The Nokia Mafia

Khanak
January 16, 2024

Nokia Corporation, a Finnish multinational company, has a rich history dating back to 1865. It was founded by Fredrik Idestam and Leo Mechelin, initially as a pulp mill in southern Finland, named after the town of Nokia.

Over the decades, the company diversified into various sectors including rubber, cable, forestry, electronics, and notably, telecommunications. Nokia became a household name in the late 20th century with its mobile phones, gaining international fame in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Known for their durability, battery life, and user-friendly interface, iconic models like the Nokia 3310 and 1100 exemplified their dominance in the mobile phone industry. However, the rise of smartphones brought significant challenges, leading to the acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division by Microsoft in 2014.

Today, Nokia's primary focus is on telecommunications infrastructure, technology development, and licensing.

‍

Fredrik Idestam and Leo Mechelin

‍

The Nokia Mafia

The Nokia Mafia has founded 33 companies, raising $106 million in total, as per Crunchbase data.

PS: Are you a Nokia Mafia member interested in bringing your community together to invest in innovative ventures (and enjoy potential profits and other perks along the way)? Or perhaps you're part of another dynamic group that could be a fantastic source of startup investments? πŸ˜‰

Learn more about us and join the waitlist here.

‍

‍

List of all the amazing companies covered:
‍

  • Justworks
  • Molekule
  • A.Team
  • JOBOX.ai
  • Apervita
  • Outsight
  • Kiswe
  • 7SIGNAL
  • Greenly
  • Tappp
  • Firedome
  • Toucan
  • Elo Health
  • Cache
  • HEXO+
  • AVATOUR
  • Verofax Limited
  • GetPackage
  • Spinwheel

‍

Justworks

Founder: Isaac Oates

Nokia Role: Web Developer

Capital Raised: $159.8M

Investors: Union Square Ventures

Stage: Series E

Justworks provides small and medium-sized businesses with simple software and expert support for payroll, benefits, HR, and compliance.

‍

Molekule

Founder: Dilip Goswami

Nokia Role: Technical Associate

Capital Raised: $118.5M

Investors: RPS Ventures

Stage: Series C

Molekule provides FDA-cleared air purification devices to address the growing global air purification industry.

‍

A.Team

Founder: Raphael Ouzan

Nokia Role: Software Engineer

Capital Raised: $115M

Investors: Insight Partners

Stage: Series A

A.Team is a distributed, on-demand team formation platform that allows members to team up and build things.

‍

JOBOX.ai

Founder: Kaushik Pendurthi

Nokia Role: Software Engineer

Capital Raised: $56.7M

Investors: General Catalyst

Stage: Series B

JOBOX.ai is a B2B stealth mode AI startup disrupting the on-demand economy.

‍

Apervita

Founder: Paul Magelli

Nokia Role: Head of Customer Insight & Experience

Capital Raised: $59.5M

Investors: Optum Ventures

Stage: Series A

Apervita is the healthcare collaboration platform for quality measurement, and clinical intelligence.

‍

Outsight

Founder: CΓ©dric Hutchings

Nokia Role: VP Digital Healh at Nokia Tech

Capital Raised: €40.5M ($43.74)

Investors: Bpifrance

Stage: Series B

Outsight develops a revolutionary kind of sensor, a 3D Semantic Camera that brings Full Situation Awareness to Smart Machines and Cities.

‍

Kiswe

Founder: Wim Sweldens

Nokia Role: President, Wireless Division

Capital Raised: $37.8M

Investors: Sony Innovation Fund

Stage: Series B

Kiswe is a video technology startup providing live media solutions to sports and entertainment content owners.

‍

7SIGNAL

Founder: Marko Pirinen, Veli-Pekka Ketonen

Nokia Role: Specialist End-to-End Service Performance, Program Manager

Capital Raised: $32.3M

Investors: Technology Venture Partners US

Stage: Series E

7SIGNAL is a cloud-based wireless optimization platform.

‍

Greenly

Founder: Matthieu Vegreville

Nokia Role: Head of Patient Solutions & RWE Studies

Capital Raised: $25.5M

Investors: Energy Impact Partners

Stage: Series A

Greenly the go-to carbon accounting platform.

‍

Tappp

Founder: Sundip Agarwal

Nokia Role: Director, Head Asia Pacific

Capital Raised: $21.4M

Investors: Verance Capital

Stage: Series B

TAPPP is a leader in the flexible payment space, partnering with major leagues, broadcasters, and sports books.

‍

Firedome

Founder: Sharon Mirsky

Nokia Role: Head of Special Projects, Sales Development North America

Capital Raised: 14.4M

Investors: Two Sigma Ventures

Stage: Series A

Firedome secures IoT devices and prevents the next cyber-catastrophe.

‍

Toucan

Founder: Charles Migliett

Nokia Role: Software Engineer

Capital Raised: €12M ($12.96)

Investors: Balderton Capital

Stage: Series A

Toucan is a customer-facing analytics platform that empowers organizations to drive engagement with the best end-user experience.

‍

Elo Health

Founder: Tapio Tolvanen

Nokia Role: Head of Technology

Capital Raised: $15M

Investors: Octopus Ventures

Stage: Series A

Elo develops a smart nutrition service that uses biomarkers to deliver nutrition for optimal health and aging.

‍

Cache

Founder: Srikanth Narayan

Nokia Role: Researcher - Visualization

Capital Raised: $5.2M

Investors: First Round Capital

Stage: Pre-Seed

Cache is a fintech startup that offers brokerage service for individuals holding large stock positions.

‍

HEXO+

Founder: Antoine Level

Nokia Role: Program / Project Leader

Capital Raised: $4.3M

Investors: Living Water Investment

Stage: Seed

HEXO+ is the first Autonomous FlyingCam.

‍

AVATOUR

Founder: Devon Copley

Nokia Role: Head of Product, VR Platform

Capital Raised: $2.9M

Investors: Ulu Ventures

Stage: Seed

AVATOUR is the remote collaboration platform for on-site meetings.

‍

Verofax Limited

Founder: Wassim Merheby

Nokia Role: Head of Retail

Capital Raised: $1M

Investors: Benson Oak Ventures

Stage: Seed

Verofax enables traceability as a service for products, stakeholders and transactions.

‍

GetPackage

Founder: Oren Elzam

Nokia Role: Software Engineer

Capital Raised: $11.5M

Investors: Mayer's Cars and Trucks

Stage: Series A

GetPackage offers optimized last-mile same-day delivery services which are based on a unique sharing economy technology.

‍

Spinwheel

Founder: Tushar Vaish

Nokia Role: Software Consultant

Capital Raised: $11M

Investors: QED Investors

Stage: Seed

Spinwheel helps you transform how your business and your customers see, understand, and act on debt with our industry-leading debt APIs and drop-in modules.

‍

πŸ“Œ Join our waitlist‍‍

🐦 Twitter

πŸ’Ό LinkedIn