FOV Ventures

Amazing new research from RealityLabs to allow touch typing on any surface using egocentric camera-based hand-tracking as input.

Traditional browsers weren't built for modern gaming. Load times. Performance issues. Clunky interfaces. Ray Browser is changing all that. As the world's first browser engineered specifically for high-end web gaming, they're creating a future where your favourite games launch instantly, run smoothly, and feel native... all through the web! Today marks a major milestone: A new funding round with Play Ventures leading, joined by Samsung Next, Spatial Capital, A16Z GAMES SPEEDRUN, and us at FOV Ventures. Why now? The stars are aligning: - Unity's WebGPU support is unlocking console-quality web gaming. - Success stories like Squadblast and Stumbleguys show massive player appetite. - Their powerhouse team just got stronger with new CCO David Diaz (ex-Supercell) For today's multi-tasking gamers, Ray Browser delivers what others can't: a single platform to play, create, work, and browse without compromise. Congratulations Jaakko Manninen and team. The $6.5M raised so far is rocket fuel for what's coming next.

Only 1.1% of Nordic startup capital went to all-women founding teams in 2021. This is why events like Female Founder Pitching Day 2024 matter. Next week Petri Rajahalme will be part of the jury in Helsinki where female and non-binary founders will pitch groundbreaking startups. These founders represent the diverse voices we need building the next generation of the companies. Through programs like our own DVRSTY initiative, we've seen firsthand the incredible potential when we invest in diverse founders... For founders looking ahead: DVRSTY will return in Q2 2025 with our most ambitious program yet. Looking forward to seeing Nasima Razmyar Paula Miettinen Tero Jormanainen Janiina Lammi Peter Vesterbacka Caritta Seppä The Shortcut Tech Nordic Advocates Shevestments Helsinki Partners at the event!

Image to 3D model has been progressing steadily with new papers and methods. Most are minor improvements and still had noticeable quality issues. TRELLIS 3D Generation model by Microsoft is a huge jump in quality, now available for FREE on Hugging Face! Generate high-quality 3D assets from text or image prompts. Supports various formats like Radiance Fields, 3D Gaussians, and meshes.

By 2040, Elon Musk predicts there will be more humanoid robots than humans, each costing less than a Honda Civic. While that might sound like science fiction, Waymo's self-driving cars are already completing 100,000 weekly trips, Amazon operates 750,000 robots at 40% cost reduction, and Tesla competitors like Figure have humanoids assembling BMWs. But how did we get here? And more importantly for investors - what's enabling this transformation from factory robots to universal automation? David Ripert, FOV Venture Partner, breaks down how spatial computing became the foundation for universal robotics, and why this creates unprecedented opportunities for early-stage investors. https://lnkd.in/eGs-W2YH Dave Haynes, Petri Rajahalme, Sointu Karjalainen

Incredible launch for Starstuff's beta. Everything you see is playable 3D, with Starstuff AI.✨ From the play tests: Average session time: 2,5 hours. Average session time of top 100 users: over 5h. Yes. Five, hours, per session! With one click, in seconds, on mobile. Magic can happen. Here’s to the next generation of social games - Hanna Toivonen Mikael Hertell Jaakko Jumisko

Peak Nordic tech is Starstuff casually mentioning 5-hour play time sessions while Distance Technologies blowing minds with their demo... what a week at Slush! Kicked off the week hosting Minus One at Allas Sea Pool with Google, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Cloudberry, and Waselius. Great catching up with founders and friends before the mayhem began. Great FOV moments all week: Watching Hanna Toivonen and the Starstuff team crush their open beta one year after being on stage launching at Slush 2023. Petri Rajahalme's candid fireside with Urho Konttori on startup realities and fundraising journeys of Distance and Varjo. (full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/dHZ8vjDu) Dave Haynes at #MusicTech exploring the unique dynamics of music tech fundraising alongside leaders from Fave and Best Nights VC. It was amazing to see so many friends, portfolio founders and investors. Beyond Screens! 🧊

Looking forward to connecting with founders and the global XR community at Slush! Dave Haynes will be at #musictech exploring Series A fundraising in music alongside Jacquelle Amankonah Horton (Fave) and Andrea Rosen (Best Nights VC), moderated by Alex Brees (un:hurd music). Meanwhile Petri Rajahalme and Distance Technologies CEO Urho Konttori (formerly Varjo co-founder) cut through startup platitudes in a fireside chat at MatchXR, Nov 19. Expect real talk on scaling, fundraising, and practical XR market insights from two Nordic tech veterans. As a Nordic fund, we're thrilled to be part of the region's premier tech gathering. Let us know where you'll be! See you in Helsinki! 🎧🥽 Dave Haynes Petri Rajahalme Sointu Karjalainen

🚀 Just in time for Slush! Join us for exclusive fundraising insights from Carlos Espinal, one of Europe’s top seed-stage investors and Partner at Seedcamp! Hosted by Dave Haynes, this session builds on a private AMA with our portfolio founders and dives deep into fundraising essentials—from creating investor FOMO to strategic valuation insights and building strong VC relationships. Perfect timing to sharpen your pitch and supercharge your Slush strategy! 📓 Grab your notebook, and don’t miss Carlos’s new edition of Fundraising Field Guide—now available on Amazon! 👌

We are live in T Minus 2 hours! Join Carlos Eduardo Espinal MBE and Dave Haynes for Fundraising Secrets! This session builds on a private AMA with our portfolio founders and dives deep into fundraising essentials—from creating investor FOMO to strategic valuation insights and building strong VC relationships. https://lnkd.in/eCbH_7dJ