Interview

March 2, 2026

‘We can’t build it all ourselves’: Saab opens up to defence tech startups

Saab’s CTO on peace-time defence tech, increased budgets and its startup strategy to fill the prime’s capability gaps


Mimi Billing

5 min read

Saab is one of the top 10 defence primes in Europe and, while it previously invested in developing most of its technology in-house, the rapid advancement of AI and other defence and space technologies has pushed it to look further afield, according to Saab’s CTO Petter Bedoire, partnering with a growing number of startups across the region.

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Petter Bedoire, CTO Saab
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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