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Basemark, a Finland-based software company, attracted 7 million euros in funding during the global pandemic by communicating solely online with ETF Partners – the fund that made it happen.

Remi de Tonnac’s, ETF Partners shares how one invests in a company without having seen each other in person.

Q: What kind of business do you run?

Remy: ETF Partners stands for Environmental Technologies Fund. We are a leading pan European Venture Capital fund based in London, and the team is one of the most experienced in the sustainability sector with over €400 million under management.

Q: What's your mission and beliefs? Why do you do what you do?

Remy: Global warming, the exploitation of our natural resources, the reduction of biodiversity, the pollution of the seas … these are simply some of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced. As the magnitude of the environmental challenges grow, so too does the urgency to do something about them. We are optimistic that we can develop the technological solutions to help address these threats to our world. We are firm believers that innovation holds the key to solving these issues and paves the way for a more sustainable future.

Q: What challenges were you facing and what motivated you to solve them? What was at stake?

Remy:Autonomous driving is clearly significantly advancing the sustainability agenda. Road transport is responsible for about 20% of total CO2 emissions. Research has shown that the introduction of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) could help reduce transport emissions by as much as 80%, through the advent of Transport as a Service and improved asset utilisation.

Basemark’s critical AI software technology plays an integral part in the AV revolution. In a way, its technology is providing the “pick and shovels” for the foundations of the AV industry, by enabling OEMs to rapidly develop and deploy autonomous vehicles.

Q: How and where did you meet? How can one trust someone they have never met while we have a Covid-19 crisis going on and build enough trust to invest/be invested in?

Remy:I like to think that we have developed a true partnership over countless video calls, both one to one and among our teams. We did have some level of debate during the investment process, but we always managed to find common ground and an understanding as to how best to move forward. As strange as it may seem, we have developed a sincere rapport and trust between individuals in a “virtual world”, as well as the belief that we are part of the same team on an important mission – to deliver commercial success and make the world a better place.

Q: What attracted you to invest in Basemark?

Remy:I look for bold, highly driven entrepreneurs who are on a mission - I believe I know one when I see one - and here we found not one but two: Tero the founder and visionary, as well as Keith Silverang, the highly disciplined CEO in charge of flawless execution.

Q: How do you see to grow your cooperation in the future? How do you see your company making a difference in the future?

Remy:Simple: we consider ourselves part of the Basemark team today, and we are already helping on several different fronts. For example, in partner or customer origination, talent identification, strategic challenging and strategic brainstorming to name a few. We will have made our mark when we have lots of “Basemark inside” reference designs in the developments of car companies and tier one auto suppliers. We believe this is coming soon.

 

Use the opportunity to e-meet with Remi during our Investors Insights Session on De(re)carbonisation on October 16, 2020 at 5pm CET. Learn more about the session here or contact Radostina Tsenova at radostina@techtour.com