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.
Arctic Ventures
Arctic Ventures is the angel-investment vehicle managed by Arctic Business Incubator (ABI), investing exclusively in startups admitted to ABI's incubator across northern Sweden, from Skellefteå to Kiruna. It is backed by a network of dozens of business angels together with the state-owned fund Saminvest, and provides seed-stage convertible-loan capital to companies spanning space, industry, gaming and IT.
Vargas
Vargas is a Stockholm-based impact company builder that identifies, validates, finances and scales industrial companies in hard-to-abate sectors. Founded in 2014, it has built or co-founded Northvolt, Polarium, Stegra (formerly H2 Green Steel), Aira, Syre and the Arctial aluminium project, spanning batteries, energy storage, green steel and hydrogen, heat pumps and textile recycling.
Alsteron
Alsteron is a Stockholm-based, family-owned investment company founded in 2019 that focuses on the Scandinavian market, primarily investing in biotech, digital and technological innovation companies.
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.
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.
AGV Invest
AGV (All Generation Ventures) is a Stockholm-based PropTech-focused investment firm investing in early-stage Nordic real estate technology ventures, with a focus on sustainability and decarbonization solutions for the real estate industry.
Walerud Ventures
Family-backed investor supporting early-stage deep tech startups focused on sustainability and innovation.
Accelerace
Accelerace is a Copenhagen-based pre-seed investor and startup accelerator active across the Nordics and Baltics, having accelerated 1,000+ startups and made 120+ pre-seed investments (primarily first-time founders) since 2008; in October 2025 it merged with BioInnovation Institute.
Investinor
Norway’s largest venture investor, providing growth capital to tech companies with international potential.
Climentum
European climate-focused VC investing in startups with measurable CO₂ reduction potential.
Nordic Alpha Partners
Nordic Alpha Partners is a Copenhagen based industrial greentech growth fund investing across two funds worth roughly 400 million EUR since 2017. It uses an operational value creation toolkit to scale portfolio companies in energy transition, agriculture, building and construction, industrial process innovation, circular economy and waste, and water and wastewater.
Equinor Ventures
Equinor Ventures is the Stavanger, Norway-based corporate venture capital arm of Equinor, investing since 1991 in early-phase and growth companies developing renewable energy, low-carbon and energy-transition technologies, with a portfolio concentrated in Europe and North America.
The ecosystem
ALL 1183 COMPANIES →Who builds, supplies and enables hardtech across the Nordics, from garage startups to industrial giants. Browse by role, phase and vertical.
Gasmet Technologies
Gasmet develops, manufactures and markets a complete range of high quality gas analyzers based on FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra Red) technology, and accessories for industrial use and professionals around the world.
Tibber
Offers a digital platform for smart energy consumption and management for households.
Digikey
Global distributor of electronic components and automation products, serving engineers and manufacturers. Formerly Digikey.
Produktionsänglar (Södertälje Science Park)
Produktionsänglar is an incubator supporting startups in industrial production, offering resources and expertise to accelerate growth.
TECO 2030
TECO 2030 is a Norwegian based clean tech company developing zero-emission technology for the maritime and heavy industry. We are developing PEM hydrogen fuel cell stacks and PEM hydrogen fuel cell modules, that enable ships and other heavy-duty applications to become emissions-free.
TracInnovations
TracInnovations is a Danish company established in 2015 focusing on innovative solutions for image-based diagnosis. TracInnovations has developed the Tracoline system, an MRI Markerless Motion Tracker and Monitoring System that unnoticed records patient's head movements during brain scans.
Lifefinder
LifeFinder builds an intelligent sensor-based alert system that detects abnormal conditions such as water, shock, temperature and lack of movement to trigger automated emergency alerts for workers in remote and hazardous environments like offshore sites, wind farms, maritime vessels and emergency services.
Sooma Medical
Sooma Medical is a Finnish medical device company developing non-invasive brain stimulation devices for treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Linköping Science Park
Supports tech companies and startups through networking and development programs.
APR Technologies
APR Technologies AB develops advanced thermal management solutions for spacecraft, airplanes, and automotive electronics, focusing on liquid cooling systems.
Trimble AB
Provides advanced positioning solutions for various industries, including construction and agriculture.
ScandiNova Systems AB
ScandiNova designs and manufactures solid-state high-power pulse modulators and RF systems for medical, industrial, and scientific applications.
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 5 Rickard Bröms och Vässla: Full gas till fritt fall [SWE]
#5. Full gas till fritt fall Rickard Bröms , grundare av Vässla , gästar podden och berättar hur bolaget gick från Blockets enda elmoppe till internationell elfordonssatsning – och till slut in i rekonstruktion. Vi pratar om produktstrategi, supply chain, kapitaljakt och vad som händer när verkligheten kör över visionen. Men också om hur en idé kan leva vidare, även efter en konkurs. I det här avs
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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 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 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 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 27 Karoly Szipka – IPercept & the CNC Whisperers: From PhD to Predictive Power [ENG]
Episode #27 – IPercept & the CNC Whisperers: From PhD to Predictive Power Karoly Szipka , founder and CEO of IPercept , joins the podcast to share how a research project on machine efficiency became a fast-scaling deeptech company with some of Europe’s largest industrial players as customers. With AI, patented hardware, and a “fitness tracker” for CNC machines, IPercept is redefining predictive ma
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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 20 Ted Elvhage: Rymdkapital & Expansion Ventures – The Nordic Case for Space [ENG]
Episode 20 – The Nordic Case for Space Ted Elvhage , founder of Rymdkapital and Expansion Ventures , joins us to talk spacetech, hardtech investing, and why Europe needs to catch up. From early bets like Pythom Space to advice for angel investors—this is a fast, sharp dive into one of hardtech’s most complex frontiers. Rymdkapital is a Sweden-based investment firm focused on early-stage spacetech
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EP 22 Christoffer Johnsson: Från stock till kod – hur Taigatech transformerar en miljardindustri [SWE]
Det här avsnittet görs i samarbete med The Yard – en coworkingmiljö och verkstad för hardtech-startups i Göteborg. En kreativ plats med industriell känsla för dig som bygger fysiska produkter. Avsnitt 22. Från stock till kod – hur Taigatech transformerar en miljardindustri Christoffer Johnsson , vd på Taigatech, gästar podden och berättar hur bolaget kombinerar AI och industriell automation för at
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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 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 7 Claes Kjölhede och Airolit: Svensk hardtech ur ett drönarperspektiv
#7 Svensk hardtech ur ett drönarperspektiv Claes Kjölhede , vd på drönarbolaget Airolit , intervjuas live på Evertiq Expo i Göteborg. Vi pratar om hur man bygger avancerade drönarsystem i Sverige – och vad som krävs för att leverera till både totalförsvar och forskningsvärld. Airolit grundades 2017 för att utveckla UAV/UAS-lösningar för krävande industriella användare. Med fabrik i Mölndal, partne
LISTEN →Insights
ALL INSIGHTS →What we have learned about building, scaling and funding hard things in the Nordics.
INSIGHT Under the Surface: How the Nordic Blue Hardtech Wave Is Rising
Nordic hardtech founders are turning to the ocean, building autonomous dredging robots, tidal kites and subsea sensors to drive a new blue economy.
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INSIGHT The Hard Way: The Nordic Way
Nordic hardtech founders keep choosing complex, regulated, physical-world industries over easy, fast-scaling opportunities.
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INSIGHT The New Industrial Stack
Nine Nordic startups are building the software layer that lets factories be programmed like computers.
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INSIGHT Deep Tech Needs to Go Deeper (Except Here)
A guest column argues Europe should focus on defensible niches like physical AI, quantum applications and precision biomanufacturing instead of chasing China everywhere.
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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 Built to Endure: How Nordic Hardtech Turns Fear into Function
Explores how fear, war, and geopolitical uncertainty are reshaping Nordic hardtech into a driver of resilience and dual-use innovation.
READ →Who Makes the Nordic Hardtech Canon?
A playful editorial ranks the inventions and companies that define Nordic hardtech's lasting industrial legacy.
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INSIGHT Quantum That Counts: 10 Nordic Quantum Pioneers to Watch
A curated look at ten Nordic companies turning quantum research into commercial hardware and software.
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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.
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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 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 Höstens åtta avsnitt – här är lärdomarna och råden
Under hösten det släppts åtta avsnitt där jag intervjuat ledare för hårdvarubolag. Det har varit åtta unika samtal, med gemensamma nämnare. Vad kan andra (hårdvaru)bolagsbyggare lära sig?
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.