A Nordic Web Report on Icelandic tech and startup investments in 2015 shows a staggering 1,568% growth in year-on-year funding from 2014 to 2015. Number of investments rose from seven to seventeen. This massive growth in funding is mainly fueled by three big investments: Verne Global’s $98 million (~12.7bn ISK) Series D round in January, Carbon Recycling International’s $45.5 million (~5.9bn ISK) …
Read More »At the end of the night, Scroo.ge splits the bill
John loves his Friday nights out with his friends. Last Friday, he went out to with his friends to the pub, had a good time, and picked up the tab for the table at the end of the night with the plan to “settle” the bill later. But we all know what happens next. When “later” arrives, John feels awkward …
Read More »Norwegian school puts e-sports on the curriculum
A tech-savvy Norwegian school is giving its students the option to play competitive video games, all in the name of education. Playing video games might not sound like something that children should be doing at school, but today a growing of entrepreneurs are calling for schooling systems to adopt a game-style of learning,promise that it could help cut school’s costs …
Read More »6 cool ideas from the VR Hackathon Brussels
The VR Hackathon in Brussels kicked off last night, bringing with it the promise of a new world of VR in 2016 and a healthy dose of viking tech-savvy – 20% of the participants came from the surprising VR stronghold of Denmark. Perhaps a sign of things to come, a surprising number of pitches came from outside the VR stronghold …
Read More »Denmark best country in Europe for entrepreneurship – or is it?
According to the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Index, Denmark ranks as the highest country in Europe and is number four worldwide, after the United States, Canada, and Australia. This means Denmark is in the top 5 performing countries globally, moving 2 places up from 2015. But what is Denmark is doing better than other countries? Education is the way forward The …
Read More »Bitcoin was the best-performing currency of 2015
After a turbulent year that saw markets riled, commodities plunge, and currencies wither against the dollar, many expected the American dollar to come back out as the top currency in 2015. Instead, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is being heralded as the best performing currency. Does this mean everyone is poised to get on board with bitcoin? Not yet. On the face …
Read More »2016 – the year of Virtual Reality?
The VR Hackathon is coming to Europe from San Francisco this weekend. With a slew of product releases and project sales of 14 million units, it is not without reason that 2016 is being called “The Year of VR”. The VR Hackathon in Brussels, hosted by the Danish Sound Innovation Network and EUVR.org from January 15-17th, marks the start of …
Read More »Kula 3D turns your smartphone into a 3D camera
Íris Ólafsdóttir, an Icelandic entrepreneur, is the visionary and CEO of Kúla 3D. A self-described amateur photographer, Íris devised a product that brings photography into the third dimension. Kúla 3D creates camera accessories that turn your smartphone (and other cameras) into 3D cameras. The idea for the product was conceptualized during Íris’ maternity leave. Íris noticed a toy reflected in …
Read More »Vivino: Yet another Nordic success story
Nowadays, the apps on your smartphone today are far more likely to be created in Stockholm or Sweden than in Silicon Valley. If asked most people would assume these businesses are American or British creations, but they’d be wrong.While they may have now moved the bulk of their staff to those countries, these businesses are flag bearers of the Nordic …
Read More »Denmark stays at the top for female entrepreneurship
The latest figures from the Danish Business Authority reveal that the distribution between men and women engaging in entrepreneurship has remained constant since 2001, with 1 out of every 3 entrepreneurs being female. An entrepreneur is statistically defined as a person who creates new business in non-agricultural industries, meaning re-launches, acquisitions and the like are not counted. In Denmark, there …
Read More »Nordic tech in Q4: the most active quarter so far
In Q4, tech startups based in Nordic countries collectively raised $309.8 million in 107 rounds. Though not the biggest quarter of 2015 in terms of amount raised – a distinction still carried by Q2 and its massive $812.8 million cumulative intake – it is the top quarter for amount of individual investments, by an easy 40 rounds. This funding analysis …
Read More »Norwegians must get out of their comfort zone, says leading business lobby
Kristin Skogen Lund, director of the NHO, Norway’s leading business lobby, thinks Norwegians have been in the comfort zone for far too long, and that change in the workplace is necessary. “There are a lot of changes we are now facing, and everything is dependent on how we choose to tackle them. We are in this epoch of change, and …
Read More »How IoT will force traditional businesses to change
The Internet of Things (IoT) will change everything. Existing businesses will be disrupted and their business models will be changed forever. Here’s why. Put yourself in the shoes of Philips, consumer products manufacturer. Philips makes dishwashers. One day, they’re going to throw a sensor and wifi chip into the newest dishwasher model and call it a “smart” appliance. We’ll have …
Read More »Innovation center for the disabled successfully funded
Iceland’s Frumbjörg, started by Brandur Karlsson in cooperation with Sjálfsbjörg, the Icelandic national federation of the disabled, is an Innovation Center for Mobility. The initiative’s goal is to provide the disabled with the opportunities for employment and develop innovations within the healthcare and social sectors. The social entrepreneurship venture is meant to provide individuals with disabilities office space and guidance …
Read More »Vibecatch improves your company culture with 15 questions
We caught up with Juha Huttunen, co-founder of Vibecatch, and asked him a few questions about how to improve company culture – and profitability – with 15 questions. How did you come up with the idea for Vibecatch? We originally worked for a software company and wanted to measure, internally, how satisfied the employees were with the company and their …
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The Slush Chronicles: Founders Unplugged: Veera Siivonen
This piece is part of the Slush Chronicles series, “Founders Unplugged,” where we interview founders …
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Slush 2024 Side Events (hand picked by the pros)
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#ActionMatters 2024 edition – Arctic15
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Hunome is for humans, by humans, and about humans.
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Silo.ai launches at Slush 2023
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The Slush Chronicles: Founders Unplugged: Veera Siivonen
This piece is part of the Slush Chronicles series, “Founders Unplugged,” where we interview founders …
Read More » -
Slush 2024 Side Events (hand picked by the pros)
-
#ActionMatters 2024 edition – Arctic15
-
Hunome is for humans, by humans, and about humans.
-
Silo.ai launches at Slush 2023