Why Data Matters: From Sweden Startup Nation to Sweden Startup Next
On 28 January, at Next Innovation Policy Forum during GoWest in Gothenburg, a fireside chat marked a pivotal moment for Sweden’s startup ecosystem. What began years ago as an effort to map innovation more clearly is now entering a new phase.
During the session “Why Data Matters – The Birth of Sweden Startup Next”, Sweden Startup Nation officially became Sweden Startup Next — a rebrand that signals more than a name change. It represents a shift from describing the ecosystem to actively enabling smarter, faster and more evidence-based decisions.
Moderated by Mimi Billing, Editor at Sifted, the conversation featured Sasan Shaba, VP Philanthropy at SISP and Project Manager for Sweden Startup Next, and Lisa Ericsson, CEO of KTH Innovation and KTH Venture — and Co-founder of Sweden Startup Next.We now take the next step.
Why the rebrand matters
Sasan Shaba opened the session by explaining why Sweden, despite its reputation as an innovation powerhouse, needed a new approach.
“Data existed — but it was fragmented. Decisions were often based on assumptions rather than evidence.”
The original initiative, Sweden Startup Nation, was created to establish a shared and reliable data foundation across startups, incubators, science parks and academia. But as the ambition grew, so did the need for a clearer, more future-oriented identity.
“Today, we are officially launching Sweden Startup Next — a new brand and a new direction.”
The rebrand reflects a shift from static reporting toward continuous innovation intelligence: a platform designed to support startups, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders with actionable insights.
From mapping to enabling
Sweden Startup Next is not just about understanding the ecosystem — but about changing how decisions are made.
“Sweden Startup Next is about moving from describing the ecosystem to enabling smarter, data-driven decisions.”
The platform, currently under development, will launch as an MVP in the coming months. Built on multiple data sources and enhanced by AI-driven analysis, it aims to give a more complete, real-time picture of Sweden’s startup landscape — across regions, sectors and maturity levels.
Making deep tech visible
From an academic and innovation perspective, Lisa Ericsson highlighted why this shift is especially important for deep tech and research-based startups.
“Without reliable, comparable data, it’s very hard to understand what actually works — and where support has the most impact.”
She pointed out a long-standing blind spot in Sweden’s innovation narrative: deep tech spin-offs often remain invisible in traditional datasets, particularly due to Sweden’s professor’s privilege system.
“For the first time, we can actually see how many deep tech startups we have — and what our universities are producing.”
At KTH alone, 19 spin-offs were created in a single year — a figure that rarely appears in international comparisons. Sweden Startup Next aims to correct that imbalance and ensure Swedish innovation is properly represented in European and global contexts.
Giving founders a voice
Another core ambition behind Sweden Startup Next is representation. According to Shaba, startups are often the subject of policy — but rarely part of the conversation.
“Startups tend not to be in the room. Their voice is not heard.”
By combining data with policy engagement, Sweden Startup Next aims to act as a startup-centric voice, unifying more than 100 organisations across incubators, science parks, innovation offices and holding companies — and increasingly, investors.
“Now we can speak with one clear voice — for Sweden, and towards Europe.”
AI as an accelerator, not a buzzword
The fireside chat also touched on the role of AI — not as hype, but as an enabler. While similar initiatives existed before, the speed and scale of Sweden Startup Next would not have been possible without AI-powered tools and agents.
“Everything changed when we built the AI agents. The speed shocked us.”
AI has fundamentally reshaped how data is collected, validated and analysed — allowing a small team to move faster than traditional, manual approaches ever could.
Sweden as a European connector
While firmly rooted in Sweden, the ambition of Sweden Startup Next is explicitly European. The initiative has been shaped through close dialogue with peers such as Startup Estonia and Techleap in the Netherlands — and is designed to connect into a broader European data landscape.
“This is Sweden’s way of connecting to similar initiatives across Europe — and contributing to better European decision-making.”
Taking the next step
As the session concluded, the message was clear: this was not an endpoint, but a beginning.
Sweden Startup Nation laid the foundation. Sweden Startup Next takes the next step.
At Next Innovation Policy Forum, the launch underscored a broader shift underway in Europe: data is no longer a by-product of innovation — it is part of its infrastructure.
