Sweden is a European nation that is mainly recognized for IKEA or its world-famous pop group ABBA and many more but Sweden is also a hotspot for swedish startups and provides a top-notch startup ecosystem.
Despite being a nation with a low human population, Sweden has given birth to some successful businesses including the global music giant Spotify. With a population of just 10 million, Sweden launched an average of 10,000 startups in the year 2019. This indicates the extraordinary potential of the Swedish startup environment and answers for their massive growth and worldwide impact.
Swedish people pay a hefty amount of taxes to the government but these huge amounts of taxes didn’t demotivate them to start a startup rather Sweden comes out to be a startup powerhouse.
The Covid-19 pandemic also facilitated the movement of Nordic startups to the US, especially in the healthcare sector.
Best Swedish Startups to Watch
Now let us have a look at the best performing startups in Sweden which one cannot miss in 2021.
1. Kry
Kry is an online telemedicine platform for patients requiring medical help. Found in the year 2015 this Stockholm-based startup came as a huge transformation to the medical world.
This company currently has a user base of almost 3 million patients and has reportedly seen an increase of 100 percent in the number of patients in the 2020 majorly due to the pandemic.
Kry works on building a better and accessible healthcare system that shifts the increasing burden from the traditional healthcare system. Care to connect is their initiative for video consultation for patients present in remote locations. Care connect works on inclusivity so that no patient misses out on quality healthcare just because of their remote location.
Kry is said to be a market leader in its field and is also one of the first healthcare apps to get CE certification in Sweden. Kry is the startup’s name used in Sweden, Germany, and Norway but in the UK and France, Kry is named Livi.
Kry has managed to raise a funding of 300million dollars in its series D funding round and has become one of the few digital healthcare platforms to achieve this. Kry’s team plans to expand its reach and deliver to new geographies. It also plans to scale up its operations and software services and improve them to be much more user-friendly. The recent surge in the number of patients reaching Kry for doctor consultations did not manage to belittle Kry’s services rather it handles its huge client base efficiently.
Kry plans on partnering with public and private healthcare professionals in Europe and is working on partnering with more healthcare units, clinics and even governments to promote the idea of healthier societies.
2. Klarna
Klarna is a platform for online retailers and their users and provides the users with the liberty to pay for the service or products in multiple installments in the future. Klarna’s experts suggest that companies who have used Klarna have seen an average increase of 40% in their order values.
This Sweden-based company already caters to a family of 250,000 retailers and caters to some renowned brands like Macy’s Inc. and Sephora.
Retailers using Klara can give their customers a benefit of paying in the next 30 days or divide payments in up to 3 years i.e. pay in installments. Klarna generates revenue by taking a small percentage from every purchase a buyer makes using their platform, this revenue-generating mechanism is running smooth and steady and Klara has apparently generated more than 1 billion dollars in revenue in 2020. Helping over 90 million customers just in 2020, Klara delivers unbeatable services.
The recent shift of interest towards the fintech sector quite evidently suggests the growth opportunities for this sector. Investors are more inclined towards funding the fintech sector and Klara being a fintech startup has received some exceptional amounts of funding. Klara being a platform for simplifying online purchases caters to people’s need accurately and that contributes towards it robust growth in the fintech sector.
Klarna has also recently closed a 1 billion dollar private funding and the company’s gross valuation now stands at 31 billion dollars which makes Klara one of the very few startups to attain such heights.
3. Tink
Tink is a growing startup that focuses on an open banking platform. This Sweden-based startup allows banks and other financial sector firms to access and share their database of consumer financial data more efficiently. Tink uses advanced technology to help third parties access consumer data easily.
Found in the year of 2012, Tink flourished after there was a rollout of the rules and the grounds became much fertile for the fintech sector. Today, an average of 3,400 banks and varied institutions use Tink to gain access to consumer data and is currently catering to 250 million consumers in the whole of Europe.
Tink has also held hands with Visa recently and has also managed to secure recent funding of 85 million dollars. The European Union also says that open banking is a requirement to enhance competition by recognized third-party firms having consumer data.
The fresh funding received by Tink will be utilized to fuel further development and expand to further geographies. This banking giant can take help from this funding to uplift its payment technology as the company is close to 1 million-plus transaction per month in some of its major markets in Europe. Tink is currently catering to clients like Lydia which is a fintech giant in France. Its promise to provide top-notch services and its willingness to expand makes Tink a perfect name for this list.
4. Voi
Voi is an electric scooter startup running across Europe and has become one of the most popular home-grown brands in Europe. Voi uses artificial intelligence algorithms to design its electromobility schemes. Voi has collaborated with city authorities across Europe.
It has been a showstopper in its field by introducing many new policies, for instance, Voi introduced a Code of conduct across Stockholm to promote the safety of scooter-sharing operators by promoting road safety.
Voi uses its expertise in technology to enable its electomobiles to detect pedestrians on the road and this move facilitates Voi’s entry into cities struggling with chaotic roads and congested municipalities. The company is currently catering to a group of 400,000 plus riders and have traveled for more than a million kilometers. Voi is running strong in the cities of Stockholm,Lund,Gothenburg and Copenhagen and have recently started their services in Oslo too.
The company has received huge amounts of funding and that enables them to expand to varied geographies like Italy, Norway, and France. E Scooters have seen a drastic surge in demand in recent years because travelers are frustrated with crowded roads and crowded public transport and are looking for viable alternatives. Voi also plans on investing in its R&D and improve vehicle development and features and further expand its team and product range.
Voi is currently aiming to be tagged as the first of its type startup to use AI services and computer vision to help promote road safety and issue alerts if there is any legal infringement, it uses real-time practical knowledge to drive its brand and that is the primary reason that Voi is growing at such great rate.
5. MatHem.se
MatHem is a grocery retailing startup and has recently acquired the title of essential services delivery platform too. It offers products in various sectors and has become people’s go-to choice due to its versatility, it offers products ranging from baked products to dairy products.
It also delivers products in a recyclable paper bag that is biodegradable and makes MatHem.se an environment-conscious sustainable brand.
MatHem.se application is available for both android and ios users and they also provide its users with an option to order from their website. Being awarded as the best grocery website of the year multiple times by a famous Swedish magazine, Internet world, MatHem.se is collecting accolades from around the world.
Considering the current situation and the havoc the Covid-19 pandemic has made, online delivery of goods was a staple choice for every household. Not only did the demand for essential products rise, but grocery demands also reached the sky too and Sweden giant handled everything effortlessly.
With the sudden surge in the company’s client base, MatHem.se has improved drastically and released new features, and has enhanced the research and development team.
