Dennis Green-Lieber

🔥 These are the hottest early-stage startups in #Sweden that recently raised funding. And yes, they’re #hiring. If you’re looking to join breakout companies early, this list is for you. #startups ⚽ 360Player Sports platform for clubs, colleges & schools 💰SEK 250M 🛡️ MilDef Defense systems company in the MilDef Group 💰SEK 500M 🧬 Alligator Bioscience AB Antibody-based immunotherapies for cancer using FIND® technology 💰SEK 28.1M ⛴️ X Shore All-electric boats combining Scandinavian design & Swedish craftsmanship 💰SEK 100M 💧 Maurten Hydrogel technology for sports nutrition 💰€20M 🖥️ QA.tech SaaS platform for autonomous testing 💰€3M 💡 BrainLit Lighting solutions for homes & public spaces 💰SEK 60M 🎮 Gridly AI-powered cloud content management for games & digital products 💰SEK 28M 🐾 TrackPaw Tech platform accelerating drug development 💰€2.3M 🛡️ Nordic Shield Group Civil defense solutions aiming for European leadership 💰SEK 54.5M 🤖 Motorica Generative AI for motion synthesis in AAA animation 💰€5M 🫀 Acorai Non-invasive intracardiac pressure monitoring devices 💰€4.2M 🚚 Logent Logistics & staffing solutions across warehousing, distribution & industry 💰SEK 200M 💊 Gesynta Pharma AB Drug candidates targeting inflammation & pain 💰SEK 304M ☁️ Privasea AB Custom computing & data sharing solutions for global clients 💰$15M ⚡ Arkion Scalable, accurate grid data solutions 💰$4M 🧬 Elicera Therapeutics AB Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company 💰€0.5M 💊 TIRmed Pharma Developing drug candidates addressing major clinical needs 💰€4.3M 🥩 Curve Industrial-scale cultivated meat production 💰€1M 🌱 Seaqure labs Biotech startup using mycoproteins for sustainable aquaculture 💰€0.47M 🤖 IPercept AI solutions to improve machine decision-making 💰€5M 🕶️ Beyond Frames Entertainment Investing in VR/AR & supporting digital game developers 💰SEK 25M 🔬 Phase Holographic Imaging Time-lapse cytometers for cancer & stem cell research 💰SEK 64.3M 🎥 Saltfish Interactive video solutions for users & products 💰$0.73M ⚡ Greenely Energy management platform for consumers & grid stability 💰SEK 90M 🩺 SciBase Medical devices for detecting malignant melanoma 💰SEK 19M 💊 Umecrine Cognition AB Pharmaceutical products for cognitive neurological disorders 💰SEK 24.6M 🔗 Engrate Integration platform connecting energy actors, systems & data 💰€2.5M 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? If you want to get top, 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 jobs that are actually hiring from elite tech companies delivered to you, subscribe to the waitlist for our soon-to-launch newsletter: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eV-JMpw3 #hiringalert #jobalert #hiringnow #engineeringjob #softwaredeveloper #softwareengineer

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How does the founder of Antler decide who’s worth betting on at the inception stage? 🎙 In the latest episode of Venture Capital in Scandinavia, I sit down with Magnus Grimeland, Founder & CEO of Antler, one of the world’s most active early-stage VCs, now in 30+ locations across six continents. From the Norwegian Special Forces to McKinsey to co-founding Zalora, Magnus has built his career around one belief: exceptional founders can come from anywhere. We talk about: 💡 What investing at the inception stage really means ⚙️ The three founder traits Antler looks for: Spike, Drive, and Grit 🌍 Why distribution now matters more than building, especially with AI ⚡ The new waves of opportunity Magnus is most excited about 🎧 Listen on Spotify or YouTube (links in the comments 👇)

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The Produkt-Market Fit metrics that actually matter for B2B European SaaS founders. One of the biggest traps we see in B2B European SaaS between Seed and Series A is confusing activity with product–market fit. Signups look good. Pipelines look busy. Dashboards are full. And yet, Series A still feels far away. That’s because PMF at this stage doesn’t show up in volume. It shows up in behaviour. Here are the metrics that consistently matter most in the European context. Retention comes first. If customers don’t stick, nothing else matters. A strong signal is 40%+ cohort retention after 3–6 months and churn below 5%. In EU markets, this tells you whether your product is a painkiller across languages, industries, and regulations, not just a nice-to-have. MRR growth with discipline. Revenue doesn’t need to be huge, but it needs to be clean. €10–35K MRR with steady month-over-month growth and a sane sales efficiency tells investors the motion is repeatable. This is where many teams confuse early deals with a real go-to-market. Net Revenue Retention (NRR) NRR above 110% matters more than raw acquisition. It shows customers are expanding, not just staying. In B2B SaaS, especially enterprise-leaning products, this is one of the strongest Series A signals. Stickiness over excitement. DAU/MAU above ~20% beats flashy pilots every time. Daily or habitual usage tells you the product is embedded in how work actually gets done. Unit economics that don’t lie LTV:CAC above 3x and payback under 12 months protect you from burning runway during the typical 18–25 month Seed to Series A window. If this isn’t visible yet, scaling sales is premature. A simple qualitative check still works remarkably well: Ask customers how disappointed they would be if your product disappeared. If fewer than 40% say “very disappointed,” PMF is likely not there yet. None of these metrics are new. What’s hard is being honest about them early enough. Most first-time founders don’t fail because they don’t work hard. They fail because they scale before these signals are clear. My team and I are passionate about helping founders succeed. 〰️ If you’re a first-time, European, VC-backed SaaS founder between Seed and Series A and want to increase your chances of reaching Series A, send me a DM and let’s talk.

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BREAKING: Swedish Lassie has raised a WHOPPING $75m Series C after surpassing $100m of ARR! 🇸🇪 Founded in 2020 by Hedda Båverud Olsson, Sophie Wilkinson and Johan Jönsson, Lassie has developed an all-in-one pet health app where users can purchase insurance, file claims and get access to information to keep their pets healthy. The company has been betting big on AI and its platform now processes 60% of claims in Germany end-to-end in around six minutes. Today it has announced a $75m Series C (one of the largest European insurtech fundraises of the past year), supported by Balderton, Felix Capital, Inventure, Passion Capital and Stena Sessan. The last time I spoke to Hedda Båverud Olsson was towards the end of last year when they surpassed $75m ARR as well as $1m ARR per FTE. Now they've surpassed $100m! The platform is live across Sweden, Germany and France and is serving 250k pets. If you want to check out the interview from last year search "Scaling Europe -Hedda Båverud Olsson" on Youtube or Spoitfy. Hedda is a GOAT and another insane Swedish founder Congrats to those involved Rob Moffat, Susan Lin, Magda Lukaszewicz, Robert Dighero, Kristina Patek 👏 Interested in European Tech? Sign up to my newsletter to stay up to date: https://lnkd.in/d54jdWXP

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The US remains the global leader in innovation, investment, and corporate adoption. We’ve watched our portfolio companies head West earlier and more aggressively than ever before. To fuel that momentum, we need more than just a presence—we need deep expertise. That’s why I’m thrilled to welcome Rikard Steiber as our US Operating Partner at Luminar Ventures. With Rikard’s experience and network, we’re putting seasoned "feet on the ground" to ensure our founders don't just enter the US market—they dominate it. Welcome to the team, Rikard! 🚀 Meet our team at NVIDIA GTC Magnus Bergman Reid Jackson Louise Hagen Eira Tobrand Irene Ardenstedt Anders Nygren Johannes Palmroos

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