Positive Energy at Uppsala Innovation Night 2025

It was an absolute joy to attend Innovation Night in Uppsala, Sweden’s largest innovation event, held on 24 September 2025. The day was brimming with creativity, energy, and bold ideas — so much so that by the end, I had slightly lost my voice! With over 600 participants, including 30 exhibiting startups, investors, entrepreneurs, the scale of the event was truly inspiring.

Innovation Night featured a big programme, with 10+ side events, a Startup Hub for networking and matchmaking, and the “Disruptor of the Year” pitch competition, where bold startups competed for a 100,000 SEK prize. It also served as a stop on NyTeknik’s prestigious 33-listan tour, showcasing Sweden’s most promising tech startups, underlining the event’s position as a premier national arena for innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.

Highlights of the day for me included Grant Thornton Sweden’s talk on company valuation, where I particularly enjoyed the story of building ScandiNova Systems by Founder and CEO Mikael Lindholm. The pitch battle was packed with ideas ranging from accessible musical instruments to cleaning up space waste, and the bustling Startup Hub, alive with curiosity, collaboration, and excitement. Equally inspiring was reconnecting with colleagues from Drivhuset Uppsala and Uppsala University Innovation where I have been part of business and innovation programmes and meeting new faces. It was clear that everyone was rooting for each other, ready to make ideas happen, and united by a can-do spirit that left the evening buzzing with possibility.

As Niclas Stjernberg, CEO of Uppsala Innovation Centre, highlighted, events like this showcase Uppsala as one of Sweden’s most dynamic innovation hubs, and evenings like this remind me that innovation isn’t just about tech but about people, ideas, and the energy that brings them together.