From AI to cleantech: 14 key announcements from GoWest 2025 you need to know

GoWest is one of Nordic’s premier venture capital forums for startups, scale-ups, and investors in pre-seed to series A stages.

The three-day event, which was scheduled between Jan 28 – 30, brought together companies reshaping industries, global investors, and the Nordic innovation ecosystem in a multi-day matchmaking conference.

The event is known for its focus on the pre-seed, seed, and series A stages of funding, making it an ideal gathering for early-stage startups looking to secure investments.

GoWest: Origin and purpose

GoWest is part of a project aimed at increasing capital supply in West Sweden by enhancing the region’s visibility to attract investors, talent, and industry partners.

It focuses on supporting startups and scale-ups through collaboration with investors.

A major activity of the KRAFT project is GoWest – the Nordic Venture Capital Forum, which gathers investors, start-ups, and scale-ups annually.

Originally launched in 2014 as ‘Connect2Capital – West Nordic Venture Capital Forum’ by Connect Väst, it quickly became a leading event for networking and inspiration.

In 2022, it was rebranded as ‘GoWest – Nordic Venture Capital Forum’ by GU Ventures.

The GoWest event showcased exciting announcements from innovative startups and companies.

We have compiled a list of significant developments unveiled during the event, highlighting the latest advancements in various industries.

Shift4Good’s closes first fund at €220M

Shift4Good, a global impact investment fund dedicated to decarbonising the transportation sector, has closed its first fund at €220M, surpassing its fundraising target.

Launched in 2022, the fund has already invested in 13 innovative companies originating from seven countries, spanning Europe and Southeast Asia.

The fund significantly exceeds the €100M average for first-time European VC funds (2020–2024) and is one of only four first-time cleantech-focused funds in Europe to surpass €170M during this period.

The fund has attracted a diverse and committed group of investors, including Tier-1 corporates, institutional investors, and family offices such as Renault Group, BNP Paribas, and the European Investment Fund.

Cerebriu raises €18.2M funding to scale its AI-powered MRI solution

Copenhagen-based Cerebriu, a digital health radiology company automating MRI for brain diagnostic imaging, has raised a $19M (approximately €18.2M) Series A round led by North Ventures, with ongoing support from EIFO and Sagitta Ventures.

Additionally, the company will begin the process of raising a Series B round in 2025. 

Cerebriu is the only radiology AI vendor moving upstream during image acquisition to improve the advanced diagnostic imaging workflow efficiency and accuracy, and ultimately accessibility.

The company aims to use new funding to continue the scaling of its AI-powered MRI solution, Apollo, which improves MRI workflows by optimizing scan times and easing the burden on radiology departments.

Forsway secures €2.3M from the European Space Agency

Forsway, a provider of cost-efficient hybrid satellite-terrestrial solutions and equipment for broadband connectivity, secures €2.3M from the European Space Agency (ESA) with support from the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA). 

In the new project, Xtend 5G, Forsway will build a next-generation 5G satellite connectivity system enabling the combined use of satellite and ground infrastructure to provide seamless connectivity anywhere, regardless of network.

Xtend 5G will provide European government, defence, emergency services, and critical infrastructure sectors with seamless connectivity anywhere, anytime, in an open or closed network, and with full system control. 

The Xtend 5G development will be co-funded by ESA’s ARTES 4.0 Space for 5G/6G & Sustainable Connectivity programme line.

Phenaros Pharmaceuticals secures funding to advance drug discovery

Phenaros Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company developing a novel platform for drug discovery based on AI, Phenomics, and Automation, has secured 12M SEK in a pre-seed funding round.

The investment round was led by Nordic Science Investments (NSI) and also included investors Almi Invest, Monesi, and Länsförsäkringar Uppsala.

The financing will enable the company to scale its proprietary platform to accelerate drug discovery by expanding the robotized facilities, creating large proprietary datasets, developing next-generation AI models, and expanding commercial operations.

This approach allows the company to efficiently discover and characterise new drug leads in a wide range of disease areas.

Gothenburg-based Intended Future won two major grants

Intended Future is a scientific spin-off from the Geometry Assurance & Robust Design Research Group at Chalmers Industrial and Materials Science.

The company has been awarded two prestigious grants from Sweden’s Innovation Agency, Vinnova, for their innovative projects CMF Circularity AI and AutoPercept AI.

In collaboration with Chalmers Industriteknik, Boid, GEELY Innovations, Zeekr Technology Europe, Autoliv and Volvo Group, CMF Circularity AI will focus on leading the shift toward sustainable automotive design by reducing the carbon footprint of vehicle production and maximising the use of recyclable and renewable materials.

Truckzter announces new seed investor and board member

Camilla Wallin joins Truckzter as the new chairperson and seed investor.

Camilla is CEO and co-founder of Planet Zero and CEO of the Stockholm School of Applied Technology. 

Truckzter, a platform for low-emission road transport, has experienced impressive growth since its establishment in 2021, with a 200  per cent increase in turnover and a significant reduction in transport emissions by over a third this year alone.

Digiclean Solutions lands funding from EIT Manufacturing

Digiclean Solutions, a Swedish company specialising in sensor technology to optimise chemical usage and reduce industrial waste, has recently secured funding from EIT Manufacturing as part of its prestigious Accelerate Call program.

Digiclean’s technology can reduce chemical consumption in factories by up to 60 per cent, delivering environmental benefits and operational efficiency for manufacturers worldwide.

Join Capital is launching its Strategic Technologies Fund III

Join Capital is launching its Strategic Technologies Fund III focusing on industrial and defence transformation in Europe.

With investment teams in London, Milan, and Berlin, Join has been focusing on investing in early-stage deep-tech industrial solutions, backed by leading industrial families and institutional LPs including NATO Innovation Fund, CDP, KfW Capital, Isomer Capital, and Molten Ventures. 

With a target size of €250M, Join will focus on technologies with tangible industrial applications – innovations that strengthen economies, secure supply chains, and enhance industrial resilience.

Genpact launches Genpact AI Gigafactory

Genpact unveiled the Genpact AI Gigafactory, an AI accelerator focused on enabling enterprises to deploy intelligent agentic systems at scale.

This combines a first-of-its-kind intelligent AI delivery model with Genpact’s deep industry expertise and on-demand talent for accelerated AI-led transformation and is launched in partnership with Databricks. 

The Genpact AI Gigafactory is helping businesses close this gap with On-Demand Skilled Talent, Pod-Based Delivery Expertise, Scalable AI Solutions, AI Value Studio, and Leading Partner Ecosystem. 

Empatik AI updates its flagship product to revolutionise human communication

Empatik AI unveils major updates to its flagship product, Empatik, a platform designed to redefine how we understand, analyse, and improve human interpersonal communication.

As a result, it will reduce bias in recruitment and enhance relationships in professional settings. 

At its core, Empatik decodes the subtleties of human interactions, leveraging data from Facial Movements, Speech Patterns, and The Dyadic Effect (measuring the mutual influence between conversation participants, a first in emotion recognition technology).

Empatik thus provides holistic insights into communication dynamics, making it invaluable for industries such as Psychotherapy, Corporate HR, Customer Service, and Sales.

Juteborg Sweden AB unveils breakthrough in sustainable material technology

Juteborg Sweden, pioneering high-tech composites based on natural fibre jute, has announced results from its project demonstrating the transformation of agricultural by-product jute sticks into high-performance thermoplastic granules.

This research project, JUTE-Sticks-3DP, in co-operation with Ecoist AB, University of Borås, and Volvo Construction Equipment, has applications in sustainable material solutions for industries ranging from automotive, transportation, and packaging to construction and interior.

The jute stick powder granules, derived from agricultural waste, are designed for advanced applications in injection moulding and additive manufacturing (3D printing).

AdaptFuture launches new EV Training Project

Gothenburg-based edTech company AdaptFuture is launching a new EV Training project, co-founded by EIT Manufacturing.

The company, which focuses on providing EV Training kits globally intends to launch a Battery Training Rig to secure competence in the EV Battery Lifecycle.

European Battery Alliance is among the first customers in line for this launch. 

YourMinds Sweden reaches HRR instructor’s milestone

YourMinds Sweden announced that they have now onboarded 30 certified HHR instructors ready across Sweden to train managers and employees in handling mental health issues in the workplace.

YourMinds Sweden AB works with the HHR concept, akin to CPR, but towards mental health first aid. They provide training on how to act on signals of mental illness to prevent and counteract mental illness.

Fixkod AB launches new cloud service for real estate owners 

Fixkod AB has launched “fixkod loggen”, a family of modules for real estate and facility managers to follow up, document, and remind employees and contractors of every job (cleaning, maintenance, etc) that is performed within the property portfolio or out in the field. 

This new cloud service for property owners digitalises monitoring, documentation, and reminders for full control and increased efficiency in property management, giving property owners full control over property operations in real time. 

With fixkod’s cloud service, property owners can easily monitor completed services, such as cleaning and maintenance, via a central platform.

If a delivery is missed, automatic reminders are sent directly to those responsible, ensuring that no critical tasks are missed.