Was our impression too, based on presentations during visits in the 90s.
How Sweden Became the Silicon Valley of Europe
Reuters, Colm Fulton; Supantha Mukherjee, August 11, 2021
Klarna's Sebastian Siemiatkowski, billionaire founder of the Swedish fintech company, attributes his success to the Swedish welfare state, particularly a 1998-2001 government policy to give a computer to every household. During that period, the program purchased 850,000 home computers, distributing them at no cost to nearly 25% of Sweden's then-4 million households. At 16, Siemiatkowski started coding on the computer his family received, and more than two decades later, his $46 billion payments firm is preparing to go public. Some technology executives and venture capitalists say the computer policy, the nation's early investment in Internet connectivity, and its social safety net, including free childcare and income insurance funds, help foster innovation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that Sweden has the third highest startup rate, ranked by startups per 1,000 employees. Atomico's Sarah Guemouri noted that Stockholm ranks second behind Silicon Valley for unicorns (startups valued above $1 billion).
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