Join forces to help Norwegian tech startups achieve international success

From left: Kåre Rødssæteren (partner at BDO), Christine Heuwing (Managing Partner i Xpreneurs – UnternehmerTUM), Einar Eilertsen (COO at Kongsberg Innovasjon), Luca Castellini (Energy R&D and BD Manager, Umbra Group).

Four Norwegian high-tech startup companies presented their technology, products and future prospects to potential customers and investors at the DeepTech Alliance (DTA) partner conference in Copenhagen on 30 September. At the same time, the world’s fifth largest accounting network, BDO, enters into a cooperation agreement with DeepTech Alliance, which in Norway is represented by Kongsberg Innovation.

The four Norwegian companies that will have the opportunity to present themselves in Copenhagen are Trisense, FactoryMind, Tunable and KIT-AR. In total, only 18 European companies have been selected to participate, so Norway is solidly represented.

The conference in Copenhagen marks the end of a six-week intensive process where startups have worked to establish commercial partnerships with leading European industry giants such as Novo Nordisk, Alfa Laval, TechnipFMC, Umbra Group and Danieli Group.

International network

DeepTech Alliance consists of a total of nine accelerator partners including Kongsberg Innovation: Drive Technion Accelerator from Israel, ieLab from Switzerland, Future Box from Denmark, Hello Tomorrow and Agoranov from France, PoliHub from Italy, UnternehmerTUM from Germany and Things from Sweden. These are the innovation initiatives of the most prestigious technical universities in Europe, such as Technion in Israel and ETH in Switzerland.

Several of the alliance’s partners can point to very strong results in building new companies. Companies related to UnternehmerTUM raised € 800 million in venture financing in 2020 and in 2020 they had as many as four so-called unicorns (a startup worth more than a billion dollars). French Agoranov has contributed to six IPOs on Euronext in Paris and Nasdaq, and is behind unicorns such as Alan, Shift Technology, Doctolib and Criteo.

BDO cooperates 

After collaborating with the highly competent environment at Kongsberg Innovation for over a year, it was a natural next step for BDO to enter into a formal collaboration with DeepTech Alliance globally.

– We want to contribute to Norwegian technology companies succeeding internationally. BDO will support all selected DTA startups through our local presence, national cutting-edge expertise and good colleagues all over the world, says Kåre Rødssæteren, partner at BDO.

– I would like to welcome BDO into the DeepTech Alliance, and I am confident that the solid knowledge BDO brings into the community will help open even more international doors for new Norwegian technology companies, says Einar Eilertsen, COO at Kongsberg Innovation.

The agreement between BDO and DTA means that BDO will be a provider of services to the startup companies that are selected to participate in DTA’s programs.

About BDO

BDO is an international consulting and auditing firm and authorized accounting firm with a deep foothold in Norwegian society and business. In Norway, BDO has over 1,800 employees and more than 70 offices across the country. BDO’s customers range from large, worldwide companies to small and medium-sized companies. BDO has customers from most industries in both the private and public sectors. Internationally, BDO is present in 167 countries and has more than 91,000 employees. BDO is present locally, has cutting-edge expertise nationally and attracts skilled colleagues all over the world. This benefits BDO’s customers. www.bdo.no

About Kongsberg Innovasjon

Kongsberg Innovation is an industry-based advisor and investor that operates throughout Norway. The company assists Norwegian technology-based growth companies and offers a unique industrial collaboration where established industry contributes with technology expertise to ensure rapid company development. In recent years, Kongsberg Innovation has gained a strong position in the industrial environment; both nationally and internationally. Kongsberg Innovation is closely linked to the leading innovation environments in Europe, which contributes to the scaling of Norwegian technology and industry. Kongsberg Innovation is owned by the Kongsberg Group, TechnipFMC, Equinor, Kongsberg Automotive, Siemens Energy, Semcon, KIWA, BI Norwegian Business School, Vardar and SIVA. Kongsberg Innovation is one of nine European innovation players that are partners in the DeepTech Alliance. www.k-i.no

About DeepTech Alliance

DeepTech Alliance collaborates to accelerate deep tech startups into the European markets and consists of Europe’s leading startup environments. DeepTech Alliance connects Europe’s best tech startups with a comprehensive network of industry partners, experts and investors. https://www.deeptechalliance.org/