worlds #1 competitive hacking team, superhero's €50 million fund, abler partners with the chelsea foundation ⚽️
*TGI(m)F. edition128 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 💌
👀 did you miss it?
the mondayfriday 2024 catalogue came out end of Dec, and it’s a 15-page (curated) round-up of updates/startups/news that came through mondayfriday last year. it’s not a replacement for crunchbase, but it is a lighthearted reminder of the cool things happening across the nordics. hope you enjoy it!
💌 new formats
i’m experimenting with new formats through mondayfriday, including written interviews, audio, and more, so keep your eyes peeled. they’ll be dropped at random into your inboxes in addition to the weekly roundup every sunday. i’ve already got a few things in the pipeline so am hoping to have something launch already around the end of jan. if you wanna collaborate on anything, please do reach out. am always up for experimenting with new ideas!
🥛 got news?
here’s the: 🔗 mondayfriday news drop. share the details by saturday for a potential sunday feature!
“The "happiest country" is about to trigger the greatest tech exodus in Nordic history”
~ Omar Puebla + Youssef Zad.
🇩🇰 Denmark
Morningscore, the startup simplifying SEO optimisation, raises around €670.000 from angel investors, Bo Møller and Lasse Schou Holbøll.
Julie Riisgaard Cordes from BII’s Planetary Health team now joins the board of directors of Alliance for Biosolutions.
Jerrit Jungmann, VC at People Ventures, shares “3 more of the coolest early-stage products from the Nordics” (7Analytics, Spaceline Labs, Valpas).
Marcus Borum Mølskov Bech is taking on role of CEO at Droplet IV (replacing current co-CEO, Tore Victor Chrom Allerup) & Henriette Schultz Kirkegaard joins as Chairperson of the Board.
Kalmarunionen becomes the #1 competitive hacking team in the world.
In addition to this weeks latest on the Trump/Greenland issue, Elon Musk is also now meddling in Danish socio-political issues.
AI-powered video creation company, SureShot, secures €135.000 from Innofounder.
Monika Barauskaite takes on new role as CEO of Wedio, as the three current co-founders transition into board of director roles.
Biotech startup, EvodiaBio, partners with ÅBEN, a craft brewery to create Y, their first non-alcoholic option.
Hervolution Therapeutics, an immune therapy platform targeting anti-aging, cancer + neurodegenerative diseases, secures €11.5 million in series A funding led by Serum Institute of India.
NJORD aqua has received the Earthbound Student Grant for their technology tackling the global challenge of safe drinking water.
Agrobiomics, the agtech company optimising agricultural productivity and resilience, has secured a €1.5 million grant from Denmark’s Green Development and Demonstration Programme.
Digital Hub Denmark are launching a new project, Exit Interviews, to better understand why so many tech talents are leaving DK each year.
A new legislation has been passed meaning that from 1st January, ApS companies are able to raise funds publicly for the first time.
Andreas Cleve, the founder of Corti, has been appointed to the board of the Danish Centre for AI Innovation (DCAI).
Claus Rehfeld becomes an investor in TrialSync, with an undisclosed amount of funding.
Mikkel Steen announces Stealth, an AI-first product studio with his first product, Lexora, built to empower regulatory affairs and product managers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Ex Editor-in-chief at Berlingske, Lisbeth Knudsen’s open linkedin letter to Helle Thorning Schmidt and danish politicians on Meta’s new policy.
🇸🇪 Sweden
Biotech company, PeptiSystems AB, raises €3.92 million led by Sciety and Sciety Venture Partners.
Women’s health company, Estercare, partners with OneLab, to promote women’s health in the workplace.
Femtech studio, Daya Ventures, announce launch of their own product, Daya Cosmetics, a brand dedicated to solving the gap in pregnancy-meets-skincare regimes.
AnaCardio, the clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has raised €18.5 million from investors including Novo Holdings, Sound Bioventures + more.
Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Ebba Busch’s trip to Silicon Valley + interview with Silicon Valley Nordic Beat.
Saveggy, the startup creating sustainable packaging for fresh fruits + veg, appoints LRF Ventures' former employee, Martin Alexandersson.
Einar Bodström, the co-founder + CEO of ClimateView is handing over the CEO reigns to Maxime Leroux, as they expand further into the U.S.
Camilla Bergman, CEO of Impact Loop, calls out the media for their gendered coverage of AI-entrepreneurs.
See Resumé’s list of “99 Women in Tech" including: Binette Seck, Emma Ridderstad, Liv Sandberg + more.
🇳🇴 Norway
After just one month with the team, Hege Janson Skoge, shares that she will be moving away from her position at Oschlo as head of AI agency.
Bikeloop, the company providing bike parking solutions, is one of six companies to be awarded funding for transport research worth €500.000 from the Ministry of Transport.
Pia Michel from Prima Materia VC’s grand tour of Europe is starting, with a kick-off in Norway.
Sensocure, a company developing sensors for real-time monitoring in medical use, has secured €1 million in funding from the European Innovation Council.
Investinor’s portfolio company Ace Well Technology AS, is acquired by US company, Varel Energy Solutions.
Erna Solberg launches a regional early-stage fund in Western Norway, with a first close at €1.7 million and aiming for a further €3.4 million.
🇫🇮 Finland
Rocsole, a provider of industrial tomography imaging technology, has started to fundraise on Springvest. €1000 minimum investment.
Superhero Capital launch their fourth fund at €50 million with a continued focus on Finland and the Baltics.
Juhana Peltomaa, co-founder of Operator and Friends, joins Andreessen Horowitz as a scout.
Pia Lemmetty-Tarasiuk joins Tesi VC as their latest Investment Director in the Venture & Growth Investments team.
SilentBerry, a decentralized publishing platform using the RGB++ protocol, secures strategic investment from the CKB Eco Fund.
Hycamite, the company producing low-carbon hydrogen and carbon products, has secured a €44 million series A round led by Sojitz Group.
MONCYTE Health the company building technology for optimal treatment of high cholesterol, is joining the €7.2 million Horizon Europe project.
Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN) elects their 2025 board, with 3 new board members signing on.
Kvanted VC hires Lyydia Lappi as their newest Investment Manager.
Finland’s U.S. Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola alongside Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister, were awarded "Innovation Champion" title at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.
🇮🇸 Iceland
Abler, the unified management platform for coaches and directors in sports, announces a partnership with Chelsea Foundation, one of the world’s leading football charities.
📚 stories, opinions + resources
neil s w murray’s predictions for nordic tech in 2025 (exits, ipo’s, market downturns + more).
read: “nordic innovators drive the evolution of engagement”
read: Niklas Zennström’s opinion on Europe “winning” in AI over the U.S and their current dominance in the race.
this weeks wildcard: a few takes on the trump/greenland issue from Jacob Bro, Partner at 2150.VC, Anne Nivíka Grødem the CEO of Visit Greenland, and Jacques Hartmann, a Professor of International Law and Human Rights in Dundee.
for an academic perspective you can read: “Greenland and self-determination: Danish politicians cannot prevent Greenland from becoming part of the US” Jacques Hartmann, Professor of International Law and Human Rights.
🧠 Illusian Founder Office are hiring a Lead Engineer for an AI x Mental Health Project (FI)
🌙 Moonboon are hiring a Hardware Development Lead (DK)
🐮 Nofence is hiring a Senior UX Designer (NO).
+ a link for resources on to how to get a job in finland.
→ Request a seat for: “The AI Act and Responsible AI Innovation” hosted by Halfspace - an AI company, January 16th, 09:00-10:00 in CPH.
→ Lea Hellmann Midtgaard is crowdsourcing ideas for who should be on her podcast, “Our Mental Health” (vores mentalsundhed).
→ Startup Aarhus are hosting two founder workshops to help build their new event, SMIL 2025. Take part either on: Jan 23rd or Jan 24th, from 3 - 4 pm.
→ Elise Lilliehöök (mingla) is looking to chat with people who have experience launching a venture in the US, ideally a nordic or scandi brand.
→ CPH Townhall, Jan. 30th, 5pm - 9pm.
→ interested in bridging the nordics with japan? Hokkaido Innovation Week (feb 13-19), will see a host of nordic involvement from informal meet-ups, to nordic speakers (David Quist - NoMy, Victor Gram - Tryp.com) and more! get your tickets here.
→ “Is SaaS dead? Really?” with Christopher Frenning, National Technology Officer for Norway at Microsoft. Jan 28th, Oslo.
→ Office spots available in a shared space in CPH. More here.
→ SLOWFASHION is looking for an office space in Stockholm from Feb/March.
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 community itself. so, please drop your updates HERE and fill me in on any startup related news in the nordics ✨
yours weekly,
kay
* thank god it's (monday)friday
