The Nordic hardtech community
For everyone building hard things in the Nordics.
Hardtech is innovative, complex and physical. Nordic Hardtech exists so the people who build it, fund it and enable it can find each other.
The funding map
ALL 179 INVESTORS →Every Nordic investor with documented hardtech investments, plus the grants and public instruments that fund the other half of the road from lab to factory, with their deadlines.
Lagercrantz Group
Technology group investing in and developing B2B companies in electronics and communication.
Katalysen Ventures
Stockholm-listed venture developer founded in 2016 that puts knowledge, hands-on support and capital into early-stage owner-led companies, often through its Venture Targeter turnaround framework, in exchange for equity and warrants. Core holdings span bioanalytics, diagnostics, event tech and digital asset compliance, with a wider portfolio of roughly 20 smaller stakes across the Nordics, DACH and beyond.
Volvo Cars Tech Fund
Volvo Cars Tech Fund is the corporate venture arm of Volvo Cars, headquartered in Gothenburg and founded in 2018. It makes minority investments, typically EUR 1 million to EUR 5 million at seed, Series A and Series B, in mobility technology such as batteries, sensors, robotics, power electronics, charging and sustainable materials. Nordic holdings include Altris, Varjo, Syre and Eliq, and it exited Forciot in 2025. Its latest recorded deals are Riiico (June 2025) and Breathe Battery Technologies (May 2025).
Partners in Clime
Partners in Clime is a Weinstadt, Germany based climate tech investor founded in 2022, backing pre-seed and seed hardtech and greentech founders across the DACH region with capital and founder-to-founder mentoring. It runs an angel syndicate model and co-invests with firms like b2venture, Point Nine, 468 Capital and Climate Founders.
Nordic Secondary Fund
Nordic Secondary Fund, founded in 2018 and based in Copenhagen, is the first fund in the Nordics to invest exclusively in secondary stakes. It buys minority positions in Nordic and Baltic companies that have already raised a Series A round and shown a proven, scalable business model, aiming for a return between 2x and 5x within five years.
Wicked Angels
Wicked Angel is a Stockholm-based angel network founded in 2020, investing member capital and operating experience into early-stage Nordic startups, with recent activity concentrated in life science and health tech deals sourced through Stockholm and Gothenburg pitch events.
Innovestor
Innovestor is a Helsinki based venture capital firm founded in 2014, investing in early-stage technology and life science startups across the Nordic and Baltic regions through its Technology Fund, Life Science Fund and Angel CoFund, alongside a corporate venturing arm and a commercial real estate business.
Northzone
Northzone is a multi-stage venture capital firm founded in 1996 in Oslo, now headquartered in London with offices across the Nordics, Amsterdam and New York, investing from seed through growth stage across Europe and the US. Its portfolio includes Spotify, Klarna, Einride and Black Forest Labs, and it has backed companies through more than 250 investments to date.
LU Ventures
LU Ventures is Lund University's venture builder and corporate investment arm, founded in 1999, that co-invests equity and builds spinouts with researchers across deep tech and life science. Its portfolio spans semiconductors, robotics, connectivity, medtech and pharma, and includes exits such as SAGA Diagnostics, acquired by Roche.
Energimyndigheten
The Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) is Sweden's public authority for energy research, innovation and preparedness, providing grants and R&D funding to companies, academia and public bodies working on the transition to a fossil-free energy system.
Fiftyfive Capital
Danish VC investing in growth-stage companies in lifestyle, software, and hardware across Europe and the U.S. Formerly Nordic Eye.
Walerud Ventures
Family-backed investor supporting early-stage deep tech startups focused on sustainability and innovation.
The ecosystem
ALL 1279 COMPANIES →Who builds, supplies and enables hardtech across the Nordics, from garage startups to industrial giants. Browse by role, phase and vertical.
FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems AS (formerly Prox Dynamics)
Develops, manufactures and sells the world's smallest professional-use drone, the Black Hornet nano-UAV, from its headquarters in Hvalstad and production facility at Eggemoen, Norway.
AVTECH Sweden B
AVTECH Sweden AB develops and sells products and services for digital air traffic management, enabling efficient flight operations through route planning, performance analysis, and environmental impact assessments.
Hexagon Composites
World's largest producer of high-pressure composite cylinders for storage and transportation of alternative fuels including hydrogen, CNG and RNG.
Bright Day Graphene
We use a residual product from the forest industry and transform it into a high-quality graphene material, suitable for energy storage and other applications that benefits from the outstanding thermal and electrical conductivity of graphene.
Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR)
MiR develops and manufactures autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that automate internal transport and material handling for manufacturing, logistics and healthcare facilities.
ContextVision
Develops image analysis and AI software for medical imaging applications.
Okto Grid
Copenhagen company that develops a patented non-invasive IoT sensor and software for condition monitoring of power transformers, with wind turbines as a second target. It raised a EUR 3 million seed round in December 2022.
Volvo Trucks (Volvo Group)
Volvo Trucks is a truck manufacturing division of Volvo, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, producing heavy duty trucks.
MedTrace
MedTrace's platform consists of an automated hardware system for producing, dosing, and injecting 15O water for PET imaging, plus analytical software for image processing.
Prevas AB
Prevas provides engineering services and IT solutions, specializing in product development and industrial IT for various sectors.
C-Rad Positioning AB
C-Rad provides advanced radiation therapy positioning systems, enhancing precision and safety in cancer treatment.
Traffic Lab
Affiliate technology company creating comparison websites for the iGaming industry.
One sharp email, every two weeks.
Hardtech news from the Nordics and beyond, new raises, events worth travelling for, and the deadlines you should not miss.
Open raises
SEE WHO IS RAISING →Raising for something innovative, complex and physical? Apply in five minutes. We curate, and your round reaches the readers of the newsletter, including the investors on the map.
The podcast
ALL 37 EPISODES →Conversations with the founders and funders of Nordic hardtech.
EP 19 Jonas Genchel och Zparq: Poddmotorn från KTH som ska driva nästa marina skifte [SWE]
#19. Poddmotorn från KTH som ska driva nästa marina skifte Jonas Genchel , vd och medgrundare av Zparq , gästar podden och berättar hur bolaget utvecklar elektriska poddmotorer från grunden – med egenutvecklad drivlina, styrsystem och batteriteknik. Ambitionen är att göra båtbranschen tystare, grönare och smartare. Zparq föddes ur forskning på KTH och har sedan starten 2020 byggt ett team, säkrat
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EP 11 Staffan Stymne och T.Loop: Spillvirke för AI-eran
#11. Spillvirke för för AI-eran Staffan Stymne , vd och medgrundare av T.Loop gästar podden och berättar hur de bygger datacenter som både driver AI och balanserar elnätet – med återbruk, överskottsenergi och smart lokalisering som kärna. Med 30 års erfarenhet från energisektorn tog Staffan steget in i tech för att visa att datakraft inte behöver kosta klimatet. I dag bygger T.Loop för den nya era
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EP 9 Isabella Palmgren och Mimbly: Cleantech, bokstavligt talat [SWE]
#9. Cleantech, bokstavligt talat Isabella Palmgren , vd och grundare av Mimbly , gästar podden och berättar hur ett studentprojekt från Chalmers blev ett prisbelönt cleantech-bolag med global potential. Mimbox minskar såväl vattenförbrukning som mikroplaster och är byggd för att fungera i verkligheten, inte bara i labbet. Vi pratar om vägen till en säljbar produkt, hur man skalar en hårdvarulösnin
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EP 37 Lisa Eriksson (KTH Innovation) – Building Europe’s Deeptech Pipeline
37. Building Europe’s Deeptech Pipeline Lisa Eriksson , Head of KTH Innovation and CEO of KTH Ventures , joins the Nordic Hardtech Podcast to discuss what it takes to turn world-class research into venture-backed companies. KTH Innovation supports hundreds of founders, researchers and students every year, helping transform ideas into startups across fields such as AI, energy, semiconductors, life
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EP 6 Karin Ebbinghaus – Från bilbana till elväg: så elektrifierar Elonroad transportsektorn [SWE]
#6. Från bilbana till elväg: så elektrifierar Elonroad transportsektorn Karin Ebbinghaus , vd på Elonroad , gästar podden och berättar om hur bolaget transformerar sättet vi laddar elfordon – från stationär laddning till dynamiska elskenor som ger energi medan fordonet rullar. Det är en berättelse om hur ett experiment i Lego blev ett bolag med CE-märkta produkter, internationella kunder och ambit
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EP 16 Anders Hässel och Nenda: Streamingrevolutionen för företag [SWE]
#16. Streamingrevolutionen för företag Anders Hässel , vd och grundare av Nenda , gästar podden och berättar hur bolaget utvecklar en modern streamingplattform för företag – med hårdvara, molntjänster och affärsmodeller anpassade för B2B-marknaden. Målet: att ersätta föråldrade TV‑lösningar med smart, skalbar teknik. Nenda grundades med en tydlig idé: att förändra hur företag inom hotell, vård och
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EP 18 Stina Lantz och SISP: Så bygger vi ett starkare innovationssystem
#18.Så bygger vi ett starkare innovationssystem Stina Lantz , VD på SISP (Swedish Incubators and Science Parks), gästar podden och berättar om inkubatorernas och science parks roll i det svenska innovationssystemet. Med bakgrund som entreprenör, affärsutvecklare och programledare för Ignite Sweden har Stina jobbat med över 1300 startups. I dag leder hon SISP – en medlemsorganisation som samlar 63
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EP 26 Alexander Engl – Build, Share, Repeat: How Makerspace and ihopa Enable Hardware for the Masses [ENG]
Episode #26 Build, Share, Repeat: How Makerspace and ihopa Enable Hardware for the Masses Alexander Engl joins the pod to talk about Stockholm Makerspace – a member-run 24/7 creative hub that empowers hardware builders, tinkerers and early-stage founders to bring physical ideas to life, without public funding or gatekeepers. We explore how the space grew to 1000+ members, how it's staying independ
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EP 35 Tomas Becklin – Teaching Infrastructure to Speak Animal with Flox
#35. Teaching Infrastructure to Speak Animal with Flox Tomas Becklin , CTO and co-founder of Flox , joins our podcast to explain how AI, acoustics and edge computing can reduce conflicts between wildlife and critical infrastructure. Flox builds systems that identify animals in real time and play sounds they instinctively understand, guiding behavior without fences, barriers or harm. In this conver
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EP 31 Mala Valroy – Industrifonden & the State of Deep Tech 2025
#31. Industrifonden & the State of Deep Tech 2025 Mala Valroy , Investment Manager at Industrifonden , joins the podcast to share her journey from biochemistry and startups to leading investments in deep tech. With Industrifonden’s unique evergreen model, she breaks down what it really takes to earn a term sheet in 2025, why relationships matter more than pitch decks, and how resilience and sustai
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EP 30 Per Brickstad – Transparent & the Quest for Timeless Tech
#30. The Quest for Timeless Tech Per Brickstad , founder and chief designer at Transparent , joins us in our 30th episode – a milestone worth noting. Transparent is on a mission to become the world’s first circular tech brand, building modular and upgradable audio gear that challenges consumer electronics’ throwaway logic. From a Stockholm design studio to a global hardware company, this is the st
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EP 32 Daniel Wentz – Greenely & the Rise of the Virtual Power Plant
#32. The Rise of the Virtual Power Plant Daniel Wentz , Chief Product Officer at Greenely , joins the podcast to unpack one of the most interesting shifts in consumer energy: the rise of home batteries, intelligent orchestration, and virtual power plants. With a background leading global connected-device software at Electrolux, he shares why trust and control are the foundation of any energy produ
LISTEN →Insights
ALL INSIGHTS →What we have learned about building, scaling and funding hard things in the Nordics.
INSIGHT Glasses to ashes: why AR, VR and AI wearables keep failing: until they don’t
A decade of failed AR, VR and AI wearables shows execution, not vision, is hardtech's hardest problem.
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INSIGHT Vi är live!
På rekordtid (?) har vi gått från idé till handling och skapat Hårdvarupodden.
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INSIGHT The Hardtech Christmas List: What Nordic Founders Really Want
A December reflection on the unglamorous but essential conditions Nordic hardtech founders actually need to keep building.
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INSIGHT TALES FROM THE TECH HUB: HARDWARE EDITION på The Yard i Göteborg (2 april)
Välkommen till Göteborgs techarena "The Yard" på ett exklusivt event om hur man bygger hårdvarubolag.
READ →Europe Doesn't Have an Innovation Problem
KTH Innovation's Lisa Eriksson argues fragmentation, not lack of innovation, holds back Europe's deeptech scaleups.
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INSIGHT Congrats Lovable – A Cautionary Tale for Deeptech?
Lovable just became Europe’s latest unicorn – and it’s a win for Swedish innovation. But deeptech founders, take note: speed isn’t everything. If capital keeps chasing AI hype, critical climate and resilience tech may get left behind.
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INSIGHT When policy becomes a product constraint
Industrial policy now shapes hardtech product decisions early, forcing founders to decide how much strategic control to trade for public support.
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INSIGHT Now Launching: Nordic Hardtech
READ →Less is More: How Flic Pushed the Button on Scalable Hardware
How Flic turned a simple Bluetooth button into a profitable, VC-free global hardware business.
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INSIGHT When Hardware Meets Awesome
Johan Ronnestam argues hardtech brands need archetypes and cultural resonance, not just working tech, to survive AI-driven disruption.
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INSIGHT The Unscalable Edge: why hardtech wins by starting slow
Argues that hardtech's early, unscalable phase builds the real-world knowledge that later makes scale possible.
READ →Built in Sweden? Only if you survive the manufacturing gap first
Monica Bellgran explains why Swedish hardware startups bring in industrialization too late and what that risks.
READ →Partners keep this open
The funding map, the podcast, the events and the newsletter are free for the whole ecosystem, made possible by partners who build Nordic hardtech with us.
AI-driven patent filing for tech companies. Protect what you invent, at software speed.
OFFER: Free intro call with Lightbringer's patent team → LIGHTBRINGER.COM ↗Swedish Incubators and Science Parks, the national infrastructure for innovation environments.
SISP.SE ↗Kept accurate by the community
Anyone can suggest an investor, flag an error, or submit an event, a job or a raise. Every suggestion is checked and prepared before it goes live. Nothing publishes unreviewed.
One sharp email, every two weeks.
Hardtech news from the Nordics and beyond, new raises, events worth travelling for, and the deadlines you should not miss.