Swedish Tech & Startup Ecosystem: How Can It Benefit from Ties with Poland? | IT's time to talk #6

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Sweden is famous for Avva, IKEA,

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Volvo, but also leading tech companies like

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Klarna or Spotify.

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Klarna founder is actually a Polish Swedish person

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just like my today's guest, Piotr Stepiński.

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Piotr, it's a great pleasure to have you here.

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How are you doing?

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Likewise. It's great to be here. I'm doing excellent.

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Great weather here, so, you know,

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the energy is on top right now.

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But but you're in Poland or you're in Sweden at the moment?

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I'm actually in Warsaw, Poland.

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I live here since many

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years back, but I have a background,

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a strong Swedish background, as you will find out soon.

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Okay.

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If you could tell a few words what you're currently doing,

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what is your position at Merixstudio,

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what are your fields of interest?

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Okay.

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So I'm working with Merixstudio for whole year

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now, and I'm doing business development.

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So I'm responsible of acquiring new customers,

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guiding them through our software creation process,

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and taking care of them.

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And I have a strong focus on Scandinavian markets,

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Sweden in particular, since I used to live there

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for for many years back.

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Okay. Thank you for this.

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You travel often to Sweden.

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Have you noticed in recent years some changes,

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some major shifts within the IT industry,

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within the startup ecosystem, and, let's say,

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the wide span of tech in

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Sweden.

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Yeah.

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I think Sweden is a great example of a

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a country where the tech is is it's a tech

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leader, not only in Europe, but in in the whole wide world.

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So many of the pioneering ideas come from Sweden,

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actually, and it's been like this for for for many, many, many years.

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So, obviously, looking at the Swedish market and what

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is happening there among startups but also among larger

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companies, you can now also probably predict some trends

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that will go global later on as well.

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So, obviously, right now, there are a lot of trends.

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Firstly, in in terms of, you know,

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markets and categories, there's a lot of trends on

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in green tech sustainability and

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things like that.

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There's also a trend in cybersecurity

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and in defense technologies.

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I hope we can talk more about these particular

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areas later on.

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But, obviously, also, Sweden has been struck by,

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in the last few years by, let's say,

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a recession in terms of of new companies,

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in terms of capital available to fund these companies as well.

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So also there is a trend of,

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let's say, a more thought through startup

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ideas that get funded while the other ones

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that used to get funding before might have difficult

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times to to to find funding.

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So definitely, the climate is more competitive right now,

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and it's more difficult to actually fund your idea and

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to to make the idea a a breakthrough.

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But Scandinavians are famous for their

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pragmatism, yes, for not falling too much into emotions.

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So I guess one way or another,

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they will solve the issues that they are currently facing.

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You mentioned couple of verticals already.

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You mentioned the defense. You mentioned the green tech.

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Which other verticals or industries are

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potentially perhaps not flourishing, but may

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may be able to make some progress in upcoming years.

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Okay.

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So I I'd like I'd like to continue with the with these

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three areas that I already mentioned.

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So I actually visit Sweden a lot and go to

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different branch events and trade shows and meets

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meetups and and

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and other events.

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So I get to see what is actually going on right now.

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So one of the areas where I think it's

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a lot is happening is, like,

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green technology around sustainability and

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around green energy, etcetera.

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So just to mention a couple of examples,

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there's a lot of things happening in

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power, basically, both in terms of

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solar power where there's a lot of new technology in terms

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of new types of solar cells that can actually

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harvest energy even in difficult

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light circumstances, even in indoor light

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circumstances.

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And there's also a lot of going on in the software area of

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power, like virtual power plants where AI can optimize

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when to produce the power,

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how to use it so that it is optimally

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used without any waste.

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So definitely, power within GreenTech is something that

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I've seen a lot.

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I've seen a lot in zero waste.

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So in zero waste in terms of food,

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like systems that monitor freshness in shops and

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restaurants Okay.

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Make sure that there is no waste of of of food.

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There is also a lot of startups within circular fashion

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where different materials are created and different platforms

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are created where where users can basically trade

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clothing and and be more sustainable.

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So that is definitely something the green tech and there's a

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lot of different areas within green tech as well,

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like agriculture.

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So this is definitely something that is very strong,

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and Sweden is a is a pioneer in, you know,

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ecology and green, green approach since many,

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many, many years, basically decades back.

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So this is definitely something where you want to see what will

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happen in the world.

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Sweden is a good pioneer in terms of of of of what is happening.

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So, basically, green tech, I think,

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is the most growing visible trend right now.

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Another trend which is having a boom right now

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with investors is defense technologies.

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Basically, the war in Ukraine has triggered a lot of

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a a lot of new startups and new ventures in this area.

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Sweden just joined NATO recently,

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so this has even triggered this technology area a lot.

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And Sweden traditionally has very

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good defense technology looking at the population,

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which is very small.

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You have Sweden produces their own air aircraft, tanks,

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and a lot of other weaponry and and and radar systems,

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etcetera.

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So, traditionally, Sweden is very good with

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defense technology, but you are now seeing a lot of these new

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generation startups, electric boats, electric

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airplane, airplanes,

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apps that can reconstruct terrain

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efficiently, and other, like, AI based

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analysis systems to make sure that that

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the community, not only the army,

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but the community is well organized in

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terms of in a situation where where where war

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begins, basically.

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So I think defense tech is something where also NATO

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invests a lot in.

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So, like, a very hot area right now

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is this defense technology startup sector.

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And I think the third one,

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I recently visited

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something called Tech Arena,

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which is the biggest trade show for IT in Scandinavia.

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And there was a very high highlight also there in

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cybersecurity.

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So, basically, vulnerability assessments,

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very advanced identification systems, and, like,

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technologies that will allow big companies,

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governments, etcetera, prevent attacks and

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make systems more stable and secure.

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So, basically, these three areas are, I think,

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very interesting to look at.

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The common denominator here is

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basically AI.

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I didn't say AI because AI is hot everywhere, and it's,

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like, say say, self explanatory.

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But in all these three areas, green tech, defense tech,

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cybersecurity, like, the the main technology behind these

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products startups is obviously artificial intelligence.

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So it's I didn't mention that because it's it's it's

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everywhere in most of the tech startups right now.

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Alright then. Thank you very much.

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Very comprehensive introduction.

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I need to mention by myself because this is also a field of

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my private interest that the cooperation between

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Poland and Sweden when it comes to defense systems is increasing.

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Poland has purchased its first early warning

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airplanes from Sweden.

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We are also working on radar early recognition

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boats, and

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Sweden is also participating in the tender for the submarines.

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Yes?

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So most likely,

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the cooperation between Poland and Sweden in terms of defense

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will be increasing.

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I have a question regarding the

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cultural aspect.

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Yes?

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Because

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what I'm what I'm hearing is that

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you have a nation of a relatively small population,

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which is very pragmatic and is very oriented on

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managing efficiently, sometimes even limited resources.

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We know, obviously, that Sweden has a lots of timber wood,

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but also steel, which is also famous for.

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But the population, correct me if

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I'm wrong, is around ten million.

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And but the impact the economic

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impact that Sweden is making is is is quite significant

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if you compare their population with with with

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with their with their impact on the Europe on the European economy.

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So what do you think about the Swedish culture?

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How does, let's say,

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being post Viking nation helped

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becoming, let's say, a tech hub in recent years?

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Yeah? Or not just recent years.

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First of all, I think it's both cultural and

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demographical because as a small nation,

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Sweden has always had a quite a small domestic market,

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which means that the companies that want to achieve

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success always naturally went abroad

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with their ideas, with their products.

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So if you compare to, for instance, Germany,

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which is a big internal market on its own,

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In Sweden, as as you said, ten million,

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inhabitants.

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It's a fairly small domestic market,

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so companies always let's say this is both a

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carrot and a stick because you have to kind of motivate

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yourself to go to try harder, basically.

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So I think

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historically looking at the first really big

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successes in Sweden that that's that

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especially arrived after World War two, it has always been,

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you know, the will to kind of go over the

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frontier to to deliver the product.

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So I think the demographical part is definitely important.

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The culture part, of course, as well.

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Sweden originally, one hundred years ago and

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longer than that was a very poor country.

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It it it had a very big immigration to the United

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States in the nineteenth century,

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and it was basically very poor.

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So it's kind of the tradition to work hard,

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has been there for for a very long time.

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And as you mentioned, Swedes are

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creative and approach problems in a

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very practical way.

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I think this is also something that comes from the Swedish school system.

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I failed to mention before that I actually

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moved to Sweden with my family from Poland when I was two

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years old and went through all the schools.

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I also went to university in Sweden.

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So I can see that also the approach

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in the school system is very encouraging for creativity.

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So I think, you know,

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focusing focusing in schools on cooperation

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rather than competition and

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letting students, children

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freely think outside of the box has definitely made

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also big successes in in terms of these

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wonders that you mentioned before.

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Alright then.

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Okay.

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But there's a reason which brought you back to Poland.

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Yeah?

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Yes. Also, yes.

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Because, you know, I am a Swedish

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Polish hybrid, you can say.

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So one of the my Swedish, I would say,

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traits is curiosity also.

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Curiosity to how the world works.

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Curiosity, you know, like, Sweden, again,

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is a small country.

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We are hungry to see how the world looks like.

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Young Swedes often start,

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after high school, go traveling for a year before

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they go to university just, you know,

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to see what is going on in the world and realizing that

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Sweden is a small place.

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You have to kind of adapt and learn a lot of new things.

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So I guess this is the same thing with me as well.

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I after finishing, university in

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in Uppsala in Sweden, I basically basically thought

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that it would be great to get some experience from abroad.

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And because I was born in Poland and have Polish parents,

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Poland was a low hanging fruit for me.

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So I went just to get any job that I

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could get my hands on in the beginning.

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And now around fifteen years later, I'm here.

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I have a family here and have a really

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good time and and a good fit care also in the Polish community.

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Alright then. Thank you for this.

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Let's get back to

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the cultural aspect.

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I don't know if it's a stereotype.

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You will be a judge here,

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but there is, let's say,

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a stereotype saying that people from Nordics,

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which includes Swedish people, are very straightforward,

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for example, when it comes to business communication,

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when it comes to feedback,

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when it comes to providing information.

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Yeah.

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Like, they don't mess around with communication.

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They are very direct. Is it true?

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Both yes and an yes and no.

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Swedes appreciate, honesty and appreciate,

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of receiving.

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They are very well with receiving feedback.

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So it's a natural thing in Sweden to

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if you want to communicate something

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to someone, you do it,

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and the other person will not get offended by it,

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but will treat it more as a constructive criticism.

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So I think that is that is definitely something worth

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mentioning that

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in terms of honesty, this is very, very,

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very highly rated in Sweden.

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Also in in business,

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Let let's say that the word

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a word is or a handshake is everything,

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and you don't need a signature to kind of cement the handshake.

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The handshake is enough to to to to so so the trust is

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is there.

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And, of course,

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trust means that you have to be honest and tell it what it is.

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So Swedes are very appreciative of

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feedback and treat

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negative feedback also as as something constructive rather

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than than than than good to get offended.

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There is a certain amount of, let's say,

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avoidance of conflict as in the Scandinavian countries.

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So that's why I also mentioned no in this in in

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This situation.

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When there is a big problem, when there is a, let's say,

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something that that that is an issue,

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you might have to read between the lines to to

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kind of understand the situation.

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So

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I think that's that kind of summarizes

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what you asked for, like, honesty,

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timeliness, organization, and just telling

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the situation describing the situation as it is rather than

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painting a nice picture to to not upset anyone is definitely

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a good way to go.

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And this is also sometimes kind of a

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clash between Polish and Swedish culture because Poles

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are generally less prone to constructive

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criticism

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and and and and sometimes has have a have a this little bit

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of an emotional reaction to it, while in Sweden,

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it's Not a little bit.

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It's it's there it's it's quite different.

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So in my terms, you know,

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I have a lot of observation coming from two cultures where

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where there are differences,

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but there are more similarities than differences, basically.

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Alright then. Thank you very much.

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We've been talking a little bit about the culture,

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about the economic background, about Swedish population,

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but we've been also touching trends.

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Yes.

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We mentioned we mentioned the green energy,

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sustainability, defense.

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What kind of services could be useful for Swedish ecosystem?

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I mean, big tech companies, medium tech companies, and start ups.

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Yes?

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What is perhaps missing in this, let's say,

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picture at what Swedes would appreciate to be delivered,

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yeah, by, for example, Polish tech companies.

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Yes.

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I think that in terms of, for instance,

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Polish tech companies versus Swedish,

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let's say, Swedish business climate, something that is,

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I think, very, very visible is the the

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the level of knowledge the level of

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technical knowledge among Polish developers and among Polish

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talent, which is also, let's say,

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a treat of the Polish school system,

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which has traditionally been quite focused on

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mathematics and those, let's say, harder subjects.

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And it shows quite well.

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So I think the pool of talent and the level of the best

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talent, so called experts, is very high in Poland

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and very appreciated in Sweden where this talent is

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not as vast as as as in Poland, for instance.

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So I would say that one thing which is very good is is is

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basically the level of knowledge and the level of

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the level of persons,

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for instance, in Poland.

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So I can see a lot of companies looking for the very,

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very best experts Within, let's say,

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cybersecurity or very particular areas

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where simply the local pool is not enough to to

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to to to take from.

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So I think that that is definitely one thing.

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I think also

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I think also that Polish culture is

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more open to to to to

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to attacking problems as they appear.

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So, like, more of a it's difficult to to explain.

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But while in Sweden,

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it's very good to have everything in order and

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organized, but, obviously,

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crap happens sometimes, and then it's difficult to kind of

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approach it in a in a sane and creative way.

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And I think in in Poland,

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we have a more straightforward approach to

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things arriving when and as they do.

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So I think that also the creativity in this within this

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area that a solution can be a solution a,

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b, c, d, or d.

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There's always a solution to a problem.

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So I think this approach is also definitely something that

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is highly valued in in in in Scandinavian

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countries and Sweden.

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So it is a good team, you know,

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of of of well organized machinery,

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but with a flavor of of creativity and spontaneity as well.

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And you know that in all areas,

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whether it be coding or building a house,

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there are always problems that appear that that aren't planned for.

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So I think this is this is this is definitely

23:17 → 23:22

something something that is worth mentioning.

23:22 → 23:24

And the last thing as well, I think,

23:24 → 23:27

which is highly appreciative in Swedish culture,

23:27 → 23:30

circling back to the honesty,

23:31 → 23:34

Swedes would like to hear

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how the problem looks like even if it's a bad problem.

23:38 → 23:40

They don't want to sugarcoat it.

23:40 → 23:43

They want to to to receive the full report.

23:43 → 23:47

They can also take criticism.

23:47 → 23:50

For instance, if the if, for instance,

23:50 → 23:54

a Polish development team thinks that

23:54 → 23:58

the solution, the idea that a customer from Sweden has is

23:58 → 24:02

not optimal, they are also open to

24:03 → 24:06

hearing other solutions and brainstorming.

24:06 → 24:09

So they are open to discussing problems,

24:09 → 24:13

cooperating more of a more on a partnership level rather

24:13 → 24:18

than, you know, a level where there's a customer and and

24:18 → 24:20

the and the and the vendor, basically.

24:20 → 24:24

So I think that is definitely something also that is very,

24:24 → 24:29

very well appreciated, to find the best way to create

24:29 → 24:31

software to create things.

24:32 → 24:33

K. Thank you very much.

24:33 → 24:37

That I I must admit that my personal experience

24:38 → 24:43

of working, let's say, in general with Nordics, yes,

24:44 → 24:47

is that

24:48 → 24:51

people from Nordics or stakeholders from Nordics,

24:51 → 24:54

they have some natural easiness in outlining

24:54 → 24:55

requirements.

24:55 → 24:56

Yeah?

24:56 → 24:59

Like, for example, when they hand over a project to you,

25:00 → 25:03

the the goals are well described.

25:04 → 25:08

The tech stack is explained why this particular

25:08 → 25:10

tech stack should be taken.

25:10 → 25:12

They are also open to recommendations.

25:13 → 25:16

Daily based communication is very good. Yeah?

25:16 → 25:19

Like, we are talking about Sweden.

25:19 → 25:22

We are talking about Nordics in general,

25:22 → 25:25

but we are aiming to forget that

25:25 → 25:27

it's one hour flight.

25:27 → 25:29

It's the same time zone.

25:29 → 25:30

It's this

25:31 → 25:35

to be on a small lake that is between us

25:35 → 25:40

and and the distance between,

25:40 → 25:44

let's say, Gdansk and Stockholm is, I presume, like,

25:44 → 25:47

from Stockholm to Helsinki, something like that.

25:47 → 25:51

Yes? So the distances are are are very short.

25:51 → 25:54

It is extremely easy to travel both ways.

25:54 → 25:56

The communication is good.

25:57 → 26:00

Nordics are also famous for very good command in English.

26:00 → 26:01

Yes.

26:02 → 26:05

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark.

26:06 → 26:10

So so it is easy to cooperate in such

26:10 → 26:13

environment on IT projects, yes,

26:13 → 26:15

where there's lots of detail,

26:15 → 26:17

when there is lots of competition,

26:17 → 26:21

and where there is, let's say, very high demand for quality,

26:21 → 26:23

I would say. Yeah.

26:24 → 26:29

So so so this this is so this is something that we need to

26:30 → 26:31

keep in mind.

26:31 → 26:33

You mentioned a little bit

26:35 → 26:39

green tech and sustainability.

26:39 → 26:44

Do you reckon any, let's say, I don't know,

26:44 → 26:48

trends or directions within this

26:48 → 26:51

space that

26:51 → 26:53

may be flourishing?

26:53 → 26:55

Like, I don't know, for example,

26:55 → 26:59

mobile applications for for waste

26:59 → 27:02

management or web application for data

27:02 → 27:05

analysis, something like in particular,

27:05 → 27:08

one or two things that you predicted may be

27:09 → 27:12

desired in the Nordics?

27:13 → 27:16

Well, I think that this green

27:16 → 27:19

tech has really sped up.

27:19 → 27:22

And in my opinion, there's no return here.

27:22 → 27:24

There are a lot of skeptics

27:25 → 27:27

everywhere that say that it's just a trend,

27:27 → 27:31

something that is forced upon us by the European Union.

27:31 → 27:35

But to be to be to be frank,

27:35 → 27:38

the war in Ukraine has shown us also that we need to kind of be

27:38 → 27:41

more self reliant, self sustainable.

27:41 → 27:45

So it's the trend is definitely going towards self sustainability.

27:46 → 27:48

So for instance, in green tech,

27:48 → 27:52

and this kind of self sustainability slash

27:52 → 27:56

sustainability not to waste anything because

27:56 → 27:58

it's the times are more difficult.

27:58 → 28:01

We don't know how the future will look like.

28:01 → 28:05

It's definitely something that is, especially in green tech,

28:05 → 28:09

you know, the the kind of the the the the main theme in

28:09 → 28:13

all these startups and all these all these ideas.

28:13 → 28:14

So you mentioned

28:15 → 28:18

so for instance, we have solar power.

28:18 → 28:22

So in a in a basic in a basic system of

28:22 → 28:25

solar power known to most people,

28:25 → 28:27

you have solar cells on your roof,

28:28 → 28:32

and those solar cells can power parts of your own

28:32 → 28:34

production in your home.

28:34 → 28:37

And you can sell the excess of this energy produced when there

28:37 → 28:40

is access to to the power grid, basically.

28:40 → 28:46

But if you go deeper into this, you will find, for instance,

28:48 → 28:52

something called virtual power plants Where you can actually

28:52 → 28:57

optimize the production both from a customer's point of view.

28:57 → 29:02

So for instance, if you're a customer and you have solar cells on your

29:02 → 29:05

roof, you can optimize this production.

29:05 → 29:06

You can, for instance,

29:06 → 29:09

have an app that where you can get feedback,

29:09 → 29:14

but you can also control when, for instance,

29:14 → 29:16

produce the power.

29:16 → 29:20

When, for instance, you use the power to kind of

29:20 → 29:23

power your own house, when you can use the power

29:23 → 29:25

to fill up a battery,

29:25 → 29:26

which can store the power.

29:26 → 29:29

If you have an electric vehicle, which many,

29:29 → 29:33

many people in Sweden, Norway especially do,

29:33 → 29:37

you can also optimize this by low charging your electric vehicle,

29:37 → 29:42

but also treat it as a battery the electric vehicle can also

29:42 → 29:45

power things in your house as well.

29:45 → 29:49

So we see a lot of things around optimization of of this

29:49 → 29:52

energy production and energy usage as well,

29:52 → 29:54

and there are multiple apps where you can,

29:54 → 29:58

both as a customer, optimize this usage, learn.

29:58 → 30:02

Also, this software has their artificial intelligence

30:02 → 30:04

part, can actually optimize

30:05 → 30:08

the whole consumption and production of your own power

30:08 → 30:10

plant on your roof, for instance.

30:10 → 30:14

But it also is software for bigger companies like power

30:14 → 30:18

grid companies, power producers to kind of optimize

30:18 → 30:21

also the production and consumption.

30:21 → 30:23

Because with the the more

30:23 → 30:26

solar cells we have on our roofs,

30:26 → 30:30

the more production that comes from this renewable

30:30 → 30:34

source of energy, the more potential waste there can also

30:34 → 30:36

be of this energy.

30:36 → 30:39

We don't have a perfect system to store energy yet,

30:39 → 30:41

but it's growing.

30:41 → 30:42

That segment is growing as well.

30:42 → 30:46

So we kind of have to focus on the on the

30:46 → 30:50

use on on the most efficient use of this energy.

30:50 → 30:54

And here, is it's it's all software based, basically.

30:54 → 30:55

You know?

30:55 → 30:57

The algorithms, everything.

30:57 → 30:59

It's it's not about the hardware.

30:59 → 31:02

There's a lot of things happening in the hardwares.

31:02 → 31:05

There are better solar cells, better solar batteries,

31:05 → 31:08

better transmission capabilities of the networks,

31:08 → 31:11

but it's right now, it's all about the software.

31:11 → 31:14

So I think that that is definitely one of the trends in

31:14 → 31:16

terms of energy production and consumption,

31:16 → 31:19

especially where electric vehicles and other

31:19 → 31:22

things come come into play.

31:23 → 31:27

And as you mentioned, there there are also a lot of a lot

31:27 → 31:31

of solutions around

31:31 → 31:33

both for

31:33 → 31:35

customers, like end users, b to c customers,

31:35 → 31:37

but also for companies.

31:37 → 31:40

For for instance, within food, you have

31:41 → 31:44

for restaurants, for instance, or grocery stores,

31:44 → 31:48

you have software that basically analyzes with

31:48 → 31:51

with the help of Internet of Things and AI

31:51 → 31:55

your current level of food and the freshness of food in your

31:55 → 31:57

restaurant or shop.

31:57 → 32:00

And also as an end user, as a as a consumer,

32:00 → 32:04

you have different types of apps where you can basically,

32:05 → 32:09

find good deals on food that is, for instance,

32:09 → 32:11

close to its expiry date.

32:11 → 32:14

So I think, like, it is it's it's also a

32:15 → 32:19

very nice circle within food production and

32:19 → 32:22

food waste and things like that.

32:22 → 32:24

So we are seeing a lot of this this as well.

32:24 → 32:27

You know, where you, as a consumer,

32:27 → 32:30

as a average person, can can can do a lot

32:30 → 32:32

also to contribute.

32:32 → 32:37

Small things, but small things it starts with small things,

32:37 → 32:41

and the the big things are also built with small things as well.

32:41 → 32:44

So I think it's a lot a lot of stuff happening right now.

32:45 → 32:49

Yes. And you touched very sensitive topic.

32:49 → 32:53

I mean, the power grid and power management

32:54 → 33:01

in, let's say, photovoltaic systems, yeah, installments.

33:01 → 33:04

Because also in Poland, we are noticing, let's say,

33:04 → 33:07

major fluctuations when it comes to the power delivered

33:07 → 33:09

coming from the photovoltaics.

33:09 → 33:13

And this kind of surprised our country,

33:13 → 33:16

which was supporting photovoltaic installments,

33:16 → 33:20

and but I spoke yesterday with

33:21 → 33:24

Austrian data analysis company representative,

33:24 → 33:27

and they said that this is very common problem.

33:27 → 33:28

Yeah?

33:28 → 33:31

Like, a and software that will be helping

33:31 → 33:35

to manage the surplus of power generated by

33:35 → 33:37

renewable sources

33:38 → 33:44

will be taking key role in this in the for the entire vertical.

33:44 → 33:46

Exactly.

33:46 → 33:47

Then.

33:50 → 33:52

In the beginning of our conversation,

33:52 → 33:56

we mentioned Volvo, SAP, IKEA,

33:56 → 33:59

Klarna, Spotify.

34:00 → 34:05

Do you predict any unicorn coming soon?

34:06 → 34:07

Yes.

34:07 → 34:11

I think there's a lot of very interesting ideas out there.

34:11 → 34:15

Obviously, to become a unicorn, statistically,

34:15 → 34:19

you have a very long way in front of you and the the the

34:19 → 34:21

chances of

34:21 → 34:24

no success versus versus success,

34:26 → 34:27

it's it's it's a big risk.

34:27 → 34:31

But but but as I mentioned, Swedes are curious,

34:31 → 34:33

hungry, risk taking.

34:33 → 34:37

So there's there's a lot of companies on my radar,

34:37 → 34:40

but I have picked three ones that I

34:40 → 34:43

find particularly interesting in the last

34:43 → 34:46

in the last, let's say, this year.

34:46 → 34:50

So one of the companies that are doing a lot in the area

34:50 → 34:53

where we just finished the topic,

34:54 → 34:57

virtual power plants, power grid management is a company

34:57 → 34:58

called Fever.

34:59 → 35:02

Fever provides software

35:02 → 35:04

for mainly, for for

35:04 → 35:09

for the producers of energy and for the big companies

35:09 → 35:12

to to to optimize production and

35:12 → 35:16

consumption and power line usage,

35:16 → 35:20

the the infrastructure to make waste

35:20 → 35:23

as small as possible.

35:23 → 35:26

And these guys have received a lot of funding lately.

35:26 → 35:28

It's

35:28 → 35:32

started by by people that you used to work in Spotify and

35:32 → 35:34

other big unicorns in Sweden.

35:34 → 35:37

So this is definitely something that I'm

35:37 → 35:40

very curious about to see how it goes.

35:40 → 35:45

Another company, also within GreenTech

35:45 → 35:48

as mentioned, the biggest trend right now is in GreenTech,

35:48 → 35:52

so there's a lot of interesting companies in that area.

35:52 → 35:54

It's a company called Exager,

35:54 → 35:58

and they basically are building the hardware part.

35:58 → 36:00

So where Fever is the software part,

36:00 → 36:04

Exager has created solar cells that transform

36:04 → 36:07

basically any kind of light into energy,

36:08 → 36:10

including indoor lighting.

36:10 → 36:13

So I'm very curious to see the development here as well

36:13 → 36:17

because, as you know, the the traditional solar cells that

36:17 → 36:23

we have on on our roofs at the moment are far from optimal

36:23 → 36:27

and and not working nearly as efficiently as they could

36:27 → 36:29

be in the future.

36:29 → 36:32

So I'm very curious also on the hardware part,

36:32 → 36:36

new types of materials used to create cells.

36:36 → 36:40

And this this company is is is one of the companies that have

36:40 → 36:44

a quite interesting product and and some also initial

36:44 → 36:48

success in terms of investors, funding, etcetera, etcetera.

36:48 → 36:52

And the third company, which I think is is it's it's a less

36:52 → 36:56

known player, but I think it's a great example of

36:56 → 36:58

artificial intelligence.

36:58 → 37:00

It's a it's a startup.

37:00 → 37:02

It's a brand new startup Qualicura,

37:02 → 37:07

and they basically want to revolutionize legal legal work.

37:07 → 37:11

So Qualicura wants to provide users,

37:12 → 37:14

so lawyers and other, let's let's say,

37:14 → 37:18

legal professionals with a way to find, extract,

37:18 → 37:21

and present any kind of legal data.

37:21 → 37:25

Because extracting legal data can sometimes be hard

37:25 → 37:28

and time consuming, requires many hours.

37:29 → 37:31

And in in in in in theory,

37:31 → 37:35

their product is able to to to do to extract

37:35 → 37:39

this data, process it with artificial

37:39 → 37:42

intelligence, anticipate what the customer

37:42 → 37:44

wants, and present it in a neat,

37:44 → 37:46

nice way

37:46 → 37:51

with no, let's say, time wasted on

37:52 → 37:56

on dead ends, which probably is a is a is also a

37:56 → 37:58

problem at this moment.

37:58 → 38:02

Something I don't know if you watched the Google conference recently,

38:02 → 38:05

something that that Google also wants to do with their search engine.

38:05 → 38:07

So not just a search engine,

38:07 → 38:11

but more of a discussion partner or some someone to

38:11 → 38:14

brainstorm your ideas So so this is definitely something

38:14 → 38:18

that I think is is is is is also interesting.

38:18 → 38:21

But there are very many companies recently

38:21 → 38:25

in in tech arena in Stockholm.

38:25 → 38:26

I saw

38:26 → 38:31

electric powered snow snowmobiles and other things like that.

38:31 → 38:34

So it's it's it's a lot of things happening right now,

38:34 → 38:39

and it was very hard to pick just three of these of of these companies.

38:41 → 38:42

Okay then.

38:43 → 38:45

Thank you very much for this.

38:47 → 38:49

I think it was a pleasant conversation.

38:49 → 38:52

I hope that our viewers will be,

38:53 → 38:56

will take some value out of it.

38:57 → 38:59

Please do not hesitate to contact Piotr.

38:59 → 39:02

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any

39:02 → 39:05

suggestions about this episode or future episodes.

39:05 → 39:07

If you would like to learn more about the technological

39:07 → 39:09

solutions that we can provide,

39:09 → 39:12

if you would like to learn a little bit more about the

39:12 → 39:15

Swedish and Nordics landscape.

39:16 → 39:18

I'm very, very grateful.

39:19 → 39:21

My name is Mike Lisewski, and thank you.

39:21 → 39:24

This was it's time to talk.

39:25 → 39:27

Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here.

39:27 → 39:31

And any feedback, even, critical or constructive,

39:31 → 39:34

will be, highly appreciated.

39:34 → 39:40

Is half Swedish, so he will appreciate it very much.