State of AI in Sweden 2026

AI has progressed from hype to reality in Sweden. As one of the world's most digitalized countries, Sweden views AI as a key enabler to boost productivity, address demographic challenges, and drive innovation.

Global Context

The last few years have seen explosive advances in AI, especially in Generative AI and a corresponding surge in investments. Worldwide private investment in AI exceeded $90 billion in 2024, and governments from Washington to Beijing have launched ambitious AI initiatives. The US and China account for almost 70% of global AI spend and talent.

Within this global AI race, Sweden stands out as a high-performer in Europe. It consistently ranks among the top EU countries on AI readiness and innovation indices. Stockholm has become a notable AI startup hub in Europe.

Why 2026 Matters

• Policy crossroads: Sweden is launching a new national AI strategy in 2026, and the EU AI Act's requirements begin to take effect.
• Post-pandemic digital surge: Many Swedish organizations moved from piloting AI to operationalizing it (as seen in the jump to 35% enterprise adoption).
• Public sector scale-up: With most municipalities experimenting with AI, the challenge is now scaling successful pilots.
• Talent crunch intensifies: The surge in AI demand outpaces training pipelines.
• Infrastructure investments: Berzelius upgrades, expansion of data centers, and sovereign AI model efforts signal a strategic push.

About This Report

This report is structured across policy and regulation, research and talent, industry adoption, startup ecosystem, public sector, infrastructure, culture and media, risks and safety, and outlook with recommendations. It builds exclusively on publicly available data sources and reproducible methodology.

2.1 EU AI Act and Swedish Implementation

The EU's AI Act, adopted in 2024, is the world's first comprehensive AI legislation. It classifies AI systems by risk level and imposes stricter requirements on "high-risk systems" (e.g. HR recruitment, credit scoring, critical infrastructure).

Sweden has actively participated in the negotiations. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has expressed support for the regulation's purpose but emphasized the importance of balanced implementation that does not hamper innovation. The government is now identifying which Swedish agencies will oversee compliance – likely the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) and the Swedish Agency for Digital Government (DIGG).

2.2 National AI Strategy

Sweden's Digitalisation Strategy 2025–2030 has already made AI a central theme. A dedicated AI strategy will debut in 2026, aiming to align Sweden's efforts with EU regulations while capitalizing on AI for economic and societal benefit.

The AI Commission's roadmap (November 2024) identified four priority areas:

• Leadership: Clear national leadership and coordination
• Skills: Massive investment in AI education
• Data: Better access to data for AI development
• Compute capacity: Investments in AI infrastructure

2.3 State Budget 2026

The 2026 state budget allocates SEK 479 million specifically to AI and data initiatives – Sweden's first such earmarked investment. This will fund:

• AI-verkstad: New function to help the public sector develop and share AI solutions
• Strengthened AI competence within government agencies
• Support for ethical AI implementation

3.1 The AI Research Landscape

Sweden has a strong research tradition in computer science and machine learning. According to the Stanford AI Index, Sweden ranks 16th globally for AI research publications, but per capita significantly higher. Key institutions include:

• KTH Royal Institute of Technology – Leading in robotics, NLP and computer vision
• Chalmers University of Technology – Strong in autonomous driving and industrial AI
• Uppsala University – Deep learning and AI applications in medicine
• Linköping University – Host of the Berzelius supercomputer
• Lund University – AI, automation and cognitive science

3.2 WASP – Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program

WASP is Sweden's (and one of the world's) largest single investments in AI research, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation with over SEK 6 billion.

• Funds 600 new PhD positions – creating a generation of AI researchers
• Has attracted international talent through Wallenberg Chair positions
• Promotes academia-industry collaborations (PhD students often have industry partners like Saab, ABB)
• Complementary programs: WASP-ED (AI in education) and ELLIIT (IT and mobile communication)

3.3 Talent Shortage and Skills Supply

Talent is the key to all AI strategy, and Sweden faces a significant AI talent shortage even as demand rises.

Elements of AI: Sweden has championed the Finnish online course "Elements of AI" (translated to Swedish in 2019). The goal was for at least 1% of the population (100,000 people) to take the course. As of 2025, approximately 40,000 Swedes have done so.

3.4 Berzelius – Sweden's AI Supercomputer

Berzelius at Linköping University is one of Europe's fastest AI supercomputers, equipped with NVIDIA GPUs. It enables large-scale AI research and training of Swedish language models like GPT-SW3. Upgrades are ongoing, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and EuroHPC.

4.1 Overview of AI Adoption in Enterprises

35% of Swedish enterprises with 10+ employees used AI technology in 2025, up sharply from 25% in 2024. This jump is one of the largest year-on-year increases observed in Europe and signals that AI has moved beyond pilot stage for many firms.

The Statistics Sweden survey defines AI usage broadly: from machine learning for data analysis to AI-enabled robots and chatbots. The most common types were machine learning for data analysis, natural language processing and computer vision.

4.2 Leading Sectors

• Information and Communication: The ICT sector leads unsurprisingly, with high concentration of AI adoption. Includes software companies, consultancies, telecom providers.
• Manufacturing: Industry 4.0 drives AI for predictive maintenance (SKF), quality control via computer vision, and supply chain optimization. Volvo Group uses AI in logistics and vehicles.
• Finance and Insurance: Banks (SEB, Swedbank) and fintech companies use AI for fraud detection, algorithmic trading and customer service chatbots.
• Retail and E-commerce: IKEA and H&M use AI for personalization, inventory optimization and visual search. Klarna uses AI for credit risk and customer analytics.
• Energy and Utilities: Smart grids with AI for demand forecasting. Vattenfall uses AI for wind turbine maintenance and hydroelectric optimization.

4.3 Common Use Cases

SCB's survey shows the most common AI purposes:

• Marketing and sales (41.7%): Customer segmentation, ad targeting, recommendation engines, churn prediction
• Administrative processes (35.0%): Invoice processing with OCR/ML, scheduling, HR recruitment filtering
• Production or service process optimization (26.2%): Predictive maintenance, yield optimization, AI scheduling in logistics
• Logistics (5.7%): Route optimization, inventory management

4.4 Case Studies from Swedish Companies

• Ericsson: AI for network management (automated operations, anomaly detection). Developed a system that cut energy consumption by 15% through dynamic signal optimization.
• Scania: AI in manufacturing plants to predict equipment failures. Testing autonomous trucks in mines. Offers AI-based route optimization to fleet customers.
• Swedbank: AI chatbot "Nina" handles millions of customer conversations per year in multiple languages (since 2018).
• Volvo Cars: AI in advanced driver assistance systems, "Drive Me" project for self-driving cars in Gothenburg. AI in design and engineering.
• AstraZeneca: AI research unit in Gothenburg for drug discovery. ML for biomedical image analysis and chemistry.

4.5 Barriers to Adoption

• Talent & culture: Difficult to recruit and retain data scientists. Cultural challenges integrating AI teams.
• Data quality: Not all companies have data infrastructure for AI. Clean, labeled data requires time and cost.
• ROI uncertainty: Some executives question return on investment. "POC-itis" – many proof-of-concepts that never scale.
• Regulatory uncertainty: Unclear compliance requirements before the AI Act is fully implemented.

5.1 AI Startup Landscape

As of late 2024, Sweden had approximately 210–211 AI-focused startups identified by mapping initiatives. These are companies whose core product/service involves AI technology and span a wide array of industries:

• Healthtech AI: Imagimob (AI for motion analysis), Aiforia (AI pathology)
• Fintech AI: Peltarion (no-code AI platform, acquired), PocketLaw (AI-driven legal service)
• Edtech & Media: Sana Labs (AI for corporate learning), Evolv AI (generative AI for game design)
• Enterprise AI & SaaS: Recorded Future (cyber threat intelligence, unicorn)
• Industrial AI & IoT: Predictive maintenance, smart manufacturing
• Transport & Autonomous Systems: Einride (autonomous electric trucks), Mapillary (computer vision for mapping, acquired by Facebook)

A particularly notable success is Lovable (mentioned by IVA's chairman) – described as "one of the world's fastest growing startups", which raised a large funding round in 2025.

5.2 Geography

Stockholm dominates with over half of AI startups, thanks to access to investors, talent and a vibrant tech community. Gothenburg is another hub, particularly for mobility/automotive AI connected to Volvo and Chalmers. Lund/Malmö benefits from proximity to Copenhagen and strong local universities.

5.3 Funding Trends

Sweden ranks #4 globally for AI venture capital investment according to the Stanford AI Index/IVA. The Swedish ecosystem has strong early-stage support (angels, seed funds like Creandum, EQT Ventures, Northzone) but growth rounds often require international capital.

5.4 Support Structures

• Ignite Sweden + AI Sweden: AI Startup program connecting startups with enterprise customers
• Vinnova: Grants and incubator support for AI startups
• Business Sweden: International expansion support
• Accelerators: Sting (Stockholm), SISP, AI Sweden Startup Program

5.5 Exits and Acquisitions

• Mapillary: Acquired by Facebook 2020
• Peltarion: Acquired by Celsius (US defense contractor) 2022
• Recorded Future: Partial exit via Insight Partners

6.1 AI Adoption in Municipalities and Agencies

AI adoption in the Swedish public sector has accelerated. According to AI Sweden's "Kraftsamling" report, ~90% of municipalities now have at least one AI initiative in operation. Use cases include:

• Chatbots: Swedish Tax Agency's "Skatti", municipal customer service chatbots
• Healthcare prevention: AI to identify risks, fall prevention for elderly
• Environmental monitoring: AI for swine fever surveillance, wildlife monitoring
• Administrative automation: CV analysis, case management
• Infrastructure: Traffic planning, energy optimization

6.2 National Initiatives

AI-verkstad (AI workshop) is a new initiative funded by the 2026 state budget to help the public sector develop and share AI solutions. AI Sweden has grown to 150+ partners and facilitates projects through shared infrastructure.

6.3 Challenges

• Procurement: Public procurement is often not adapted to AI projects
• Skills: Lack of AI competence in administrations
• Privacy: GDPR compliance and citizen trust
• Fragmentation: 290 municipalities with different maturity levels

6.4 Incidents and Lessons

Swedish Social Insurance Agency AI system: A high-profile case where AI used to flag suspected benefit fraud was found to have discriminatory effects. The system was criticized by Amnesty International and reported in Svenska Dagbladet. It was suspended and underscores the need for:

• Rigorous bias testing before deployment
• Transparency around AI decision-making
• Clear appeals processes for citizens
• Ethical frameworks for AI in public authority exercise

7.1 Compute Capacity

Sweden's AI infrastructure centers on Berzelius at Linköping University, one of Europe's fastest AI supercomputers. Funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, it is equipped with NVIDIA GPUs and enables:

• Training of large-scale language models (GPT-SW3)
• Advanced AI research in image, text and audio
• Academia-industry collaborations

Upgrades are ongoing, with 128 NVIDIA H100 GPUs being added in 2024–25. Sweden also participates in EuroHPC Joint Undertaking for European HPC coordination.

7.2 Data Centers and Cloud Services

Sweden is attractive for data centers thanks to:

• Renewable energy: High share of hydropower and wind power
• Cool climate: Reduces cooling costs
• Political stability: Reliable infrastructure and rule of law
• Fast internet: Well-developed fiber infrastructure

Meta (formerly Facebook) operates one of Europe's largest data centers in Luleå, powered 100% by renewable energy. Microsoft, AWS and Google Cloud all have presence in Sweden or the Nordic region.

7.3 Sustainability and Energy

AI computation is energy-intensive. Sweden addresses this through:

• Requirements for renewable energy in new data centers
• Research on energy-efficient AI algorithms
• Waste heat recovery from data centers to district heating networks
• Nordic collaboration on green AI infrastructure

8.1 AI in Creative Industries

AI is impacting Swedish creative sectors in several ways:

• Journalism: SVT and DN exploring AI for automated text production and research
• Advertising: AI-generated content and personalized advertising
• Design: Generative AI tools for graphic design and product development
• Music: AI composition and production

8.2 Debates and Controversies

Two notable events in 2025:

• AI-generated music banned from charts: A viral AI-generated song was excluded from official charts, sparking debate about copyright and artistic authenticity.
• STIM launches AI music license: Sweden became the first country to offer a collective license for AI training on copyrighted music, a pragmatic solution to IP challenges.

8.3 Generative AI in Schools

Use of ChatGPT and similar tools in schools has created debate. The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) is working on guidelines, and many schools have implemented their own policies balancing pedagogical value against the risk of cheating and passive learning.

9.1 Known Incidents

The most high-profile AI failure case in Sweden is the Swedish Social Insurance Agency AI system for benefit fraud detection. The system was found to have discriminatory effects and was criticized by Amnesty International. It led to:

• The system being suspended and reviewed
• Increased awareness of bias in AI systems
• Demands for better testing and transparency
• Debate about AI in public authority exercise

9.2 Responsible AI and Ethics

Measures for AI safety and ethics in Sweden:

• IMY (Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection): Issued guidance on AI and GDPR
• DIGG: Guidelines for public sector AI use
• Corporate policies: Telia, Volvo etc. have AI ethics policies aligned with EU principles
• AI Sustainability Center: Multi-stakeholder initiative for sustainable AI

9.3 GDPR and Data Sharing

GDPR creates both challenges and frameworks for AI development:

• Challenges: Limits data sharing for AI training, requires explicit consent
• Opportunities: Creates trust, drives privacy-by-design innovation
• Initiatives: National Data Lab for controlled access to sensitive datasets
• Future: Sweden's data strategies to enable AI innovation within the GDPR framework

10.1 Scenarios for 2028

Three plausible scenarios for AI development in Sweden:

10.2 Recommendations for Government

• Accelerate AI education at all levels – from primary schools to executive programs
• Establish clear AI governance structures with designated responsible agencies
• Create AI sandboxes for testing in regulated sectors
• Invest in sovereign compute infrastructure and Swedish language models
• Facilitate data sharing through secure data spaces

10.3 Recommendations for Enterprises

• Move from AI experiments to systematic scaling
• Invest in AI governance and ethics frameworks proactively
• Partner with universities and research programs (WASP, AI Sweden)
• Prepare for AI Act compliance – document AI systems and conduct risk assessments

10.4 Recommendations for Public Sector

• Leverage AI-verkstad for shared solutions
• Modernize procurement to enable AI projects
• Conduct thorough bias testing before deploying AI in citizen-facing services
• Share learnings across municipalities through SKR and AI Sweden networks