Inside Wave Ventures' €10M Gen Z Fund and the €240K Rebellion Grant

Wave Ventures, a student-founded VC firm in Helsinki, has closed its largest fund to date and added a founder grant that skips the usual equity exchange. The firm operates with a team entirely under 25 and counts operators from some of Europe’s biggest tech exits among its limited partners. Here is a breakdown of the new fund, the grant program, and the numbers that define both.

Fund III size and what changed from the previous fund

Wave Ventures closed its third fund at €10 million in June 2026, a fivefold increase from its previous €2 million fund . Earlier press in May 2025 had reported a €7 million close, which would have tripled the prior fund, but the final milestone pushed the total to eight figures . The step from €2 million to €10 million signals deeper conviction from limited partners in the firm’s strategy of backing Gen Z founders at the earliest stage.

The under-25 investment team

The fund is run entirely by investors aged 25 and under, making it Europe's largest Gen Z-led and Gen Z-focused venture capital firm . The current team includes CEO Antonia Eneh, alongside investment managers Bror Nordström, Elis Hodzic, Zechen Ma, Joona Puro, Tiffany Tuisk, and Johannes Koskinen, with Emma Kettunen managing marketing and communications . The lineup reflects a deliberately young operator base that shares a demographic with the founders the fund targets.

Notable backers behind Fund III

Fund III is backed by founders and key figures from Slack, Bolt, Skype, Wolt, Supercell, and Silo AI, as well as European early-stage VCs and family offices . Earlier funds had already attracted Ilkka Paananen (Supercell), Kristo Ovaska (Smartly), and Miki Kuusi (Wolt) as investors . The backer list bridges Nordic unicorn talent and global platform founders, giving Wave Ventures access to networks and operational know-how that its portfolio companies can draw on.

Investment strategy and track record

Wave Ventures makes angel and pre-seed investments across the Nordics and Baltics, with a clear focus on Gen Z-led startups. With Fund III, typical tickets reach up to €100,000–€300,000 per startup, and the firm aims to make 10–20 investments per year .

The firm has made over 50 investments to date. Several Nordic portfolio companies were accepted into Y Combinator in 2024, including Andon Labs . That YC track record across multiple companies strengthens Wave Ventures' position as an early-stage pipeline for the Nordic-Baltic ecosystem.

The Wave Rebellion Grant: €240,000 for pre-idea founders

Launched alongside Fund III, the Wave Rebellion Grant is a €240,000 program designed for Nordic founders who are pre-idea, pre-revenue, and pre-funding . It provides cash grants and partner credits to early-stage entrepreneurs without requiring equity or imposing other obligations. The program targets founders who have not yet formed a company or raised any capital, lowering the entry barrier where traditional venture capital does not reach .

The grant is supported by AWS, Anthropic, Lovable, Modal, and Verda . By bringing in infrastructure and AI platform partners, the program gives recipients practical building credits alongside capital, which matters more at the pre-idea stage than a standard cash injection.

The broader ecosystem role

Beyond direct investments and grants, Wave Ventures runs a talent network and organizes ecosystem-building initiatives. Alumni have gone on to found Founders House, a community-driven initiative for Nordic startup talent . The firm also runs buildathons and hackathons, such as Wave Hacks via Akindo, to engage early-stage technical founders before they formally incorporate . Through its student-run model, Wave functions as both a venture fund and a talent pipeline for the Nordic-Baltic startup ecosystem, helping Gen Z founders access capital, network, and operational support at the very beginning of their journey.