RunwayFBU

The fund was co-founded by Kjell Inge Røkke and Tor Bækkelund. Røkke is among the most successful industrial entrepreneurs in the Nordics through his Aker group. Bækkelund previously co-founded Oslo's StartupLab. Decision-making sits with the founders and their investment team operating from Aker Tech House in Lysaker, Norway.

Sourcing is anchored in the Aker industrial ecosystem. Founders plug into Aker companies for real-world pilots, generating a pipeline of startups that have already demonstrated industrial pull. The fund also draws from its Tech Hub of 40-plus startups, a 70-member mentor network, and partnerships with co-investors and technology hubs across the Nordic and broader European region.

RunwayFBU is an early-stage venture capital firm, not a family office. It is institutionally anchored in the Aker industrial ecosystem but operates with a standard VC fund structure — a first fund of $30M raised to invest in external industrial software and robotics companies. It lists typical venture capabilities: check sizes, follow-on reserves, and lead-or-follow participation in rounds.

The firm makes direct investments into pre-seed, seed and selective Series A companies. There is no public indication that RunwayFBU operates as a fund-of-funds or participates in blind-pool LP commitments. Its stated co-investor engagement involves collaborating with specialist funds alongside direct startup investments.

Pre-seed and seed are the core, with initial checks from USD 100k up to 3m. The firm also reserves capital for selective Series A follow-ons in existing portfolio companies. It looks for early proof points — pilots, LOIs, or paying industrial customers — that demonstrate an idea works in the field, not just the lab.

Co-founder Kjell Inge Røkke is the controlling figure behind the Aker industrial conglomerate. RunwayFBU sits inside that ecosystem: its office is in Aker Tech House, and its core value proposition is connecting early-stage startups to Aker operating companies for real-world pilots and first revenues. It operates as a distinct venture fund, not a corporate venture arm on a parent balance sheet.

The firm is tightly focused on data-centric industrial software and hardware across heavy industries — energy, manufacturing, maritime and adjacent sectors. Consumer internet, pure B2B SaaS unrelated to industrial processes, and life sciences are notably absent from the stated strategy and portfolio list.