InSpire Ventures
InSpire Ventures is a private equity company created as a co-investment vehicle for seed projects such as Optinose and Think.
About InSpire Ventures
InSpire Ventures is a “double-dividend” private equity company set up by Prof. Willums in 2000 as a co-investment vehicle for a group of friends that had participated with him earlier in launching successful technology ventures. This included founding, jointly with DNV, the first artificial intelligence IT company in Scandinavia (Computas, today a leading entity in the field in Europe), creation of Avenir that became the largest Norwegian-owned software house (now part of Ementor), and founding of Solenergy, a Photovoltaic company that merged with other sister companies to become REC, the solar company that had the most successful IPO in the history of the Oslo stock exchange in 2006.
Think
InSpire recently invested in the Norwegian electric car manufacturer Think. Think produced one of the largest fleets of electric vehicles in the world with the TH!NK city, launched in 1999. A new model is now under development and will be launched in Norway in 2007 and selected international markets in 2008.
OptiNose
inSpire was the seed capital investor in OptiNose, a research and development company founded in 2000 with the purpose of developing innovative devices for nasal delivery of vaccines and drugs (liquid and powder). This is what the medical profession calls topical or systemic action. The uniqueness of the concept has made OptiNose a pioneer as the technology has opened up a new dimension into how drugs can be delivered. Nasal delivery provides a fast, cost-effective and user-friendly alternative to injections, and offers additional local immune protection for many vaccines.