Top 10 moments from Stockholm's 2014 tech scene

Last year marked a remarkable year for Stockholm’s technology scene, with a number of start-ups receiving high profile investments and several reports highlighting the region’s competitive edge. During 2014, Stockholm was ranked as the world’s second fastest growing market for venture capital investments in technology. The Swedish capital was also ranked as the world's most ICT-mature city.

Tech firms like Klarna, King, Mojang and Truecaller gained massive international attention after landing investments from private fundraising, IPOs and takeovers.

“In the last few years, Stockholm has become one of the most talked-about places in the world thanks to its apps, games and digital services," British newspaper the Independent wrote in an article about the Swedish tech scene.

Stockholm's success also didn't go unnoticed on the sub-continent, with Indian newspaper the Economic Times gushing about how the city's "entrepreneurial climate has proved beneficial to technology companies from Ericsson and Skype to Spotify and King”.

Klarna – Europe’s largest specialised online payment solutions provider Klarna raised €90 million in March to acquire payment provider Sofort. It is now eyeing an expansion into the US.

King – Mobile game maker King Digital Entertainment’s IPO in New York valued the maker of "Candy Crush Saga" at about $7 billion. The firm raised $500 million in the largest ever listing for a mobile/social gaming

company in New York.

Atomico report – Stockholm has the most billion-dollar start-ups in Europe, and the second most in the world (after Silicon Valley), according to a report by investment firm Atomico. The five Stockholm-based companies

with the billion dollar plus value are: King, Skype, Klarna, Mojan and Spotify –- all world famous brands.

Mojang – The founder of Mojang, the maker of the mega popular Minecraft video game, made a $2.5 billion exit to Microsoft. The block building game is one of the most popular video games in history, and has generated

more than $100 million in annual profit for Mojang, despite little marketing.

VC investments – Last year Stockholm was listed as the world’s second fastest growing market for Venture Capital in technology, according to a report by CB Insight (November 2013 to October 2014). The number of deals in

Stockholm increased 124 percent compared to last year, and the city saw a 338 percent growth in dollars invested.

iZettle – In May, electronic payment firm iZettle announced a new fund-raising round worth $55 million, taking its total backing to around $100 million. The firm is eyeing operations beyond its current nine markets in Europe

and South America.

Crowdfunding – Increasingly firms are finding growth capital via crowdfunding. Start-up Shortcut Lab met it’s $80,000 target in just 48 hours and has today raised more than $500,000 for its wireless smart button Flic. SUP46 – The successful start-up hub SUP46,

located in the heart of Stockholm, just turned one and celebrated with Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom as guest speaker. So far, its member companies have attracted over 100 million kronor in capital and had an average annual growth of almost 70 percent.

Truecaller – Phone verification tool Truecaller announced that it had reached 100 million users. Last year it raised $79 million in two funding rounds. It has recently set up an office in Beijing, and is planning to start

offices in Dubai, Sao Paulo and Kenya in 2015.

STHLM Tech Fest – During the Stockholm Tech Fest in September, entrepreneurs, tech-heads, and investors flowed into the Swedish capital to share innovative business ideas and catch a glimpse of what’s in the pipeline for one of the world’s most

tech-savvy regions. Already the biggest start-up event in Stockholm, it is expected to continue growing going forward.