Hardware doesn’t wait.
Neither do the judges in Södertälje.
Nordic Hardtech Weekly hits edition #20 — two zero and counting. A small milestone, but one that shows the Nordic hardtech scene keeps delivering stories worth telling.We’re marking it not by looking back, but by pointing straight at what’s next.
Science Week and Sveriges Innovationsriksdag are up in Södertälje, where four hardware startups get just five minutes to prove their ideas can shape the future of industry. Add to that the latest moves, money and momentum from across the scene, and you’ve got this week’s dispatch.
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. Watch our recent IP webinar.
- Recuro: Growth partner for hardtech and deeptech. Book an intro.
- SISP (Swedish Incubators & Science Parks): The network for 60+ incubators and science parks in Sweden. Find yours here.
- The Yard: Gothenburg’s hub for co-working, community, and serious hardware. Explore their memberships.
Nordic Hardtech Spotlight
This week: Science Week puts hardware founders under the clock.
Got five minutes to change the future?
Four startups. Five minutes each. And one shot at convincing the jury they hold the future of sustainable manufacturing. That’s the setup when Produktionsänglar’s pitch competition hits the stage during Science Week and Sveriges Innovationsriksdag, October 7–9 in Södertälje.
The stakes are real. The winner walks away with business development support worth 100,000 SEK from Recuro, while the runner-up gets visibility in the Nordic Hardtech Podcast and exposure to investors across the Nordic Hardtech network.
– Being able to pitch your idea in a short time is a crucial skill for any entrepreneur. A pitch has to be clear: what problem does the product solve, what makes the innovation unique, and how does it contribute to society and the environment? says Natalia Lundin, startup lead at Produktionsänglar.
For founders, the pitch is less about show and more about signal — cutting through fast enough to spark investor interest, partnerships and growth. For the jury and audience, it’s a filter for what’s genuinely innovative and what might actually move the needle in future industry.
Part of a bigger snapshot
And Science Week is more than a stage. Over three days, Södertälje Science Park brings together startups, corporates, researchers and policy-makers to talk circular industry, dual-use innovation and new manufacturing tech. The pitch final is the highlight — but it’s also part of a bigger snapshot of where Nordic hardtech is heading, from lab to line and onto global markets.
The final takes place Thursday, October 9 at 14:00 in the Black Box at Södertälje Science Park, and can be followed both live and online. Four teams will pitch, but more than twenty startups will present during the day, giving a sharper view of what’s next in hardware and industrial tech.
Lately ⏮️
Selected news from the hardtech ecosystem
- Defense gets a startup edge. Amyna’s new platform will connect Skåne’s hardtech with FMV, Försvarsmakten and Saab and first accelerator kicks off this fall ...
- ... and in Östergötland, Defense Hub Sweden just launched, uniting Linköping, Norrköping and regional players to push total defense innovation forward.
- Oslo’s SNÖ Ventures is shutting down, but its partners aren’t leaving the game. Backed by Peter Thiel, the VC winds down as its team spins out to launch new solo funds.
- Wolt teams up with EIT Food and Europe’s food banks to test tech-driven ways to cut waste and re-think packaging — a bet that shows how technology-enabled solutions can take on complex food system challenges.
- Quantum goes Nordic. Denmark recently dropped €80M on QuNorth’s Magne, a Level 2 machine in Copenhagen aiming to crack chemistry and materials science by 2026.
Up next ⏭️
What's brewing in the community?
- 📅 Summer’s over, events are back! Sign up for an Industrial Design Afterwork with Fjaryl, Aarke and Playful Designstudio. Design, hardware and inspiration all in one night at A-House Slussen, Sept 2.
Invest where physical work meets AI
A Stockholm–London based AI startup is coming out of stealth and opening its first funding round.
The vision is simple: Unleash the power of AI for physical work, thereby driving productivity and security.
Founded by experienced entrepreneurs, the company has already run 50+ customer interviews over the past months, resulting in early commitments from international customers.
A promising patent is filed, the team is in place, product development is ongoing and GTM plan is validated — and now they’re looking for more angels and investment firms to join the round.
👉 Interested? Reach out at funding@nordichardtech.com for more details.
- TrackPaw is hiring. With SEK 25M raised, they want an engineer in signal processing and ML to build a smartwatch for animals.
- And Flox is hiring. Join the team building Edge, an AI system protecting farms, forests and airports from wildlife. Senior Embedded Engineer wanted.
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Interviews, insights and signals from the Nordic hardtech scene — curated to keep you sharp.
Nordic Hardtech is a platform for the hardtech ecosystem — sharing knowledge, bringing inspiration, and building community through podcasts, newsletters, events, and more.
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