At the most vulnerable point, the startup landscape in Norway is experiencing increased pressure. It has become increasingly difficult for homegrown early-stage founders to raise capital due to punitive exit taxes, a growing brain drain to the United States, and shrinking availability of pre-seed funding. As a result, many promising ideas fail to survive long enough to reach institutional funding rounds, forcing founders to seek capital abroad or abandon their projects altogether.
StartupLab Steps In With a Bigger Fund
Oslo- and Bergen-based accelerator StartupLab believes this gap threatens Norway’s long-term innovation potential. To counter it, the organisation has closed its fifth fund at €32 million, more than double the size of its previous vehicle. The new fund significantly boosts StartupLab’s ability to support startups at the earliest and riskiest stage of their journey.
The fund will issue pre-seed cheques of between €250,000 and €500,000 to 20 to 25 startups per year, typically taking ownership stakes of 8 to 10 percent.’
Strong Institutional and Founder Backing
The fund is backed by a broad coalition of institutional and corporate investors, including KLP, Investinor, Nysnø, Ferd, Telenor, and OBOS. More than 70 startup founders and operators from companies such as Kahoot and Northzone have also invested. Notably, Nysnø has earmarked NOK 30 million specifically for climate technology investments within the fund.
A Full-Stack Model From Day One
StartupLab was founded in 2012 by Gisle Østereng and Jørgen Veiby, both veterans of Norway’s tech ecosystem. The organisation was created as a way to give back to the environment that produced global successes like Kahoot and reMarkable. Rather than operating purely as a venture capital firm, StartupLab built a full-stack model combining incubation, acceleration, and direct investment.
Tech-Agnostic and Founder-First
StartupLab takes a deliberately tech-agnostic approach, backing founders across sectors including AI, climate and energy, fintech, hardware, and life sciences. Today, more than 110 startups work out of its physical incubator spaces. The organisation also runs a three-month accelerator programme supported by experienced founders and operators, while StartupLab Ventures deploys capital directly into early-stage companies.
Chasing “Mediocre-Plus” at Scale
The team does not chase unicorns at any cost. Instead, it focuses on what it calls “mediocre-plus” outcomes, supporting a high volume of ambitious startups with the potential to scale into €1 billion-plus companies. The model acknowledges that not every investment will be a breakout success, but that scale and consistency matter.
Standing Apart From Traditional Players
StartupLab differentiates itself from public and private institutions such as Innovation Norway, Alliance Ventures, and Mesh through speed, founder-first decision-making, and deep operational involvement. Close ties with corporates like Telenor allow portfolio companies to pilot commercial projects early, while shared workspaces encourage collaboration and deal flow.
A Decade of Impact
Over the past ten years, StartupLab has supported more than 500 founders. Alumni include Photoncycle, which focuses on energy recycling, and Spoor, an AI-powered biodiversity monitoring startup that recently raised over $8 million in Series A funding.
Looking Ahead to 2028
The new €32 million fund will be deployed through 2028, with around half of the capital allocated to climate-related technologies. StartupLab also plans to deepen its focus on life sciences and AI, areas where early-stage capital shortages are particularly acute.
Beyond investing, the organisation is actively advocating for tax reforms to slow founder outflows and retain talent in Norway. It also plans to increase backing for serial entrepreneurs, expand corporate partnerships, and reserve more capital for follow-on rounds in its strongest performers.
As Norway searches for ways to preserve its future tech champions, StartupLab is betting that persistent early support, hands-on involvement, and a founder-centric approach can keep ambitious startups from disappearing before they have a chance to grow.
