SSE’s startup incubator was founded in 2001 and earlier this year, the Financial Times named its track record the best in Europe. The FT ranking specifically points to companies like Klarna (number 25 in admissions), Fastator (36), Quinyx (41), Budbee (114), and Voi (174) as the main contributors to this top spot.

A surprisingly large part of the incubator’s startups have received support just in the past four years: out of the total portfolio of 307 startups, 118 have been admitted since 2020. Andreas Johansson, CEO of SSE Business Lab, sees a trend where entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly popular career choice after SSE.

“We’ve always been proud that SSE alumni tend to take on important roles in business and society. Now, more people from the School are choosing to become entrepreneurs and create impact that way, which is particularly exciting,” he says.

* Admission numbers for 2024 are not yet final

Investor Pia Engholm, chairperson of DHS Venture Partners and member of the incubator’s Board of Admissions, believes that the increased interest is due to the growing diversity among founders in recent years.

“It becomes much easier to envision life as an entrepreneur when there are role models. This is why the gender equality and diversity efforts by SSE Business Lab are so important,” she says.

SSE Business Lab, among other things, has diversity criteria for admissions and helps its startups recruit in a gender-equal manner. Since 2020, more than two-thirds of the admitted companies have had at least one female co-founder.

Many companies within AI

Though many of the newly admitted startups are centered around novel AI technology, they can already find role models among previous companies. AI legaltech company Leya, founded at SSE Business Lab just last summer, was already valued at over half a billion SEK in their latest round of funding.

Former King co-founder Sebastian Knutsson, chairperson of SSE Business Lab’s Board of Admissions, is happy that SSE’s entrepreneurs see the possibilities technology brings.

“It’s striking how good the startups from SSE are at leveraging tech to their advantage. When it comes to AI, they understand both the technology and how to build a business case around it,” he says.

Just like the other companies that have secured a place at SSE Business Lab, the eleven new companies now have access to powerful support. In addition to becoming part of the creative community of startups at the incubator, the new companies will receive coaching from experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as access to valuable partner offers. They can also leverage SSE Business Lab’s extensive network of alumni, business angels, and VC firms.

The following companies have been admitted in this round:

Incubate:

Aprello: Annual reporting software that makes it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME:s) and accounting firms.

Daifin: Short-term financing solution enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SME:s) that lack access to trade credit, to obtain goods, sell them, and pay back at a later time.

Mai: AI assistant that makes it easier for both private individuals and brands to sell garments across multiple marketplaces within the resale market.

Normain: AI platform that helps consultancy firms become more scalable by automating time-consuming tasks.

Activate:

BetterOdds: Product helping business leaders make smarter decisions in complex situations by giving them better insights.

Closar AI: Product that enables precision healthcare through data from wearable tech.

Floccs: Marketplace creating tailored shopping experiences for horses and their owners – transforming equestrian trading and networking with data.

Klimra: App that fully automates travel reimbursement, making compensation effortless for passengers.

Kvantab Analys: Tools that combine extensive political knowledge and modern methods to enable the next generation of public affairs.

Property Mind: Product that utilizes AI to structure housing data and provides tailored data services for industry participants.

Relivo: Innovative powder supplement that simplifies daily performance and long term health.