Luxembourg-based Balnord, a new early stage investor for the Baltic Sea Region, announced that it has oversubscribed its €70 million fund target and is well on its way to achieving a final close of €100 million by mid-2026.
Balnord said it is dedicated to backing companies “at the forefront of European technological reindustrialization, investing in frontier and dual-use technologies with a special focus on space, healthcare, and industrial resilience.”
Balnord said: “Europe is undergoing the most significant wave of industrialization in decades, and European frontier-tech dual-use technology companies are poised to define the next generation of winners.
“It is estimated that €1 trillion is ready to be invested annually across the continent, solving the most complex problems and tackling reindustrialization – Balnord believes that the next wave of unicorns will emerge in this space.”
Balnord said the new fund will invest in at least 22 companies and can make significant follow-on investments. Initial investments will range from €500,000 to €3 million, with follow-on investments up to €12 million per company.
Balnord’s partners have built four early-stage specialist funds that have delivered strong returns over the past 10 years.
The Balnord team includes General Partners Marcin P. Kowalik and Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, as well as Operating Partners Jarosław Pilarczyk, Wojciech Drewczyński, Hubert Szczołek, and Gabriele Poteliunaite. Balnord’s team is split between Gdansk, Luxembourg, and Berlin.
Balnord has also created a founders board to support its investments, which includes Peter Bialo, Co-founder of DocPlanner, the first Polish company to be valued over $1 billion, and Davis Siksnans, former founder & CEO of Printful, the first Latvian unicorn, and now CEO of Mapon, a leading B2B telematics company.
Balnord Fund I has invested in 10 companies including German ATMOS Space Cargo, which is unlocking Europe’s space-to-Earth logistics; Polish Vitvio, which uses computer vision and ambient sensing to digitize operating rooms, tracking and analyzing surgeries and their workflows; and Lithuanian Astrolight, which has created an undetectable laser link between NATO ships, keeping communications up when radio is jammed or denied.
To date, Balnord has co-invested alongside leading deep tech funds, including Expansion, Matterwave, APEX Ventures, Seraphim, OTB, Inventure, Voima Ventures, and Bek Ventures (formerly Earlybird Digital East).
LPs (limited partner) backing the fund include the European Investment Fund, PFR Ventures, and European family offices, founders, and private investors from around the world.
Balnord counts LPs in three continents and 12 countries. Most prior-fund LPs have reinvested in Balnord Fund I; among new LPs, many are founders of its exited portfolio companies.