Martas Explorers

Carolina Sachs, the firm’s Founder and Partner, leads investment decisions alongside Partner Catharina Finin Versteegh. Before founding the firm, Sachs served 12 years as Secretary General of Axfoundation, where she developed expertise in sustainable food systems and circular supply chains. Daniel Sachs, a business partner, is also a frequent co-investor and provides an additional layer of strategic input on deal selection.

Martas Explorers sources a significant portion of its deal flow through a long-standing connection to Axfoundation, the Swedish non-profit where Carolina Sachs formerly served as Secretary General. The foundation’s applied research in food systems and materials gives Martas Explorers early visibility into startups emerging from that ecosystem. The firm compounds this channel by co-investing with aligned Nordic funds like Norrsken VC, which provides secondary sourcing into impact-native startups.

Martas Explorers is a separate legal entity from both Axfoundation and Daniel Sachs’s investment structures, but the entities operate within a tightly woven network. Carolina Sachs founded Martas Explorers after departing Axfoundation and maintains an informal sourcing relationship with the foundation. Daniel Sachs, who runs Daniel Sachs AB and the Daniel Sachs Foundation, is a business partner and frequent co-investor in deals alongside Martas Explorers.

Martas Explorers concentrates on early-stage and seed-stage companies, providing initial or very early institutional capital to sustainability-focused startups. This stage focus aligns with the firm’s relationship-driven sourcing model, which aims to enter deals before startups access broader venture auction processes. The firm does not publicly lead growth-stage rounds.

Martas Explorers invests in companies at the intersection of climate and food systems. Confirmed sector focus areas include alternative proteins, sustainable agriculture, and circular-economy technologies. The firm’s known portfolio company Stockeld Dreamery exemplifies this mandate, developing animal-free dairy through precision fermentation.

Martas Explorers operates as a direct investor into early-stage companies rather than as a fund-of-funds or LP. Its publicly documented activity consists of direct equity investments into startups, often alongside like-minded co-investors such as Norrsken VC and Astanor Ventures, rather than commitments to third-party fund vehicles.

Martas Explorers actively co-invests alongside external general partners who share its sustainability thesis. Known co-investors back Martas Explorers portfolio companies, including Norrsken VC and Astanor Ventures. The firm does not maintain an exclusive or proprietary investment structure, instead deploying capital as a syndicate participant in rounds led or joined by these aligned funds.