San Fransisco is Silently Killing Silicon Valhalla
San Francisco is quietly reshaping the fast-growing startup ecosystem, the Nordics, in ways that risk compromising its unique identity, and remarkably only a few people are talking about it.
For Swedes, it's never been a mystery that we know how to produce "humble high-quality," building a fantastic reputation without flaunting it. For non-Swedes, it's quite often they'll be surprised when you mention Bluetooth's name and logo are from Sweden, The Weekend's "Blinding Lights" and Britney Spears' "Toxic" was produced by the same Swede, and that one in every 230,000 Swedes own a unicorn (company, not the mythical animal).
Last week, Fredrik Hjelm made a viral post about how his flight from Copenhagen to San Fransisco was filled with Swedish tech workers; it's clear that as the reputation of Stockholm's golden tech startup scene circulates, especially after Anton Osika & Fabian Hedin's Lovable just became a unicorn reportedly now valued at $4bn, powerhouses within the U.S. (particularly San Fransisco) will raise an eyebrow when they hear a "Hej."
From anywhere in the world, building in San Fransisco is certainly a fast-track to accessing a global market, a massive concentration of venture capital firms and world-class talent. In 2024, there was $90bn in VC funding in San Fransisco whereas Sweden raised $2.4bn. It's clearly a golden opportunity for any founder to grow quickly, access one of the world's largest markets, and hire from an insanely ambitious talent pool.
Despite the term "Silicon Valhalla" being especially prominent in 2025, its origins stretch back to 2016 with a book published by Swedish entrepreneurs Ola Ahlvarsson and Mahesh Kumar. The nature of the ecosystem is build on several qualities: community where sharing advice is encouraged, not the survivalist "eat or be eaten"; to adopt technology early and embrace innovation; judge people based on substance, not their professional background nor age; be humble, and help other around you.
It might sound slightly biblical, but the above is a small selection of values which founded Silicon Valhalla. Spotify made it easier for artists to build a career of their music, Northvolt made it so companies can still use batteries without compromising their desire for sustainability, VOI Technology made it so cities can become more liveable, Epidemic Sounds made it so creatives can express their vision without a large budget, and so on.
There's certainly no issue flying to San Fransisco to utilise its benefits. The issue comes with Silicon Valley and Silicon Valhalla collide.
One example I can see rising in Stockholm's startup ecosystem is Silicon Valley's "Messiah Complex," where individuals believe they are destined to build the 'next-big-thing' and therefore devalue those around them. Although it's uncommon in Sweden, and certainly not a direct causation, there's a strong correlation between this behaviour and Swedes heavily associated with Silicon Valley. Despite this being a byproduct of Silicon Valley rather than its founding principles, it appears to be creeping into Silicon Valhalla. The reason why this is dangerous is that it directly contradicts the Scandinavian principle of helping those around you.
Another example is the desire to grow big, and do it fast. What characterises Silicon Valhalla is that most successful startups have been built on problems that haunted founders for years, sometimes decades. When producing for others to consume, there's a desire to make it high-quality and for great value for money. And though funding in the Nordics is significantly lower than in San Fransisco, Swedes have mastered the art of making cash go far without compromising quality.
It's also about how people connect. In Stockholm, it's easy to connect because interactions are grounded in authenticity and being direct. In the U.S., it's not unusual for founders to feel as if the majority of interactions have an ulterior motives. Nordic societies take pride in not flaunting status, staying down to earth and being friendly regardless of who you are and your current stage in life. The U.S., however, is known for valuing whether someone is FAANG, Ivy League, or ex-unicorn. That might open doors quickly, but it can also shut out voices that are still growing.
Silicon Valhalla is not perfect, but it is setting a new stride for startup culture. The point is not to avoid the U.S. out of patriotism for Europe or the Nordics, it's to be cautious about what qualities you take on, and stick to the values that made Stockholm unique in the first place.
Silicon Valley is certainly at the top of the podium for global tech startups, but Silicon Valhalla is slowly starting to share that spot. With over a 55% increase in Sweden's VC funding in 2025 compared to 2024 so far, it's important to foster this ecosystem and recognise those who truly embrace Silicon Valhalla's values: SSE Business Lab, Antler, byFounders, and many more.
You can learn more about this in my May article Stockholm Is Quietly Becoming the Next 'Silicon Valley.'