Latest from Standout

We took a deep dive into AI and machine learning to find out what's going on in "The Current State of Artificial Intelligence (Part1) - The Data-rich are Getting Richer."

Then we made a journey to explore our own region in "The Current State of Artificial Intelligence (Part 2) - Is There Intelligence in the Nordics?"

Yes, we continue to hire! Now recruiting Investment Interns to our team in Stockholm. Check out open positions at Standout Jobs

Tech deals in the Nordics

The digital food chain: Finnish buyout firm Vaaka has acquired a majority stake in food logistics business LTP Logistics. At the other end of the value chain, Matsmart has raised another 36 MSEK in their ambition to reduce food waste.

Fintech automation is the new black: Automated accounting startup Dooer has raised $4.6 million. Wint, another tool for automated accounting, has raised 20 MSEK, while Danish accounting software, Dinero, have been acquired by Visma. Meanwhile automated car-insurer Paydrive raised 6 MSEK from NFT Ventures, while an auto-advisor for pensions, Pensionera, has raised 12 MSEK from Optimizer Invest.

Ecommerce is beautiful: Swiss Clinic raised 20 MSEK from Eequity to sell more beauty products, Discovery has invested in fashion site Boozt, H&M invests further in digital fashion house in Ivyrevel, while Nordstjernan sold its stake in not equally glamorous Bygghemma. 

Human Resources are hot: Alfen & Didrikson invested 4.4 MEUR in Sympa, the fast-growing Finnish HR tool, while the Norwegian/Danish job-matching "AI" recruitment tool Relink raised money from Danish SEED Capital.

Games are a big deal: Swedish, Vienna-based video game publisher THQ, listed on Nasdaq First North at a valuation close to SEK 2 billion, and Swedish MTG buys 35% stake in German games developer InnoGames, valuing the company at €260 million.

Even bigger deals: Finnish CapMan Group made a €120 million bid for Finnish investment company Norvestia, Telia has acquired Norwegian Phonero, a telcom provider for SMEs, for NOK 2.3 billion, while Öhman and Nordic Capital wants to buy online broker Nordnet valuing the company at SEK 6.5 billion.

Technology trends and research

The Internet Foundation in Sweden (IIS) published its annual report about The Swedes and the internet 2016.

McKinsey made a report about The Future of Mobility (which is not about mobile phones, but self-driving cars and public transport).

The European Tech Funding Report shows that invested capital in Q3 2016 was €3.4 billion, down 17% due to UK and Germany.

Another Q3 2016 VC Data Report for Europe and Israel finds no evidence of Brexit effects, while total investments still down.

Revolutionising The Modern Workplace is a new report from GP Bullhound about enterprise software.

Atomico shows the vitality of our industry in their well-researched and now annual report The State of European Tech 2016. 

The Future Report is Schibsted Media Group's take on digital trends and changes, with an outlook for 2017: People, Technology and Business.

Standout Capital is a proud partner to the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, the annual list of Sweden's fastest growing tech companies.

Cool stats: Uber has 40 million MAU (Monthly Active Users - or Riders) spending an average of $50 per month.

Cooler stats: Chinese messaging app WeChat passes 800 million MAU.