Creandum is a leading European early-stage venture capital firm backing Europe’s most ambitious founders, including Lovable, Klarna, Spotify, Trade Republic, Depop, Bolt, Pleo, Epidemic Sound and many more.
Creandum has hubs in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco.
We raised a $300M Series B at a $3.25B valuation
We started Black Forest Labs last year to build frontier models for pixels. Systems that understand intent and create what cameras can’t capture. Tools that make imagination real, whether you're a global enterprise or an independent artist.
Today, millions of people are already making magic with FLUX:
• Our open models are the most popular image models on Hugging Face.
• Our enterprise models are powering production workflows across fal.ai, Replicate, and TogetherAI.
• Partners including Adobe, Canva, Meta, and Microsoft are building on our models to create new visual experiences.
With this round we welcome new investor Salesforce Ventures alongside Anjney Midha (AMP) as co-leads, while deepening our work with Andreessen Horowitz, NVIDIA, Northzone, Creandum, Earlybird Venture CapitalBroadLight Capital and General Catalyst.
The investment will accelerate our research and development, as we continue to push the frontier of visual intelligence.
💥Excited to share that we've led Cerrion's $18M Series A!
Cerrion builds Video AI Agents that keep factories running efficiently and safely, 24/7.
Factories keep the world running, and Cerrion is building the operational infrastructure that keeps them running with fewer failures, fewer risks, and fewer hidden losses.
🏭 How does it work? Cerrion uses the cameras already in the factory to deploy their video AI agents to instantly begin monitoring critical production areas 24/7. Production teams can then start extracting real metrics, spotting micro-stops, detect anomalies, and intervene before quality issues lead to downtime - for example by shutting down machines, slowing conveyors, or triggering sound alarms.
This unique combination of autonomous intervention and human partnership enables manufacturers to address problems up to 50% faster, cutting downtime and scrap losses in half.
We believe in Cerrion’s mission, and we believe Karim Saleh and Nikolay Kobyshev are the team to deliver it. And we can already see the progress - 10x growth in the last 12 months and serving customers across 3 continents, including The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Pfizer, and RIEDEL - The Wine Glass Company to name a few.
Always feels even better when we get support alongside such a great list of friends and partners: Y Combinator, Goat Capital, 10x Founders, Session VC, and of course Harry Stebbings, Oskar Hjertonsson, Thomas Wolf, Garrett Langley and all the other exceptional unicorn founders and angels backing Cerrion in this round.
Hanel BavejaCameron SellersFredrik Cassel Staffan HelgessonPeter Stilwell
I am super excited to announce that Cerrion has raised an $18M Series A.
Manufacturing is the backbone of our society. Our world is built in factories.
Growing up in Egypt in a manufacturing family, I saw firsthand how demanding frontline work is - always on call, always firefighting. Now, years of conversations with more than 500 production teams only reinforced this reality: across every factory, the same challenges exist. Production issues go unnoticed until they escalate, leading to preventable losses, safety risks, and a constant stress for production teams.
From day one, our north star at Cerrion has been simple: agentic AI should work side by side with production teams - helping them do their jobs more safely, efficiently, and with less stress. Today, this vision is a reality.
Our AI Agents plug into standard cameras and monitor critical production areas 24/7. They instantly detect process deviations, quality issues, and potential safety risks, and intervene in real time - for example, by shutting down machines, slowing conveyors, or triggering alarms.
This combination of autonomous intervention and human partnership is already helping manufacturers in glass, wood, beverage, CPG, food, building materials and more - across 15 countries and 3 continents - resolve issues up to 50% faster, cutting downtime and scrap in half while significantly improving safety.
We have grown more than 10x since 2024, and we’re only getting started. With this funding, we will scale this impact to more factories and production teams, expand the capabilities of our agents, and continue growing our team.
I'm incredibly excited to welcome Creandum and Hanel as they lead this round, grateful to our existing investors - Y Combinator, Robin Chan and Justin Kan, 10x Founders, and Session - for doubling down, and thrilled to have exceptional new angels joining us, including Harry Stebbings, Garrett Langley, Filip Kaliszan, Oskar Hjertonsson, Thomas Wolf, Marc Maurer, Johannes Schildt, Carl Rivera, Christian Floerkemeier, Roman Hölzl and many more.
Cerrion is hiring across all functions. Let's build for the people that keep our world running.
My LinkedIn feed is flowing over with posts about Slush. But I wanted to share my perspective on why for me it is simply the best week of the year. Yes, we all plan, hustle hard and try to be as efficient and cover as much ground and entrepreneurs as possible. But an important part of Slush is the complete serendipity, you go with the flow and meet people you never would otherwise. And meet old friends that you haven't seen in a long while. So here's to that and a few of my favourite moments from this year. Some planned and many not planned. In no particular order. Thanks again Aino BergiusElin DölkerCamilla KomulainenJulius ThimmAnindo MesbaulKalle KahanpääFreja TeijonsaloVilma Soini and all my Creandum colleagues for being everywhere; George GoldhagenFilip MarkCameron SellersJakob Stein Peter Specht
• Best ride of Slush with Aino Bergius after my life's first Finnish smoke sauna with initiated by Lovable's one and only Anton Osika and in the company of Laura Modiano, Fabian Hedin, Thomas Wolf and Cal Henderson.
• Meeting my old friend Pekka Lundmark with whom we planned to dominate mobile internet only 26 years ago 😁
• Being grilled on stage by Camilla Komulainen, sweatier that the smoke sauna...
• Having a blast when interviewed by Rubén Domínguez Ibar and Guillermo Flor. We just couldnt stop.
• Hanging out with Transition VC's very own David Helgason (no, we're not related haha)
• Hanging back stage with Bolt's Markus Villig who is only 1% done.
• Spending time at the Lovable 1 year anniversary with my partner in crime since 22 years Fredrik Cassel and Creandum's Head Honcho Lovisa Wahlberg
• Having Andre de Haes make me spill the inner VC secrets at the LP/GP reception organized by BACKED VC
• Best Buddy ever Nicole Boström - thanks for everything 🙏🙏🙏!
• Being makeup'd (there's only so much you can do)
• Seeing legends Luca Bocchio and Fredrik Cassel debate AI investment strategy (?) at the firstminute capital day zero drinks.
• And thanks Luka Nurmi - what a driver!!! No photo but those who know know 😃
Great to see the extended Creandum family and friends blossoming at Slush. Gathering all of Europe in one place makes one exceptionally optimistic on what's to come. 💚
Lovable's 1st birthday 🎂
day zero drinks w/ firstminute capital 🩷
Creandum x ICONIQ founder breakfast 🥞
Staffan and Markus on building Bolt 🚕
Felix Haas puttin' an ŌURA ring on it 💍
Thanks to all the Creandum friends & family who made it a great week - and hats off to the goats Aino Bergius and Elin Dölker 💚
❄️ Day Two Recap - Slush 2025 over and out! ❄️
Another year down, and it's still true - this is our favourite week of the year!
♟️ Staffan Helgesson sat down with Bolt founder and CEO Markus Villig on the Founder Stage to hear his thoughts on:
+ Why it's not always about the being first, but being able to be the last!
+ The context behind his much reshared comments on remote work
+ Why company culture SHOULD look different depending on industry
+ Why Staffan passed on Markus twice before backing him
+ Markus' worries around the EU's ability to play a major role in the self-driving market
+ Why he believes Bolt is still only 1% done 💪
.... and how he survived 50+ moves against Magnus Carlsen! (Tip: sometimes it's about optimising for survival!)
🫖 Slush's Camilla Komulainen interviewed Staffan on the Impact Stage to grill him during 'VC Unfiltered' where he shared the tea on:
+ The only consistent trait among the greatest founders: crazy ambition
+ What Creandum looks for - opportunities with uncapped upside
+ Why founders should build an 'engine room' to support them during fundraising
+ How AI-generated emails are flooding the team's inboxes
+ What's changed most in VC in the last 2 years - speed.
💚 Bonus for us was being part of the audience hearing Felix Haas and Miklu Silvanto share how startups can turn design into their superpower!
Huge thank you to all the founders and friends we met this week and the amazing conversations we had, and to everyone who came by the lounge and said hello!
Finally, thank you to all the organisers at Slush - Aino BergiusCamilla KomulainenNoora SaksaNicole Boström - you should feel very proud today! See you next year!
New fundraising alert!
Thrilled to welcome FOG Ventures as our newest investors!
FOG Ventures is a community of world-class operators and builders behind some of the most influential companies in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Casey Woo leads FOG ventures (and Operators Guild) and I met him over coffee in SF. He's a high-voltage energy, fast thinker who's committed to “investing in the modern operating tool stack."
He always says: “may the best product win.”
FOG Ventures has built a reputation for backing one company in every vertical and their portfolio is top-tier.
Being chosen as their FP&A platform of choice is an incredible honor and a testament to the strength of our product, our community, and our mission.
Their team and network did deep due diligence across platforms. The fact that this outstanding group of operators and forward-thinking companies have chosen us makes this partnership truly special…
We’ve now raised more than $100M with the support of our amazing investors Scale Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Creandum, Cathay Innovation, Kfund, and Atomico. I'm grateful for their trust and partnership!
Since our Series B earlier this year, our growth has accelerated like never before. We’ve had the privilege to partner with companies like CoreWeave, Replit, Abridge, Papaya Global, and many more.
Feeling more energized than ever for what’s ahead!
cc Stacey BishopNoah GrossRory O'DriscollJacky AbitbolMing-Po CaiGustaf Alströmer 🇺🇦 Peter Specht Sergio Álvarez LeivaAndreas Helbig
❄️ Day One Recap! ❄️
On the ground for Slush Day One!
Today:
12:19 - FOUNDER STAGE - look out for Staffan Helgesson with Bolt founder and CEO Markus Villig sharing the journey from $0 -> $10B and beyond!
13:58 - IMPACT STAGE - Camilla Komulainen is interrogating Staffan Helgesson in 'VCs Unfiltered: Asking for a Friend' where he'll share the truths, secrets, and a few tips for anyone wondering how VC really works.
🥐 Straight off the back of Day Zero Drinks, we kicked off Day One properly with a Founders Breakfast in partnership with the iconic ICONIQ team!
🎤 At the arena, our first of many side events started with Filip Mark joining Eileen O'Mara and Gabriel Hubert to share insights on what a real AI scaling playbook looks like today.
<-- insert crazy day meeting hundreds of incredible founders at the arena -->
🕺 After a full day in back-to-back energising meetings, it was great catching up with many of you who were keeping the energy alive at the Visionaries Club party
🐇 And then it wouldn't be Slush without the BACKED VC party to close out the night and welcome in the morning of Day Two..!
📍 The Creandum lounge is in the Investor Area section on the top balcony.
Seth PierrepontAnna TextorRitika PaiMariam AbbottJudith DadaKaty Sexton DarbyLaura HofmeisterClare HunterAndre de HaesSasha Dickinson
