Denmark's startup ecosystem is flourishing, with approximately 4,300 startups and scale-ups across its cities. Around 30 active venture capital investors support this environment. Denmark has built ten unicorns, showing its potential to create high-value companies. The Danish government, investors, and startup communities work closely to contribute to the country's entrepreneurial success​.

With an ecosystem value of $3.2 billion, Denmark is a significant player in the global startup scene. In recent years, Denmark has seen a surge in tech startups, particularly in sectors like fintech, biotech, and sustainable energy. The Danish government actively supports the startup ecosystem through various initiatives and funding programs, creating a nurturing environment for early-stage companies. Denmark's strategic location in Europe and its strong digital infrastructure also provide top startups with an excellent platform for growth and expansion​.

Thanks to top institutions like Copenhagen Business School and Aalborg University, Denmark also boasts a highly skilled workforce. The country's flexicurity strategy, which balances employee security with employer flexibility, further improves its appeal to startups. Despite higher taxes and wages, free education and an efficient workforce make Denmark attractive for entrepreneurs.

1. Flatpay

Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Herlev, Capital Region
Size: 200+
Founders: Rasmus Busk, Janca-Jensen, Peter Lüth, and Rasmus Hellmund Carlsen

Flatpay was established in 2022 by experienced serial entrepreneurs and has since grown to embrace Finland and Germany with its services. It provides a very competitive, full-service point of sale and payment solution. It offers transparent pricing with no hidden fees, catering to merchants frustrated with traditional providers' complex pricing structures. Flatpay has introduced a low-cost payment option for Danish internet retailers that will soon be accessible across all markets.

Flatpay raised $67.8 million in 2024 from a Series B funding round. It now plans to create and introduce new products and services to help merchants with payment processing and financial management. The objective is to establish itself as the one-stop business and financial management shop.

2. Holdbar

Year Founded: 2023
HQ: Aarhus, Central Denmark Region
Size: 1-50
Founders: Lasse Kjaer and Lars Daniel Rasmussen

Holdbar is one of the only Danish startups that offers a comprehensive platform for selling experiences, ranging from guided tours to cooking classes and whisky tastings. It integrates various tools such as a booking engine, payment processor, team organizer, gift card solution, and demand generator, making it easier for users to manage and market their offerings efficiently.

Holdbar's comprehensive approach allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the experience sector to operate independently from major online travel agencies, engaging directly with customers through various digital channels. It recently secured $3.5 million in seed funding from investors, including Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, and Steve Fredette, to further develop and scale its platform. In 2024, Holdbar's total funding from the seed round amounted to $4.5 million.

3. ComplyCloud

Year Founded: 2017
HQ: København K, Danmark
Size: 51-200
Founders: Martin Folke Vasehus

ComplyCloud is a Danish startup that guarantees data security and compliance with IT security regulations. It uses software, legal knowledge, and IT know-how to automate compliance management and generate the required documents for its users. ComplyCloud provides its users with a project manager and expert in GDPR and NIS2 to ensure they get the maximum benefits of its legal services.

What sets ComplyCloud apart is its ability to integrate legal expertise with advanced technology, making compliance accessible and manageable for companies of all sizes. ComplyCloud boasts over 500 customers and has expanded its team to include more than 70 employees from 13 nationalities. It received 4.5 million euros in funding from SEED Capital. The money will help ComplyCloud to scale its operations and expand into international markets​.

4. Dixa

Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 200+
Founders: Mads Fosselius

Dixa is a Danish startup that helps brands build stronger relationships with their customers by providing a platform that supports meaningful, real-time conversations. Its vision is to empower customer service teams with the tools they need to deliver exceptional support across all communication channels. Dixa allows customer service teams to handle interactions across various channels, including email, chat, phone, and social media, all from a single interface.

Dixa provides real-time analytics and reporting tools to help businesses track performance and customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. It incorporates automation and AI to streamline workflows, manage repetitive tasks, and provide intelligent suggestions, helping teams work more efficiently. Dixa has raised significant funding to support its growth, including a $36 million Series B round in 2020 and $105 million in Series C funding​.

5. Humani

Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 1-50
Founders: Anders Mayntzhusen, Mik Strøyberg, and Christian Sejersen

Humani is among the few Danish startups specializing in recruitment assessment and personal development. Its platform uses an advanced AI engine built on psychometrics and behavioral science to help individuals and organizations unlock their full potential. Humani's AI engine evolves with its user base, providing personalized guidance and helping build stronger teams by deeply understanding individual strengths and motivations​.

Humani is well-positioned to provide outstanding services to affiliated organizations and applicants, having assembled a team of diversified specialists with experience in psychology, coaching, IT, and finance. In March 2023, Humani raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Dreamcraft Ventures and angel investors. The funds will be used to enhance its AI engine and launch its first products for individuals and organizations. Humani aims to democratize personal development, making it accessible and affordable for everyone​.

6. Monta

Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 200+
Founders: Casper Rasmussen & Anders Pedersen

Monta is expediting the electrification of mobility with its EV charging platform, which offers a single integrated software solution to hardware makers, operators, enterprises, and EV drivers. Danish startups like Monta help companies and operators looking to streamline and simplify the installation, utilization, and administration of EV charging infrastructure. Monta's platform also helps them optimize their products by allowing hardware makers to assess charge point brands.

EV drivers in Europe have access to more than 600,000 charging stations via Monta's software. In just three years, Monta raised 130 million euros in capital as it concluded a Series B round of 80 million euros. The money will be used to quadruple the number of its workforce, keep investing in product R&D, and build a more robust network of valued partners to promote electrification throughout society.

7. Pleo

Year Founded: 2015
HQ: København N, Hovedstaden
Size: 1-50
Founders: Jeppe Rindom and Niccolo Perra

Pleo is a Danish startup that offers smart company spending solutions. Pleo aims to simplify business expenses by providing prepaid Mastercards linked to software that automates expense reports and manages company spending. This approach helps businesses streamline expense management, reduce administrative burden, and gain better control over their finances. It also provides high standards of security and bank-level protection, which means your money is in safe hands.

Pleo has gained popularity for its user-friendly interface and integration capabilities with accounting software. You can connect Pleo with the tools your team uses every day, including NetSuite, Xero, Quickbooks and more, making it a convenient tool for modern businesses looking to manage expenses efficiently. It has managed to raise $471 million over nine rounds of funding. Its last funding round was carried out on May 02, 2024, garnering $42.7 million.

8. Little Green Pharma

Year Founded: 2017
HQ: West Perth
Size: 51-200
Founders: Fleta Solomon

Little Green Pharma focuses on the sustainable production of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products. It specializes in cultivating and processing medicinal cannabis to meet strict quality standards for therapeutic use. By providing reliable products that comply with regulatory requirements, it aims to contribute to the global medical cannabis market.

Danish startups like Little Green Pharma address the growing demand for medical cannabis by focusing on patient care and product efficacy. Its medications are produced in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices guidelines and subjected to several tests to ensure they satisfy the exacting quality standards in Europe and Australia.

Little Green Pharma has received a total of $32.5 million in 2022. This funding aims to improve LGP's cultivation and manufacturing capacity by acquiring a cutting-edge facility in Denmark.

9. Lun Energy

Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 1-50
Founders: Martin Collignon and Anders Valentin

Lun Energy provides a 3D-enabled tool designed to create heat load reports quickly and accurately. Its solution includes:

• A 3D scanner app for precise room measurements.

• A desktop version for data editing.

• An energy calculator for DIN-compliant calculations.

Lun Energy aims to automate and streamline the process, making it faster and less tedious for users. It includes features for hydronic balancing and automatic PDF report generation.

Lun creates software that simplifies the process of decarbonizing homes. It wants to provide the necessary tools to tradespeople and the entire value chain, making retrofitting the most appealing option for the environment and for business. Lun has secured a total sum of 10.3 million euros to expand its operations in new countries and help homes decarbonize worldwide.

10. Rig.dev

Year Founded: 2023
HQ: Aarhus
Size: 1-50
Founders: Thor Christensen and Anders Johnsen

Rig.dev focuses on simplifying the development and management of scalable backend and cloud infrastructure. It offers an open-source platform built on Kubernetes, making it easier for developers to deploy, manage, and scale applications without the complexities typically associated with these tasks.

Rig.dev provides several features to enhance the developer experience, including a command-line interface (CLI), a dashboard for managing application resources, and a plugin framework for customization. Its approach focuses on reducing the friction and complexity in building backend applications. It allows developers to spend more time coding important parts rather than dealing with infrastructure setup and maintenance​.

In September 2023, Rig.dev raised €2 million ($2.18 million) in one of Denmark's largest pre-seed funding rounds. This investment, led by founders Dreamcraft and NP-Hard Ventures, will support the expansion of its team, further product development, and initial commercialization efforts​​. The goal is to provide a flexible, developer-friendly solution that can integrate with existing tools and technologies.

11. Ocean.io

Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 51-200
Founders: Michelle Heiberg and Alexey Shablevskiy

Ocean.io is one of the Danish startups specializing in account-based marketing through AI. It helps sales and marketing teams focus on the most promising accounts by leveraging AI to create highly relevant lists of potential clients that match a business's Ideal Customer Profile. This approach improves the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing campaigns by identifying high-quality leads that traditional tools might miss.

In 2022, Ocean.io secured €6 million ($6.55 million) in funding from two investors, including Peak Capital and Lottrup & Co. This investment aims to support Ocean.io's expansion into the US market. It wants to capitalize on its success in Europe, serving clients such as Sony, UserTesting, Brandwatch, and JGL.

Ocean.io's platform integrates seamlessly with tools like LinkedIn, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, allowing users to export target accounts and contacts and save searches for creating tailored marketing campaigns.

Ocean.io has shown impressive growth, doubling its client base every two months. It aims to become an indispensable tool for B2B marketers by providing precise, context-aware data that significantly boosts the likelihood of sales success.

12. Superb

Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Frederiksberg, Capital Region of Denmark
Size: 51-200
Founders: Zaedo Musa and Martin Jensen

Superb is among the few Danish startups focusing on Guest Experience Management (GXM) for restaurants. Its all-in-one platform combines tools like reservations, POS (point of sale) systems, and payment processing. It also collects and utilizes guest data to improve customer experiences, build relationships, and increase revenue. The goal is to simplify operations by integrating multiple systems into a single solution, allowing restaurants to work more efficiently and personalize their guest interactions.

Superb serves various restaurants across Scandinavia and the UK, including Michelin-starred establishments like Maaemo, Re-naa, and Aimsir. It also focuses on expanding its remote workforce, particularly in product development, technology, sales, marketing, and customer experience.

In 2021, Superb raised €13.5 million ($14.7 million) in a Series A funding round led by Swedish investment company Kinnevik. Knight Capital, Seed Capital, and other notable individual investors participated. This funding supports Superb's international expansion, particularly into markets such as Germany and the United Kingdom.

13. Good Monday by DEAS

Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 1-50
Founders: Mik Strøyberg

Good Monday by DEAS is a comprehensive office management platform designed to streamline workplace operations and improve employee experiences. Founded in 2018 and acquired by the DEAS Group in 2022, Good Monday combines various office services into a single, easy-to-use platform. This acquisition was part of DEAS' efforts to innovate and enhance digital transformation within the workspace management sector.

Good Monday offers services, including cleaning, catering, office supplies, handyman tasks, and wellness activities, all accessible through its platform. It simplifies the process of managing these services by providing direct communication with suppliers, automated invoicing, and a centralized dashboard for all office management tasks. The simplification of service management allows companies to save time and resources, ensuring smooth operations and a pleasant work environment for employees.

Good Monday has garnered recognition and awards for its innovative approach, including winning the Best Newcomer award at the Nordic Startup Awards in 2019 and the Hottest Proptech Startup prize at The Europas Tech Awards in 2020. It serves over 160 companies, helping them improve workplace satisfaction and efficiency. In March 2023, it secured over $6.3 million.

14. LifeX

Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Copenhagen
Size: 1-50
Founders: Sune Theodorsen and Ritu Jain

LifeX is a Danish startup that offers a co-living solution. It aims to help young professionals overcome housing challenges and build social networks in major European cities like Copenhagen, Berlin, London, Paris, Munich, and Vienna.

LifeX's co-living spaces are designed to foster community and ease the stresses of urban living by including all-inclusive amenities such as rent, utilities, Wi-Fi, Netflix, cleaning services, and shared household supplies. This approach helps to eliminate common conflicts related to chores, maintenance, and bills. LifeX organizes events and networking opportunities to help residents build connections and combat loneliness, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when their community-focused model proved particularly valuable.

LifeX has raised significant funding, including a recent $6.5 million round from Founders and Cherry Ventures, bringing their total funding to nearly $19.9 million. This capital will be used to expand its market presence, improve product development, and accelerate its mission to make everyone feel at home, no matter where they are.

15. QNTM Labs

Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Odense
Size: 1-50
Founders: Justin Ihnken and Connor Murphy

QNTM Labs is another Danish startup focused on providing comprehensive laboratory services, particularly in the realm of pharmaceutical and natural product testing. Based in Odense, the company specializes in Good Manufacturing Practice-certified cannabis laboratory testing. It includes chemical and microbiological analysis, method development, validation and transfer, stability studies, and quality control release analysis.

QNTM Labs emphasizes transparency, quality, and trust in its operations. Its services cover various testing needs, ensuring regulatory compliance and supporting innovative research and development. It caters to multiple stages of product development and quality assurance, providing essential services such as raw material and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) testing and pesticide analysis.

QNTM Labs recently secured a Series A funding round of $6.63 million, which will help the company expand its testing capabilities and improve its service offerings to better meet the needs of its clients.

FAQs

What are the strongest industries in Denmark?

Denmark's strongest industries include life sciences, which accounts for 22% of the country's exports; manufacturing, particularly pharmaceuticals and medical technology; and the service sector, which employs 80% of the workforce​.

What is the average investment in the startup industry in Denmark?

Danish startups generally raise about €2 million in funding. The amount that entrepreneurs can anticipate receiving from venture capitalists varies based on the stage at which they are raising financing, but this figure is a decent general approximation. Some of the most prosperous businesses have raised considerable capital; some have raised as much as €20–€30 million in total finance.

How many startups are there in Denmark?

As of 2024, there are over 2071 digital tech Danish startups and over 1119 ecosystem startups that have raised over €2bn+ this year.

How fast is the startup industry growing in Denmark?

The startup industry in Denmark is growing at a rate of around 8% annually, driven by strong governmental support, a skilled workforce, and a favorable business environment.