Sweden vs Denmark: How One Policy in the 90s Shaped Today's Tech Scene
Sweden and Denmark are neighbors. Similar size, similar culture, similar economic models. But Sweden has 39 unicorns. Denmark has 16. Sweden raised 18.4% of all European tech funding in 2024. After three years, 78% of Swedish startups are still alive. In Denmark, it's 49%. Highest survival rate in Europe versus one of the lowest.
Same region, similar structures, completely different outcomes.
The Home PC Reform
In 1998, Sweden did something simple. They made computers tax-free for employees. The Home PC Reform let workers lease computers from employers with payments deducted from gross salary. No tax on the benefit. Computers cost less than half.
Unions negotiated volume discounts. Employers participated. Government made it tax-advantaged. Between 1998 and 2001, about 850,000 home computers were purchased. That's nearly one quarter of Sweden's four million households.
In three years, a quarter of the country got their first home computer. An entire generation grew up with computers in their homes. They learned to code, to build, to think digitally. That generation, the one that got computers in the late 90s and early 2000s, they're the ones founding companies today.
Denmark didn't implement a similar policy. They have a strong tech industry, but they didn't have that massive push in the late 90s. The digital literacy gap wasn't huge, but it was there. Over 25 years, small gaps compound into big differences.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, founder of Klarna, points to this exact policy as the catalyst for Sweden's digital transformation. The numbers back him up. In 2021, Swedish startups attracted €8.1 billion in venture capital. Denmark attracted €2 billion. Four times more funding flowing into a country with roughly the same population.
The policy ran from 1998 to 2001. Spotify was founded in 2006. Klarna in 2005.
What's the Next Policy?
Sweden's experience shows that the policies that matter aren't the flashy ones. They're the ones that make essential technology affordable. The ones that remove barriers. The ones that create generations, not just products.
Right now we're at an inflection point with AI. The tools are powerful. They're also expensive. ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month. Claude Pro costs more. GitHub Copilot. These tools are becoming essential for anyone building in tech, but they're not accessible to everyone.
What if we did what Sweden did with computers? Make AI subscriptions tax-deductible. Let employers provide AI tool subscriptions as a benefit, deducted from gross salary. Subsidize AI access for students, for young people, for anyone who wants to learn.
That would create a generation of AI-native builders. Kids growing up with ChatGPT and Claude in their homes would think differently about what's possible. They'd understand AI products intuitively because they'd been using them their whole lives.
The thing tht fascinates me about Sweden's policy is how simple it was. It wasn't about building infrastructure or creating programs. It was about making existing technology affordable. Simply removing barriers.
What's becoming essential right now? What barrier could we remove? What policy could we implement that seems small today but changes everything in 20 years?