Finland’s Varma is investing €68m in home-grown anti-drone technology firm Sensofusion as the company conducts its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Helsinki, amid continuing backing from Nordic institutional investors for European defence providers.
The €72bn pensions insurance company on Friday described itself as one of Sensofusion’s cornerstone investors, having also taken part in a funding round in late 2025 when the firm raised around €45m from investors to speed its growth and international expansion.
With a valuation of more than $1bn following its listing, Sensofusion - whose self-proclaimed mission is to “defend humanity against autonomous weapons” – counts as a “unicorn”, Varma said.
Timo Sallinen, Varma’s head of listed securities, said: “Strong growth and an already profitable business make Sensofusion an exceptional company in the defence sector.”
“Its outlook remains strong, and we believe it has the potential to become a major global player in its field,” he added.
For his part, Tuomas Rasila, chief executive officer of Sensofusion – whose shares start trading on the Helsinki exchange tomorrow – said Varma’s contribution to his company’s success had been “invaluable”.
“Varma combines the strength and long-term perspective of a major institutional investor with a straightforward approach and an ability to make swift, fact-based decisions,” he said.
Nordic institutional investors have been increasing their exposure to the European defence and security sector in recent years, amid changing geopolitics following Russia’s war against Ukraine. Last month, German investment manager DTCP raised Danish pension and state-backed capital for a defence-focused fund.
Varma also said it had increased its investments in Finnish growth companies in the past few years, having put some €1.1bn into the businesses since the start of 2021.
At the same time, the Helsinki-based pension provider said the proportion of direct equity investments in its portfolio had also grown. In the past 18 months alone, Varma said, it had invested some €300m in Finnish growth companies through equity financing.
Tommi Walther, head of private equity and debt at Varma, said: “By backing promising domestic companies early enough, we aim to ensure Varma is involved in their growth for the long haul.
“Our investment decisions always start with quality that holds up to international comparison and long-term return potential,” he noted.
