Daniel Alestrand

If you still think Silicon Valley is the hub of tech startups, it's time for a reality check. Stockholm has been a serious tech player for years, and now it's hitting a new stride. The Swedish capital has humbly built a world-class startup scene, but now it's on track to become the next global startup capital, and if you blink, you might just miss it. Sweden is the second-largest producer of billion-dollar tech companies per capita, trailing only Silicon Valley. That’s not a typo.

Sebastian Hjärne has taken a bet on speed, bold ideas, and the belief that AI can do more than just assist in hiring. It can overhaul the entire engine. The Stockholm-based startup has already drawn serious attention, raising €3.5 million in pre-seed funding from EQT Ventures and pulling in heavyweight angels like Klarna’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski and Sana’s Joel Hellermark. But what really turns heads is that over 1,000 companies signed up to Talentium’s waitlist with nothing spent on marketing.

Telgea, a Stockholm startup barely a year into its journey, has raised €2.3 million to simplify one of the most overlooked headaches in global business: telecom. The round, announced at the end of April, was led by Amigos Venture Capital with participation from Antler, SSE Ventures and Motivate Ventures. Post-money, the company sits at a valuation of €18 million. Telecommunications is sorely needed, but isn't known for being glamorous. However, Telgea is trying to change that.