Brella raises €1.2 million in private equity, expands in USA.

Brella, a Jyväskylä, Finland-based startup developing of a networking application for business events, announced closing a funding deal of €1.2 million ($1.42M) in private equity investment.

The money comes from Vendep Capital and with a team of international angel investors, including from the USA, France and Finland.

The investment will allow Brella to expand its operations in the USA, which is already the company’s most important market. In addition, the company will be able to hire product developers, as well as sales and marketing staff, in Finland.

Brella, founded in 2016 and led by CEO Markus Kauppinen, developed a a networking application for business events, which helps event visitors to grow their business network and meet relevant people by means of an intelligent matchmaking algorithm. The company has users in 30 countries around the world, and its customers include Slush, Samsung, Microsoft and TechCrunch.