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February 25, 2026

Inside the Nordic defence tech spending spree: Record startup funding meets big prime partnerships

Four years into the Ukraine war, Nordic defence forces and primes are increasingly collaborating with startups


Mimi Billing

6 min read

Four years after the invasion of Ukraine, the Nordics, alongside most European countries, have significantly increased their defence spending — and startups have found this a lucrative market for growth.

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Picture of Silo AI cofounder, Peter Sarlin
Peter Sarlin, founder of Nest AI
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Petter Bedoire, CTO at Saab
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Mimi Billing

Mimi Billing is Sifted's Europe editor, based in Stockholm. She covers the Nordics and can be found on X and LinkedIn

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