In the beginning we were advisors
Northzone was established in 1994 as an advisory company for technology based ventures. It started in the name of Venture Partners, and changed its name to Northzone Ventures in 2000. In the first three years of its existence the company participated in a wide range of advisory functions related to M&A's, equity issues, strategic development and corporate restructuring. The founders of Northzone also initiated several start-ups.

The VC activity arises
Northzone's venture capital activity was established in 1996, and in Feb.97 the first Northzone investment fund was raised with an initial funding of € 7 Million.

The venture capital activity was established based on a firm belief in interesting Nordic technology opportunities, a void in the market for competent venture funding, and a strong passion for actively developing early stage companies. The fund invested in 8 companies and benefited from the financial upturn during the dotcom era. Significant returns were achieved on investments in Stepstone, Lastminute and Massmarket.

In Jun.98, a second investment fund (now Northzone II) was founded. NZ II had an initial funding of € 10 Million and focused on converging technology companies within IT and Telecommunications. The fund made 6 investments. The fund's largest investment was Mamut, which grew beyond predictions and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (“OSE”) in May.04. Industrial exits were achieved through the sale of Reisefeber to Travelocity and Portit to Labs2.

Northzone III was established Dec.99, and had a total funding of € 75 Million. The fund invested in 18 companies during the ‘dotcom heydays’, but will still deliver returns above expectations. The most successful investments were Nextgentel (listed on OSE Dec.05 and later sold to TeliaSonera in May.06), Trolltech, Intility, Envox and Colibria.

Emerging as a top tier European VC
In Jan.03 Northzone IV, totalling € 78 Million, was established despite a very difficult funding market. The fund invested in 16 companies across the Nordic region. The focus on early stage technology opportunities has been maintained, but a stronger emphasis was put on ‘hard–core’

technology compared to prior funds.

The promising portfolio of NZ IV consists of companies like Funcom, Proxilliant, Fox Technology and Revolt.

Northzone V was established in Apr.06 with € 175 million. The fact that this was our fastest and most successful fundraising to date is testament to the confidence top tier European institutional investors has in Northzone Ventures and our ability to capture the potential of Nordic early stage technology companies.

Since the inception of the venture capital activity in 1996, Northzone Ventures has been considerably strengthened on all dimensions. Throughout the period, Northzone has built a strong local and international network, positioning the firm as one of the leading venture capital entities in Europe. We are currently nine General Partners and two support staff in three countries, making us the largest early stage Technology investment team in the Nordic region.