Co-investors

NSA Ventures is the local partner of choice for investors looking at the Icelandic venture market. The fund is a proven co-investor for international venture capitalists.

Some of our most successful investments have been with international investors that have joined us in various stages of a company's development.

We work with international investors at all stages of financing. We are eager to work with non-Icelandic angel investors at the earliest stages of financing, since such collaboration is likely to bring valuable expertise in a given industry or market area.

Further along the investment cycle the fund seeks to partner up with international VCs who have the funds and expertise to facilitate further growth.

“We expect our companies to think beyond their own geographic borders, and we would expect no less of ourselves as a fund. Although we are based in Iceland we see ourselves as a part of the international venture community.” (Helga Valfells, CEO NSA Ventures)

Iceland is a good place for technology startups

Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area. It is consistently ranked among the world's most developed societies in international comparisons.

Icelanders consistently rank among the world's earliest adoptors to new technology. Business Week's Tech Readiness Survey 2010 stated that Iceland has “the best infrastructure for network interconnectedness, with the greatest number of secure servers and second largest electricity production per capita in the world.” Furthermore, Iceland has a small and flexible economy that has traditionally valued creativity and entrepreneurship. This makes Iceland a great place to start a new technology company.

This is one of the reasons that IT has been a source of many of the most exciting new Icelandic companies. But Icelandic entrepreneurs have also benefited from the country's advanced health care system and a wealth of world-class scientists in Life Sciences. Hence, the abundance of promising new companies that are building products to make health care more efficient and reliable.

“We know that in order to be successful we have to look beyond our own geography for resources and markets. Akthelia was founded by four scientists, two from Iceland and two from Sweden. We and then brought in a business development expert from the UK who had the right contacts in the global pharmaceutical industry. So, although we are based in Iceland we are culturally a European company and the world is our market.” Eiríkur Steingrímsson founder Akthelia.

Iceland experienced a severe economic shock when the country's banking bubble burst in 2008. However, that turn of events has been a blessing in disguise for start-up companies who can now attract more local talent and utilize some of the international business experience gained during the boom years.