Old tech breaks.
Good design doesn’t.
This week marks a milestone: our 30th podcast episode. Along the way, we’ve spoken with founders, engineers and investors shaping the Nordic hardtech scene – from early-stage dreamers to global scale-ups. But few stories capture the clash between design, tech, and sustainability as sharply as this one.
Per Brickstad, founder and chief designer of Transparent, joins us to talk circular design, timeless electronics and the belief that consumer tech shouldn’t be disposable. From Stockholm to Seoul, his six-person team is building a global hardware brand that challenges how we make, use and value the objects around us.
Also: since Sweden just published a cultural canon, we figured hardtech deserves one too.
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 Podcast 🎧
This week: How to challenge an industry addicted to waste.
The Circular Sound Experiment That Refused to Break
"Only later do they discover the bigger mission of circularity"
From Nokia designer to founder of Transparent, Per Brickstad is turning frustration with throwaway gadgets into a global mission: building timeless hardware that actually improves with age.