Nordic Innovation House Opens in Silicon Valley

- Nordic Innovation House, a co-working space, incubator and resource center for Nordic tech companies, debuted today. The new initiative is funded by an alliance of Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic and Danish governments as well as Nordic Innovation, an institution supported by Nordic governments that works to promote cross-border trade and innovation. As seen in the success of firms like Skype and Rovio, there is a long technology history between the Nordic region and America that has created employment for thousands of Americans and Nordics, strengthening ties between both regions. The official opening takes place today in Palo Alto at 5:30 p.m.

"The Nordic region has a vibrant technology ecosystem that has produced leading technology companies such as Ericsson and Nokia, and more recently, MySQL, Rovio, Opera Software, ForgeRock and Spotify," said Anne Lidgard, Silicon Valley director of Vinnova, a Swedish innovation agency, which is one of the organizations supporting the new center. "Through Nordic Innovation House and its community, we are able to lower the barriers and provide a launching pad for the next Skype or the next Zendesk so they can make inroads into the Silicon Valley business scene. In addition, we connect startups to high-quality mentors, a network of investors and funding opportunities as well as provide other business connections."

According to Gro Eirin Dyrnes, director of Innovation Norway in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, "While Nordic Innovation House started as a Norwegian initiative by Innovation Norway, following its success, we decided to expand the offering to startups from all Nordic countries. By doing that, we strengthen our community of high-quality startups and our network of connections. We currently host 45 companies and we hope to increase this number significantly within the year."

"Nordic countries generally score high on international benchmarks for innovation and competitiveness," noted Hans Christian Bjørne, senior innovation advisor at Nordic Innovation.

"However, two recent studies on entrepreneurship indicate that the Nordic region is lagging behind when it comes to the ability to scale young companies. This is where Nordic Innovation House can make a difference. We are looking forward to discovering new, disruptive ideas that lead to bringing successful Nordic companies to the United States and helping them flourish."

Nordic Innovation House is located at 470 Ramona Street in Palo Alto. It is co-funded by Nordic Innovation and the Nordic country government agencies responsible for business growth within their respective countries, which include:

• Innovation Norway – Norway
• VINNOVA, Sweden
• Innovation Center Iceland
• Innovation Center Denmark
• Team Finland/Finpro

To find out more about Nordic Innovation House, check out www.nordicinnovationhouse.com or follow us on Facebook andTwitter.

For Nordic startups looking to get involved with Nordic Innovation House, visit http://www.nordicinnovationhouse.com/apply to apply. For any U.S. companies looking to connect with Nordic companies, pleasecontact us to arrange a visit.

Pressemelding fra Innovasjon Norge

Norge viser vei inn i det amerikanske markedet

I går lanserte Innovasjon Norge det nye Nordic Innovation House i Palo Alto. Dermed utvider det som tidligere var et rent norsk initiativ drevet av Innovasjon Norge, til å omfatte selskaper fra alle de nordiske landene.

Nordic Innovation House er et ressurssenter, felles kontorlandskap og en inkubator for nordiske teknologiselskaper på vei inn i det amerikanske markedet. Det ligger i hjertet av Silicon Valley, omgitt av andre selskaper som jobber på tilsvarende måte, og med korte avstander til investorer som er villige til å satse. Det nye, felles Innovation House er finansiert av Innovasjon Norge, VINNOVA i Sverige, Innovation Center Iceland, Innovation Center Denmark, Team Finland/Finpro, og Nordic Innovation, som jobber for å skape innovasjon på tvers av landegrensene i Norden.

- Innovation House er en suksess. Ved å utvide til å omfatte alle de nordiske landene, styrker vi fellesskapet og får større nettverk, sier direktør for Innovasjon Norge i San Francisco og Silicon Valley, Gro Dyrnes. – I øyeblikket holder 45 selskaper hus her, og vi håper å få et betydelig høyere antall i løpet av året.

Lederen for svenske Vinnovas aktiviteter i Silicon Valley, Anne Lidgard, peker på at de nordiske landene har vært utgangspunkt for en rekke ledende teknologiselskaper som Ericsson og Nokia, MySQL, Rovio, Opera Software, ForgeRock og Spotify. – Nordic Innovation House bidrar til å senke terskelen og danner et fantastisk utgangspunkt for det neste Skype eller Zendesk, slik at de virkelig kan gjøre seg bemerket i Silicon Valley. I tillegg kan vi koble gründerne med erfarne mentorer, nettverk av investorer og andre muligheter for finansiering.