26 Drone Startups from Finland, Sweden and Estonia Kick Off IAS Growth Academy in Norrköping Ahead of Tampere Visit

Twenty-six drone startups from Sweden, Finland and Estonia began the IAS Growth Academy's 24-month programme with a three-day intensive in Norrköping on 20–22 January 2026, probing new business opportunities and partnerships across the regional drone ecosystem.

The opening phase saw visits to Norrköping Science Park and Linköping University to review local research strengths and testing environments. Participants toured Västervik Drone Science Park at Västervik Airport, where materials and a programme video showcase the park’s testing facilities and operational model.

Richard Granberg, CEO of Västervik Drone Science Park, says VDSP supports drone development and facilitates real-world demonstrations. VDSP offers a dedicated drone testing airspace covering about 1,800 square kilometres. The park has more than a decade of R&D testing experience and is actively seeking cohort partners to use those capabilities.

The three-day schedule included industry visits such as Scanfil’s factory in Åtvidaberg and the adjacent ACC cluster. There, founder Claes Drougge presented projects including the design and manufacture of large unmanned aerial vehicles for customers such as Patria.

On the final day researchers and entrepreneurs met at Campus Norrköping to showcase themes including artificial intelligence, printed electronics, visualisation, image analysis and digital twin concepts. RISE spin-off Dubblett demonstrated its work, and the group visited the RISE printed electronics laboratory.

IAS Business Academy is a 24-month international growth programme that provides company-specific mentoring, expert support, study visits, pilot projects with end users and opportunities to attend international events. The selected companies are early-stage growth and scale-up businesses with market-ready solutions but limited resources for international expansion.

The cohort will next visit the Tampere urban region in mid-February 2026, and applications for the programme’s next one-year phase will reopen toward the end of 2026.