By Preben Songe-Møller, Co-founder & Partner at Skyfall Ventures
Last updated: June 2024
The Nordic region has been a breeding ground for unicorns for years, punching way above its weight class of 28 million people. However, while Sweden 🇸🇪 (most unicorns per capita in the world after Silicon Valley, e.g. Klarna and Spotify), Finland 🇫🇮 (Supercell, Aiven) and Denmark 🇩🇰 (Unity, Zendesk) have a highly developed ecosystem for technology startups, Norway 🇳🇴 must be said to have been lagging behind our neighbours.
However, this is changing rapidly. If you are an international investor looking for exceptional software startups, you should keep on reading.
At Skyfall Ventures, where I work, we try to be the best in the world when it comes to helping our portfolio companies - Norwegian and Nordic startups with explosive potential - secure the best possible Series A financing. That's why we spend a lot of time getting to know the top-tier venture firms worldwide. These firms are typically very curious about Norway as a potential unicorn production facility. However, our standard coffee sit-downs can only scratch the surface of the Norwegian tech scene. This article digs a little deeper, exploring the history, the key players and notable companies that define Norway's technological landscape.
So, brace yourself for a heavy amount of name-dropping about Norwegian founders and fellow investors 🫣.
❓ Who the hell am I?
I am Preben Songe-Møller. As my name suggests, my parents clearly didn't picture an international business career in my future. I work as an early-stage tech investor at the famous Norwegian venture firm Skyfall Ventures, known for our early investments in awesome companies like Enode, Nansen, Oda (Norway's first unicorn) and Strise. In addition to working as a venture investor for many years, I have co-founded several technology companies, as well as been a management consultant at a firm I co-founded back in 2005 (Sprint Consulting).
I am super optimistic about technology and innovation. I love working with talented founders in the earliest phase of company building.
If you are an international investor curious about the Norwegian tech scene: Get in touch with me and come visit us at Skyfall's downtown Oslo office.
Disclaimer ⚠️ Technology ("tech") is a pretty broad label, and can be applied to a wide range of problem-solving techniques. In Norway, we have lots of great technology development in areas such as biotech, life science, aquaculture, energy production, etc. However, when I refer to "tech" here, I am mainly talking about software-driven innovation. This is typically where we focus at Skyfall, so I am very skewed. Sorry to all of you who think this is ridiculous; you can stop reading if you prefer.
Most people on the planet don't spend many seconds of their lives thinking about the country that we Norwegians live in and love. If you know it is a country to begin with, you will probably associate it with images of bitter cold weather, oil riches, Viking heritage, ski slopes, Edvard Munch, Magnus Carlsen and Jo Nesbø. Some will say it's the capital of Sweden, and that's about the worst thing you can say to us. Many will instantly think of Erling Braut Haaland (the best football striker in the world).
For those of you who might need a primer on the country I'm talking about, here's a high-level introduction: