Sweden
Stockholm
The entrepreneurial excellence of Stockholm and Sweden comes from a long history of successful businesses based on Deep Tech innovation. This has shaped a culture of confident individuals willing to take risks in which startups work closely with both universities and capital — a recipe for creating successful unicorns.
Highlights
Despite having just 10 million inhabitants, Sweden is a hotbed for tech innovation. Recent reports from the European Commission and World Intellectual Property Organisation ranked Sweden the most innovative country in the E.U., and third in the world. Sweden also came in third in the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2022 thanks in part to its high number of startups.
Stockholm is the heart of Sweden’s innovation economy, attracting more than 50% of the country’s total foreign direct investment. The ecosystem has a strong focus on social good. Stockholm is home to more than 240 impact startups and in 2021, 57% of the $3.6 billion raised by the ecosystem’s startups went to impact startups. The Norrsken Foundation created the Impact100 annual list of the world’s most promising impact startups, and has been referred to as the Nobel Prize for Impact.
Private equity and venture firm EQT closed a €2.2 billion fund in September 2022.Stockholm School of Economics’ startup incubator SSE Business Lab raised 40 million SEK ($3.6 million) for its new evergreen fund, SSE Ventures, the same month. Female founded VC firm BackingMinds closed a €50 million fund in November 2022.
The 2022 Global Impact Summit, Stockholm took place in November. The annual Stockholm Impact Week brings together startups, talent, investors, business leaders, and policymakers. Women In Tech Sweden aims to inspire and support women in tech.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Sub-Sector Strengths
Cleantech
Stockholm aims to be fossil free and climate positive by 2040. Sweden was ranked #5 in the Climate Change Performance Index 2023 and #5 in the Environmental Performance Index 2022. In September 2022, Hexagon announced a new venture capital arm of its sustainable-innovation investment subsidiary. H2 Green Steel joined seven European Cleantech companies to form a Cleantech scaleup coalition. Carbon-accounting engine Normative.io has raised $45.3 million over four rounds and Volta Trucks has raised $391 million over five rounds.
Fintech
Sweden is leading the way towards a cashless society with an increasing number of Swedes using smartphones for payments. More than 4,000 Swedes have had a microchip implanted in their arm to make payments instead of carrying bank cards. Sthlm Fintech Week, held in February 2023, brought together attendees from 21 countries. Smart economy app Anyfin raised a €30 million Series C in January 2023. Fintech giant Klarna has raised a total of $4.5 billion over 30 rounds.
Life Sciences
More than 50% of Sweden’s Life Science industry is located in Stockholm. The International Vaccine Institute opened its European office here in 2022, and science city Hagastaden is one of Stockholm's largest development projects. Tenants include AstraZeneca, 10X Genomics, Immedica Pharma, GHP, Sirona and Polarium. Pfizer relocated its headquarters to Hagstaden in February 2023. Stockholm Life Tech is a project to develop research and innovation infrastructure in the region.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Stockholm
Established Startup Community
The birthplace of Skype, Klarna, and Spotify, Stockholm has produced more unicorns per capita than any other European city. The ecosystem has a reputation for strong collaboration, as well as a keen focus on sustainability and mission. Stockholm offers a high survival rate for startups, a high density of angel investors and VCs, and support from state-run agencies.
Opportunities for International Talent
The Swedish government offers visa sponsorship jobs that allow international workers to relocate to the nation. Most jobs in the scheme are in IT, engineering, healthcare, and other skilled industries. The 2022 IMD World Talent Ranking ranked Sweden #2 among 63 economies in attracting and retaining talent. English is the office language at many Swedish tech companies.
Quality of Life
Several rankings rate Sweden highly for its quality of life, citing the country’s level of freedom, environmental performance, happiness levels, and its welcoming attitude towards migrants. The nation is home to excellent universities, and tuition is subsidized for students from Sweden, the EU/EEA area, and Switzerland. There are scholarship programs that cover tuition and living costs for highly qualified students from developing nations.
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