NordicNinja VC

Investment decisions are led by Managing Partner Shinichi Nikkuni alongside General Partners Marek Kiisa, Tomosaku Sohara, and Rainer Sternfeld. The team operates as former founders and operators, with Sternfeld having previously built Planet OS. Principal Taiga Ueta and associates Zanna Cooper and Johan Åkesson support deal execution from sourcing through portfolio management.

The firm sources primarily through its network of founders and operators across the Nordics and Baltics, reinforced by a Japan-based business development team. Head of Founder & Investor Network Claes Mikko Nilsen runs community-building efforts in climate, future of work, and creator economy. The firm's LP relationships with Japanese institutions also surface co-investment and corporate partnership leads that other European Series A firms do not typically access.

NordicNinja operates as a conventional venture capital manager with institutional limited partners, not a family office. Its capital base includes JBIC IG Partners and other Japanese financial institutions. The firm was established as a joint venture between Japanese capital and Nordic venture operators in 2019.

The firm writes direct Series A equity checks of €2–8 million and reserves capital for follow-on investments into Series B. NordicNinja co-leads rounds with other venture firms — for example, co-leading Photoncycle's Series A in 2025. There is no publicly disclosed fund-of-funds allocation or LP commitment activity to external GPs.

The fund is a European-headquartered manager with Japanese institutional LPs — a structure that creates a bridge between European deeptech startups and Asian corporate partners. Managing Partner Shinichi Nikkuni and Head of Business Development Akiko Shiono sit in the Japan-facing nexus, while investment professionals operate from Nordic offices to source and manage portfolio companies locally.