As FiBAN celebrates its 15th anniversary, the angel investor network continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the Finnish early-stage startup ecosystem. In the first half of 2025 alone, FiBAN received a whopping 760 funding applications from startups, more than double the number received during the same period last year. 71% of applicants were from Finland, marking a modest increase from 62% the year before. Beyond Finland, the most active applicant countries were Estonia and Sweden.
FIBAN Startup Pulse: Startup Applications Double – surge in AI and defense technologies
AI dominates - defense and dual-use technologies on the rise
AI continues to dominate FiBAN’s dealflow, with nearly 30% of all applications coming from startups leveraging artificial intelligence, a trend that was starting to emerge already last year. We also saw a surge in applications from startups building sustainable and energy solutions in comparison to previous years. Healthtech, a popular industry amongst FiBAN investors over the years, as per our annual investment reports, was the third most common industry among applicants.
At the same time, interest from defence-focused startups remains strong, now accounting for 11% of total applications. This marks a significant shift from prior to 2023, when FiBAN had received only a handful of applications from the defence sector. Today, there is a clear and growing focus on both defence and dual-use technologies — startups developing solutions with both commercial and military applications in mind.
Typical applicant: early-stage startup with a €2 million valuation
Despite the surge in applications, the typical startup profile has remained largely unchanged. The median valuation of startups in FiBAN’s deal flow has consistently been at around 2 million euros over the past several years. A typical startup is seeking to raise approximately 400,000 euros, yet the majority are still in the very early stages of their journey — with no monthly recurring revenue and little to no external funding secured. Angel investors play a vital role in supporting founders during the early and most critical phase of their growth, where access to capital and guidance can make a defining difference. Around 14% of applicants had already secured a lead investor prior to leaving their application to FiBAN in search of further funding.
Overall investment levels in Finnish early-stage
Investment activity in the Finnish early-stage startup ecosystem has remained relatively stable compared to the previous year. According to Dealroom.co data, Finnish early-stage startups raised a total of 45 million dollars during the first half of 2025.* This is only slightly below the 47 million dollars raised by the end of June in 2024.
Several startups from FiBAN deal flow have secured funding this year already, including Norolan, Kiwecare, and Soundlocket, who have all announced their newest funding rounds in recent months.
FiBAN in Numbers
- 2,000+ startups funded
- €480M invested in total
- €31.5M invested in 2024
- 600 angel investors
- 60+ events annually
- Well-known success stories from FIBAN angels include Silo.AI, Aiven, and Hostaway
- Check out more statistics from our website fiban.org/data
*The cut-off date for analysis is June 18th, 2025. Early-stage is defined as funding rounds for startups that are not larger than 4 million dollars, and have raised at most 10 million dollars of funding in total.
More information
Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen
CEO
Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN)
tiina.laisi-puheloinen@fiban.org