What Lies Behind Stockholm’s Tech Success Stories?
In recent years, Stockholm has become synonymous with technology trailblazers, forward-thinking entrepreneurs and a growing band of unicorns – startups valued at more than $1 billion.
With strengths in fintech, e-commerce and entertainment, its first wave of innovators included music streaming giants Soundcloud and Spotify and Candy Crush video game makers, King.
Now, the next generation of startups are making a global name for themselves, from invoicing systems specialist Klarna to card payment processor iZettle, now owned by PayPal.
"We're seeing new firms being launched by people with those large global names on their CV," says Erik Skalin, JLL head of agency for Sweden. "So it certainly feels like it's the second wave."
Strong interest from investors is underpinning growth. A combination of angel investors such as Sweet Capital and private equity from the likes of Verdane Capital are supporting Stockholm's tech scene with recent successful fundraisings such as e-scooter startup VOI.
