Is Norway Becoming a Stable for Tech Unicorns?

Such description fits like a glove to some tech startups which have already surpassed the market value of USD 1 billion. Yet, such companies seem to abound in Norway. How come? Keep reading and find out more.

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Steady Gallop

Norway isn't at the top of the Scandinavian countries with higher fundraising for tech startups. Such title still belongs to the neighbour Sweden, home to Klarna and Spotify. Last decade, Sweden attracted USD 10.3 billion in investments for the sector. Meanwhile, the other Scandinavian countries pale in comparison. Denmark has attracted USD 3.2 billion; Finland, USD 2.9 billion; and Norway, USD 2.2 billion.

Norway is impressive because of the speed with which its tech sector has been evolving. Three out of nine tech unicorns in the country reached such status last year. The country is, in fact, in a good position to reap the benefits of the rise of the tech industry. Thanks to the gas sector, it has never lacked engineers and skilled workers.

Old and New Vocations

While Sweden spearheads the gaming sector, with online casino games, spilleautomater, and so on, tech industries seem to be heading a different way in Norway. The agricultural tech, also called 'agritech', has scored the biggest numbers here. Thanks to accelerators and incubators, Oslo has given birth to over 2,200 agritech startups.

Norway has three traditional industries: gas, oil, maritime, and real estate. This situation is changing fast, though. There's a growing interest to build an efficient IoT (Internet of Things) in the country, precisely to improve these industries. For instance, IoT could be extremely useful in the oil industry. The new technology can help with programmed maintenance, quick problem spotting and solving.

New Unicorns

Check below the newborn Unicorns in Norway.

Gelato

Gelato is a service provider in the e-commerce sector. The company works in 32 countries and has more than 100 production partners. The company managed to raise USD 240 million in investments. The fundraising round happened last year. It counted on the participation of Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, and Insight Partners.

Cognite

Cognite is an Oslo-based company focused on software solutions for the oil and gas industries. It also holds offices in three offices in the United States (Austin, Texas, and Houston) and one in Tokyo. Cognite raised USD 150 million in a round of investments last year, becoming one of the newest Norwegian unicorns around.

Oda

Formerly known as Kolonial, Oda is a leading company in the online grocery delivery sector. It provides a service which has been highly on demand: delivery (same-day or next-day) of grocery goods and home essentials. Last year it brought home USD 265 million in investments. Now, the company has expansion plans for Finland and Germany.

Conclusion

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Norwegian companies are rapidly rearranging their best brains to focus on tech innovations. Such investment is already bearing fruits. Norway is already at pace with its neighbours and on a steady march towards the top. Not by chance, GP Bullhound ranks the country among the promising ones for tech startups.

Lesley Montoya

Update 21 December 2021