NEWS February 5, 2018

Sting welcomes new companies

This week Sting kicks off the Sting Accelerate and Sting Incubate programs with 14 new, carefully selected, startups. Climate-smart food, neurocognitive tests, micro insurances, an on-demand beauty service and several innovative software services focused on B2B are among the products and services that the selected companies offer.

The new Sting companies will receive coaching in business development and financing, recruitment support and get access to Sting’s wide network of industry contacts and investors, to increase the pace of development, rapidly enter the market, and increase the chance of success. The companies also have the opportunity to get an investment of SEK 300,000 from Propel Capital, Sweden’s most active private seed investor.

“We’ve had a large number of applicants to the programs and we are very pleased to have several strong international teams among the companies accepted. The group represents a wide variety of business ideas ranging from e-commerce and digital marketplaces to a number of cloud-based services that target the business market. We are excited to get started with the entrepreneurs”, says Fredrik Rosengren, Business Coach at Sting.

Mindmore is one of the newly accepted Sting Incubate companies. The company develops digital neurocognitive tests, including The Minnemera service, a diagnostic tool initially aimed at primary and inpatient care. Sara Wallén, CEO and founder of Mindmore, has high expectations on Sting’s support:
“Sting’s long-term experience and broad competence will be valuable now that we prepare to take our service to the market. Targeting the care industry can be challenging, so we look forward to Sting’s coaching and concrete tools for establishing dialogues with our users for our future development.”

One of the new companies in the Sting Accelerate program is Bukvy, which creates smart bags and accessories for urban people in constant motion.
“We are very pleased to have been selected for Sting Accelerate and we look forward to an intense, eventful and challenging spring! Bukvy has been our inspiring hobby project over the last two years; we have satisfied customers all over the world and this is an important opportunity for us to become stronger on the online side of our business. We are looking forward to get to know the coaches and the other selected teams and to share their experience as well as the challenges ahead of us”, says Elena Ekström, co-founder of Bukvy.

Since the start of 2002, Sting has coached over 250 startups. Stings alumni include companies like Barnabys, Bioservo, DPOrganizer, Karma, Videoplaza, Volumental and Yubico.

The new companies in Sting Accelerate

Baetes develops the next-generation e-commerce platform for the fashion industry. Using the latest VR, AR and 3D scanning technologies, the company creates a brand new digital shopping experience through virtual showrooms. www.baetes.com

Bukvy creates smart bags and accessories for the urban people in constant motion. By combining multi-function and classic aesthetics Bukvy simplifies the carrying experience through items that transforms with the customers need. All items are made by hand, ethically in Europe by genuine leather of great quality and are sold through Bukvys webshop and a few carefully chosen retailers. bukvy.se/

ContentStudio is an AI-based and data-driven social media marketing suite for businesses to grow their social media presence by helping them discover, compose and share engaging content in their industry. Users can keep an eye on trending content in their industry along with analytical stats presented in a meaningful way that help them make better decisions for their content marketing and social media marketing. contentstudio.io

Cryptolens offers a state-of-the-art cloud service that makes it trivial to launch and protect any kind of software, with unique AI analytics to optimize revenue and capture untapped customer segments. cryptolens.io/

Foodla is a marketplace for you to buy and sell your organic goods in local communities – making the market more efficient, reducing food waste and promoting locally produced food which decreases transportation, mass production, and the excessive use of pesticides. getfoodla.com/

Knowlocker is a knowledge management platform for organisations large and small, helping ensure that businesses, the teams within them and external groups, such as customers, have access to the right information at the right time to achieve their goals. By giving internal teams access to the knowledge of an organisation, Knowlocker significantly improves effectiveness and efficiency of operations. knowlocker.com

Margot International transforms trade in services and equipment in the offshore and marine industries.

Suavoo is a beautytech company that provides beauty services to customers’ desired locations, such as the home, office or hotel, through a touch of an app. Suavoo’s digital platform connects freelance stylists and customers and ensures high availability. suavoo.com

The new companies in Sting Incubate

Cribble develops toys for children, developed with foundation in research in psychology and pedagogy.

Intakt will offer digital micro insurances and fundamentally change the concept of what an insurance company is. The company will offer an automated, digitalised and user-friendly solution that makes it possible to offer competitive insurances to a large number of users. Furthermore the platform will give control back to the users over their personal data.

Mindmore develops digital neurocognitive tests, including The Minnemera service, a diagnostic tool primarily aimed at primary and inpatient care. www.minnemera.se

Nutrient is a FoodTech Startup developing concepts and processes for producing climate-friendly proteins and nutrients. We aim to make a real difference by producing sustainable food in a truly circular way where nothing goes to waste. By using untapped resources and converting them into new proteins we strive to innovate the value chain from farm to table. www.nutrient.se

Qofind develops the new generation baby monitors that monitor both temperature and motion when the child is sleeping. www.parvel.se

Skillbreak is a smart social learning platform for unique local learning experiences. All Skillbreaks are taught by experienced and interesting creative experts. We build relationships with our experts and we’re making it easy for them to showcase and share skills with their fans. skillbreak.com

NEWS November 22, 2017

Health Tech company VisueCare sold to Tieto

Tieto has acquired health tech startup VisueCare. VisueCare´s cloud-based solution is developed to facilitate daily tasks in elderly care facilities. The acquisition is part of Tieto’s efforts to broaden their offering related to elderly care for municipalities.

VisueCare was founded in 2014 with the aim of easing everyday work for staff and creating smarter ways of working in the elderly care area. The solution has been developed in close co-operation with elderly care staff and creates opportunities for improved quality and efficiency in health care by visualizing planning and facilitating quality assurance. VisueCare has established collaboration and piloted the solution with sveral municipalities in Sweden.

– VisueCare’s objective has been to create a user friendly service for staff in elderly care facilities, combining greater efficiency with a higher quality of care. This is an issue that is high on the agendas of many municipalities in Sweden as well as internationally. We are thrilled that VisueCare will now be able to work on further expansion as a part of Tieto, says Lars Franzén, CEO and co-founder of the company.

Tieto is a leading provider of ICT solutions for public, healthcare and welfare customers in the Nordic countries, with strategic growth ambitions in Sweden. The acquisition of VisueCare will further strengthen the company´s industry specific software business, which currently constitutes over 30 percent of Tieto´s total revenue.

– Many customers are facing the dual challenge of running operations more efficiently while at the same time innovating new and improved services for citizens. Elderly care is one area where there is a growing demand for more efficient solutions. This acquisition is one additional step towards strengthening our role in the healthcare and welfare ecosystem, says Cristina Petrescu, head of public sector at Tieto.

For additional information, please contact:
Lars Franzén CEO, e-mail: lars.franzen@visuecare.se, Tel: 0702-148841

About VisueCare

VisueCare is an innovative servie that visualizes the future of elderly care for the benefit of residents as well as providers of care for the elderly. Information and activities related to the resident are collected, digitized and presented in the form of symbols in a care plan. VisueCare leads to a higher quality of care and increased efficiency, while allowing for a more personalized care as well providing automatic quality assurance.

NEWS September 9, 2016

Insurance company Länsförsäkringar invests in E-health company Aifloo

E-health company Aifloo raises 12 million SEK from Länsförsäkringar and existing owners to increase safety and security for the elderly so that they can live at home longer. The company develops the world’s first self-learning, e-health systems.

Aifloo has developed a technology to increase safety and security, especially for older people, with the help of artificial intelligence. Now Aifloo raises 12 million SEK from current owners and also Länsförsäkringar Sak, Sweden’s largest insurance company in the health and safety area, which joins as a new investor.

– It is a very exciting area Aifloo operates in. We see great opportunities in the future to be able to offer our customers new modern security solutions, says Thomas Abrahamsson, Manager of Health at Länsförsäkringar.

Aifloos technology learns people’s habits and behavior through motion detection and behavioral analysis using machine learning. When an abnormal behavior is detected an alarm is sent, via an app, to a service organization or selected family members.

– The combination of our newly developed sensor architecture and unique algorithms for artificial intelligence puts Aifloo in a leading position in a very hot area. We have been convinced that we have both a great and important product, and it is of course fun that our new investment round was quickly oversubscribed, says Michael Collaros CEO of Aifloo.

Faced with a global product launch 2017 Aifloo will do a large international financing round. Aifloo has since fall 2015 raised nearly 25 million in funding.

Close to 20 percent of the population in Western countries are over 65 years, and the percentage continues to grow. People’s need for support increases, which already today is a major challenge for society. Aifloo develops an e-health system based on a unique artificial intelligence (AI), which increases security by understanding and analyzing behaviors. This allows for example the elderly and the chronically ill to live longer in their own homes.

> More information: www.aifloo.com

NEWS April 4, 2016

TEST Drive winner No Tinnitus wants to cure through your favorite music

Last week the e-health company No Tinnitus won the entrepreneurial program STING Test Drive Health. During March and April the 15 selected companies have had the chance to develop their business ideas in health. The winner, No Tinnitus, is a digital health company using mobile technology to reach and treat their users.

The teams in the STING Test Drive Health , all of which have early, innovative business ideas in areas such as stress, diabetes, smart alcolock and digital translation tools for healthcare, have during seven evening workshops developed their ideas and business models, and gotten the chance to learn what it means to build a company. The program is organized by STING and sponsored by the Innovation Offices at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University and Openlab at KTH.

At the finals, companies pitched their business ideas before a jury consisting of Christina Bendz , Head of the Innovation Office at the University of Stockholm; Pär Nordström, Investment Manager at Almi Invest; Ivar Björkman, Manager at Openlab and Erik Brandberg, Partner at Gullspång Invest.

The jury selected No Tinnitus as the winner, which creates an individualized treatment through its app with the potential to cure severe tinnitus in 30 days with the help of the user’s favorite music. The winner received SEK 10 000 with the following motivation:

“For a curative application, presented in a realistic way, with the potential to reach a huge market with the help of superstars – if the method actually delivers the expected results. The winner of the STING Test Drive Health 2016 is No Tinnitus”.

– Test Drive Health has been both fun and educational. The lecturers and course leaders have helped us see both the path and the goal. Thanks to them, we will avoid many mistakes. We are filled with energy, hugely excited and very grateful, says Donald Altin, one of the founders of No Tinnitus.

– During the spring round of STING Test Drive, we have seen e-health solutions to problems in very different areas – it creates conditions for creative discussions and very exciting meetings, says Gisela Sitbon, Program Manager and Business Coach at STING (Stockholm Innovation & Growth).

The next round of STING Test Drive Heatlh will be held in spring 2017. Follow STING on Facebook to stay informed about our programs and events.