Venture Capital · Profile from Venture Capital Research Companion
Creandum
The Stockholm early-stage firm that was among Spotify's first institutional investors and then built one of Europe's most consistent seed and Series A records — iZettle, Small Giant Games, Kry, Depop, Pleo, Trade Republic and Lovable — while staying deliberately focused on early rounds.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2003, Stockholm, Sweden
- Founders
- Staffan Helgesson is generally named as co-founder; Johan Brenner joined in the early years and became a senior general partner (founding group and original sponsors not fully documented; verify)
- Headquarters
- Stockholm; offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco (reported 2022)
- Ownership / structure
- Private partnership; flagship early-stage funds (Creandum I–VII) plus follow-on capacity (verify whether a separate opportunity fund exists)
- Leadership (2026)
- General partners and partners have included Johan Brenner, Staffan Helgesson, Fredrik Cassel, Carl Fritjofsson, Simon Schmincke (Berlin), Peter Specht (Berlin), Sabina Wizander and Hanel Baveja (London) — roster indicative (verify)
- AUM / capital raised
- Creandum VI ~$500m (~€448m, March 2022); Creandum VII reported ~€600m final close (May 2025, verify); cumulative capital likely ~€1.5–2bn (estimate)
- Stage focus
- Seed and Series A, with follow-ons; consumer, fintech, software, health, gaming, AI
- Signature investments
- Spotify, iZettle, Small Giant Games, Kry, Depop, Pleo, Trade Republic, Klarna (later-stage position, reported), Lovable; disappointments include several 2021-vintage consumer and fintech bets
8 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2008
Spotify
Early Venture Round
2011
iZettle
Series A
2014
Small Giant Games
Early Venture Round
2015
Kry
Seed / Series A
2016
Depop
Venture Round
2016
Pleo
Seed
2019
Trade Republic
Series A
2025
Lovable
Pre-Series A