# Metsä Spring

Metsä Spring is a Private Equity based in Espoo, Finland.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Espoo, Finland
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** Espoo, Finland
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.metsagroup.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://fi.linkedin.com/company/metsaspring

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Metsä Spring operates as the corporate venture unit of Metsä Group, a Finnish forest-industry cooperative. The group's structure links roughly 90,000 forest-owning members to a vertically integrated chain of wood-supply, pulp, paperboard, and tissue businesses. Metsä Spring was formed to place early-stage equity into startups that can convert northern wood fiber into renewable materials — replacing fossil-derived inputs in packaging, textiles, and chemicals. The investment focus is bioeconomy-hardware: Metsä Spring targets early-stage and seed rounds, typically as a direct investor. The parent cooperative positions its wood supply and industrial sites as a commercial testbed; portfolio startups can pilot their technology at Metsä Group's mills. Public disclosures confirm few named portfolio companies, but Metsä Spring's strategy aligns with the cooperative's announced industrial moves, including a planned commercial plant for wood-based carbon capture in Rauma (per firm website, March 2026). The geographic footprint concentrates on Finland and Sweden, where the parent's operational base is densest. Metsä Group itself employed roughly 9,500 people across its divisions at last report. The venture arm's dedicated team size is not separately disclosed. Governance flows from Ilkka Uusitalo, elected Chair of the Metsäliitto Cooperative's Supervisory Board in April 2026, while Katariina Kemppainen — as SVP of Group R&D — chairs major European bioeconomy organizations, confirming her lead role in the group's innovation pipeline. No separate affiliated fund vehicles or philanthropic foundations distinct from the cooperative's own Metsä Conservation Foundation are known. Structurally, Metsä Spring is a corporate venture capital unit embedded inside a member-owned cooperative — not a standalone fund. This aligns its mandate with the parent's industrial strategy rather than financial-return targets alone. Portfolio value is measured partly by whether a startup can become a supplier or licensee to Metsä Group's mills. That operating-company syndication model differentiates Metsä Spring from a conventional cleantech fund: exits may happen via commercial agreements as often as via financial sales.

## Sectors

- Energy Transition & Renewables
- ClimateTech

## People

- Katariina Kemppainen — SVP, Group R&D
- Ilkka Uusitalo — Chair of Metsäliitto Cooperative's Supervisory Board

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Metsä Spring?

Investment decisions are made by the Metsä Spring team within Metsä Group's R&D function. Katariina Kemppainen, SVP of Group R&D, leads the broader innovation agenda and represents the group in European bioeconomy organizations. No separate CIO or managing partner for the venture unit has been publicly named.

### What investment stages does Metsä Spring typically target?

Metsä Spring targets early-stage and startup-phase companies, providing direct equity. The unit focuses on pre-commercial and early-revenue startups whose wood-based technologies can eventually integrate into Metsä Group's industrial operations.

### Which sectors does Metsä Spring explicitly avoid?

Metsä Spring has not published an explicit exclusion list. Its mandate centers on bioeconomy applications derived from wood fiber — materials, chemicals, and energy. Sectors outside the forest-based bioeconomy, such as software or healthcare, fall outside its observable scope.

### How is Metsä Spring related to the broader Metsä Group cooperative?

Metsä Spring is the corporate venture unit of Metsä Group, a cooperative owned by roughly 90,000 Finnish forest-owning members. It invests the parent's capital in startups that can create new demand for wood fiber, directly aligning venture returns with the cooperative's industrial interests.

## Related profiles

- [Metsä Spring](https://altss.com/profile/metsa-spring)
- [Metxa](https://altss.com/profile/metxa)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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