Pioneer Prize
Honouring the beauty of Swedish Innovation
There’s beauty in solving what once felt impossible. In ideas that turn challenges into momentum – and possibility into progress. The Pioneer Prize celebrates groundbreaking innovations that are redefining beauty — not as something we see, but as the power of ideas to change the world.
The eight companies nominated for the Pioneer Prize are all previous participants in Business Sweden's scaleup program Catalyst, and were shortlisted from a longlist of 24 (from an original list of over 200 Catalyst alumni companies) by jurors drawn from the worlds of investment, venture capital, and the startup ecosystem.
Meet the Jury
- Karolina Bjurhed, Investment Director at Industrifonden, the Swedish government VC firm
- Markus Hökfelt, Investment Director at SEB Green Tech Fund
- Sofia Högman, current Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India, formerly served in the same post for Norway and then UK and Ireland
- Marek Kissa, NordicNinja VC co-founder and Einride, Bolt, and Voi board member
- Lars Vestergaard, startup guru
- Annette Nordvall, Butterfly Ventures
- Elina Åkerlind, entrepreur and board member
- Peter Carlsson, partner at Spintop Ventures
- Jonas Almeling, startup ambassador and ecosystem strategist
- Karin Edström, investor and board worker
- Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation at Graphene Flagship/Chalmers
- Rickard Steiber, strategic advisor and angel investor
