growblocks shutting operations, flower raises €20m + will chess be america’s next spectator sport? ♟
*TGI(m)F. edition119 i’m kay, and this is your weekly round-up of curated startup news from the nordics, delivered to your screen for easy reading every sunday 📚
📍 drop your news/updates to the email below for the opportunity to be featured in the next edition.
contact me here: kaymichelsen@hotmail.com
🇩🇰 Denmark
BÆTA Carbon Solutions from University of Copenhagen are the overall early-stage winner of the University Startup World Cup finals.
Growblocks team announces they are shutting down operations after they couldn’t reach the scale or product-market fit they aimed for.
Kanpla, the B2B SaaS startup offering a digital solution for canteens and suppliers to reduce waste and enhance customer experience, raises an €8 million Series A round led by HenQ.
Hakio, the AI-driven demand forecasting in fashion for optimised inventory and waste reduction, wins the regional prize for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 in the Startup/Scaleup category.
Clair Scientific, the BioTech startup building the fastest and most user-friendy microscopy system, raises a €1.6 million from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and supported by the incredible team at Innovestor.
Eric Lauritzen, the co-founder of In-Form, is stepping away from the business and is open to chatting with anyone in a similar position (and who might need a little sparring).
GLX Analytix, the personalised medicine company, pioneering a diagnostics and monitoring platform, has raised funding from EIFO, Labcorp Venture and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation to help bring it closer to commercialisation.
Susanne Palsten Buchardt joins PSVHafnium as their new Venture Partner.
Monta, the EV charging software company announces expansion to the US market.
🇸🇪 Sweden
Flower, the company building an AI-powered platform for flexible energy, raises an additional €20 million to their Series A round — closing it at €45 million — led by Northzone and joined by Giant Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and a series of angel investors.
See the winners for categories in Company of the year (Modular Finance), Leader of the Year (Oscar Höglund), Investor of the Year (Miriam Grut Norrby) and more, for SaaS Summit 2024.
Thioredoxin Systems AB (TXN Systems) raises a €2.2 million Series A round from prominent investors, including Mikael Lönn, Jens Mogensen and more.
Syre, the textile impact company, has entered a strategic partnership with Selenis Specialty Polyester Solutions in order to establish a new textile-to-textile recycling facility in Cedar Creek, North Carolina.
Sana, the AI company building the next generation of knowledge tools, has raised €50 million in a round led by New Enterprise Associates.
Aqua Robur Technologies, the company creating solutions for monitoring water and wastewater infrastructure, raises €870k from Chalmers Ventures.
Mavatar, the startup creating AI-driven medical avatars for breakthroughs in healthcare and drug discovery, raises €3.5 million in their latest funding round.
Sustainable textile company, Renasens, closes its first investment round in which Norrsken Launcher leads as an external investor.
Plant milk company, Sproud, announces that television presenter Maya Jama has become an investor and co-owner of the brand.
Ellure, the Manufacturing as a Service (MaaS) platform that supports on-demand, customizable production of beauty products is 1 of 10 startups selected for Beauty Matter’s grant program.
Electric scooter company, Voi Technology, appoints Åsa Christiander as their new Head of Sustainability.
EvoluteIQ, the B2B automation platform helping companies create exceptional user experiences, closes a €1.8 million funding round led by Round2 Capital.
🇳🇴 Norway
Growth investor, Verdane, has raised €700 million for their new fund with a focus on businesses working within decarbonisation.
Palett, the company makes and sells healthy alternatives to fast food, announces the profiles that make up their new board.
OmniMod, the company developping innovative and intelligent technology within the industry of logistics automation, has raised fresh funding from investors including Sondo Capital and Element Logic.
Read: “Will chess be America’s next spectator sport? Magnus Carlsen would like to think so” - Forbes.
Yeti Move, the company building autonomous vehicles for snow removal at airports, has been bought up by a list of prominent investors including Christoffer Vikersveen Herheim and Vegard Aakre Vik.
🇫🇮 Finland
David Pugh joins Paebbl as their new VP of Systems and Architecture following the company’s mega €23 million fundraise.
Tiina Bensky is appointed the new CEO of Innomost, the company upcycling forest industry side streams and transforming birch bark into high-performing products.
Illusion Founder Office join efforts with a list of founders, operators, doctors, academics, and policymakers to build a children's hospital and research institute in Ukraine.
Peter Sarlin, CEO and Co-Founder of Silo AI, launches Foundation PS and donates €9 million to support AI research in Finland and Europe.
🌎 Nordics-wide
Unconventional Ventures share their Portfolio Impact Snapshot, two years after the launch of UV Fund I.
🧼 NorFalk is hiring a Commercial Business Developer.
🤑 North Ventures are hiring an Investment Manager.
🌱 Paebbl are hiring for multiple roles.
→ Pleo’s flagship event, “Beyond” for finance and business professionals. 7th November @ D15, 08:30 to 18:00 (CET).
→ FoodHack Copenhagen: FoodTech Funding Opportunities and Challenges, Thursday 14th November @ Ole Maaløes Vej, 16:00 - 18:30.
→ Canute by Thursday are hosting a program for Nordic startups considering scaling to the UK. 26th - 28th November in London.
→ Morning Brief: “The Technological Frontline of War: Ukraines Impressive Innovation Power” hosted by Danish Tech Startups, Matrikel1 and Techsavvy. 12th November, 8:00 - 9:30 @ Matrikel1.
→ Women Longevity Summit, in collaboration with DAYA, Biohackeri and Epicenter’s Swedish Longevity Cluster, on 12th November, 13:00 - 18:00 @ ELEMENTS, Stockholm.
Thanks for tuning in! i’m always on the hunt for newsworthy content to bring to the mondayfriday audience. and, if you ask me, the best place is from the sources themselves! so, feel free to reach out and fill me in on any startup related news in the nordics ✨
yours weekly,
kay
* thank god it's (monday)friday
