Nordic Hardtech Weekly #1: We are operational

The podcast sparked it—our platform keeps it going. Hardtech matters. It’s critical. It’s tough. And it needs a home. Through over 20 deep-dive founder talks, one thing is clear: physical tech is key to Nordic growth, climate transition, and resilience. But it’s hard—and still under-supported.

That’s why we’re here. Nordic Hardtech is a community for builders of complex tech companies based on physical products. Our mission: to inspire, share knowledge, and grow the hardtech ecosystem through podcasts, newsletters, events, and more.

This newsletter brings you the latest from across the Nordic hardtech scene.

Glad you’re with us—let’s build this thing together.

• The Yard — a combined coworking space and machine hall for startups in Gothenburg. A unique workspace with industrial feeling. Check out their memberships or take a tour.
• SISP — Swedish Incubators & Science Parks is the industry association for 63 incubators and science parks across Sweden. Members support innovation, sustainability, and investments. Find your incubator or science park here.
• Recuro — a growth partner for hardtech and deep tech companies. They help with strategy, marketing, and scalable business models to drive sustainable growth. Learn more and schedule an intro call.

This week we are happy to announce SISP as our new partner. We will collaborate closely to highlight members and their startups to build the ecosystem together. Expect more on this soon!

Want to partner with Nordic Hardtech?

Stina Lantz is on a mission to boost Sweden’s innovation power—driven by an increased collaboration between research and commercialization. As CEO of SISP (Swedish Incubators & Science Parks), Nordic Hardtechs latest partner, she works hands-on with knowledge sharing, networking, and policy to accelerate national impact.

“That's where an incubator really matters”

Stina Lantz has a CV that doesn’t just stand out — it dominates. In the past seven years alone, she’s helped over 1,700 Swedish startups land customers across both private and public sectors, in Sweden and abroad. With two decades of experience in building and scaling tech ventures, she’s tailor-made for the role as CEO at SISP.

With 63 members across Sweden, SISP brings together both incubators and Science Parks—which makes the difference worth knowing. When should a company choose one over the other? Stina breaks it down:

– If your business idea involves producing something, then you’ll face challenges like pricing, finding the right suppliers, and maybe the right investors. But if you're building something more complex, ideally meant to scale globally, that's where an incubator really matters. Many investors even say they prefer incubated companies—they become more professional thanks to the support ecosystem and are easier to invest in.

The incubation process varies in length. Stina has witnessed everything from six months to two years, depending on the complexity. But the outcome is always the same.

– You enter as an early-stage company and exit much more mature—in every way. You also gain access to a network of other startups. Being able to share day-to-day challenges with others in the exact same situation, that kind of value is priceless.

Once funding and connections are in place, the community often becomes even more important—being part of something bigger. That’s where the Science Parks come in.

– We like to call them local hearts of the ecosystem. They're plugged into university talent, big industry players, live testbeds, and key events—hugely valuable for a slightly more established company, Stina explaines.

Stina describes Sweden as highly innovative, though not without its challenges.

– We have lots of brilliant entrepreneurs and groundbreaking ideas, but scaling is still a struggle. A few giants have secured major funding rounds, but compared to other countries, our startups receive very little. Just look at Vinnova—easily the top government agency for startups and scaleups in Sweden—yet only around 7% of its budget actually reaches them. The rest is tied up in research.

For Stina, there’s still a lot to be done. Sweden needs stronger commercialization of research, more private risk capital aimed at deep tech, and smarter policies tailored to startups. She’s also calling for longer investment horizons—and above all, a serious strategy to attract and retain talent.

But as SISP’s CEO, Stina also sees massive potential ahead:

– There’s a ton of exciting momentum in AI right now. And when it comes to life science—deep tech at the molecular level—Sweden is an absolute powerhouse.

• The Nordic space race is on? A rocket launch from Norway’s Andøya made history—brief but bold. Meanwhile, Norway moves to block Sweden’s satellite plans, citing billion-dollar risks.
• A new deeptech investor just came to town. Enter, Turbine Capital, an early-stage VC fund focused on deeptech – initiated by Sting. Targeting a final close of €75M and aims to back 30-40 deeptech companies.
• Nordic Innovation Award. The 2025 winner was recently announced as Norwegian Cartesian. H2 Green Steel/Stegra was Sweden's nominee. The award honors sustainable innovations across the Nordic region.
• Is the tap running? Quandify recently released their Water Grip, a smart water monitor that detects leaks in homes. Hear more about their story on a previous episode of the Nordic Hardtech Podcast.

• SeaPattern boosts hydropower by 10% with a scalable, non-invasive microgrid of floating turbines—no harm to fish or sediment. Backed by Norrsken Launcher (SEK 8M) and active in both civilian and military sectors, they’re now hiring — Reach out to Niklas Boman or careers.seapattern.com.
• Twistboxes develops a patented foldable rooftop cargo carrier, that's currently sold in more than 25 countries through word of mouth. During 2025, they will raise their first external round to scale globally — Reach out to Mikael Nelderup for more information.
• Lightbringer is hosting a fireside chat on April 23, on how hardware companies can patent the use of software and AI with your systems and devices. Long-time friend of Nordic Hardtech, Ola Wassvik, is one of the hosts (listen to him on the podcast here) — Register for their webinar here.
• Energy Node is revolutionizing thermal management through a unique material that drastically improves the performance and lifespan of batteries, cold chain systems, and sustainable construction technologies, all while cutting TCO by up to 75%. Backed by 40+ years of materials science and systems engineering expertise. They are now fundraising — Reach out to David Knutsson.
• Get EU funding for chip innovation via EU & Vinnova which just opened 7 funding calls for chip innovation — Apply for funding in next-gen semiconductor technology.

Hardtech founders, we see you. Most VCs say "disruptive tech"—but actually mean SaaS. We’ve listed the Nordic investors who actually get hardtech. That is, complex, physical innovation—built in-house (not SaaS, apps, ecommerce, fintech, foodtech, or life science).

Nordic Hardtech is a platform for the hardtech ecosystem — sharing knowledge, bringing inspiration, and building community. And this is just the start. Going forward, you can expect more content, more channels and more hardtech.

💥Get involved. Pitch a topic. Join the podcast (up next: Ted Elvhage on space investing!). Get on the investor list–if you're hardtech.

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📩 hello@nordichardtech.com

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