Irish start-ups are winning in the Nordics. Here's why

James McDonagh is Market Executive for Tech & Services based in Enterprise Ireland’s Copenhagen office.

‘Still doubting Europe? Go to HEL.’

The message was loud and clear at this year’s Slush conference in Helsinki, as over 13,000 start-ups, investors, and ecosystem players descended on the Finnish capital. The event prides itself on being the world’s largest gathering of assets under one roof. It capitalises on the novelty of holding a tech event in the Nordic winter, living up to its name and ensuring a relaxed atmosphere where start-ups can develop meaningful relationships with top VCs.

This year saw 20 Irish start-ups make the trip as part of Enterprise Ireland’s delegation, run alongside IDA Ireland. anging from cybersecurity to retail, medtech to smart mobility, our diverse delegation was one of the strongest yet, representing the strength and resilience of Irish tech. Through major successes such as those of Dev-Ally, who reached the finals of the Slush 100 in 2024, pitching onstage to an audience of top investors, and Lua Health who reached the final 20 in the previous year, Slush has proven itself to be the premier launchpad for Irish tech in the Nordics, and an excellent platform for global expansion.

Participating companies included Tines, the AI-workflow start-up which this year became Ireland’s latest unicorn; EVERYANGLE, who have recently begun working with the franchise partners of major Nordic retailers H&M and IKEA; Otonomee, who have been creating hundreds of jobs through their work with Finnish wearable scale-up Ōura; Marker Video, who aligned the launch of their new app with the conference, and JustTip, who announced a partnership with Sweden’s SurfBoard Payments. Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Irish Innovation’ event, gathering an exclusive audience of over 120 global tech leaders, cemented Ireland’s position at the forefront of European innovation. 

The Nordic markets have long been characterized by a culture of innovation. Companies such as Ericsson are embedded in Nordic life, acting as role models for aspiring start-ups and facilitating ecosystem development, not to mention the spin-offs, as global alumni launch their own ventures. This in turn has positive cultural effects, with entrepreneurship and risk-taking highly valued societally, strengthening the local start-up ecosystem. Nordic companies have a strong appetite for innovative solutions, opening the door to Irish tech across sectors.

Each country has its strengths, shaped by its unique history. Sweden has cultivated an international reputation as a unicorn factory and innovation hub, producing global tech giants ranging from Spotify to Lovable to Klarna. However, Finland has drawn on its robust tradition of research and engineering to become a leader in innovation, punching above its weight with sectors such as quantum, 5/6G, and gaming performing strongly. Norway’s emphasis on sustainability, deeply woven into the national culture, has made it a global leader in energy, cleantech and smart mobility, whereas Denmark excels in life sciences and fintech. Each country is investing heavily in its AI and cybersecurity capabilities with a high degree of collaboration across the region at both a business and policy level. 

There is a strong appetite for Irish innovation, driven in part by long lasting connections. Ericsson continues to operate one of their largest operations outside of Sweden in Athlone. More recently, companies such as Supermetrics have established Irish presences. At Enterprise Ireland Nordics, we are seeing growing interest from Nordic groups in learning more about Ireland. The perception of Ireland is shifting to one of an emerging power player in producing tech companies. For example, a delegation from the Swedish Confederation of Industry travelled to Dublin earlier this year to learn more about Ireland’s economic success and transformation into a tech hub, enabling it to achieve rapid growth relative to Sweden. 

This curiosity and need for solutions, combined with the strength of Irish innovation, is leading to big wins for Irish tech. 2025 alone has seen several successes. Manna, for example, this year announced key partnerships across Finland to begin drone deliveries there. Similarly, Payslip started powering payroll for leading Swedish Private Equity Company EQT around the world. Meanwhile, GladCloud has been working with Carlsberg Group, enabling hyper-local advertising for their portfolio brands across the Nordics.  We have been proud to support these companies as they scale across the region. 

Alongside market-level support, Enterprise Ireland provides various financial and investment supports to Irish start-ups, powering their international expansion. Irish unicorns such as Tines, Fenergo, and Wayflyer were all backed by Enterprise Ireland in their early growth. In fact, in 2025 Enterprise Ireland was named the most active seed stage VC investor in Europe by deal volume, supporting over 150 companies annually (Pitchbook, 2025). Combined with our on-the-ground market presence in the Nordics and around the world, this multi-pronged approach enables Enterprise Ireland to support Irish tech companies across their scaling journey, through investment, financial support, and through validating market opportunities.  

My advice? The Nordics offer plenty for Irish start-ups and its five distinct markets are well worth exploring. Major international conferences such as Slush, TechArena (Sweden), TechBBQ (Denmark), and more sector-specific events provide an excellent platform from which to investigate opportunities across the markets. The Nordics team are well-positioned to support from our Stockholm and Copenhagen offices, with local knowledge in sectors such as HRTech, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Smart Mobility and Retail Tech. 

If you are an Irish start-up exploring options for international expansion, or would like to learn more about Irish capabilities, get in touch. We look forward to working with you!