When AI moves off the screen and into the world + Our 2025 wrap-up
Scale Capital Newsletter | Q4 2025 | Edition #013
Hi,
As the year winds down and the pace finally starts to ease, it feels like a good moment to look back with a bit of gratitude. It’s been an eventful 2025 across our team and portfolio, and heading into the holidays we’re reminded how much of this work depends on the people around us. Founders, operators, LPs, co-investors and friends who make the ecosystem feel both ambitious and collaborative at the same time.
This edition of our newsletter serves as a Q4 recap as well as a full 2025 recap. We look back on a year where we welcomed six new companies to the portfolio. The year also marked some major milestones across the portfolio, such as Denominator’s acquisition of Equileap, and reflects our growing presence in Norway through a partnership with Startuplab Summit and three new Norwegian investments. To make sense of the broader shifts behind these developments, we begin with a perspective from Lars on the growing move toward physical AI, followed by our Q4 updates and a recap of all 2025 investments.
by Lars Jensen, Founding Partner at Scale Capital
When AI moves off the screen and into the world
We continue to see indications of overheating of parts of the AI market. Valuations stretch, early rounds look surprisingly mature and everyone seems to be looking for an angle. It’s exciting in many ways, though the noise can blur the really interesting changes happening underneath.
One theme kept coming up in conversations with founders and operators this quarter. People are starting to think about intelligence in a physical setting again. Instead of treating AI purely as a software layer, there’s a growing focus on how AIcan take a physical form and do real work in warehouses, logistics, inspection, manufacturing and defence.
More than 16 billion dollars has gone into robotics and embodied AI companies this year, and stories like 1X Robotics’ progress show how quickly the category is evolving at the intersection of hardware, perception and applied intelligence. Labour shortages across Europe, wage pressure and reshoring are all pushing companies to rethink how they operate, which makes the renewed focus on robotics feel grounded.
The technology stack has also come a long way. Better sensors, cheaper on-device compute and more reliable perception systems mean hardware can finally operate in messy, unpredictable environments. We see this directly in some of our portfolio companies. Sonair’s ultrasonic sensing is opening doors that were closed only a few years ago, and ARX Robotics’ modular unmanned systems are attracting interest from customers who want equipment they can adapt and deploy quickly.
Europe’s in a strong position here. The combination of industrial depth, high automation density and a steady pipeline of robotics talent creates a foundation that’s easy to underestimate from the outside. There’s a lot of substance in this part of the ecosystem.
Heading into 2026, it feels like this intersection of intelligence and physical capability will keep growing. The progress may come step by step rather than in dramatic leaps, but those steps add up quickly when they solve real problems in the real world.
Portfolio News
Denominator announced the acquisition of Equileap, expanding their data capabilities and strengthening their position as a global leader in diversity and equity insights. Read more in ESG Today.
Alphin welcomed Robert Koch as the company’s new CEO, bringing deep strategic and financial experience into the next phase of growth. Head to our LinkedIn to see what Robert had to say.
All Gravy hired Malek Andersen as Global Sales Director, adding senior commercial experience as they scale internationally.
Airtame launched Airtame 3, a major step forward in making hybrid work more seamless across screens and spaces. Check it out here.
ARX Robotics announced a strategic partnership with Helsing to develop AI-enabled reconnaissance and effect systems for European defence, bringing together two of the region’s leading players in software-defined and networked land capabilities.
Sonair expanded its team with two key hires. Markus Mayr joins as Head of Product Management after eight years at SICK Sensor Intelligence, and Marius Westgaard joins the software team following his work at 1X developing humanoid robots for private homes.
Sparrow Quantum announced its €27.5 million funding round in early December, strengthening their position as one of Europe’s most promising quantum technology companies.
Team and Activities
Q4 gave us several good chances to connect with founders, partners and many across the Nordic ecosystem.
Limited Partner Event
The annual “Scale and Friends” Limited Partner event took place in October this year. This time it took place at the Nordea HQ in Copenhagen, where more than 80 participants from across our network came together for an afternoon of updates, discussions and connection, creating space for the kind of conversations that shape the work we do. Find a couple of photos and some reflections from the day here.
Oslo Innovation Week
We continued strengthening our presence in Norway through our partnership with Startuplab Summit. Lars was also invited to join the jury for the DNB NXT 100 Pitches. This is how it looked.
Slush
Joachim and Judith spent time in Helsinki meeting founders, operators and partners across the European ecosystem.
Funding Bazaar at DTU Science Park
Joachim delivered a two minute reverse pitch to a room of technical founders, sharing how we work with early-stage teams.
Aarhus Investor Summit
We partnered with Aarhus Investor Summit, hosting a workshop on scaling in the US and joining a panel on the same theme.
2025 investment wrap-up
Across 2025 we welcomed four new exceptional companies to the portfolio – three from Norway and one from Denmark. We also launched our Late-Stage Portfolio through which we welcomed two additional companies from Denmark and Germany.
Telescope (NO)
We backed Telescope as they expanded their climate-risk platform across Europe, helping real-estate owners understand and manage physical climate exposure with far greater accuracy. Read more at EU Startups.
All Gravy (DK)
We welcomed All Gravy as they continue to grow their AI-powered employee app, bringing comms, learning and operations together in one place for frontline teams. Read more at Tech.eu.
Sonair (NO)
We partnered with Sonair to support the development of their 3D ultrasonic sensing technology, giving robots and industrial systems a new level of safe, real-time perception. Read more at Techcrunch,
Bsure (NO)
And finally Bsure, which we introduced above, joined the portfolio this quarter as they tackle the growing challenge of unused identities, licences and permissions inside Microsoft environments. Read more at Tech.eu.
Late-Stage Portfolio
We also introduced our Late-Stage Portfolio, a small allocation of the fund set aside to back later-stage European companies showing clear category leadership.
ARX Robotics
We invested in ARX, whose modular unmanned ground vehicles are becoming a key reference point for mission-ready robotics across defence and security in Europe.Sparrow Quantum
We welcomed added Sparrow, supporting their work in quantum-enabled single-photon technologies as they continued to establish themselves as one of Europe’s leading quantum teams.
Looking ahead to 2026
What stands out from 2025 most is not a single trend but the people we have had the chance to work with. Founders pushing through difficult markets, teams building with conviction and partners who continue to support the ecosystem in meaningful ways. It leaves us with a steady sense of optimism and a genuine excitement for what’s to come in the new year.
As the year comes to a close, we hope everyone finds a moment to switch off, recharge and enjoy the holidays with the people around them. From everyone at Scale Capital, we’re wishing you a peaceful break and a great start to 2026!