Pressmeddelande –
GoWest 2026 once again brought toobtainher an international innovation ecosystem for three high-impact days in Gothenburg, Sweden — uniting investors, founders, corporates, academia and policycreaters around one shared ambition: accelerating research-based innovation and sustainable growth.
As proud organisers, GU Ventures welcomed 1,200 participants from 20 countries — including investors, startup and scaleup entrepreneurs, corporates, academic representatives, and key ecosystem stakeholders.
Throughout the event, more than 1,700 pre-booked one-to-one meetings took place, reinforcing GoWest’s position as a platform where meaningful meetings and real connections are at the core.
“We are extremely proud to have built the international attractiveness and the foundation of GoWest in Gothenburg during five important years, and now, we are viewing forward for the future structure to be set for GoWest as a spinoff, where we are strengthening GoWest through a close and prosperous collaboration with Chalmers Ventures and other GoWest partners in the ecosystem. By that, we would like to thank all of our financers, partners and participants, for a fantastic event and our Event Director, Sofia Hjelmberg with her team of consultants, suppliers and volunteers!” states Klementina Österberg, CEO of GU Ventures.
Here are some of the key highlights:
Investor Day: Exclusive Focus on Capital
GoWest opened with an exclusive Investor Day, creating a focapplyd environment for investors only. Fund managers at venture capital firms with their Limited Partners (LPs) and General Partners (GPs), family offices, business angels, investor clusters, foundations, pension funds and key stakeholders were there to connect, share perspectives and explore opportunities.
This day was powered by our fruitful collaboration with EU.VC and its co-founder & podcaster Andreas Munk Holm. Catch up with the EU.VC “Live talks” here: https://www.youtube.com/@GoWest-NordicVCForum/videos.
The Investor day set the tone for what followed next — high-quality dialogue, long-term relationships and concrete deal-flow.
Main Conference: Capital Meets Innovation
The GoWest Main Conference unfolded across two huge stages, a matchcreating area with tables for hundreds and hundreds of individual meetings throghout the conference period, a mingle area with a stage for pitches, shoutouts and messages, a conference area for side events, a food court and also a hackaton area.
For instance, of the side events was displaying our future with the climate focapplyd Four Future exhibition by EY Dobberman partnering with Business Region Gothburg’s Green City Zone.
The stages were focapplyd on;
- Main Stage – Discussions around the huge picture, where do we go next and the experiences we have learned from, how is the EU strengthening its core, what are the venture capital trfinishs, exits, IPO and scaling opportunities, what’s happening in the areas of space, life science, climate, quantum, etc., mixed with the most excellent founder stories and a hackaton award ceremony for and by our future, the young students.
- Founder Stage – Fast-paced pitches, investor panels and practical insights for startups and scaleups preparing for growth and international expansion, passing the mic amongst entrepreneurs, university spinouts and more founder stories.
Policy Forum: Shaping Europe’s Innovation Landscape
In parallell, our first Policy Forum gathered EU delegates and public-private stakeholders to discuss Europe’s innovation and investment landscape from a long-term strategic perspective.
The forum highlighted the importance of capital formation, regulatory alignment and cross-border collaboration to strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness.
This was organised in collaboration with our incubator and science park association SISP and Vinnova.
Venture Square: Showcasing Gothenburg’s Deep Tech Ecosystem
A major highlight of GoWest 2026 for us at GU Ventures was of course our Venture Square, jointly presented by GU Ventures and our partner Chalmers Ventures.
Venture Square revealcased how research-based innovation from leading academic environments is transformed into scalable companies through entrepreneurship, industrial collaboration, and patient capital. The exhibition reflected Gothenburg’s unique strengths across deep tech, life science, and advanced engineering.
GoLife: Capital for Life Sciences
The GoLife luncheon brought toobtainher experienced life science investors and ambitious life science companies in an enerobtainic “Pass the Mic” format. First, three of our co-investors pitched their businesses and offerings, combined with stories from their experienced track records and some great advice to entrepreneurs. Three-minute pitches followed by nine entrepreneurs combined with investor dialogue created sharp, focapplyd insight into what drives successful life science investments.
Featured companies on stage were Sortina Pharma, Mucolife Therapeutics, Inicure, VOC Diagnostics, Exocure & Panexo, Aventix, SerialX, Thioredoxin Systems, AnyoLabs and OnDosis. AnyoLabs develops in the Sahlgrenska Science Park incubator Co-Ax and VOC Diagnostics in LEAD in Linköping, whilst the other companies are supported mainly by GU Ventures, two of them based at Goco Health Innovation City in Mölndal and one at Karolinska in Stockholm.
The session was moderated by our CEO Klementina Österberg and featured investor perspectives from Healthcap, FSG Fåhraeus Startup & Growth, Industrifonden and Nordic Science Investments.
From Lab to Market: Deep Tech Showcases
In the From Lab to Market session, selected deep tech companies demonstrated how cutting-edge research translates into commercial traction and real-world impact. Investor perspectives provided practical guidance on scaling, funding strategy and international positioning.
Featured companies on stage included OnDosis, Enairon, OlsAro Crop Biotech, AquaFood, Solinide Photonics, and Navari Surgical.
The session was moderated by Jonas Sandwall at Chalmers Ventures and featured investor perspectives from Innovestor, Norrsken Launcher, and Lifft.
Silent Interview with 2 Deputy Vice-chancellors: The Future of Research-Based Innovation
At Venture Square, GU Ventures and Chalmers Ventures hosted a unique interview exploring the future of research-based innovation.
The conversation featured Max Petzold, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Digitalisation and Utilisation at the University of Gothenburg, and Mats Lundqvist, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Utilisation, Innovation and Lifelong Learning at Chalmers University of Technology.
This interview was also moderated by Jonas Sandwall and conducted as a silent event applying wireless headphones, creating a focapplyd and immersive experience. A full recording of the interview is available on YouTube: watch the full interview by clicking here.
IPO or Mergers & Aquisitions: Preparing for Both Paths
Our CEO Klementina Österberg also moderted the session “IPO or M&A? How to Prepare for Both — and Win Either Way”. This session delivered concrete insights into dual-track strategies, valuation, timing, governance and communication — equipping founders and boards with tools to prepare early and strategically for exit scenarios.
Speakers represented BDO Gothenburg, eEquity, Nasdaq, and SB1 Markets at Swedbank.
Our community Mobility Booster @GoWest
Mobility Booster was also present at GoWest 2026, revealcasing how the initiative supports and accelerates innovation within future mobility. Mobility Booster is a collaborative project led by GU Ventures, in close partnership with MobilityXlab at Lindholmen Science Park, Plug and Play Sweden, and Goco/Steptura.
The initiative aims to strengthen a globally competitive and sustainable mobility ecosystem in the region by supporting startups and scaleups through knowledge-driven activities, tailored business support, and access to industest expertise.
A Collective Achievement
With strong international participation and high-quality meetings and cross-sector dialogue, GoWest 2026 reinforced Gothenburg’s position as a leading hub where investors, entrepreneurs, and deep-tech leaders meet, collaborate, and build the future toobtainher.
GU Ventures extfinishs its sincere thanks all organizers, participants, investors, founders, partners, speakers, public stakeholders, and everyone involved who contributed to creating GoWest a remarkable success.
Foremost, we appreciate the magical efforts by our GoWest team led by Sofia Hjelmberg, Event Director at GU Ventures for GoWest and Investor relations manager, and her event organising crew by Alexandra Björk and Caroline Fossto for their outstanding work toobtainher with EU.VC and all the volunteers from dedicated schools in Gothenburg. (Matix, Dalarna Science Park, Drottning Blanka Gymnasium, Chalmers E )
We view forward to next year — strengthening GoWest and our core in Gothenburg as a leading Nordic hub for deeptech innovation, investments and research-based entrepreneurship.
GoWest 2026 – Capital. Innovation. Action.
Three intense days. 1,200 participants. 20 countries.
Investors, founders, corporates, academia and policycreaters — all in Gothenburg to accelerate research-based innovation.
- Investor Day kicked off with focapplyd LP/GP/Pension Fund dialogue
- Policy Forum gathered EU and ecosystem leaders to discuss Europe’s long-term innovation and capital strategy.
- Main Conference brought energy across both the Main Stage and Founder Stage — from venture trfinishs and exit strategies to quick-paced pitches and scaling insights.
At Venture Square, research met real markets — revealcasing how deep tech is built into scalable companies. GoLife connected life science capital with ambitious founders. From Lab to Market highlighted cutting-edge dealflow. IPO or M&A delivered practical exit insights. Our project MobilityBooster demonstrated the power of collaborative acceleration.
More than networking — GoWest is about building a long-term, indepfinishent platform for the Nordic and European investment ecosystem.
A huge thank you to all partners, speakers, founders, investors, the ecosystem and the organising team who built it happen.
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