NEWS October 21, 2022

TeraSi adds third co-founder, closes pre-seed round to drive development of 6G hardware for Earth and space

TeraSi’s ultimate aim is to build a new technology platform to enable the future of wireless technology at scale.

The TeraSi team: Adrian Gomez Torrent, James Campion and Bernhard Beuerle

TeraSi, a Stockholm based deep tech startup developing hardware for 6G applications, has added Adrian Gomez Torrent as a third co-founder and closed its pre-seed funding round to drive the next stage of its technology and product development. TeraSi’s ultimate aim is to build a new technology platform to enable the future of wireless technology at scale.

Adrian joins TeraSi from beyond gravity, a market leader in the satellite industry, bringing cutting-edge expertise in the areas of antenna technologies and RF hardware for space applications. Adrian also has insider knowledge of all levels of the TeraSi technology platform, having previously worked together with TeraSi’s founding team in academia. TeraSi’s expansion and on-going technology development is enabled by a new private equity funding round which includes notable angel investors and seasoned industry experts, pushing TeraSi’s network and in-house expertise to the next level.

“When you aim to bring something totally new to the table you need the best of the best on-board. We knew Adrian was the only man for the job – smart, driven and just crazy enough to make this work. We can’t wait to ramp things up together. We’re also delighted to be supported by such a great set of investors in our mission to create a scalable hardware platform.” James Campion, Co-founder

TeraSi’s pre-seed round comprises new investments from noted angel investors Fredrik Posse, Per Björklund and Stefan Lindeberg and Dominic Davies and Andrew Stentiford (founding partners of Immetric Invest AB) as well as follow-on investments from KTH Holding and STING Holding. The funding allows TeraSi to continue industrialising their technology and start bringing new products to market, while also adding industry, IP and strategy know-how.

“I am thrilled that Bernhard and James asked if I wanted to join as a third founder. The challenge of taking our technology from academia to the market is incredibly exciting. With my previous experience with this type of technology and in the space industry, my hopes are that I can take us one step closer to the goal of discovering the next revolution in wireless systems,” explains Adrian Gomez Torrent.

TeraSi was founded as a spin-off from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2020 by James Campion and Bernhard Beuerle to commercialise unique products developed during their PhD research, where they worked together with Adrian. TeraSi’s hardware offers improved performance at a greatly reduced size and weight, bringing maximum SWaP to demanding wireless applications above 60 GHz. TeraSi designs and manufactures its products in Stockholm and has a range of customers and partners in the test and measurement, space and wireless industry sectors.

TeraSi is one of the companies in Sting Incubate Deeptech.

Contact:

James Campion, jcampion@terasi.io

NEWS February 23, 2022

Flox Robotics to Deliver 1st Ever Fully Autonomous Drone System to Repel Wildlife from Cultivated Lands

Launches test phase in April with a dosen early adopters

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Feb. 23, 2022 – FLOX Robotics (FLOX AB) – a startup that provides artificial intelligence equipped autonomous drones, and part of the Sting Incubate Deeptech – announced Wednesday that it is closing in on its first major milestone: the delivery of the first-ever fully autonomous drone system equipped to repel wildlife from cultivated lands in April 2022 to its first customer. This marks the kickoff of FLOX’s 12-month commercial test phase which will take its solution to over a dozen different customers enabling FLOX to apply and further fine-tune its technology across a multitude of different cultivated fields and young forest lands.

“Since our early adopters are clamoring for any kind of solution for their increasing wildlife predicament, they have been pushing for FLOX to already start rolling out our solution as soon as we think it should be able to work, fully understanding that we have yet to fully test our solution in critical areas such as durability, ruggedness and some of the technical real-world applications,” said FLOX CEO Sara Nozkova. “We are over the moon to already be able to sell our systems in the coming 12 months while test-driving the technology, monitor how the hardware holds up over extensive periods of usage, and provide our AI systems the ability to gain huge amounts of experience across a wide variety of different lands.”

The FLOX’s Mission – Coexistence with Wildlife. Reimagined.

FLOX is turning what was previously a human-wildlife conflict into a new way of protecting natural resources in shared landscapes. FLOX developed an autonomous, AI-equipped drone solution that helps landowners and farmers to successfully repel wildlife in order to maximize agricultural output and protects young forests, in turn preventing agricultural expansion into natural wildlife habitats.

An animation video demonstrating FLOX’s solution can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBUo0Eo7lyo.

FLOX’s technology is currently also being tested in some of the Nordic countries as a possible solution to prevent collisions between trains and wildlife.

FLOX’s Call to Action

FLOX plans to deliver its solution to over a dozen different customers in the 12 months following its first commercial delivery planned in April, 2022, bringing its solution one month at a time to each customer, enabling FLOX to apply its technology across a wide variety of cultivated fields and young forests, collect and learn from all the gathered data, rapidly iterate both the hardware as well as the software, all the while already delivering value to its early adopters.

There are still some slots open for interested farmers or landowners targeted by wildlife, to become part of FLOX’s 12-month commercial test phase – just send us an email to info@floxrobotics.com.

“We are super-psyched about our upcoming first-ever commercial delivery this April as we finally get to practice what we preach: turning what was previously a human-wildlife conflict to a new way of preservation of natural resources in shared landscapes so that we can coexist with local wildlife in a way that has not been possible ever before,” said Nozkova. “FLOX started at the end of 2020, and now over a year later we are closing in on our first commercial delivery – our first opportunity to show the world of landowners and farmers that our system, the first of its kind, can genuinely help them and live up to FLOX’s vision.”

FLOX’s Product Names

The founders of FLOX decided to embrace the company’s Nordic identity and look towards Norse Mythology as inspiration for establishing the names of FLOX’s first set of products. That culminated in the decision to call FLOX’s first fully autonomous drone Hugin, and FLOX’s base station from where Hugin will fly out and return, recharge and depart again, to name Oden. Similar to the mythological story of ravens and gods, we count on Hugin to venture across the world and upload its newfound knowledge to Oden.

Scaling FLOX

As FLOX is readying itself for its commercial phase, the company started to scale its team since the beginning of the year and aims to continue adding to its ranks in the coming months. In January FLOX already made two additions to its team, adding Animal Scientist Simone Vaianella, an expert in wildlife and biodiversity, as well as Chief Marketing Officer Joon Knapen.

“It’s amazing to join the Team at FLOX brimming with talent, energy, and will-power to fulfill our mission: Coexistence with Wildlife. Reimagined,” Knapen said. “I’ve worked at many companies where Purpose was almost an after-thought…It’s incredibly inspiring to join a startup like FLOX where its whole existence is premised on its Purpose.”

More info on Vaianella’s can be found in our Newsroom here and on Knapen’s appointment here.

FLOX’s OH-1 campaign: The Final Countdown!

As of the coming week FLOX will start providing weekly updates as it is counting down to its commercial launch of OH-1 (Oden 1 & Hugin 1) in April 2022 on its most prominent Social Media Channels so please watch that space if you want to stay abreast of the latest developments:

FLOX’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/flox)
FLOX’s Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/floxrobotics/)
FLOX’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/FloxRobotics)

About FLOX

FLOX is a Stockholm-based startup with a vision to reimagine coexistence with wildlife. The company was founded in December 2020 with the aim to offer affordable tailor-made services provided by autonomous drones to protect crops and young plants from wildlife-related damages. Subscribe to FLOX’s newsletter by sending an email with <subscribe> in the subject line to: info@floxrobotics.com. FLOX started at the Royal Institute of Technology with support from KTH Innovation.

Are you a landowner or farmer plagued by wildlife and have an interest in becoming part of FLOX’s 12-month commercial test phase? Just send us an email with <calltoaction> in the subject line and we will get in touch: info@floxrobotics.com.

If you have any questions or would like to engage with FLOX CEO Sara Nozkova, please contact FLOX’s press team at press@floxrobotics.com.

For general or customer inquiries, please contact FLOX at info@floxrobotics.com.

NEWS December 13, 2018

23 million in extra investment capacity when Saminvest matches Propel Capital investors

Six business angels in Sting’s business angel company Propel Capital IV are the first in Sweden to get a co-investment agreement with Saminvest in an initiative where Saminvest undertakes to invest up to 23 MSEK together with the selected business angels when they make direct investments in Propel Capitals portfolio companies, as a complement to the business angels’ own investments for the same amount.

Propel Capital IV is a business angel company linked to Sting, the leading ecosystem for startups with high growth potential in the Nordic region. Propel Capital allows business angels to become indirect shareholders in a large number of promising startups. The angels also have the opportunity to make direct investments in their favourite Propel Capital companies. Saminvest has invested 8 MSEK in Propel Capital IV and, as a complement to this direct investment, Saminvest will now match the continued investments of selected business angels in Propel Capital IV’s portfolio companies.

“Our goal is to improve the growth opportunities for promising innovation companies until they become investment ready for major venture capital players,” says Peder Hasslev, CEO of Saminvest.

The selection criteria for getting a co-investment agreement include previous experience of making investments in startups, willingness and capacity to make investments going forward and that the business angel is judged to be an active and serious investor in companies she or he has backed. The six business angels who are the first to get a co-investment agreement are Lars Appelstål, Anders Göransson (via Soläng Invest), Lars Lindgren, Anna Ljungbergh, Boel Rydenå Swartling and Mattias Weinhandl.

“We are very happy that we are now live with the co-investment agreement and that our companies get even better financing opportunities. It is a highly qualified group of investors who are the pioneers in this important initiative and we hope that additional Propel Capital investors will eventually join the co-investment structure,” says Maria Ljungberg, Head of Investor Relations at Sting and Propel Capital.

Lars Lindgren is one of Sweden’s most seasoned business angels, with experience of more than 60 investments in unlisted companies. “With a co-investment agreement, a business angel can effectively double its investment volume, which will make the financing rounds less time-consuming for the entrepreneurs, thus providing for more time to what really builds value, that is, doing business,” says Lars.

Boel Rydenå Swartling, Investor and Entrepreneur, comments “It is very positive that Saminvest chooses to back business angels with the aim of contributing to the growth of young companies. With this agreement, I will be able to contribute my capital and expertise to more companies in the areas that I am passionate about, i.e. companies that have a positive impact on, for example, the environment, equality and integration,” says Boel.

“The business angels play a key role in the financial ecosystem. With this initiative, we strengthen the financing capacity of the angel investors and will in this way contribute to the growth of a number of startups,” says Erik Wijnbladh, Head of Fund Investments at Saminvest.

The management of both the investment in Propel Capital IV and Saminvest’s additional investments in Propel Capital IV companies is managed by Sting.

More information
Maria Ljungberg, Head of Investor Relations at Sting: maria.ljungberg@sting.co, 0708-36 22 31
Peder Hasslev, CEO Saminvest, peder.hasslev@saminvest.se
Erik Wijnbladh, Head of Fund Investments Saminvest: erik.wijnbladh@saminvest.se

About Saminvest
Saminvest is an investment company with the mission is to stimulate the innovation economy in Sweden by indirect investments. This implies that innovative and fast-growing companies will get improved access to both capital and active ownership. Saminvest invest together with national and international private investors on a pari passu basis and thereby increasing funding availability, risk-taking capability, investment expertise and network access. We primarily focus on emerging teams managing the venture capital and growth funds of tomorrow. Saminvest also holds two fully owned subsidiaries Fouriertransform AB and Inlandsinnovation AB.

About Sting and Propel Capital
Since 2002, Sting has helped entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas into successful growth companies. We offer startups financing, business development support and world-class networks. Sting has supported over 240 startups, of which 70 percent continue to grow and grow today. Together, all Sting companies have a turnover of over SEK 2.1 billion. In addition, they have created over 1800 jobs. Linked to Sting is Propel Capital, which since its inception in 2014 through Propel Capital I, II III and IV has invested nearly SEK 25 million in over 70 STING companies. The portfolio includes companies such as Sellpy, Signal Signal, DP Organizer, Elly Pistol, Sniph, Airinum and Sudio.

NEWS October 23, 2018

Skillbreak launches a platform to democratize creativity

Skillbreak founding team. From left Lina Johansson and Matilda Hannäs (CEO).

Swedish impact-tech company Skillbreak has created a new social learning platform aiming to spread creativity and allow people to meet in a time when we live increasingly isolated and screen-dependent. The idea is to make expert knowledge in arts, crafts and design available to the public.

Stockholm-based Skillbreak was founded in 2016 by Matilda Hannäs and Lina Johansson with the vision of becoming Europe’s leading platform for unique learning experiences. Skillbreak offers hundreds of unique, short and social learning experiences with the leading creative experts in Sweden. Through the platform, creators in design, arts and crafts are matched with people who want to learn new things. Experts share their skills in their own homes, studios and workshops and through the Skillbreak platform they get the tools to earn money on their expertise.

“We want to enable hundreds of thousands of craftsmen, creators and artists around the world to make a living on their creativity,” says Matilda Hannäs, CEO and one of the founders of Skillbreak. “In this way, it is also a sustainability strategy that contributes to new jobs, professional skill training and preserves culture and traditions. The workshops we offer make it easier to lead a sustainable lifestyle and we focus on categories such as green cooking, farming, minimalism, textile recycling and ceramics.”

The vision is to become Europe’s leading platform for unique learning experiences. In the long term, Skillbreak will offer a new way of traveling and learning new things locally.

“Our big idea is about democratizing creativity. There’s something mysterious and unattainable with creativity and we want to make it more available to each and every one. In the long term, anyone should be able to learn anything anywhere in the world,” Matilda continues.

The Skillbreak concept has since inception been about spreading creativity and allowing people to meet in a time when we live increasingly isolated.

“The social part is extremely important, we long for good reasons to meet in depth and make meaningful things with family and friends. A lot of people I know are tired of going out to have a beer to socialize. Also, when you work in an office, like I do, we also yearn for getting away from the computer screens and to do something with our hands,” says Matilda.

Matilda Hannäs comes from a craftsman family but has worked her whole career in the tech industry, most recently at Spotify. She has been featured on DI’s list of hottest tech entrepreneurs under 40. The Skillbreak team is expanding and has now signed a Marketing Manager and Development Manager in September to advance faster. Skillbreak’s product range is growing rapidly (currently including more than 150 different workshops) and all courses are booked online at skillbreak.com. The courses are physical and packaged in a bite-sized format of approximately 2-5 hours per course. Some examples of Skillbreaks are “create a chic wall hanging in macrame“, “sprout seeds“, “design and create in ceramics“, “ink painting with a focus on flowers” as well as “sensory techniques and bubbles“.

More information
Matilda Hannäs, CEO / Founder Skillbreak, matilda@skillbreak.com, + 4670-776 60 06, Visiting address: Norrsken House, Birger Jarlsgatan 57c, Stockholm.

Platform: www.skillbreak.com
Blog: https://blog.skillbreak.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goskillbreak/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goskillbreak/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMlFWBxIoD8
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.se/goskillbreak/boards/

NEWS September 26, 2018

Healthtech company Learning to Sleep raises 3.3 MSEK

Learning to Sleep, a company that develops a digital CBT-based tool to help people with sleep problems, has raised 3.3 MSEK from Almi Invest, Alltrum, Proos Consulting and Malte Rohlin. The capital will be used to continue the company’s expansion, both in Sweden and internationally.

Learning to Sleep has developed the clinically validated digital treatment program Sov bättre, which treats people with persistent sleep problems. With Sov bättre, the patient receives an individualized 5-week treatment based on CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy and a personal sleep coach.

“More than half a million individuals seek care for sleep problems every year, only in Sweden. At the same time, waiting times for assistance through therapy are often long and the cost for society high. With Learning to Sleep’s evidence-based digital tools, more people can get help faster, at lower cost,” says Per Antonsson, Investment Manager at Almi Invest.

The fact that the tool is digital, proving its users with reminders to perform their tasks, gives greater compliance than other non-digital aids programs. So far, Learning to Sleep has treated over 1,000 patients in Sweden and 94 percent of them now have better sleep.

“We are very pleased to welcome Almi Invest as an investor in the company, now when we are preparing to take the next step in our journey. Almi Invest provides us not only with capital, but also a large network of investors and expertise in financing. Now we are looking forward to an exciting autumn and to contribute to a better health in Sweden and in the countries we are about to expand our business,” says Micael Gustafsson, CEO of Learning at Sleep.

The capital will be used to continue the establishment of the service on the Swedish market, primarily in primary care, and to start the preparations for the international launch.
Learning to Sleep is a Sting Incubate company.

For further information contact
Micael Gustafsson, CEO Learning at Sleep, tel +46 736 993 601, mail micael@learningtosleep.se

Per Antonsson, Investment Manager Almi Invest, tel +46 708 728 717, mail per.antonsson@almi.se

NEWS September 3, 2018

Here are the 14 new Sting companies

Democratization of artificial intelligence, micro lending on equal terms, speech synthesis, ID hijackings, crowd funding of music, leisure activities, language challenges in healthcare and interpretation of radiographs are some of the areas addressed by the 14 carefully selected companies that have been accepted to Sting this autumn. The list of companies is announced today when the entrepreneurs meet for the first time at Sting’s newly opened premises at A house.

“It has been a tough selection process leading up to the start of the autumn programs,” says Karin Ruiz, business coach at Sting. “It’s a strong line up of companies that represent a wide range of exciting business ideas. We see a clear trend in an increasing number of startups that utilize the power of artificial intelligence and deep learning to tackle major challenges related to for example safety, health and climate,” she continues.

In addition to office space at A house and the network with each other and the Sting team, the companies will get individual coaching in business development and financing, recruitment support and access to Sting’s wide network of industry contacts and investors. The companies also have the opportunity to get an investment of SEK 300,000 from Propel Capital, Sweden’s most active private seed investor.

“With our new premises at A house, we now have the opportunity to run the Incubate and Accelerate programs in one place, which we believe will contribute to an even stronger Sting Community and better opportunity for the startups to exchange experiences and networks with each other,” says Fredrik Rosengren, new Program Manager of the Sting Accelerate Program.

Poki Robotics is one of the new Sting Incubate companies. The company develops task-specific robots to help businesses become more efficient and sustainable.

“Our participation in the Sting Incubate program will give us a great opportunity to scale up Poki Robotics. We are looking forward to getting to know the network and being inspired by the other companies, as well as challenging ourselves. In the spring, the goal is to sell the first robots to customers in Sweden. A challenge for us will therefore be to further develop our product with limited time and resources,” says Fredrika Kringberg, co-founder at Poki Robotics.

Fairlo, one of the new Accelerate companies, challenges the micro loan market with its service that gives people the opportunity to solve an unexpected expense with a loan on equal terms.

“We launched Fairlo in April and got off for a good start. Now we want to use the momentum we have to accelerate into 2019, with the goal of making “Vardagslånet” the obvious choice for unexpected expenses. We hope that Sting, with its solid and proven models, will help us to identify the next-generation star developers, and that the network and experience in the organization will provide great support in the international expansion of our business,” says Jimmy Hanna, CEO and co-founder of Fairlo.

Sting has coached over 240 startups since the start in 2002. The companies had revenues of over 210 MEUR in 2017 and have attracted almost 450 MEUR in private capital. Stings alumni companies include companies like Barnebys, Bioservo, DPOrganizer, Karma, Videoplaza, Volumental and Yubico.

Companies selected to Sting Accelerate
Defentry is a cybersecurity company that combats ID hijackings and hacked accounts through the use of large data acquisition, AI and machine learning. Defentry supports its customers in anticipating risks and finding new solutions that prevent intrusion and fraud with the objective of making them less exposed on the internet. Defentry also offers a personal and secure platform for its customers to monitor its data, identity and integrity. www.defentry.com

Fairlo is a TechFin startup that launches a new era for small loans. With a system based on the latest technology, Fairlo offers people the opportunity to solve an unexpected expense with a small loan at equal terms. Whoever borrows from Fairlo owns the power and can at any time pay off the loan, change the amortization plan or change the due date, all in one click and free of charge. fairlo.se

Friendtivity provides leisure activities for school kids in a new way –at home, in small groups around an interest such as music, programming or something totally different and led by an employed friendtivity leader. Via the platform , parents can seamlessly find leaders, book and pay for the activity at a very competitive price.  friendtivity.se

Signe is a digital platform for crowdfunding of concerts. Organizers, artists and fans can easily create an event and start raising money for an upcoming concert. Signe allows fans to participate and influence who organizers should book, whilst minimizing risk for the organizer to lose money on the event. Signe.io

Språk i Vården develops a medical interpretation tool for healthcare providers that reduces healthcare costs and increases effectivity while it at the same time strengthens patient safety and integrity. Our tool is available as an application for smart devices and can be used by all healthcare professionals in a broad range of healthcare situations. www.sprakivarden.se

Ugglo is a multi-lingual audio book service for kids. We combine the picture book with the audio book to create a truly fun and captivating reading experience. Thousands of kids in Sweden improve their reading and language skills with Ugglo every day. www.ugglo.se

Zenia provides high converting E-Commerce marketing traffic to webstores, helping sellers to market their products organically and through paid posts by sharing – promoting – converting. www.zenia.ai

Companies selected to Sting Incubate
DeepMed’s vision is to redefine how radiographs (x-ray images) are being used in orthopaedics by applying artificial intelligence for the use in x-ray interpretation. With our software, built on deep learning, we support radiologist and other healthcare-professionals in detecting and classifying orthopaedic radiographs in a more efficient and accurate way. deep-med.com

Greenlytics provides data science solutions for the power industry. Our vision is to harness the power of data to create a sustainable energy future. Our first product, WindMind, is a tool that, with the help of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, creates ultra-accurate wind power forecasts, which enables wind power producers to lower imbalance costs, increase profitability of wind power and make wind power cheaper for the consumer. www.greenlytics.io

Kavalri Games emerged from the passion for creating qualitative equestrian games. We’re developing the mobile game Equestrian the Horse game – a game which lets the player build their equestrian career from the ground up. Our players are mostly girls with an equestrian interest, and they’re passionately supporting our development. equestrianthegame.com

PerceptiLabs is a Deep Learning company developing the software QuantumNet. With a vision of democratizing artificial intelligence, QuantumNet simplifies the creation and understanding of AI-models by removing the need of programming and deep mathematical knowledge. The programming is replaced with a simple drag & drop of building blocks where the user e.g. can go into each building block and see how the AI-model learns in real-time. www.perceptilabs.com

Poki Robotics develops task-specific autonomous robots to help companies become more efficient and sustainable. The products are based on a robotics platform that is adjustable to different needs and environments. Our first product is a smart, self-navigating robot that collects golf balls on golf ranges. We offer a technical solution that includes high accuracy local positioning together with intelligent software. www.pokirobotics.com

SciPro’s Thesis Management System is an online IT-support system for management and supervision of theses at bachelor, master and PhD education levels. It allows the entire thesis writing process to be managed in a clear and structured way.  It gives students a clear methodology, supervisors a channel to communicate with students and decrease their administrative workload and school administrators a total overview. www.sciproprojects.com

TorTalk creates text to speech applications for schools, universities and workplaces.
Our end users are people with dyslexia, ADHD and those who prefer to listen to their second language. TorTalk’s software removes barriers, help increase efficiency and reduce stress for users. tortalk.se

NEWS July 3, 2018

Propel Capital IV raises 8 MSEK from Saminvest and opens for matching of business angel investments

From left: Pär Hedberg (Sting), Peder Hasslev (Saminvest), Erik Wijnbladh (Saminvest), Jens Lundström (ABI) and Jeanette Andersson (Minc)

Propel Capital IV, founded by Sting, is one of three selected business angel companies that raises capital from Saminvest to improve the financing and growth opportunities for its incubator and accelerator companies. In addition to the 8 MSEK investment in Propel Capital IV, Saminvest undertakes to invest together with selected business angels when they make follow-on investments in Propel Capitals portfolio companies.

Propel Capital I – IV are business angel companies linked to Sting, the leading ecosystem in the Nordics for startups with high growth potential. Propel Capital allows business angels to become indirect shareholders in a large number of promising startups with a relatively small capital investment. The angels also have the opportunity to make direct investments in their favorite Propel Capital companies.

“Since the start in 2002, Sting has contributed to the development of a large number of interesting companies and built a network of experienced business angels. It was therefore natural for Saminvest to have Sting and Propel Capital as part of this first investment round in incubator-based business angel companies. We are now building on this structure and we look forward to taking the concept to other parts of the country,” comments Peter Hasslev, CEO of Saminvest.

Including the investment from Saminvest, Propel Capital IV, has raised more than 20 MSEK to invest in up to 40 companies. As a complement to the investment in Propel Capital, Saminvest will also match selected business angels’ continued investments in Propel Capitals portfolio companies.

“Propel Capital has so far funded over 70 startups in Stockholm. It has made us one of Sweden’s most active private investors with great reach among entrepreneurs and investors in early stages. Through the investment from Saminvest, we now have additional resources to help entrepreneurs to realize business ideas and build more growth companies in Sweden,” says Niclas Lilja, Chairman of Propel Capital.

Saminvest’s investment initiative initially involves investments in business angel companies linked to three incubators from north to south – Sting, Minc (Malmö) and the Arctic Business Incubator (Luleå), all participants in Vinnova‘s excellence program. The aim is that these investments will soon be followed by similar investments in business angel companies linked to incubators in other parts of the country. The management of both Propel Capital and Saminvest’s additional investments in Propel Capital companies are handled by Sting.

“Business angels play a key role in funding young growth companies. In this context, today’s launch of the matching initiative, where Saminvest will match selected business angels’ follow-on investments, is extra pleasing. Sweden now get a business angel investment booster corresponding to similar initiatives in many other parts of the world,” says Erik Wijnbladh, Head of Fund Investments in Saminvest.

For more information contact:
Peder Hasslev, CEO Saminvest, 076-117 31 70
Pär Hedberg, CEO Sting, 070-855 03 18

About Saminvest
Saminvest is a venture capital company, formed by the state in 2016. Saminvest is actively working on the creation of new venture capital funds (“VC”) with sufficient qualities and long-term ability to develop the Swedish venture capital market. This is done by identifying new teams with experience in developing successful companies that manage funds that have the potential to attract private capital. Together with other investors, Saminvest will invest in these new venture capital funds, which in turn become active owners of portfolio companies in future industries.

About Sting and Propel Capital
Since 2002, Sting has helped entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas into successful growth companies. We offer startups financing, business development support and world-class networks. Sting has supported over 240 startups, of which 70 percent continue to grow and grow today. Together, all Sting companies have a turnover of over SEK 2.1 billion. In addition, they have created over 1800 jobs. Linked to Sting is Propel Capital, which since its inception in 2014 through Propel Capital I, II III and IV has invested nearly SEK 25 million in over 70 STING companies. The portfolio includes companies such as Sellpy, Signal Signal, DP Organizer, Elly Pistol, Sniph, Airinum and Sudio.

NEWS June 25, 2018

CaCharge secures 2.1 MEUR in funding to create a mass-market for electric cars

Kurt Högnelid, Chairman and Louise Kierkegaard, CEO, CaCharge

The e-mobility company CaCharge is pleased to announce the completion of a 2.1 MEUR investment round from experienced investors to expand in Europe. CaCharge’s business model makes it profitable to invest in charging points while drivers benefit from a reasonable mileage rate.

The investors include Stefan Bengtsson of CSB Capital; Mikael Ahlstrom founder of Procuritas; Lars Appelstal, co-founder of Readsoft; Per-Uno Sandberg, co-founder of Skistar; Michael Obermayer, senior partner of McKinsey and chairman of energy storage company Nilar and Carl Hirsch, from property developer Industricentralen.
Carl Hirsch explains that CaCharge’s core business is about pricing, packaging and AI-based software.

Following the announcement, he commented:
“You only need to Google electric cars to understand that the main challenge is the charging infrastructure. The business model and mindset of CaCharge is spot on for me as a property developer. By using CaCharge, I can keep my tenants happy and create a new revenue stream, while my properties become more sustainable”.

CaCharge was founded in 2016 by three entrepreneurs; Kurt Hognelid, Louise Kierkegaard and Tomas Oquist. Together they embarked on a journey to develop a business model that underpins the electric car mass-market.

CEO of CaCharge, Louise Kierkegaard, believes that to make sustainable development scalable you need to generate economic profit. She said:
“CaCharge understands both the point of view of business and the driving and parking patterns of car drivers. Our aim is to create a society where your car is charged as easily as your mobile.”

The CaCharge technology charges the car where it is parked – at home or at work. By using an AI-based solution that effectively distributes electricity between cars, CaCharge can charge 50 cars at the same rate as a fast charging station.

Kurt Hognelid, Chairman of CaCharge, said:
”Being able to charge as many cars as possible, at the lowest possible cost, with available electrical capacity, will be crucial in the future”
CaCharge’s customers in Sweden include Fabege, Stena Fastigheter and Upplands Vasby municipality.

Media enquiries:
Louise Kierkegaard, CEO, CaCharge, louise@cacharge.com
Carl Hirsch, CEO, Industricentralen hirsch@industricentralen.se
www.cacharge.com/

NEWS June 19, 2018

Magnus Hedberg, known from the TV success Lyxfällan, invests in the app YourPDi

From left: Patricia Ingemarsson, Magnus Hedberg, Jenny Wuori, YourPDi

YourPDi, Your Personal Digitalisation, is a new app that provides an easy, smart and safe way to get in control of, and store your valuable information and documents. Magnus Hedberg, known from TV3´s Lyxfällan, now joins YourPDi in order to expand the app to a broader audience.

The app Your PDi has been founded by Patricia Ingemarsson och Jenny Wuori with the vision to provide a way to easily handle personal documents and other important information. YourPDi offers its users a place for everything and everything in one place – including the receipt for the stolen bike, documents from the renovation, warranties, log-in codes for Netflix, family vaccinations and your homes color scheme.

The information is stored in the cloud and is protected by, among others, Swedish Baffin Bay Networks to prevent eventual cyber attacks.

Magnus Hedberg now joins YourPDi as the company´s ambassador.

– When I heard about YourPDi, I immediately felt that this is something I want to be part of, says Magnus Hedberg. The app provides easy access to what I need, it doesn’t matter if it is tomorrow or in five years. I see daily in my work how beneficial it is for people to get in control of their documents.

Magnus Hedberg has own experienced of how convenient it is to store information digitally.

– I have super control of my documents, says Magnus Hedberg. Everything is sorted into the right binder and behind the right divider. However, as I don´t carry the binders with me all the time, sometimes I lack access to the information I need at the moment I need it. Yesterday for example, when my daughter was due for a vaccination, I realized her vaccination card was at home and I didn’t know what booster it was time for. A positive side effect of having your documents in order is that you save money. For example we got a new TV, when our old TV´s display gave up, two weeks before the warranty expired.

All information that you store on YourPDi is protected and encrypted in the cloud. No one but you can see what you store.

– So much has happened when it comes to digital safety, stresses Magnus Hedberg. My biggest problem now is what to do with all my empty binders. Not to mention the time I save when I store everything through my mobile, easily available everywhere via the cloud.

– We are very happy to have Magnus joining YourPDi, says Patricia Ingemarsson, co-founder. He is an advocate for order and control, exactly what YourPDi provides and he will be an important ambassador for our service.

For more information:
Jenny Wuori: jenny@yourpdi.se, 070-538 48 09
Patricia Ingemarsson: patricia@yourpdi.se, 073-525 52 05
www.yourpdi.com

YPDi AB has developed the app YourPDi for you who easily want to get in control of your valuable documents and other important information. The app was launched on App Store in May, 2018. An Android version will be available in July. You just scan your documents and simply place them in any of the many pre-defined categories. Everything organized and in one place – safely stored in the cloud. Easy to find – when you need it the most.

NEWS May 16, 2018

Positive opening message at Sting Day: the Sting companies’ revenues increased 40 % 2017

The Sting companies’ aggregated revenues increased by more than 40% in 2017 and the aggregated company valuation was doubled to now exceed 10 billion SEK. These positive figures are presented today when the the leading startup ecosystem in the Nordics, Sting, publishes its annual figures at Sting Day.

Sting Day today gathers 400 personally invited guests at Sweden’s most exclusive matchmaking event for startups and investors. 170 investors from 15 countries will be present to meet with a large number of carefully selected startups. The theme for this year’s event is sales and growth.

As a part Pär Hedberg’s introduction speech, a summary of the Sting companies’ performance during 2017 is presented.

“The figures we present here today speak their clear language, the Sting companies contribute with jobs and export revenues to Sweden,” says Pär Hedberg. We are especially pleased that the companies’ sales growth is strong and we view the doubled company valuation as a receipt that external investors also appreciate the potential of these companies.”

Some key figures 2017 (2016 in parentheses) *:
Aggregated sales: 2.11 billion kronor (1.47 billion)
of which export revenues: 1.50 billion kronor (1.17 billion)
Number of employees: 1819 (1532)
Gender distribution in the companies: 26 % women / 74 % men
Private capital invested in the companies: 752 million kronor (649 million kronor)
Public financing attracted to the companies: 126 million kronor (209 million kronor)
Aggregated company valuation: 10.2 billion kronor (5.1 billion kronor)
* The figures are based on the 240 companies (of which 168 are active today) accepted to Sting from the start in 2002 until the end of 2017/2018.

“An area where we see improvement potential is the gender balance in our companies. The tech industry is still dominated by men, and we see that we have an important role to play in order for more women to choose work in startups. Our ambition is that at least 50% of the companies accepted to any of Sting’s programs should have at least one female founder. We also have good opportunities to contribute to the recruitment of more women through our own recruitment service,” says Pär Hedberg.

During Sting Day, the audience will listen to experienced entrepreneurs and investors who reflect on the subject of the day. About 55 of Sweden’s most promising startups present their solutions in an exhibition and entrepreneurs and investors can book “speed meetings” via a digital platform, with the aim of providing an opportunity to establish a first contact that can eventually lead to long-term relationships. Among the speakers are Niklas Adalberth, founder of Norrsken and co-founder of Klarna, Stina Ehrensvärd, founder of Yubico, Wendy Tan White, founder of Moonfruit and Hanna Meiton, Chief Growth Officer at Soundtrack your Brand.

For more information
Maria Ljungberg, Communications Manager at Sting, 0708-36 22 31, maria.ljungberg@sting.co