Gilion

What's next after AI for VCs? Following my time working with data at Spotify & EQT Ventures and now at Gilion, I see clearly what the next paradigm for VCs will be. Read my thoughts in the Dr. Andre's great newsletter. https://lnkd.in/ga3ZVSqR

Gilion in the wild - Bits & Pretzels Edition Henrik Landgren just got back and is buzzing with energy after attending the Investor Summit at this year's Bits & Pretzels; "There's a palpable sense that innovation is back! Entrepreneurs are talking about bold, future-focused ideas, and investors are sharing news about fresh funding rounds and newly closed funds. It's a great time to be here." Additional key takeaways from this year: ↗️ Data-Driven Investing Is Here to Stay – Investors are increasingly integrating data-driven strategies into their core operations. The discussions around how to set up teams to make the best investment decisions were insightful. Having engineers in investment teams is a great step forward, but making data a core function—not a side project—is key to success. Leadership in these areas, ideally, should be handled by full-time partners or hybrid roles. ↗️ Streamlining Metrics – Both investors and entrepreneurs are eager to simplify how growth metrics are gathered and shared. Too much time is spent aligning on metrics or talking to investors who aren’t a match. That’s where Gilion's platform comes in—it was highly appreciated for making this process more efficient and effective. Interested in chatting more about Gilion or what’s happening at Bits & Pretzels? Reach out to our co-founder Axel Bruzelius, who’s acting as our honorable Table Captain during the festivities today.

We’re thrilled to announce that Gilion Co-founder & COO Axel Bruzelius  will be a Table Captain at the Bits & Pretzels Oktoberfest on 1st October! Join Axel for a fantastic experience filled with insightful conversations around debt financing and growth in the tech industry. Whether you’re a startup founder, an investor, or simply curious about the latest trends, this is the perfect opportunity to network, learn, and share ideas. Don’t miss out on the chance to engage in a meaningful discussion over some pretzels and brews!

We’re proud to share that Gilion Co-founder & CPTO Henrik Landgren will be participating in a panel discussion on the Digitization of the VC Industry at the Bits & Pretzels Investor Summit on 30th September. Panel Details: Stage: Investor Summit | Saal 13a Topic: Digitization of the VC Industry: Current Trends Date: Monday, 30th September Time: 10:15 - 10:35 Format: Panel Discussion Speakers: Henrik Landgren, Sarah Guemouri, Abel Samot Moderator: Dr. Andre Retterath Join Henrik and the panel as they dive deep into the latest trends shaping the VC landscape. This is a can’t-miss opportunity for investors, tech enthusiasts, and founders alike.

New Op-Ed: "Unverzichtbarer Hebel für das Wachstum von Start-ups" by Mariam Koorang in VentureCapital Magazin! Germany is known for its innovation and economic strength, but there’s still untapped potential in our startup ecosystem—especially when it comes to #fremdkapital. In her latest piece, our Head of Germany, Mariam Koorang, explores why German startups are underutilizing this new and powerful tool and how they can learn from the US and the UK, where non-dilutive financing is already a common practice. She breaks down: ↗ Why loans can be a smarter, non-dilutive financing option for founders. ↗ The role of banks and lenders in modernizing their approach to help fuel startup growth. ↗ How Germany can unlock new growth avenues by closing the education gap around loan financing. German speakers, read the full article to dive deeper into Mariam's insights–see link in comments.

AI, time to build the infrastructure... and debt financing is rising with it! This week’s edition of Creditworthy brings you the latest trends in tech and finance, and there’s no shortage of exciting developments. Here are the top highlights you definitely don’t want to miss: ● BlackRock & Microsoft: Just launched a massive $30B Global AI Fund, with an impressive $70B in debt backing it. Their strategy? Leverage equity for high-risk areas and debt for the more stable parts—a smart approach that mirrors what we do here at Gilion. ● Nordics’ first AI bond: In Sweden, Ecodatacenter issued a 1B SEK bond to build a cutting-edge AI hub powered by Nvidia. AI infrastructure is officially making serious moves in Europe! ● Fintech lending boom: Companies like Finally and Ziina (both originally focused on bookkeeping and payments) are now raising big funds, showing that SME lending is becoming a major trend in fintech across the globe. Want more insights like these straight to your inbox? Subscribe to Creditworthy for future editions, or check out the full version over at Gilion! Link in comment. 

Gilion Welcomes 10 New Talents to the Team! We’re thrilled to announce a significant milestone in our journey to build the world’s largest Growth Platform for founders. Gilion proudly expands its team with 10 top-tier professionals from renowned companies like Google, Spotify, Tink, ManyPets, Bridgepoint, Trill Impact, SVB, and Swedbank, and more! This isn't just an expansion of our workforce but a commitment to our vision of accelerating founders with cutting-edge analytics and access to non-dilutive and flexible funding. Gilion Leadership Appointments: ↗ Andreas Hedlund, CFO & Deputy CEO ↗ Lidia Oshlyansky 🇺🇦 , Chief Product Officer ↗ Alexandre Hökfelt, Head of Funding These leaders will play pivotal roles in driving Gilion’s mission to redefine growth funding, alongside the talented experts we’re welcoming across Product, Engineering, Finance, AI, and Sales. Meet Our New Team Members: AI & Data ↗ Stefanos Antaris, Machine Learning Engineer: Formerly Head of Artificial Intelligence at Hive Streaming, Stefanos will help drive our AI initiatives, enhancing the predictive power of our analytics. Product & Engineering  ↗ Howie R., Senior Product Manager: Joining us from ManyPets, Howard will work on product improvement and innovation, ensuring our solutions continue to exceed customer and market needs. ↗ Mark Ekvall, Software Engineer: With extensive experience from developing loan products at Tink, leveraging real-time data and machine learning models, to integrating diverse financial data at ICA Banken, Mark will play a role in advancing our engineering capabilities. Finance, Credit & Sales  ↗ Marcus Lindhe, Head of Finance & Control: With over a decade of experience from OBAYATY, Daniel Wellington, and EY, Marcus will oversee our financial operations, ensuring they align with our wider growth strategy. ↗ Christoph Gedeon, Regional Manager Central Europe: A seasoned banking and investment professional, Christoph brings over 15 years of experience from SVB, NIBC Bank, RBS, Mediobanca, and ING, strengthening our presence in Central Europe. ↗ Anna Dehn Nordin, Debt Restructuring Officer: Formerly a Case Manager in Financial Restructuring & Recovery at Swedbank, Anna will manage our debt restructuring efforts, ensuring our financial stability. ↗ Christian Bruun Kristensen , Investment Manager: With experience from Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, Christian will help manage and grow our investment portfolio. With these great additions to our team, Gilion is more equipped than ever to continue delivering Growth Loans and Best-in-Class Analytics to help founders make data-driven decisions, achieve key milestones, and scale faster—while retaining more equity. Check out the full announcement and more information on our blog–link in comments. 

Why would big names in banking join a startup? Alexandre Hökfelt has spent 15 years in the finance, both as a credit investor and in debt capital raising: ↗ Invested in a wide range of financing situations during his time at EQT Group. ↗ Raised hundreds of millions of debt capital to support portfolio companies at Bridgepoint. Christoph Gedeon has spent close to a decade allocating millions to the German ecosystem: ↗Scaled SVB in Germany to market leadership. ↗Deployed hundreds of millions in financing, over the course of 17 years, to early and late stage companies at Mediobanca, NIBC Bank, and ING. Now, they join Gilion in senior leadership roles. Why? Listen to Gilion CEO Oscar Werner outline why they and other big names in banking are jumping ships.

Exciting news at Gilion! We are thrilled to officially welcome Alexandre Hökfelt as our new Head of Funding! With over 15 years of international finance experience, Alexandre’s expertise in raising capital and structuring financings will be instrumental as we enter our next growth phase. At Gilion, our mission is to empower founders with real-time data insights and access to non-dilutive, flexible growth capital, and Alexandre’s leadership will play a key role in driving that forward. A special thanks to Breakit for covering the news! Read the full article, or visit our blog—links in the comments below.

Exciting Addition to the Gilion Team! I am thrilled to officially welcome Alexandre Hökfelt  as Gilions new Head of Funding! With over 15 years of international finance experience, Alexandre has successfully raised and invested capital at scale across multiple sectors at Bridgepoint, EQT Group, J.P. Morgan. His expertise in credit investing, structuring and securing funding will be critical as we accelerate Gilion’s growth and prepare for new market expansions. At Gilion we are committed to transforming the financial landscape - with AI, real-time data insights, and innovative credit approaches - we are building the world’s largest growth platform for founders. Alexandre’s leadership will strengthen our mission to help founder and tech companies reach milestones faster, while retaining more equity.Please join me in welcoming Alexandre to the Gilion family!