Machines don't wait.
Neither should you.
While Sweden’s been busy with herring, midsummer poles and questionable dance moves, we at Nordic Hardtech have also been picking up quieter rhythms — like the heartbeat of Europe’s industrial machines.
This week’s spotlight is on IPercept, the Stockholm-based deeptech startup turning CNC machines into data-driven storytellers. Founder Karoly Szipka joins the pod to talk predictive maintenance, industrial AI, and how Europe’s manufacturing edge depends on more than just manpower. It’s about listening closely, and moving fast.
Nordic Hardtech Partners 🤝
Nordic Hardtech is a community for builders of complex tech companies based on physical products. Here are some of our outstanding partners.
- Lightbringer: AI-powered patent platform helping tech companies protect their edge fast, with in-house legal expertise. Missed our recent IP webinar? Watch the replay!
- Recuro: Growth partner for hardtech and deeptech. Strategy, marketing, and scalable business models that drive real traction. Book an intro.
- SISP (Swedish Incubators & Science Parks): The network for 60+ incubators and science parks in Sweden, powering innovation and scaleups across the country. Find yours here.
- The Yard: Gothenburg’s industrial-chic hub for startups. Co-working, community, and serious hardware energy. Explore their memberships.
Nordic Hardtech Podcast 🎧
This week: decoding the machinery that keeps industry moving.
Karoly Szipka on Making Machines Talk — and Building a Business Around It
“These are the machines that make machines”
If you’ve ever dismissed CNC machines as dull, think again. Stockholm-based deeptech startup IPercept is showing that the future of European manufacturing may depend on understanding these quiet giants. And acting before they fail.
Founder Karoly Szipka started his journey in academia, researching machine diagnostics at KTH, Sweden’s largest and most prestigious technical university. What began as a PhD project has become a fast-growing company used by industrial leaders like Scania, Volvo and Bosch.
– These are the machines that make machines. And yet there’s been almost no innovation in how we understand their condition, says Karoly.
IPercept’s solution? A proprietary hardware-software combo that functions like a fitness tracker for CNC machines. It runs a short motion-based test cycle and detects even the smallest mechanical deviations, without touching production systems or IT infrastructure.
– We can diagnose existing problems with the mechanics of the machine, so the user gets access to its health status within one or two days, down to the component level.
The test cycle only takes five minutes. If needed, the machine can be “sent to the doctor” every day or once a week. Without connecting to production or IT systems, IPercept delivers a high-resolution mechanical diagnosis that is fast, precise and plug-and-play.
But the core insight didn’t come from the machines. It came from the people operating them.
– In the beginning, we thought we were building something for machines. But we’re delivering for people, because they’re the ones making the decisions that improve efficiency, says Karoly.
Since launching commercially in 2022, IPercept has landed over two dozen enterprise customers and expanded into eight countries. The next growth phase focuses on partnerships with machine builders and service providers.
– We want to be the “Intel Inside” for CNC machines — bringing data and facts into conversations that change the entire narrative, says Karoly.
The company’s stack is also evolving into something more powerful: an intelligent assistant trained on proprietary CNC data. The goal is to let users query machine health in natural language and help close a growing industrial skills gap.
– Just in Sweden, 20,000 experts are missing from the field of maintenance, both technicians and engineers, and we’re only educating 200. If we don’t fix this, we won’t be able to scale up production.
It’s not just a Swedish issue. Karoly believes Europe’s entire industrial base is at a critical point, and hardtech founders need to think long-term.
– We didn’t run out of time. We ran out of time five years ago. And companies, I’ve been around, they’ve been ringing the bell. But people weren’t paying attention.
IPercept is now working to preserve not just uptime, but expertise.
– What’s really worrying is that many of these titans are retiring. We need to make sure their knowledge, mixed with passion, is passed on to the next generation, says Karoly.
Lately ⏮️
Selected news from the hardtech ecosystem
- 1 million people have now been trained through EIT’s Deep Tech Talent Initiative, covering AI, robotics, semiconductors and more. A major milestone for Europe.
- Finland fires up the world’s largest sand battery. The 1 MWh thermal unit stores clean energy as heat and could shift the economics of seasonal storage. Read the heatmap.
- Tesla can’t drive Stockholm, but data can. While FSD trials were blocked over safety concerns (just weeks after the Texas launch) Arelion lit up a 1.6 Tb/s AI superhighway across Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
- Europe’s SAR space race just got real. Finland backs ICEYE with €41 M to expand its satellite fleet for defense and Earth monitoring. Eyes up — the Nordics are aiming higher.
- ... And speaking of: Sweden’s ProCada is also heading to space. Backed by the national space agency, they’ll develop DED 3D printing for lightweight spacecraft structures. See what’s taking shape.
Up next ⏭️
What's brewing in the community?
- Eager to brighten your portfolio? Veyra is raising 2 MSEK to launch next-gen, windshield-integrated lighting. Join the round: kristoffer.kullberg@erayzer.se.
- Next stop: Silicon Valley. TINC Fall 2025 is a hybrid accelerator for Nordic startups, with in-person weeks in Oslo and SF. Deadline August 30.
- Driving manufacturing innovation? DeepTech Alliance is matching startups with corporates and investors (IPercept has been there and done that!) Apply by Aug 31.
- 🚀 Know the scene and move fast? We’re looking for a connector to help Nordic Hardtech grow with the right partners and stay close to the builders. Low hours, high impact. Curious? Ping us!
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