The Startup Ecosystem of Norway

Norway has 8 cities in the top 1000 and has a vibrant startup scene that ranks 23rd within the competitive global top 30.

COUNTRY RANKING

Norway’s startup scene saw an increase in 2023 and jumped 1 spot from the previous year, outranking Taiwan.

Population

5.4
Million

Regional Ranking

12th
+
1
In Western Europe

Global Ranking

23rd
+
1
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 Ecommerce & Retail, Energy & Environment, and in Hardware & and IoT.

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:
2023 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2023 National Rank & Change City
search leaderboards icon
Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
64th
+
8
9.963
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
264th
-
66
1.745
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
+
1
344th
+
29
1.023
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
-
1
413th
-
81
0.770
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
0
613th
+
125
0.341
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
0
832nd
-
41
0.181
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
+
2
898th
-
71
0.152
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
0
917th
-
92
0.144
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Norway
Oda startup icon
Oda
Tibber startup icon
Tibber
QuestBack startup icon
QuestBack

Startups

Successful Ecommerce & Retail startups in Norway
Oda startup icon
Oda
Porterbuddy startup icon
Porterbuddy
Bookis startup icon
Bookis

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Ecommerce & Retail icon
Ecommerce & Retail
#13 worldwide

On our map, you can explore a total of 109 startups for Ecommerce & Retail.

Energy & Environment icon
Energy & Environment
#13 worldwide

In Western Europe, Norway's Energy & Environment is in top 13. Norway has a concentration of about 35 of the region's total Energy & Environment startups that are represented on our map.

Hardware & IoT icon
Hardware & IoT
#14 worldwide

Norway's Hardware & IoT is ranked 14th in the world. Our database contains 33 for this industry.

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