The Startup Ecosystem of Norway

Norway has 9 cities in the top 1000 and has a vibrant startup scene that ranks 24th within the competitive global top 30.

COUNTRY RANKING

Norway’s startup scene saw an increase in 2022 and jumped 7 spots from the previous year, outranking Taiwan.

Population

5.4
Million

Regional Ranking

13th
+
2
In Western Europe

Global Ranking

24th
+
7
Worldwide

Ecosystem

Startup Ecosystem Overview

cityscape by water during golden hour
The Norwegian startup ecosystems are highly collaborative, with a strong network of both public and private sector stakeholders. The country benefits from a high level of technology and innovation while prioritizing assistance to startups and entrepreneurs via a robust public sector support system. Norway has a long tradition of private-public partnerships in business initiatives. This active involvement from the government side has made Norway one of the top business friendly countries and has created a regulatory framework that is welcoming for startups and investors. The government not only takes a stake in large corporations, but invests in small businesses and startups all around the country through different funds and organizations.
Noteworthy examples are Innovasjon Norge, an organization stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as Investinor and Startup Norway, two well-known and active startup investment organizations. The ecosystem has gained more recognition recently, as both foreign and domestic entrepreneurs and investors have discovered the opportunities and excitement of the Norwegian startup landscape. Nevertheless, Norway is still underperforming compared to other Scandinavian countries like Sweden, which started developing their startup ecosystems as strategic assets decades ago. Furthermore, the stability and security of the Norwegian economy can discourage risk-taking. The country has a small population of roughly five million people, which limits its talent pool and incentivizes talent acquisition from other countries. Norway also has one of the highest costs of living in the world, and lags behind its Nordic peers in terms of private investment in the tech sector.
But there are startup success stories. In fact, Norway celebrated 2021 with its first three unicorns: Gelato, Cognite, and Oda. The country continued to add success stories to the list with Dune Analytics, and has multiple contenders lined up to join the unicorn club. This signals that Norway’s tech sector has undergone rapid growth in recent years.
Overall, Norway is a rich country with a stable economy, a talented employment pool, and an extensive social safety net. It is also important to celebrate the high female participation in startup teams, and Norway’s strong orientation toward a greener economy. All these factors increase the incentives for entrepreneurship even when considering the substantial associated costs.

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ECOSYSTEM

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Ecosystem

The Startup Ecosystem in Norway

Our startup ecosystem map for Norway includes a sample of 349 tech companies. We have identified as unicorns 4 startups that have passed the USD 1 billion valuations.

Global Rank

Norway is ranked within the top 30 startup ecosystems globally.

Top Industries

Norway’s startup scene is best represented in Energy & Environment, Hardware & IoT, and in Ecommerce & and Retail.

Top Cities for Startups in Norway - Ranked by StartupBlink
StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
Rows:
2022 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2022 National Rank & Change City
search leaderboards icon
Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
72nd
+
27
9.398
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
+
1
198th
+
178
4.247
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
+
1
332nd
+
119
1.651
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
-
2
373rd
-
6
1.381
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
new
738th
new
0.327
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
new
791st
new
0.279
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
new
810th
new
0.263
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
new
825th
new
0.251
00.00
00.00
00.00
9th
new
827th
new
0.249
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Norway
Tibber startup icon
Tibber
Ardoq startup icon
Ardoq
Boost.ai startup icon
Boost.ai

Startups

Successful Energy & Environment startups in Norway
Tibber startup icon
Tibber
Otovo startup icon
Otovo
Solcellespesialisten startup icon
Solcellespesialisten

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Energy & Environment icon
Energy & Environment
#9 worldwide

On our map, you can explore a total of 109 startups for Energy & Environment.

Hardware & IoT icon
Hardware & IoT
#15 worldwide

In Western Europe, Norway's Hardware & IoT is in top 15. Norway has a concentration of about 35 of the region's total Hardware & IoT startups that are represented on our map.

Ecommerce & Retail icon
Ecommerce & Retail
#21 worldwide

Norway's Ecommerce & Retail is ranked 21st in the world. Our database contains 33 for this industry.

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