NordicNinja VC’s first investment – MaaS Global
Today it was announced that the newly established venture capital firm NordicNinja VC has made its first startup investment into the Finnish all-in-one mobility service provider MaaS Global.
MaaS Global is behind the first all-inclusive MaaS solution commercially available on the market, mobility service application called Whim. Whim was launched in Helsinki in 2017 and has since then expanded into two other cities in Europe: Birmingham (UK) and Antwerp (BE). “People’s interest has surpassed our expectations and we have been able to prove the functioning of the service. We are now ready for global expansion,” says Sampo Hietanen, the CEO and Founder of MaaS Global.
MaaS Global has also been successful in gaining wide interest globally, including Japan where Whim is one of the best-known Finnish startup brands today. Thus, the investors include several Japanese ones as well. The company was the first one using the term Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) and offering an all-inclusive service of variety of transportation alternatives within one app including taxis, public transport, rental cars and bicycles.
“We are extremely excited to be part of the MaaS Global’s growth goals, as there was already a great amount of international interest towards the investment round,” says Tomosaku Sohara, the Managing Partner of NordicNinja VC.
The €100 million NordicNinja VC started operating in January 2019 and is backed by Japanese blue-chip companies Honda, Omron, and Panasonic, as well as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. It aims to support scale-up goals in the New Nordics (Nordic and Baltic region) through supporting startups to expand into and develop business opportunities in Japan.
About NordicNinja VC
The official name of NordicNinja VC is JB Nordic Ventures Oy which is a Helsinki-based joint venture by JBIC IG Partners and BaltCap. JB Nordic Ventures provides investment advisory to JB Nordic Fund I SCSp.
About MaaS Global & Whim
MaaS Global is the world leader in the field of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) with its award-winning Whim app which provides users all city transport services in one step. With over four million trips made since its launch in November 2017, Whim is the first all-inclusive MaaS solution commercially available on the market. Whim allows users to journey where and when they want with public transport, taxis, cars, and many other options, all under a single monthly subscription. Whim has revolutionized users’ travel habits, in favor of sustainable modes. MaaS Global was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The company is funded by Toyota Financial Services, Karsan Otomotiv, Transdev, Aioi Nissay Dowa, Denso and Veho, and the total amount of investments from previous rounds is €24.2 million.
For more information, please contact:
Claes Mikko Nilsen
Investment Director
E-mail: claes.mikko@nordicninja.vc
Phone: +358504913001
Website: https://nordicninja.vc