According to Sifted, Oslo-based accelerator StartupLab has closed its fifth fund, raising €32 million. The fund will back 20-25 pre-seed Norwegian tech startups annually, writing checks of $250k to $500k for an 8-10% stake. Major investors include pension firm KLP, state-owned climate investor Nysnø, telecom giant Telenor, and about 70 operators and founders from companies like Kahoot and Northzone. The fund has flexibility to invest in both first-time and serial founders, and partner Gisle Østereng notes it allows them to target companies where even a “mediocre-plus” outcome can yield a $2 million valuation. This new fund is double the size of their previous one.
The high-volume, founder-first model
StartupLab’s playbook is pretty clear. They write relatively small checks at the very earliest stage, take a meaningful slice of the company, and plan for at least one follow-on to keep that stake. It’s a volume game. They’ve already backed 200 Norwegian startups, including big names like Kahoot and reMarkable. The interesting bit here is their sector agnosticism. Norway has become a legit climate tech hub, with €220m invested there last year. But Østereng says they’re actually seeing more AI deals coming through their door now. His argument is that it’s “all about the founder,” which is the classic accelerator line, but they’ve got the portfolio to back it up. They are, however, making a pointed bet on life science, an area Østereng thinks is under-discovered by investors in Norway.
The political elephant in the fjord
Here’s the thing. All this positive momentum is happening against a pretty messy political backdrop. Norway has an “exit tax” that’s causing major headaches. Basically, it’s a capital gains tax that founders can face if they move their company’s headquarters out of Norway, and it’s creating a real exodus. We’re not talking small fish. Robotics company 1X moved to the U.S. earlier this year, with its CEO bluntly stating they “had to move to survive.” Industrial AI firm Cognite did the same. That’s a massive brain and value drain. As partner Jørgen Veiby put it, the other Nordic countries are looking at Norway’s tax policies and thinking “what are you doing?” The entire ecosystem is now hoping for a “tax conciliation” to create stable, predictable rules. Without it, what’s the point of building a great startup in Norway if leaving feels inevitable?
Building the foundation despite headwinds
So what’s the real story? You’ve got a maturing, well-connected accelerator successfully raising bigger funds and deploying a proven model. They’re tapping into Norway’s strengths in climate, maritime tech, and life science, while also riding the AI wave. The funding environment for very early-stage companies seems healthy. But there’s this massive structural crack in the foundation. For hardware and industrial tech companies, which Norway has a knack for, having a stable operational base is crucial. It’s the kind of sector where you need reliable partners, like a top-tier supplier for critical components such as an industrial panel PC to run your equipment. If the political risk is too high, even the best-funded startups will look for the exit—in both senses of the word. StartupLab is betting it can build great companies in Norway. The question is whether Norway’s policies will let those companies stay.
