This week, we were honored to welcome the Swedish Minister for Defence, Pål Jonson, who visited Ideon Science Park and the Amyna Accelerator to discuss the future of Swedish defense innovation as well as the growing role of civilian technology in strengthening Europe’s security and resilience.
One thing is becoming increasingly clear:
Sweden is entering a new era where AI, autonomous systems, cyber, sensors, and advanced software are becoming central to defense capability. More startups, tech companies, and investors are beginning to explore the defense and dual-use sector than ever before.
That is incredibly positive.
The government’s focus on defense innovation, civil-military collaboration, and broadening the defense industrial base is already starting to shift the market.
Many of the new companies entering the sector are small, fast-moving, and built for civilian markets, while procurement systems, financing models, and industrial structures still largely reflect a traditional defense industry model built around long timelines, established primes, and predictable processes.
This creates a structural gap: innovation is moving fast, while capital markets and procurement systems adapt much more slowly.
The risk is that many promising companies disappear before the ecosystem is mature enough to support them.
That is why we believe the next phase is not only about innovation itself, but about creating stronger bridges between:
• defense
• startups
• industry
• investors
• government
• and international initiatives
At Amyna, this is exactly the role we are trying to build; reducing friction, accelerating collaboration, and helping create the next generation of Swedish and European defense and dual-use industry.
Not only for today’s security needs, but for long-term technological sovereignty, competitiveness, resilience, and strategic capability.
A sincere thank you to Minister Pål Jonson for the visit and for an important and forward-looking discussion.
