business acceleration

Scale with confidence

Kista Science City provides strategic support for scaleups in transformative technology. The business acceleration programmes offer a curated network of industry experts, helping your company grow, prepare for global expansion and access new markets.

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Kista x Relox – transcript Language: English · Duration: 2:19 Automatically transcribed and proofread.

[00:10] Replacing dangerous tasks from humans to robots makes all the sense in the world.

[00:14] Relox Robotics is in the business of developing autonomous outdoor robots to replace the need for humans to do tedious, time-consuming and sometimes also dangerous work.

[00:26] Our first product that is commercially available is a range ball picker – a robot that goes around on the driving range at golf courses, picks up the golf balls and then returns them to a collection point, so humans are not required to do that tedious work.

[00:37] So here we have our robot operating right now. You can see the basket here is full of golf balls. Now it will open the basket, and it will be tipping them down into the ball ditch. They will be elevated inside here, and then in a chute they will go into the building, where they are finally washed.

[00:55] It’s a fully autonomous system, charging when needed, built to operate 24/7.

[00:59] – That was really cool. – It is, isn’t it? I still find it cool every time I see it.

[01:03] We met each other, me and Michael, a couple of years ago at CES. The opportunities that Relox Robotics have with a quite niche product in a really niche market, but with enormous global potential – it was really amazing to have you guys on board with that.

[01:19] The most challenging thing is replacing a hugely vital function for them with robots. Trusting that this solution works has been a key thing.

[01:27] For us, the program came at the right time, when we wanted to scale to new countries as well. Having a curated set of experts that you found for us, so we didn’t have to find them on our own, who could tell us about different aspects of establishing in the UK – making mistakes in how you certify the product, how you make it work for that environment. If you have to do service and replacement on hardware, it costs a lot of time, it costs flight tickets and so on.

[01:52] There are so many people out there advertising that they are helpful, but you never know how good they are. So having someone like you guys vet them for us is super helpful.

[01:59] Why not do something good when you can do it with your deep-tech product? That’s what we want to focus on: removing dangerous, tedious work from people, so they can do more meaningful things.

End of transcript.

Relox Robotics’ autonomous outdoor robots are designed to take over dangerous and tedious tasks from humans. When the company was ready to expand into the UK, our vetted and curated group of market experts helped it avoid costly mistakes.

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Kista x Cellufy – transcript Language: English · Duration: 2:25 Automatically transcribed and proofread.

[00:00] Okay, give me a big clap. Boom! Boom!

[00:15] Many different applications across the world are in need of new, sustainable solutions. That’s the reality of it.

[00:21] Foams are used in our everyday lives, in almost every application that you can think of. You have it in the sofas that you sit on, as insulation in your walls.

[00:29] Cellufy is a deep-tech company that develops and produces bio-based foam materials from wood fibres as an alternative to plastic-based foams.

[00:37] The problem with these kinds of materials has always been how to produce them in an energy-efficient way. Although it’s a renewable raw material, it’s sustainable and can be recycled and so on, the process of producing foam can be quite energy-intensive.

[00:54] So this is the raw material – this is how we obtain it from the pulp and paper industry. You need a lot of water to disintegrate it and actually form it. We have managed to make these materials at a very, very high solid weight, meaning that we don’t use as much water in the process as is typically used.

[01:12] Hydrophobic. So they don’t take up water. Beautiful, isn’t it?

[01:17] And we’ve done this in a completely new way, so it makes it very easy to actually scale up.

[01:22] The biggest challenge is taking that step from being an innovative deep-tech development company to becoming a scale-up company. It’s very important to come into contact with different customers across different regions, and I would say that Kista Science City has been a very good market entry point for us. There are many different questions that a company can struggle with, and we have gotten that support from Kista Science City.

[01:48] Sweden has a long history of producing some really exciting material companies, and when it comes to biodegradable materials, I think you guys are in a really good position to make sure that these foams get into different industries.

[02:02] I hope to see this pop up around the world. I hope to see this material being commercialised, to be used in packaging and insulation.

[02:10] We have a big, big vision for these materials, because they’re so good. They’re actually really good.

End of transcript.

Cellufy started as PhD research, and in just a couple of years it has evolved into a company that offers bio-based foams that could replace much of the plastic used in packaging and insulation. They’re now entering their next phase and starting to scale.

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Kista x Cemvision – transcript Language: English · Duration: 2:53 Automatically transcribed and proofread.

[00:00] So, are we ready?

[00:02] More than 8% of all CO2 is coming from cement production, and that is a huge challenge. I think the cement industry is struggling, and we need new technologies to disrupt the way you’re producing cement.

[00:25] The Earth is open for energy, but closed for materials. That is the science behind it. There are no new materials where we are living, so we have to use what we have here and not bring up very much more from the Earth’s crust.

[00:37] Cemvision is a cement producer, and it’s an innovative company that is really taking a full grip of the cement problem. Nothing has happened in so long. It’s like one of those few industries where innovation has just not been prioritized.

[00:53] So this is the product. It is cement. It behaves very similarly. There are some different properties that are unique to our product. It can be used for almost all kinds of construction. When the customers say, “Your ultra-low-carbon cement behaves exactly like a normal Portland cement,” that’s actually a good statement for us.

[01:12] We really love that type of entrepreneur that wants to transform industries. That’s why we chose Cemvision. We want to help those companies get a fast track to new customers, to investors abroad, and make sure to open the right doors for them in order to succeed.

[01:27] Now, as we start to scale, there are other things that need to be done. Now we need the market to accept us. Now we need to get into standards. Now we need to reach the customers. We need to deploy the product, and that’s also extremely costly.

[01:39] The construction industry is about trust, so we need to reach the really large companies, like the Skanska, and as a small startup it’s really hard to get through the doors. We got a lot of help going into collaboration with Kista Science City. They could also help us in other markets when we want to expand into the UK, into Germany or into other markets.

[01:58] One of the really important success factors for our team, especially in the early years, has been to be part of these events and these programs that are available for many startups. There’s a different feeling when you’re sitting in the room, when you’re face to face with someone and with real partners. I think that just creates another bond, and that was one of the really beneficial things about working with them.

[02:19] Cement and concrete is the most used material on Earth, after water. It’s the foundation of society.

[02:26] The philosophy is that you come to a point where you can always choose: doing the right thing or the wrong thing. When I came to this crossroads – either I do what I can with my knowledge, or I leave the cement industry and try to do something different – I need to try it at least, and do the best I can.

End of transcript.

Cement disruptor Cemvision aims to lower the CO2 emissions of an entire industry. Hear what they have to say about the challenges of scaling and how our programmes have opened valuable doors.

How it works

The modules provide a solid foundation for global expansion. If you have completed one or more of the modules – or if you already have a certain level of maturity in areas such as sales and marketing – you can apply for support to access the UK, the US, Canada and Germany.

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Access experts

Strengthen your sales, communication, branding, board governance and cybersecurity. Hand-picked experts help you build a strong foundation for growth.

Explore expert access

Access markets

Fast-track your global market entry through tailored services. With help from experts, you can meet customers, investors and partners abroad.

Explore market access

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Who this is for

The programmes are designed for tech entrepreneurs who have successfully navigated the early stages of the startup journey and are now focused on scaling operations. We focus on transformative innovations with the potential to drive industry and societal change.

Requirements:

Team of at least 10 employees
20% annual revenue growth over three consecutive years
Successfully raised seed capital
Registered as a Swedish AB

“The programme opens new horizons for growth by delivering coaching from world-class experts in sales, marketing and branding.”

James Campion

CEO

TERASi

Want to accelerate your business?

Get in touch with Arash Sangari, Programme Manager Scaleups, for more information.