Over 500 tech companies, 20 business incubators, a number of startup communities, government initiatives, business angels and VC funds in a country with 5.5 million people, – cross-sectoral collaboration is at the core of Norway’s startup ecosystem. Being named as Nordics’ fastest growing startup ecosystem, the country of the midnight sun now is set to grow a new generation of unicorns.
Digital transformation is going through all industries including public sector, healthcare and transportation. “Data is the new oil.” – says Sigve Brekke, CEO Telenor, Norway’s largest telecom operator. Telenor is currently investing in data, building research centres across the country and gathering startups to build new solutions in the fields of AI & machine learning, IoT and mobility. Other large maritime and oil & gas companies are also building with smart and solutions for automation and digitalization.
In the lights of Oslo Innovation Week with its 50 events across the city, we would like to present you with the top 10 startups from Norway.
BySpire. Finalists of 100 Pitches by DNB NXT, AgriTech company BySpire is aiming to improve the selection and quality of vegetables and herbs in the Norwegian market. Today Norway imports 70% of all the vegetables, and BySpire strives to reduce that number. The company plans to achieve that by cultivating vegetables and herbs all year round, using high-tech vertical farming.
Kahoot! – EdTech startup and resident of Walt Disney Accelerator program, Kahoot brings the magic of game-based learning outside the physical classroom. With Kahoot app teachers can send after-class challenges to students as homework and learners can continue playing for revision and fun wherever they are, anytime. Earlier this year the company secured 10M euros to conquer new markets.
Graphiq. Founded by two friends, Graphiq handpicks designers and matches them with companies and projects. In the past year, the company bootstrapped with no developers in the team and was able to get Telenor, Evry and DNB, Norway’s largest financial services group, as one of their clients. In April 2016 Graphiq was included in Pioneers’ list of 500 most promising startups in Europe.
Noisolation. Founded in Oslo in 2015, Noisolation strives to reduce loneliness amongst children suffering from long-term illness. The company built AV1, a telepresence robot that allows kids to connect with their peers, and deployed it in 5 countries including the Netherlands and the UK. In 2017 Noisolation received a Startup of the Year Award from the Nordic Startup Awards.
Diffia. A resident of StartupLab, Diffia is on a mission to digitalise clinical work and make hospitals more efficient. Diffia is building a Nimble – a mobile app designed for hospital doctors and nurses that provides them with a tool that saves time and keeps all the patient data at their fingertips. Nimble is promised to increase doctors’ productivity by 50%. The company was recognised as the Best Health Startup by Nordic Startup Awards Norway.
Listen. Another company from StartupLab, ListenAS, is removing the need for expensive hearing devices or complex hearing tests. Together with Norwegian research organization SINTEF the company is building a Mobile Ears app that helps people with a mild to medium hearing loss to hear clear speech and sound while watching TV, at meetings and conferences with just their phone and earbuds.
Socius. Adtech company Socius wants to save the publishing industry with ads that don’t suck. The Socius CMP combines branded content from influencers to generate 10x engaging native ads with no extra production costs. Since launch in January Socius Native is being adopted by some of the world’s biggest publishing houses including Dow Jones, Penske, and Bonnier. Socius is HQ in Oslo with US team in NYC and is funded by Axel Springer and 500 Startups.
Voiceable. Founders of Startup Lab’s Voiceable are on a mission to help everyone to train their voice. With two PhD scientists on board, the team is building a mobile app that will act like a personal voice coach. Voiceable uses deep learning and artificial intelligence to discover the dynamics of your voice and provide you with various data regarding your pitch, tempo, rhythms and other parameters.
Chooose. – Climate change is real. A climate action company Chooose aims to make people all across the globe climate neutral. The company believes earthsaving needs to be fun and personal, and with that idea in mind, Chooose was able to make over 1500 people climate neutral by blocking 11,000,000 kg of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. The company collaborates with big players like Get, Bislett Games, Extreme Tech Challenge and Red Bull, helping its employees to become climate neutral. Choosse has made it to the national finals in the category Best Bootstrapped at Nordic Startup Awards and won 100 Pitches by DNB NXT at Oslo Innovation Week.
EYR. The Digital Health Tech company Eyr focuses on providing easy access to doctors through video consultations on tablets and smartphones. With the Eyr app Norwegians can now book consultations, get e-prescriptions, referral to a specialist, medical advice, and communicate securely with healthcare professionals. Started in Oslo in 2015 by Karl Martin Lind and Vegard Krogh-Reinsnes, the company appeared in the finals of 100 Pitches by DNB NXT at Oslo Innovation Week.
