Manu Makela

Manu Mäkelä is a Founding Partner at Conor Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Helsinki, Finland. Prior to co-founding the firm in 2005, he served as an Investment Director at Holtron Ventures and held the same title at Eqvitec Partners from 2001 to 2003. At Conor Venture Partners, he manages technology investments across the Nordics and Baltics, deploying initial equity checks ranging from €500,000 to €8 million from investment vehicles including the €50 million Technology Fund II. Throughout his career, Mäkelä has guided numerous portfolio companies through their growth phases, holding notable board director positions at technology firms including Zervant and Supponor. With over two decades of institutional venture capital experience, his current focus remains on scaling early-stage startups developing protectable technologies in sectors such as embedded systems, electronics, and new materials.