Less wandering.
More signal.
Almedalen is almost here. Thousands of conversations will take place. We've filtered out the ones we think matter most to the Nordic hardtech ecosystem.
This week, we guide you to the sessions on AI, robotics, defence, energy, manufacturing and deeptech investment that founders, investors and industry leaders shouldn't miss. Many are also available via livestream, so you don't have to be in Visby to follow along.
Nordic Hardtech Partners 🤝
- Lightbringer: AI-powered patent service helping tech companies protect their edge fast, with in-house legal expertise. Book an intro.
- Recuro: Growth partner for hardtech and deeptech. Scale with profit.
- 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 Outlook
This week: The sessions worth your time in Almedalen.
Your Nordic Hardtech Guide to Almedalen 2026
Hundreds of seminars will take place in Visby next week. We've filtered the official programme to highlight the discussions we believe are most relevant for founders, investors and leaders building the next generation of industrial technology.
Many of the sessions are also streamed live via Almedalsveckan Play or the organisers' own channels. Check the linked event page for the latest streaming information.
⭐ Editor’s Picks
Industrin – vårt bästa försvar
When:Wednesday 13.00–13.45
Where: Teknikföretagens trädgård, Strandgatan 19
Who: Teknikföretagen
Why: This is the core NHT angle: industry as resilience, competitiveness and national security in one conversation.
Från labb till marknad: varför köper inte Sverige sin egen teknik
When: Thursday 15.00–15.45
Where: House of Sweden, Strandgatan 19
Who: Chalmers
Why: Public procurement, first customers and commercialisation. Basically: why brilliant Swedish tech too often leaves before it scales.
Försvar, rymden och deep tech – Sveriges nästa stora exportsuccé?
When: Thursday 14.00–14.30
Where: Techarena Arena, Strandgatan 16
Who: Techarena
Why: Defence, space and deeptech in one half-hour. Hard to get more on-brand.
När 5G blir en del av försvaret – industrins svar på Europas växande drönarhot
When: Tuesday 10.05–10.35
Where: Dagens industri Arena, Strandvägen
Who: Dagens industri / Ericsson
Why: 5G, sensor technology, drones and total defence. This is where telecom becomes hard security infrastructure.
Datacenter, el och beredskap – vad är faktiskt möjligt?
When: Tuesday 13.00–14.00
Where: WSP Arena, Hästgatan 4
Who: WSP Sverige
Why: AI needs compute. Compute needs power, land, water and permits. This is the infrastructure reality behind the AI hype.
🤖 AI, Digital Infrastructure & Industrial Intelligence
Sverige är AI-redo – men är Sverige AI-moget?
When: Wednesday 10.05–10.35
Where: Dagens industri Arena, Strandvägen
Who: Dagens industri / Salesforce
Why: A broader AI competitiveness discussion, but with a useful question at its core; how does AI create value beyond the usual startup headlines?
Sverige i AI-eran – från ambition till resultat
When: Wednesday 14.10–14.40
Where: Dagens industri Arena, Strandvägen
Who: Dagens industri / ServiceNow
Why: Less “AI is important”, more “how do we actually implement it?” Relevant for anyone tired of strategy decks.
Hur gör vi AI-kompetens till Sveriges nya basfärdighet?
When: Tuesday 15.15–16.00
Where: AI Sweden Garden, Berggränd 6
Who: AI Sweden
Why: Talent is infrastructure too. If AI is going industrial, competence can’t stay in specialist teams.
🛡️ Defence, Security & Resilience
Hur klarar näringslivet och samhället försvarets upprustning?
When: Tuesday 08.00–09.00
Where: BAE Systems Arena
Who: BAE Systems Bofors / BAE Systems Hägglunds
Why: Defence growth does not happen in a vacuum. This puts the industrial base, labour market and society in the same room.
Energisystem under attack – vad kan Sverige lära av Ukraina?
When: Tuesday 16.00–16.40
Where: Ukraina i Almedalen, S:t Hansgatan 18
Who: Ukrainska Hubben and others
Why: Energy security stops being theoretical when infrastructure is under attack. Strong relevance for grid, backup power and resilience builders.
Kraftvärmens roll i totalförsvaret
When: Tuesday 16.15–17.15
Where: Volterscenen, Hästgatan 2
Who: Regional Energi
Why: Local, robust energy production may not sound sexy. Until the grid is down.
⚡ Energy, Electrification & Infrastructure
Energigemenskaper – en ny väg mot framtidens hållbara energisystem
When: Tuesday 10.00–10.40
Where: Mötesplats Energi, Donners plats
Who: Ship of a New Story, ImCode Partner, PM Konsult Syd, SERO
Why: Distributed energy, local models and system flexibility. Useful for anyone thinking beyond “just build more grid.”
Vad vill politiken i energifrågorna?
When: Thursday, 15.30–17.00
Where: Arena Energi, Donners plats
Who: Energiföretagen Sverige
Why: Energy tax, production, heating and grid policy will shape what can actually be built in Sweden.
🚀 Deeptech, Scaleups & Commercialisation
Från labb till marknad: varför köper inte Sverige sin egen teknik?
When: Thursday, 13.30–14.00
Where: House of Sweden, Strandgatan 19
Who: KTH, Lund University, University of Gothenburg & Konstfack
Why: Every deeptech founder knows the challenge: building the technology is only half the battle. This discussion tackles one of Sweden's biggest bottlenecks, getting domestic customers to become first adopters.
Sveriges viktigaste tillväxt – marinteknik och försvarsinnovation för totalförsvar och omställning
When: Thursday 16.00–16.45
Where: Blekingescenen, Hästgatan 4
Who: Region Blekinge / Karlskrona kommun
Why: Maritime, defence innovation and industrial growth. Very relevant for dual-use founders and regional hardtech ecosystems.
No problem. Many of the sessions are streamed live via Almedalsveckan Play or the organisers' own channels, so you can follow the discussions from anywhere.
- Lightbringer just raised $10M to challenge the traditional patent industry. The Malmö startup is expanding into the US while scaling its AI-powered patent platform for deeptech companies.
- Can you invest before the company exists? Wave Ventures thinks so. The Helsinki VC has raised a €10M fund and launched grants for pre-idea founders.
- SpaceX is acquiring Cursor creator Anysphere for $60B. The company, co-founded by Swedish entrepreneur Arvid Lunnemark, is behind one of the year's biggest tech acquisitions.
- The EU is giving Europe's battery industry a €1.5B boost. Its new Battery Booster will help manufacturers scale production through interest-free loans, with competitiveness and resilience at the core.
- Baltic deeptech is growing faster than the Nordics (and the EU, and the US). New figures show energy, robotics and defence are driving one of Europe's fastest-growing deeptech ecosystems. See why.
What's brewing in the community?
- Saab is hiring a Head of Autonomy. The role will lead the company's next generation of autonomy, swarming and multi-agent systems across its defence portfolio. See the role.
- Siemens Energy is hiring a Robotics & Factory Automation Expert. The role spans industrial robotics, computer vision and physical AI, helping shape the next generation of smart manufacturing. Apply now.
- Nautrik is hiring a Robotics Engineer for autonomous swarm systems. Join the Stockholm defence tech startup building next-generation autonomous surface vessels with ROS2, sensor fusion and AI. Apply here.
- Nordic Innovation is taking AI, space and competitiveness on tour. This summer's democracy festivals will spotlight Nordic commercialisation, critical raw materials and industrial resilience. See the full tour.
- As always, check out our Nordic Hardtech Event Map for 2026 for more hardtech events across the Nordics and beyond.
Nordic Hardtech Funding List
See who’s raising, scaling and building across the Nordics.
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