Pioneer AI: Checking the Nordic AI Pulse.
Welcome to 2024’s 7th edition of The Nordic AI Pulse, the weekly newsletter from Pioneer AI, our Nordic-focused AI investment fund. Dive in for a roundup of AI news, deals, and insights covering the Nordic region.

📚 In This Issue:

1. How AI Recruitment in Denmark Looks Right Now

2. Nordic News Roundup

3. Cool Tools and Companies

4. Please “Steal” This Startup Idea

5. Nordic AI Funding News

6. Podcast Insights

7. Upcoming: Nordic AI Events You Shouldn't Miss

Pioneer Insights

How AI Recruitment in Denmark Looks Right Now

‘The future belongs to the inquisitive,’ reads the opening sentence on Jonathan Løw’s website.

The famous entrepreneur and lecturer has founded several companies and written extensively about technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and more.

Working actively with AI, he has a front-row seat to the challenges and opportunities facing Danish AI companies.

We spoke to him about the AI recruitment situation in Denmark.

How do you see the recruitment situation for AI in Denmark, especially within the AI + SaaS field?

Jonathan: Our company is in Aarhus. As an area, attracting people with experience in international AI and SaaS is challenging. Consequently, we have specialists and freelancers who work remotely – especially outside of the country. It is difficult to compete internationally if you are limited to the Danish recruitment opportunities.

What does this situation mean for Danish AI innovators and AI companies? 

Jonathan: I can't speak for others, but one of our investors, David Hennemeier Hansson, advocates a 100% remote business model. Using this strategy, he has built several companies, including his most successful, Basecamp. We might be "Boomers," but we enjoy the human connection and interaction and prefer a hybrid model. However, in the end, it is the market that decides, not us.

How do you work with recruitment to address any potential talent gaps?

Jonathan: It's 100% network and branding. We previously tried working with an agency, but the process was slow and didn't deliver the desired results. That might be down to bad luck or not screening the market well enough.

It might be an overstatement, but is the hiring situation so bad that you are considering moving parts of your development and product work abroad? And if not, what is your reason for keeping it in Denmark?

Jonathan: No, we aren't considering moving. We have benefited from the Danish welfare society – although it can sometimes feel more like a welfare state. On the flip side, we really appreciate and value the Danish cohesion and communal mindset. Even though we are likely more liberal than the current government, we feel an obligation to create and contribute to businesses at home and, through that, to the future of our children, the young, the ill and our elderly population. So no, we’re not moving – no matter what. 

What can companies, organisations and Denmark in general do to improve the situation? 

Jonathan: Invest more in AI and SaaS companies with global ambitions.

For example, we hardly see born-global startups in the Lion's Den TV programme. The show, in many ways, defines how entrepreneurship is viewed. I know that their remit is making good TV, which often means focusing on the more colourful and popular cases.

Many of the most successful growth companies are not necessarily "sexy," and explaining what they do easily can be difficult. On the other hand, these are the companies with depth and international ambitions, and I think they should also be getting money on the show – instead of it being handed to another startup that wants to sell something meaningless online or someone who dreams of being able to do their hobby for a living.

I want to make sure to say that I respect that type of entrepreneur as well. It just doesn’t have to be either-or. I’m talking about what we as a country need to do here.

Do you have any tips or tricks for AI startups and companies regarding solving recruitment challenges? 

Jonathan: Tell a story that others want to be part of. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on Jonathan’s points. Let me know on the Pioneer AI LinkedIn page here. 

🎙Nordic News Roundup

• AI cuts waiting times by an hour and cuts the number of complaints at a Danish hospital’s X-ray unit. [DK] (DR)

• Norwegian companies are struggling to find the AI competencies they need. [NO] (ComputerWorld)

• Is Apple about to launch a major AI productivity update? [SE] (Macworld)

• Airline cuts food waste to a fraction thanks to artificial intelligence. [DK] (Check-in)

• Can AI identify illnesses even before you feel any symptoms? [NO] (Apollon)

• AI helps a student with ADHD to complete a university degree. [SE] (Sveriges Radio)

• There is a new proposal for a national Danish AI project. [DK] (Børsen) (Paywall)

• This Swedish woman decided to enjoy Valentine’s Day with an AI boyfriend. [SE] (SVT)

• Boston Consulting Group says AI can free up resources equal to around 25% of Danish public employees - but can’t share their calculations. [DK] (Folkeskolen)

• Norwegian municipality wants clear guidelines for AI in education before this year’s school exams. [NO] (Utdanningsnytt)

🛠️ Cool Tools & Companies

• Visoid from Norway uses artificial intelligence to create architectural model images.

• HATO Medical Technologies from Denmark uses AI to interpret ECG data and results.

• AI Medical Technology from Sweden develops AI-powered diagnostic solutions.

  Do you know cool tools or companies I should feature in the newsletter? Let me know!

💵Please “Steal” This Startup Idea

We would love to see someone build the following (and if you do, we might invest in you):

Introducing "AIBlox," an innovative AI startup that revolutionises how AI tools are integrated into companies’ digital workflows. An intuitive, user-friendly interface breaks down complex AI functionalities into composable blocks, making it easy for businesses and developers to create powerful, AI-driven applications by combining different solutions. AIBlox's business moat lies in its simplicity and adaptability, allowing users with minimal technical expertise to leverage advanced AI capabilities. Over time, it can expand to include more AI modules, enhanced customisation options, and deeper analytics to measure the impact of AI integrations.

🚀AI Funding News

Select Nordic AI companies that have raised funds in recent months:

• Portchain from Denmark

• Xensam from Sweden

• Go Autonomous from Denmark

• Myrspoven from Sweden

• Ekobot from Sweden

• Saga Robotics from Norway

• Fever from Sweden

• Codicent from Sweden

• Ward 24/7 from Denmark

• Trustrace from Sweden

Congratulations to all of the founders and teams!

Pioneer AI top 3 deal and funding highlights and insights: 

1: Go Autonomous raised €10 million in a Series A. Its AI-powered SaaS solutions for handling emails in B2B settings include data structuring, extracting meaning, and forecasting. Since email remains the main transactional channel for much of B2B, the proven 30% time saved by the company’s solutions is a hefty competitive edge - which could grow as other AI systems lead to more emails.

2: Xensam raised US$40 million - taking external funding for the first time in its eight-year history. Its market is set to grow as businesses increasingly rely on many different SaaS tools, which amplifies the need for software asset management (SAM) tools to oversee applications, monitor usage, and ensure compliance. Xensam streamlines SAM through its AI-powered platform, promising substantial cost savings and operational efficiency savings.

3: Codicent = AI Librarian? The company recently raised an undisclosed amount to build solutions to transform ‘how your organisation captures, organises, and leverages knowledge.’ It wants to eliminate much IT and administrative work and let employees focus on their primary tasks. It’s early days, but we very much share Codicent’s take on what one of AI’s biggest potentials is.

Are there other Nordic companies that should be on this list? Let me know!

🎧 Listen To

• Prompt [DK] - examines Google’s new “ChatGPT killer,” Gemini.

• AI Sweden Podcast [SE] - what will AI mean for our energy grid? This episode takes a closer look at that question.

• Oppdateret AI [NO] - takes a look at AI in HR.

📅 Training, Meetups & Conferences

Conferences

• 14 March (2024): Applied AI Nordics: Make AI practical and understandable and inspire how to get value from AI in business. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• 14 March (2024): AI-Con 2024: AI in the context of content and marketing. [Oslo, Norway]

• 17-18 April (2024): AI+: Get the latest updates from the world of artificial intelligence. [Halden, Norway]

• 24-25 April (2024): Data Innovation Summit: One of the most influential Nordic events on data, analytics and AI. [Stockholm, Sweden]

• 25 April: Applied AI Nordics: Leading Nordic AI conference. This year’s subject is how to move from opportunistic to strategic AI. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• April 27-28: SAIM 2024: Conference for sharing knowledge and results in theory, methodology and applications of Artificial Intelligence, Soft Computing, and Machine Learning. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• May 15-17: DevSum 20: International conference exploring the latest trends and technologies within development. [Stockholm, Sweden]

• May 24-26: ICMLT 9: The Ninth International Conference on Machine Learning Technologies is a forum for exchanges on current challenges in the machine learning field. [Oslo, Norway]

• June 10-11: SCAI Symposium 2024: The 14th Scandinavian conference on AI (SCAI) that brings together AI researchers and practitioners to present and discuss ongoing AI work and future trends. [Jonkøping, Sweden]

• June 10-14: HHAI 2024: The third international Hybrid Human Artificial Intelligence conference exploring AI systems that cooperate synergistically, proactively, and purposefully with humans. [Malmø, Sweden]

• July 18-19: ICAIAE 2024: Scientific conference for exchanging and sharing experiences and results of using AI for education. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• October 14-18: Process Mining Conference 2024: Industry and scientific conference on process mining. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• October 21-22: Nordic AI Meet: Symposium early-career AI researchers to network, collaborate, exchange ideas, and form a Nordic approach to building AI solutions for the societal good. [Helsinki, Finland]

• October 21-23: D3A: The Danish Digitalization, Data Science and AI brings together a diverse audience to explore the latest trends and research in AI. [Nyborg, Denmark]

Meetups

• AI Copenhagen

• Aarhus AI

• Stockholm AI

• AI Community of Sweden

• AI Engineering Sweden 

• Oslo AI

• Oslo Generative AI Meetup

• Oslo AI Product Lab

Do you know an event, meetup or similar that you think should be on the list? Let me know!

Got an AI story or insight from the Nordics? Share it with me!

Reply to this email or connect on LinkedIn.

Until next time,

Pioneer Venture AI