7 Climate Action startups among Sting’s 14 new companies

Backed by Sting, the most extensive startup support ecosystem in the Nordics, the entrepreneurs today kick off an intense spring during which they will be coached and challenged to reach results.

The companies that are admitted to Sting represent less than 10 percent of all applicants. Along with climate action, the companies develop solutions in areas ranging from femtech and mini-insurances, to a market place for unique plants, and a simple and secure video conferencing platform.

– It is an exciting range of innovative solutions in this group! Innovation is essential to tackle many of the challenges we face in society today, climate change in particular. Besides the big focus on climate action, we’re also happy to see that 12 of the 14 startups have mixed-gender teams, and we very much look forward to accelerating all of the companies' growth this spring, says Jonas Lindqvist, program manager for Sting Accelerate Climate Action.

New for this year is that the investment that the companies can get from Propel Capital, the investment company connected to Sting, is raised to SEK 500,000, from previously SEK 400,000. In addition to the investment itself, the companies also gain direct access to the 40 business angels backing Propel Capital, as well as their networks. The investors can also make follow-on investments in the companies.

Furthermore, the startups receive a dedicated coach to challenge and support them in business development, and other coaches who provide specific support in financing, recruitment, team development and much more. They also gain access to the most developed investor network in Europe, which Sting has built since 2002.

The seven climate action startups will in addition have access to sector-specific mentors, and a number of climate action-specific activities and resources.

One of them is Planboo, which wants to reduce and remove emissions by investing in and planting bamboo and help businesses and individuals become net zero. The team is moving to Stockholm from the UK to be part of the program.

– The carbon market needs disrupting as it’s slow and lacks transparency. With the help of Sting, Planboo will attract like-minded businesses and investors to scale a plant-based solution that support’s smallholder farmer’s whilst rapidly capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Over the next 5 months, we will streamline our product so that businesses and individuals can understand and engage with meaningful climate action, says Freddie Catlow, cofounder and CEO of Planboo.

Another company joining Sting, Momentus, is a team of doctors, engineers and mothers of young children that has developed an app that gives a new mother all the knowledge she needs about her own body and health after childbirth.

– We are extremely happy to have been admitted to Sting. To have a dedicated coach and get support in the areas where we lack the skills ourselves, means that we can grow and help more women much faster. We will now take the app from beta version to a launch, and with Sting’s “seal of approval”, we can more easily raise capital, further develop our product and business, and scale on our first market, says Maria Undén Morein, cofounder & CEO of Momentus.

xroom.app, which offers secure, simple and encrypted video conferencing, also joins the new batch of Sting companies.

– We applied to Sting to accelerate xroom.app’s growth and connect to one of the largest startup ecosystems in the Nordics. Now our goals are to adapt and adjust our strategies to expand our reach, improve our offerings and acquire a larger customer base, says Haza Newman, cofounder and CEO of xroom.app.

Since its inception in 2002, Sting has coached over 300 startups, which together have a company value of approximately EUR 2 billion. The companies had sales of EUR 283 million in 2019 and have raised more than EUR 603 million. Among Sting’s alumni are companies such as Yubico, Karma, Sellpy, Airmee and Surfcleaner.

The following companies have been selected for the new Sting Accelerate Climate Action:

BluCarbon – Cuts the cost for carbon capture and storage. The CCS Optimizer is a scalable SaaS tool for engineering companies to analyse and optimize carbon capture and storage systems for CO2 emitters. It reduces the number of hours put into a feasibility study by more than 50 percent and can reduce the final full CCS chain cost.

Cling Systems – The B2B market platform for used electric mobility batteries. Cling Systems develops the B2B market platform for used electric mobility batteries. The team’s unique industry experience attracts international players needing a comprehensive supply of batteries and reliable data to accelerate growth. By aggregating industry-wide data, Cling Systems is quickly becoming the world's first decentralised and digital mine.

Earthbanc – The world's first carbon and sustainable finance marketplace. Earthbanc marketplace tracks business carbon emissions and delivers actionable insights to achieve net-zero emissions. We support corporates and banks with their new mandatory reporting requirements, whilst de-risking businesses and loan portfolios with sustainability linked loans and advice to decarbonise businesses. Our carbon offsets for unavoidable emissions are satellite AI verified.

ihopa – Subscribe to access shared products in your neighbourhood box. ihopa lets you use better products for less money in a sustainable way. The all-inclusive subscription gives you access to premium products conveniently stored and maintained in your local sharing box. Pick up gardening machines, tools and leisure items whenever you need them and enjoy a carefree experience.

loop-it – A digital deposit system for reusable packaging and products. loop-it reduces costs and waste of single-use items and makes reusing them as convenient as a single-use. But even better, by tracking every item in use, we generate valuable data to show the environmental impact of our partners and users. loop-it brings transparency and accountability to a product’s lifecycle.

Planboo – Reducing and removing emissions, helping businesses and individuals become net zero. Planboo provides a simple and transparent solution that reduces and removes businesses’ and individuals’ carbon footprint. Investing in bamboo, we make climate action affordable and engaging. Planting bamboo with Planboo restores degraded land and supports income generation for smallholder farmers in the Global South.

Skrym – Eliminating unnecessary air in e-commerce packaging. Skrym has developed an algorithmic optimization system that both automates real-time package selection and generates an optimal set of package sizes based on actual orders and transporter fees. Combined with vehicle-level emissions models, Skrym automatically generates individual sustainability statistics for every order.

These companies are also joining Sting:

Johannas Stadsodlingar – Sustainable, circular food production. At Johannas Stadsodlingar, we design, build and operate sustainable, circular food production systems. We grow fish and vegetables in aquaponic systems. Our food production is circular, local, automated and digital. Our systems recirculate water at 99.5% and has a food transport distance of 1-3% compared to imports.

Citationsy – Referencing for people who value simplicity, privacy, and speed. Citationsy is a no-nonsense reference and bibliography tool in use by almost 300 000 students, researchers, and scholars at thousands of universities and companies. The quickest and easiest way to cite books, journals, websites and much more. 

CodeZyme – Efficient solutions for the benefit of patients and healthcare workers. CodeZyme develops solutions that relieve healthcare workers of administrative work, while improving patient access to healthcare. Our first product, Waitcure, is a digital platform where patients can reduce their waiting time by registering for an earlier appointment. WaitCure schedules cancelled appointments automatically, leading to increased efficiency for the healthcare industry.

Momentus – Your digital health guide after pregnancy and childbirth. Momentus is an app that gives new mothers all the knowledge they need about their own bodies and health after childbirth. They receive medically reviewed information, in a timeline based on time since delivery, presented in a format specifically and uniquely adapted to the needs of a new mother.

Stikkling – The world’s first marketplace for unique plants. Stikkling is the end-to-end marketplace solution designed specifically for the plant nerd. We are innovating the traditional plant industry by changing how and why plants are bought. Together with thousands of private collectors around the world, we want to make the world of green more available. Because plants make people happy!

xroom.app – Secure, simple and encrypted video conferencing. xroom.app provides the world's first conferencing platform combining simplicity, white-labelling and privacy. Conduct online meetings in your own personalized “virtual office space” without compromising your security and anonymity via a simple-to-use platform. No logins, no downloads... even on mobile devices. Features, plugins, streaming & an API. We never have access to your real-time conversations or communications and that’s how it shall remain.

XTRA försäkring – Small ad-on insurances for any digital process. XTRA helps partners to offer mini-insurances that is supplemental and tailored to digital processes like apps, digital contracts, platforms and e-commerce checkouts.