A venture fund based in Denmark. PSV Hafnium, which focuses only on DeepTech, has received two commitments from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) and European Investment Fund (EIF), of €13.4 million and €24.8 million respectively, to support the innovative Danish Startups and the Nordic region.
PSV Hafnium intends to invest in 30 startups with a fund size cap of €80.4 million. Its goals are to support science-based clean tech, health tech, and next-gen industrial solutions.
The fund pledges to allocate at least 65% of its assets to “Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability,” as defined by the EIF. Furthermore, PSV Hafnium has a tight relationship with DTU because it is a part of the PSV venture house and has PSV Foundry as an LP in the fund. Here, the fund benefits from the DTU ecosystem and is near scientific specialists and innovation. DTU earned the top spot as Europe’s best university for engineering and technology in recent years.
PSV Hafnium will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage science-based technologies, tested in labs or suitable settings, backed by strong intellectual property, and led by teams with solid scientific expertise. Further, the fund’s limited geographic reach and broad industry emphasis are justified by the fact that the team will primarily look for investment possibilities in Denmark, where they can take advantage of their relationships with Danish universities to gain access to exclusive deal flow and support their portfolio firms.
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The Founding and Managing Partners of the fund stated:
“We are extremely happy to be able to accelerate early-stage investments in ambitious Danish and Nordic science-based technology companies. The backing of EIFs has shown to be crucial in guaranteeing the survival of emerging and highly potential DeepTech businesses. Although we are a commercial venture fund run independently, we are honored to be able to draw heavily on our DTU legacy and its fields of knowledge and experience. The businesses in the fund’s portfolio will have a strong foundation in distinctive, frequently patentable technology, providing them with a competitive edge worldwide. This portfolio will be exposed to the green transition from a domain standpoint, and we anticipate that the extensive experience of EIF, EIFO, and its portfolio of very successful venture funds will be beneficial.”
Per Haugaard, Head of the European Commission Representation in Denmark, continued, saying:
“We need to make sure that DeepTech firms throughout the continent receive investments, and PSV Hafnium is just that. The EU is competing with other nations to become climate-neutral and create the technologies that will influence the world economy for many years to come.”
The goal of DTU, according to President Anders Bjarklev, is:
“To create value for society and the world through research that solves global challenges and supports inventions towards the market. For this reason, the university is excited to have a partner like PSV Hafnium, whose investment focus is on science and engineering-based technology companies. It is vitally important to create bridges between the academic and entrepreneurial worlds, which is why we have supported PSV Foundry and the Managing Partners in their efforts to establish a fund that is exclusively focused on DeepTech.”
Investors Thoughts:
Marjut Falkstedt, CEO of EIF, stated:
“DeepTech is one part of the multifaceted solution for our climate challenges. The goal of the European Investment Fund (EIF) is to guarantee that European enterprises may obtain the capital they require, particularly during their initial phases of growth. Our contribution to this fund will help to solve this pressing market demand and guarantee that innovative solutions that can significantly improve the state of the climate and the environment can obtain funding.”
Erik Balck Sørensen, CIO at EIFO, stated:
“EIFO leverages groundbreaking Danish DeepTech research to create transformative solutions. Denmark now has its first-ever early-stage DeepTech fund, created to address the particular demand for patient, long-term working capital in the segment, with the full support of EIF. The EIF’s substantial investment in PSV Hafnium is a testament to the caliber of Danish DeepTech research as well as to the management team at PSV Hafnium. Moreover, we intend to expedite the commercialization of the most promising DeepTech research with this financing.”