tech founders and the need for a risk willing VC to back them from the very beginning, we’ve successfully raised DKK 412m. This sends us well above the initial goal for the fund (DKK 350m) and goes to show that a new era has begun for Danish tech startups — an era where the force and vitality of Danish tech startups have grown so strong that a pre-seed VC is able to raise money from large pension funds.

Danish tech is receiving more attention and is gaining traction on an international level, and we see a growing amount of Danish startups going global. But there’s no going global if there’s no one to invest in the very first steps — and that’s where PSV Tech01 comes in. We’re aiming to not only grow the founders, we invest in, but also strengthen the Danish startup ecosystem so that it can sustain the companies in the future, keeping Danish innovation where it sprung from.

Technology has the power to demolish past patterns of success

For the past +20 years, PreSeed Ventures has had the privilege of backing some of Denmark’s bravest founders and early-stage companies. As we reflect on this point in our history as a Danish VC, we have much to celebrate. But what we really want to highlight (and celebrate) is our people and our Danish ecosystem. We no longer have to convince (at least not the majority of the co-investors, LPs, and other stakeholders) that Denmark has a crucial position as a creator of important technology companies on a global scale. We see them every day. And most importantly, we meet the people behind the companies. And they’re not just here to make it big, but to make it damn right. Technology has the power to demolish past patterns of success — that’s why we invest in founders who can look beyond the world as it is and see it as it could be.

Old faces in new drapes

In connection to the closing of PSV Tech01, Investment Director Alexander Viterbo-Horten can now call himself General Partner of the fund. Alexander has copious amounts of experience with early stage investing, and he’s got an incredible eye for spotting hidden potential. If anyone knows how to build a company on the right set of values, it’s him, and he’s our secret weapon to increase attention to impact-focused investments.

We believe that tech can reveal solutions to the problems our global community is facing. Through PSV Tech01 we can support and back founders who are the real heroes of this story.We’re heavily armed with experience and resources, and we’re ready to back founders with just the right amount of craziness to dare dream big.

Knowing the human face of startup

We’re not in any way denying that deals and returns are part of our investments. They are our lifeblood. But what our hearts really beat for is the prospect of investing in people who have the dreams and the guts to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Founders are constantly venturing into uncertainty and travelling untested waters and it’s much more of a mind game than a money game. That’s why our biggest responsibility as a VC is to invest our time and knowledge in strengthening not only the companies but the founders themselves.

Our team has more than 65 years of experience in investing, and they’ve seen it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. They know what works and what doesn’t. With PSV Tech01 we’re building an environment in which failure isn’t only an option, but a prerequisite. All startups fail at some point at least in some areas of the business.

The important thing is to know how to correct the mistakes. And to know where to seek support, honest opinions, and help. The most fitting way to put it is: “Investing early is about trusting the people, investing late is about trusting the data”. It’s not rocket science, but while the human factor might be ‘soft’ to some, it is hard-coded into our investment thesis and philosophy.

We help founders be brave, stay mad and focus hard on their purpose — even when it seems crazy, huge, or even unrealistic.

“PreSeed Ventures is a very different VC. And our PSV.Core continues to expand. We share the belief that progress is the only option and we’re deeply committed to investing in a world that we, our children, and future generations, can thrive in and be proud of. That’s also why the people we back matter so much, because they’re part of the solution.” — Alexander Viterbo-Horten, General Partner PSV Tech01.

You might think we’re yet another early stage fund. But we’re not just any early stage fund — together with Danish founders, we live and breathe the pre-seed stage. And in order to do so, we’re pretty damn open and agnostic. Ain’t no vertical or market too cool for us, as long as it’s technology-driven. What we do is add fuel to the fire in founders’ eyes by helping them reach the mythical product-market fit and solve real problems.