Sweden's startup calendar runs all year, but three moments matter most: the October pitch finals and Gothenburg Tech Week, Techarena in Stockholm in February, and the spring run of investor and tech events in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Sweden from October 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Best Startup Events in Sweden 2026–2027: Calendar from October 2026 to May 2027
Autumn 2026: October to December
Gothenburg Tech Week: every October
Gothenburg Tech Week (gothenburgtechweek.com) ran on 12–16 October 2026. Its investor day was a Startup & Investor Lunch for 120 selected startups and investors, co-hosted by Chalmers Ventures, Ellipsis Ventures, Almi and Almi Invest, and the Swedish business angels network SweBAN held an investors-only reception the same morning. Expect it again in October 2027; apply early, because both events pick their guests.
Venture Cup regional finals: 20 and 21 October 2026
Venture Cup is Sweden's national startup competition. Applications for the 2026 round closed on 15 September; the regional winners go on to the national final, planned for 3 February 2027 in Helsingborg, where one company is named Startup of the Year. Go to see the best new startups in your region pitch.
Women in Tech Sweden meetup: 20 October 2026
Women in Tech Sweden is the country's largest women-in-tech network. Its autumn meetups move between companies and cities: Saab in Solna and Atea in Malmö earlier this month, Vend in Stockholm next.
FoundHers Female Founders breakfast: 21 October 2026
A small, regular peer group: FoundHers Network held breakfasts in February, March and August 2026 as well. A low-cost way to meet other women building companies in Stockholm.
Pitcher's Corner, Lund: 22 October 2026
Pitch coach Neal Greenspan gives live feedback. Pitch slots mostly go to Ideon programme companies, but anyone can drop in and learn from the session.
TEAMUP Uppsala: 2 November 2026
Run by Drivhuset Uppsala. Useful if you are hiring your first team, and the pitch slot doubles as a public launch.
Øredev Developer Conference: 4–6 November 2026
One of Scandinavia's longest-running developer conferences. Go if you are a technical founder or hiring engineers in Skåne.
FemaleFounders AW: 19 November 2026
An after-work for women founders run by Venture Cup, and one of the few women-founder events in West Sweden this autumn.
Idrottens Hackaton: 30 November to 1 December 2026
The Swedish Sports Confederation's hackathon at Bosön, Lidingö, brings university teams together to solve problems for Swedish sport; teams are nominated by universities (nominations close on 19 October), and the final on 1 December is public. rf.se/hackaton
Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day: 2–3 December 2026
A Swedish Energy Agency event run with Cleantech Scandinavia. Pitch applications closed on 15 October 2026, so note it for next year if you build in climate tech.
2027: February to May
Techarena 2027: 3–4 February 2027
Scandinavia's biggest startup and investor crowd, with a cheap startup ticket. The 2027 theme is "Brave New World". The 45% early-bird discount ends on 15 October 2026.
Stockholm Fintech Week: 17–18 March 2027
The ninth edition of the main Nordic fintech meeting point, held in English, with a Women in Fintech programme.
GoWest Nordic Venture Capital & Deep Tech Forum: 13–15 April 2027
Matchmaking between deep tech startups and Nordic and European investors. Go if you are raising for hardware, climate or industrial tech.
Mashup and SaaSiest, Malmö: April and May 2027
Malmö's two main founder events: Mashup brings startups and investors together (its first day in 2027 is about robotics and physical AI), and SaaSiest is the Nordic meeting point for B2B software founders.
Data Innovation Summit, Stockholm Tech Show and MarTech Summit: May 2027
Three buyer-heavy events in one month. If you sell AI or data tools, go to the Data Innovation Summit; for IT buyers, Stockholm Tech Show is free; for marketing tech, the MarTech Summit.
Dates not announced yet
- Women in Tech Sweden conference 2027. Expected in April: the 2026 conference was on 22 April at Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre.
- Nordic Tech Week 2027. Expected in September: the 2026 edition ran on 7–11 September with 300+ free events across Stockholm.
- Gothenburg Tech Week 2027. Expected in October, like every year.
- Uminova Innovation VentureMatch, Umeå. Expected in spring 2027; the 2026 edition was on 5 May at Väven.
- Nordic Cleantech Open. The 2025/26 cycle is complete; the next call has not been announced.
- Venture Cup 2027. Applications are expected to open in April 2027, as in 2026 (15 April to 15 September).
- Chalmers Ventures Venture Day. An invite-only investor day in Gothenburg, last held on 14 May 2025; no 2026 or 2027 date is published.
- Global Entrepreneurship Week Sweden. The global week runs on 16–22 November 2026; no Swedish programme has been published yet.
Recurring meetups and communities
- Women in Tech Sweden: regular meetups hosted by companies in Stockholm, Malmö and other cities, plus the annual conference. womenintech.se
- FoundHers Network: free breakfasts for female founders at SQUARE in Stockholm, several times a year.
- Ideon Science Park, Lund: Tech Hub breakfasts and Pitcher's Corner sessions. Ideon events
- Ladies that UX Stockholm: a meetup for women in UX and product design; no next date is published yet. ladiesthatux.com
- Startup Grind Stockholm: free virtual talks in 2026, including one on women's ownership with Feminvest. No upcoming date is listed.
- Venture Cup: the yearly national competition, with regional finals in October and events like the FemaleFounders AW.
Several groups from earlier versions of this guide are no longer active. The Stockholm Entrepreneurs meetup has had no events since April 2020, STHLM Tech Meetup since November 2022, and SUP46 has become an online community called Startup People. The Nordic Growth Summit website is now parked, and we could not confirm that HealthTech Venture Pulse exists. Brilliant Minds moves to New York in 2027 and will return to Stockholm every other year.
Events for women founders in Sweden
Sweden has more women-founder events than most countries in this series. The ones to know:
- Women in Tech Sweden: the 20 October 2026 meetup in Stockholm and the annual conference, expected in April 2027.
- FoundHers Network: the free Female Founders breakfast on 21 October 2026 in Stockholm.
- FemaleFounders AW: Venture Cup's after-work for women founders in Gothenburg on 19 November 2026.
- Stockholm Fintech Week: a Women in Fintech programme on 17–18 March 2027.
If you organise an event for women founders in Sweden, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- Vinnova Innovativa Startups 2026: grants of up to SEK 500,000 for Swedish limited companies up to 10 years old, with at most 10 employees. The call is open until 12 January 2027 at 14:00, with information meetings on 2 and 9 November 2026. Details
- Almi Innovation Loan: SEK 50,000 to 500,000, covering up to 50% of a project's cost. Details
- Almi Invest: calls itself Sweden's most active startup investor, with nearly 1,000 companies in its portfolio.
- Residence permit for self-employed founders (non-EU): you need to own at least 51% of the business, have relevant experience and customer contacts, and show at least SEK 200,000 of your own money. Migrationsverket
For more options, see our list of government grants for startups in Sweden and the innovation funding sources in Sweden.
How to get the most out of Swedish startup events
- Book Techarena early. The startup ticket is the cheapest way into Scandinavia's biggest founder-investor event, and early-bird prices end months ahead.
- Use the regional events. Gothenburg, Lund and Uppsala have active investor and pitch events that are smaller and easier to work than Stockholm's.
- Apply, don't just register. The Gothenburg investor lunch, Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day and Venture Cup all pick participants; watch their application windows. See more startup competitions.
- Plan around Vinnova deadlines. The Innovativa Startups call closes on 12 January 2027; its information meetings in November are a good way to meet the funders.
- Join a women-founder group. Women in Tech Sweden and FoundHers run free or low-cost meetups that lead to introductions all year.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Sweden? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other countries
- Best startup events in Europe (with all country guides)
FAQ
What is the biggest startup event in Sweden?
Techarena, held at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm (Solna). The 2027 edition is on 3–4 February, with startup tickets from €126 excluding VAT.
Are there free startup events in Sweden?
Yes. Stockholm Tech Show is free for visitors, the FoundHers Female Founders breakfasts are free, Pitcher's Corner in Lund is a free drop-in, and Venture Cup is free to enter.
Where can I pitch my startup in Sweden?
In Venture Cup (applications usually open in April), Techarena's TOP46 competition, the Gothenburg Tech Week investor lunch and, for climate tech, Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day.
Are there events for women founders in Sweden?
Yes: Women in Tech Sweden meetups and its April conference, FoundHers breakfasts in Stockholm, Venture Cup's FemaleFounders AW in Gothenburg and the Women in Fintech programme at Stockholm Fintech Week.
What startup funding can I apply for in Sweden right now?
Vinnova's Innovativa Startups 2026 grant (up to SEK 500,000) is open until 12 January 2027. Almi also offers innovation loans of SEK 50,000 to 500,000.
When is the best time to visit Sweden for startup events?
February for Techarena, April to May for GoWest and the Stockholm buyer events, and October for Gothenburg Tech Week and the Venture Cup finals.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
