Finance, Freedom, Fellows (fff.club)

😬 Yeah, it has been a long break after the last one but oh, wow... NEW EPISODE! (links in the comment section) This time Tim had Kaido Veske visiting, talking abut his background, Private Equity and Livonia Partners particularly. 🎧 Tune in to listen to: - Wall Street to the Baltics: Kaido’s journey from New York to founding Livonia Partners. - The evolution of Livonia: From its first $85M fund to the current $157M fund, and the importance of returning capital to investors. - Deal-Making Insights: How Livonia evaluates investments and scales businesses post investments. - Building Trust: Livonia’s focus on long-term relationships with entrepreneurs. - Baltic Market Trends: Kaido’s take on the region’s investment landscape and future potential. Thanks for stepping by, Kaido!

🤘 Our friends from Simple wrote a piece about on FO in Central and Easter Europe and featured Akim Arhipov in it as well. Read more below! Family offices are rapidly emerging in Central and Eastern Europe, positioning the region as a rising player in wealth management. Historically less developed in this area, the region is now seeing increased demand from wealthy families seeking to professionalize their asset management and legacy planning. This trend is driven by both regional growth and a desire to secure wealth for future generations. The East is becoming a notable force in the global family office landscape. https://lnkd.in/dPFeVX9z

Some closed, regional rounds from the last week below! 👇 👇 👇 🇪🇪 Monese merges with UK-based Pockit: Fintech Monese, founded by Estonian Norris Koppel, merges with Pockit. The deal includes a £15M investment, expanding services to 3M customers across 30 countries. 🏦 🇪🇪 Uptime acquires majority stake in Unatec: Estonian IT firm Uptime acquires a majority stake in Spain’s Unatec, adding 40 employees and energy clients to its portfolio. 💻 🇪🇪 Estonia leads in climate fintech innovation: Estonia tops Tenity’s 2024 report, with the highest per capita climate fintechs and female founder rate, bucking global trends. 🌍 🇱🇹 Surfshark acquires California-based Ironwall by Incogni: Lithuanian unicorn Surfshark acquires privacy-focused Ironwall, expanding into the U.S. government sector. 🛡️ 🇱🇹 RedTrack.io raises $3.2M for AI-driven analytics: Vilnius-based RedTrack secures $3.2M to expand its ad performance analytics platform, boosting U.S. presence. 📊 🇫🇮 MONCYTE Health raises €1M for cholesterol treatments: Helsinki’s MONCYTE Health secures €1M to advance personalized therapies for high cholesterol. 💉 🇫🇮 LOUHE.ai raises €3M for security solutions: Oulu-based LOUHE.ai raises €3M to expand AI-powered cyber-physical security tools. 🏢 🇫🇮 Synergi raises €2M to drive energy flexibility: Helsinki’s Synergi secures €2M to optimize energy use in the Nordics and Central Europe. ⚡ 🇸🇪 Altris AB raises €13.2M for sodium-ion batteries: Uppsala-based Altris raises €13.2M to scale sodium-ion battery production for sustainable energy. 🔋 🇸🇪 AirForestry raises €10.3M for aerial forestry tech: AirForestry secures €10.3M to develop drones for fossil-free tree harvesting. 🌲 🇸🇪 Voi Technology raises €50M in bond issuance: Swedish micromobility leader Voi raises €50M to expand its e-scooter and e-bike fleet. 🛴

Let's unlock Europe’s full potential by tearing down borders for startups. Let’s build a true single market and fuel innovation across the continent. 🤘 Check more below!

The moment you have all been waiting for, "RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS" (from past week) post is out! Check it below 👇 Also, look into Finance, Freedom, Fellows (fff.club).club as we have a lot going on! 🇪🇪 Waybiller secures €500K to expand digital logistics solutions: The Estonian startup, specializing in digital waybills and logistics automation, will use the funds for market expansion and product development. 🚚 🇪🇪 Planet42 liquidates South African fleet to address debt obligations: Facing financial difficulties, the Estonian car rental startup is selling off assets to repay institutional investors. 🚗 🇪🇪 Startup Wise Guys leads €440K round for Italian delivery tech Vado | Vending Automatic Delivery Operations: The Estonian accelerator invests in Vado’s automated delivery solutions, integrated with popular apps. 📦 🇪🇪 Plural invests in Oriole Networks for data center efficiency: The Estonian-backed Plural participates in a £17.5M Series A to enhance GPU data transfer technology. 🖥️ 🇱🇹 GREEN GENIUS raises €100M to scale renewable energy projects: Lithuanian energy developer secures EBRD Venture Capital investment to expand across Europe, targeting over 2 GW in projects. 🌍 🇱🇹 Sort A Brick secures €1.15M to help reuse LEGO bricks: Vilnius-based startup receives funding to expand its LEGO brick cleaning and sorting services across Europe. 🧱 🇱🇹 Flanco secures investment to automate office management: The Lithuanian real estate tech startup receives backing from Trafi’s co-founder to scale its operations across multiple countries. 🏢 🇱🇹 AMLYZE secures €2.35M to advance anti-financial crime technology: Lithuanian regtech startup will use funds to develop AI-driven compliance and cross-border information-sharing platforms. 🔍 🇫🇮 Mobal partners with Suomen Yrittäjät to boost digital tools for SMEs: Finnish entrepreneurs gain access to AI-driven marketing tools through this strategic collaboration. 📈 🇸🇪 Lovable raises €6.8M to simplify software creation: The Stockholm startup helps users create software with AI-generated code, reducing the need for technical expertise. 💻 🇸🇪 Mastercard to acquire subscription management startup Minna Technologies: The acquisition will simplify subscription management for consumers through banking apps. 💳 🇸🇪 Ommej raises €350K to support children’s mental health: The Malmö-based platform aims to expand its services, helping public agencies better assess children’s mental well-being. 🧠 🇸🇪 Cocoon Airbag Protection AB secures grants for child bicycle safety innovation: The Lund startup develops an AI-powered airbag system to protect children during bicycle accidents. 🚲

Useful, have a look! 👇 Q3 2024 Investment Highlights from J.P. Morgan 📊 The Fed cut rates by 50bps, kicking off its first easing cycle since 2020, while the European Central Bank (ECB) & Bank of England (BOE) lowered rates by 25bps each. Amid a global sell-off, bonds and equities showcased renewed negative correlation. Labor markets softened, with unemployment rising to 4.3%. Notable portfolio shifts included reducing equity exposure and increasing high-yield bonds, now offering a 7% yield. Despite volatility, US equities posted solid earnings growth of 11% Y/Y.

It is all about giving back! One of our own, Serhat hared his thoughts on this topic! Check it out! 👇 👇 👇

😲 Wow, what?! One more info on the closed rounds in my feed?! No waaaayyy.. 🤠 Yeah, but since one of the offering to our members is a "Weekly Economical Overview" letter and latest founding rounds is one part of it - why not to share it here?! (covering rounds from the past week) We cover Baltics and Nordics, let us know what have we missed in the comments! If you want to receive "Weekly Economical Overview" and benefit from the other features we have - check fff.club 👇 👇 👇 🇪🇪 ÄIO raised €6.1M to reduce palm oil dependency through sustainable yeast fermentation 🌿 🇪🇪 Mifundo secured €10M to build a unified EU credit platform 💳 🇪🇪 Estonia doubles its defense industry fund to €100M by 2025 🛡️ 🇪🇪 Certific raised €700K to expand its medtech platform 📱 🇱🇻 Mintos raised €2M in debt financing to develop its investment platform 💼 🇱🇹 Ovoko \ RRR.LT raised €20M in a Series B to dominate the EU used car parts market 🚗 🇱🇹 deverium secured €2M for its digital identity verification platform 🔒 🇫🇮 Innovestor invested €10M in Finnish spinouts tackling neurological disorders 🧠 🇸🇪 BrainLit Sverige raised €5M to scale its natural daylight solutions 💡 🇸🇪 Qura raised €2.1M to enhance AI-structured legal databases ⚖️

🚨 New Episode Alert! (links in the comment section) 📊 The numbers speak for themselves! In our podcast, Donatas Keras shared that Practica Capital recently raised their third fund, even in a sluggish market. Despite the challenges, they secured increased allocations from institutional LPs, showcasing their strong track record and the trust they've built. It's noteworthy how they managed to attract big names and significantly ramp up their ticket sizes. A testament to Practica Capital's resilience and strategic foresight in turbulent times. 🎙 We also talked about: - Evolution of Practica Capital - Comparison of the tech and investment scenes in Lithuania and Estonia - The potential impact of Vinted IPO on the market - Geopolitical situation and its implications for defense technology  - Dynamics of Practica Capital's team and its expansion into different countries

☝ How much do you know about Real Estate Funds?! (link in the comments) 🎤 In the latest eposiode of the fff.vc: Investor Story we spoke with Kristjan Tamla, a Managing Director at EfTEN Capital, a top, cross-Baltic Real Estate Fund. 🤘 We had a blast recording it and hope you will have a blast listening to it. 🎧 In this episode: 👉 What exactly is a Real Estate Fund and what sets it apart from others? 👉 Are Real Estate Funds significantly different from VC Funds (logic)? 👉 What's the Due Diligence Process like for a Real Estate Fund? 👉 Retail vs. Institutional Investors: How do they fare during crises? 👉 A deep dive into EfTEN Capital's Special Opportunity Fund. 👉 Distressed Assets: A gamble worth taking or best avoided? 👉 Assessing the impact of geopolitical risk on the Baltic Real Estate Market. 👉 Is EfTEN Capital eyeing a Spanish expansion amid the mass migration of Estonians?