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 175 INVESTORS →Every Nordic investor with documented hardtech investments, plus the grants and public instruments that fund the other half of the journey from lab to factory.
Radcap Ventures
RadCap Ventures is a Stockholm based angel network of 80+ female investors. It backs pre-seed and seed startups with at least 50 percent female or non-binary founders, writing tickets of 250 to 500 kSEK alongside mentorship and advisory support.
Kompas VC
Copenhagen-based early-stage venture capital firm that has, since its founding in 2021, backed founders building enabling technologies for physical industries such as manufacturing, the built environment, and energy. In 2026 the firm closed a 160 million euro Fund II, backed by LPs including VKR Holding and new entrant Realdania, to keep investing at the intersection of the physical world and modern technology.
Nordic Ninja VC
NordicNinja VC is a Helsinki-based, Japan-backed venture capital firm founded in 2019 that invests in Series A stage climate tech, deep tech and digital society companies across Northern Europe, backed by Japanese corporates including Honda, Panasonic and Omron.
Norrsken Launcher
Norrsken Launcher is a Stockholm based early stage deeptech impact fund inside the Norrsken ecosystem. It runs a concentrated portfolio, investing 1 to 3 million euros in 2 to 3 companies per year and working hands on with founders for 3 to 9 months on team building, commercialization and fundraising.
RunwayFBU
Early-stage VC fund, tech hub and industry software alliance based in Fornebu (Lysaker), Norway, investing $100k to $3m at pre-seed and seed into data-centric industrial technology that makes heavy industry more efficient, resilient and sustainable.
SEB Greentech VC
SEB Greentech Venture Capital is the Swedish bank's corporate VC unit investing directly from SEB's balance sheet into green technology companies, mainly in the Nordic and Baltic region with a broader European reach. It writes initial tickets of SEK 10-40 million from a SEK 1 billion mandate, taking active minority stakes with board seats in hardware, software and platform companies working on renewable energy, energy storage, water and agricultural technology, circular business models and waste management.
Verdane
Verdane is an independent European growth equity investor that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses to accelerate international growth, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Berlin and Munich. Founded in 2003, the firm has made more than 200 investments across digitalisation and decarbonization themes, spanning growth to buyout stages.
Skagerak Capital
Norwegian venture and growth investor focused on sustainable tech and cleantech innovation.
Prima Materia
Prima Materia is a Stockholm based investment company founded in 2020 by Daniel Ek and Shakil Khan. It builds and backs a small number of long term technology companies in Europe, with investments including Helsing and Neko Health.
VTT Ventures
Venture arm of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland's state-owned applied research institute, spinning off deep tech and industrial hardware startups from its own IPR.
EQT Group (Scaleup Europe Fund)
Stockholm-headquartered global investment organisation managing the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund, which targets Series B-to-pre-IPO European tech companies including hardtech sectors such as space, robotics and advanced industrial systems.
Curitas Ventures
Curitas Ventures is a Stockholm-based venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Mikael Ahlström and Gerda Larsson that invests in early-stage Nordic entrepreneurs across Disruptive Technology, Life Science and Sustainability; in 2025 its venture portfolio was acquired by Nordic Asia Investment Group 1987 AB, which now operates under the name Collaxio for its unlisted-investments strategy.
The ecosystem
ALL 1132 COMPANIES →Who builds, supplies and enables hardtech across the Nordics, from garage startups to industrial giants. Browse by role, phase and vertical.
Hemsek AB
Develops and manufactures electronic components and systems.
Volvo AB
Swedish multinational manufacturer of trucks, buses, construction equipment, and marine and industrial engines, headquartered in Gothenburg.
ArgusEye
ArgusEye provides sensor solutions for real-time detection of biological systems and processes, using nanoplasmonic sensing combined with fiber optics.
Midsummer
Manufactures thin-film solar panels and provides turnkey solutions for solar energy production, promoting sustainable energy.
Ericsson
Provides communication technology and services, including 5G infrastructure and IoT solutions.
Coloreel
Provides instant thread dyeing technology for embroidery, enabling on-demand color changes.
Fastlane Devs
Provides software development services, specializing in web and mobile applications.
Medistim
Medistim is a market leader within intraoperative transit time flow measurement (TTFM) and ultrasound imaging, providing the MiraQ system to the global market for cardiac, vascular and transplant surgery.
Augere Medical
A medical technology platform intended to assist endoscopists by aiding the detection of adenomas, sessile serrated lesions, and hyperplastic polyps in the colon.
Skrym
Provides AI-driven logistics optimization solutions to reduce environmental impact and improve efficiency.
O4 Network
Operates coworking spaces and innovation hubs, fostering entrepreneurship and collaboration.
Elektron Music Machines
Develops electronic musical instruments and performance tools.
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 list is open for the first entries.
The podcast
ALL 37 EPISODES →Conversations with the founders and funders of Nordic hardtech.
EP 12 Dora Palfi and imagi: From Neuroscience to Neon Pixels
Episode #12: From Neuroscience to Neon Pixels with imagi Dora Palfi , co-founder and CEO of edtech company imagi , joins the podcast to talk about building tools that make tech education more accessible, playful — and empowering, especially for girls. With a background in both neuroscience and computer science, Dora shares her journey from research to entrepreneurship, and how imagi is redefining
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EP 23 Linda Krondahl från Things: Från hype till handling – hur deeptech blir business [SWE]
Avsnitt 23. Från hype till handling – hur deeptech blir business Linda Krondahl , vd på Things och medgrundare till Ignite Sweden , gästar podden och berättar om sin resa från solenergiprojekt i Indien till att bygga ett nav för deeptech i Sverige. Det här är ett avsnitt om hur affärer slår visioner – och varför svenska storbolag måste vakna. Vi pratar om hur Things blev en katalysator för hardtec
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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 34 Max Villman – From Cockpit to Cap Table: Inside Nordic Defense Tech
#34. From Cockpit to Cap Table: Inside Nordic Defense Tech Max Villman , former Swedish fighter pilot and now defense tech investor at Gungnir , joins the Nordic Hardtech Podcast for a grounded conversation on what really matters in modern defense innovation. With first-hand experience from the cockpit and deep exposure to today’s European and Ukrainian defense tech ecosystems, Max shares what fou
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EP 3 Ulrika Tornerefelt och Stella Futura: Från grön vision till laddad expansion [SWE]
#3. Från grön vision till laddad expansion Ulrika Tornerefelt , grundare av Stella Futura , gästar podden och berättar om resan från hållbarhetsrådgivning till att bygga ett snabbväxande energibolag. Från Västafrika till svenska stödtjänstmarknaden, och från idé till skalbar affärsmodell inom “battery as a service”. Vi pratar om lönsam expansion, affärsmodellering, finansieringsstrategier och hur
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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 33 Leo Ballesteros – Atonemo & When to Ignore the Market (At First)
#33: When to Ignore the Market (At First) Leo Ballesteros , founder of Atonemo , joins the podcast to share a brutally honest take on what it actually takes to build a consumer hardware company from scratch. From feature overload to ruthless simplification, this episode is about learning by doing. Every single day. Atonemo is building consumer electronics at the intersection of hardware, software
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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
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EP 28 Dominic Davies – Lightbringer & the Patent Reboot: From Legal Grind to Founder Speed [ENG]
Episode 28: From Legal Grind to Founder Speed Dominic Davies , co-founder of Lightbringer , joins the pod to talk patents, automation and founder-first IP. With a background in both software and patent law, he’s now building a system that aims to replace the traditional patent firm entirely — starting with the needs of deeptech startups. From knowledge graphs to GPT-3, Lightbringer was born out of
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EP 4 James Campion och TERASi: In i hjärtat av svensk deeptech
#4. In i hjärtat av svensk deeptech James Campion , grundare av TERASi, gästar podden och berättar hur det är att bygga ett deeptech-bolag i Sverige – med rötterna i forskning, blicken mot 6G och finansieringsgapet ständigt närvarande. Vi pratar om teknik, produkt, kapital och politik. Om att utveckla kommunikationssystem för nästa generations nätverk, och varför det ibland känns som att förklara
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EP 25 Joacim Westlund Prändel – Less is More: How Flic Pushed the Button on Scalable Hardware [ENG]
🤝 This episode is produced in collaboration with Lightbringer – the patent service helping founders move faster. With AI at its core and senior attorneys in-house, they streamline the patent process and set a new standard for how growth-stage teams secure what’s theirs. Episode #25 Less is More: How Flic Pushed the Button on Scalable Hardware What if turning off a light or flipping a music sheet c
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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
LISTEN →Insights
ALL INSIGHTS →What we have learned about building, scaling and funding hard things in the Nordics.
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.
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.
READ →
INSIGHT The game beneath the game
Elite football's technology stack, from smart balls to computer vision, shows how Nordic hardtech is proving itself on the pitch.
READ →
INSIGHT The Hard Way: The Nordic Way
Nordic hardtech founders keep choosing complex, regulated, physical-world industries over easy, fast-scaling opportunities.
READ →When infrastructure thinks like nature
Flox's CTO explains how edge hardware, acoustics and AI guide wildlife away from roads, railways and airports.
READ →
INSIGHT Now Launching: Nordic Hardtech
READ →
INSIGHT Emilia Brandt on Why Growth Needs More Than Grit: and How Recuro Delivers
Recuro's new CEO explains why smart structure, not brute force, is what actually drives hardtech growth.
READ →
INSIGHT The Nordic Heat List: Ten Nordic Companies Turning Heat into Hardtech
Profiles ten Nordic companies turning industrial and household heat into hardtech-driven climate solutions.
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INSIGHT The EU–US Trade Deal has Landed – Why the Nordic Hardtech Ecosystem Must Act Now
A 15% tariff just hit Nordic exports to the US. Here’s why it’s a wake-up call for hardtech — and what we must do next.
READ →Gothenburg Rising: where legacy meets innovation
An analysis of how Gothenburg's industrial legacy and collaborative culture are fueling its rise as a Nordic hardtech hub.
READ →
INSIGHT Your product isn’t ready: and Michael Pica knows why
Hardware Velocity's Michael Pica explains why hardtech founders must validate demand before scaling production, not just believe in their idea.
READ →From Cockpit to Cap Table: Inside Nordic Defense Tech
A fighter pilot turned VC explains why defense tech founders validate with the wrong people.
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.
LIGHTBRINGER.COM ↗ SISPSwedish Incubators and Science Parks, the national infrastructure for innovation environments.
SISP.SE ↗ RECUROGrowth partner for tech and media companies, from strategy to execution.
RECURO.COM ↗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.