Finland-based startup Inven has raised $12.75 million in Series A funding to scale its AI-native deal sourcing platform. In a world where traditional methods struggle to keep up with global deal volume, Inven brings speed, intelligence, and automation to the process.
The round was led by Ventech and Vendep Capital. Angel investor Risto Siilasmaa, the founder of F-Secure and former Nokia Chair, also joined in. With backing from existing investors Lifeline Ventures and Joint Effects, Inven’s total funding now stands at $14.3 million. Its current estimated value is between $7 million and $10 million, according to Dealroom.
Reinventing How Deals Are Found
Traditional sourcing is slow and manual. Inven changes that. Its platform continuously maps over 21 million private companies across 150+ countries, using more than 4 million data sources. Instead of relying on outdated databases, Inven analyzes real-time signals to surface emerging opportunities.
The platform is already trusted by more than 700 firms, including top private equity funds, investment banks, consultants, and VCs. What makes it different? Inven’s AI engine reads and processes company websites, filings, and news in 47 languages, even rare Nordic dialects. This allows users to spot deals others simply miss.
Founded in 2022 in Helsinki by former McKinsey and BCG consultants Niilo Pirttijärvi, Ekku Jokinen, and Tommi Kupiainen, the startup was born from frustration. The trio experienced firsthand how hard it was to source high-quality private deals. So they set out to fix it.
Now, Inven’s AI scans for key business signals—like aging leadership or flatlining growth—to predict likely acquisition targets. In retrospective tests, this model reached 93% accuracy. It’s not just about finding deals faster—it’s about finding smarter ones.
From Deal Discovery to Full M&A Intelligence
This new funding will support team expansion. Inven plans to double or even triple its workforce in the next 12 to 18 months. The focus? Growing its AI, product, and customer success teams while pushing into North America and other key financial markets.
Unlike platforms that rely on manual tagging or rigid categories, Inven’s AI interprets what companies actually do. Users can describe the type of company they want in plain English or provide an example. The platform then returns precise matches based on behavior, not just labels.
Ease of use is a big part of the appeal. The platform requires no setup, has a clean interface, and even offers 24/7 customer support. For users who want help, Inven provides an analyst service to conduct or verify searches.
Competitors like PitchBook, SourceScrub, and Gain.pro also play in this space. But Inven leads in coverage and freshness. It tracks more companies and refreshes its data every 14 days—faster than PitchBook’s 47 days and SourceScrub’s 21.
Investors believe the company is just getting started. Ventech General Partner Tero Mennander praised Inven’s first-mover advantage and product-market fit. Vendep’s Sami Ahvenniemi called the team’s execution “exceptional.”
The roadmap is ambitious. By late 2025, Inven will integrate with Bloomberg Terminal and CapIQ. In early 2026, it will launch an AI co-pilot for LOI drafting and valuation modeling. By 2027, it aims to launch a predictive M&A marketplace to match buyers and sellers pre-IPO.
Inven is building more than just a platform. It’s creating the AI backbone for global deal sourcing—one that’s faster, smarter, and built to handle the complexity of private markets.
