Untapped startup goldmine: What's brewing in Oslo?

As Oslo’s tech scene continues to gain momentum, three influential investors join us on the Oslo Innovation Week-couch to explain what’s brewing in Oslo’s startup and innovation ecosystem.

In our chat with Preben Songe-Møller from Skyfall Ventures, Frida Rustøen from Idékapital, and Jørn Haanæs from Climentum Capital, we get real about our ecosystem’s evolution and why there’s never been a better time to build in Norway, and why international eyes should sit up and pay attention. 

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We’re not bullshitting and here are the numbers to back it up. The recent Oslo Outlook Report is clear: Startups and scaleups in Oslo aren’t just growing, they’re powering the economy. With 24,200 jobs across 3,160 companies and USD 2.3 billion in value created, they’ve driven 15% of all new private-sector jobs in the past decade. The future of Norway’s economy? It’s being built right here.

 “I think we are growing faster than other developed tech ecosystems,” Preben, co-founder and partner of Skyfall Ventures shares. 

And it’s not just the number of companies that’s increasing. 

“There has been quite a big acceleration in the ecosystem in [..] the last five years,” Frida, Investor at Idékapital, explains. Now’s a great time for outsiders to look at Norway: There are many opportunities and exciting things going on.

“Startups now have more private, public, and international money,” says Frida. In 2023, shortly after Covid, public actors like Innovation Norway contributed nearly USD 200 million in grants and support schemes. And that’s  just one example. According to Dealroom data Oslo startups raised USD 4.8 billion between 2020 and 2024.

It’s exciting that we're still in the early stages as an ecosystem because the real growth boom is yet to come.

“​​We need ten times more early-stage tech capital, a world-class AI ecosystem, and a pipeline of unicorns,” says Preben. 

A unicorn pipeline is a group of early-stage startups that look like they could grow into billion-dollar companies, also known as unicorns. It usually means a VC firm or startup accelerator has a steady stream of promising companies they're backing, hoping some of them grow big.

Jørn, Associate Partner at Climentum Capital, says it like it is — “Oslo’s got what it takes, but we’re still not seeing enough breakout companies.”

 “We have all the building blocks needed. We have the necessary, but perhaps not sufficient, building blocks to create these companies and talented people.” 

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A tipping point for the Oslo ecosystem

To become a global player, Oslo’s ecosystem needs a steady flow of serial entrepreneurs. People who can reinvest their experience, skills, and capital to push the ecosystem into its next phase of growth.

“We need to create more synergies across the ecosystem by recycling talent effectively and sharing experiences and network to better leverage the collective learnings and insights. This is especially important when it comes to go-to-market strategies and more broadly on commercialisation,” says Frida. 

Norwegian investors are starting to look inward. If we want to build high-impact companies, VCs need to take bigger risks and back bolder bets. Venture is, at its core, a game of risk. Play it too safe, and you’ll miss the biggest wins.

“We need more capital and more talent. Far more of the capital, both public and private, must come from within Norway, and we also need to attract substantially more international capital,” Preben shares. 

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Time to celebrate ambition

Today’s startup culture is shaped by a new generation of founders, driven by new challenges and fresh motivations compared to 25 years ago. 

“It's good that we have these first-time founders because they're the only ones doing the most insane challenges. Because they don't know how bad it is, so they just go ahead and try it. And some of them will make it. That necessary naivety is fantastic,” he says. 

“Ambition. We're allergic to power laws on a societal level. We underinvest in exceptional outcomes and overinvest in mediocrity,” Jørn answers. His response reflects a cautious culture where resources are spread too thin, favouring predictability over potential.

For Norway to level up, entrepreneurship and ambition can’t sit on the sidelines. It’s time to fire up the engine, not ride along in the sidecar. Oslo has the talent, capital, and institutional support, it just needs more founders and bold investors willing to push the boundaries and take bigger risks.