Maki.vc

Investment decisions are led by the partnership team, including Managing Partner Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu and Partners Pirkka Palomäki, Wilson Tukiainen, and Paavo Räisänen. The firm describes its team as operators and former founders with decades of combined experience scaling technology companies. Investment committee authority sits with the general partners and draws on a network of founder-limited partners who provide technical and commercial diligence.

Maki.vc sources deal flow through a combination of its own network of Nordic repeat founders, its limited partner base, and inbound interest from technical founders who recognize the firm's deep tech track record. The founding partners brought relationships from companies like Skype, Wise, and Supercell into the firm's origination pipeline. The firm also runs a public presence positioning itself as the first institutional call for founders incorporating in the Nordics with a global ambition.

Maki.vc deploys capital through direct investments into operating companies using its own balance sheet across three venture funds; it does not operate as a fund-of-funds. The firm writes initial checks up to €5 million and reserves follow-on capital for subsequent rounds. It does not disclose making LP commitments to other venture managers.

Maki.vc targets pre-seed and seed rounds, with a stated preference for being a company's first institutional investor at the Day 0 stage. The firm does not lead Series A rounds and specifically states on its website that it is not a fit for companies raising Series A or beyond. Follow-on capital is deployed from dedicated reserves across the fund lifecycle.

Maki.vc does not publicly maintain an explicit sector exclusion list. Operationally, the firm avoids companies with only local or regional growth ambitions, businesses where founders are unsure about venture capital as a financing model, and any deal requiring hands-off, passive capital. Sectorally, its portfolio reveals no exposure to traditional heavy industrials, extractive resources, or financial services outside of fintech infrastructure.

Maki.vc actively facilitates downstream co-investment by connecting portfolio companies to global venture and growth equity funds for follow-on rounds, leveraging the personal relationships of its general partners and limited partners. The firm does not market a formal co-investment program for external LPs into its own deals. Its role in later rounds is typically follow-on participation rather than serving as a co-investment syndicate leader.

Maki.vc is structured as an independent venture capital firm with a limited partner base that includes prominent Nordic founders and operators — Ilkka Kivimäki, Niklas Zennström, Sten Tamkivi, Taavet Hinrikus, Ilkka Paananen, Mikko Kodisoja, John Lindfors, and Risto Siilasmaa are listed on the firm's website. This creates a feedback loop where portfolio companies access the commercial and technical networks of some of the region's most consequential tech builders, while Maki.vc benefits from founder-originated deal flow and strategic counsel.