Skip to main content
To KTH's start page

KTH Innovation Brighter Program

About the program

Join KTH Innovation in one of the world's leading innovation hubs! Learn about international business culture, build your network and get inspired.

The Brighter program gives you the knowledge and network you need when it's time to enter a new market, now or in five years.

Do you want to launch your startup on the global market in the future? Do you want to get inspired and learn from experts in some of the world's leading innovation ecosystems? Then you should apply to the Brighter program!

Good to know

The program includes: Preparatory workshops, followed by a one-week program in Paris in week 50.

Cost: The program is free of charge. KTH Innovation pays for accommodation for two members from each team. You pay for your own flight tickets. Everyone admitted to the program gets the opportunity to apply for a travel grant within KTH Innovation's collaboration with the Grosshandelssocieteten foundation within Stockholm's Borgerskap.

Application criteria: KTH students, researchers or employees with early-stage start-up or research commercialization projects and the ambition to build a company that could scale internationally are welcome to apply. Application is also open to students and employees at universities cooperating with KTH within the Innovation Offices structure, and within Sustainable Energy Action (SEA). 

After the program: After the program, you will have learned more about what it takes to launch on a global market. You will have grown your network, and developed your pitch and communication.

Destination 2024

Paris

For the first time, KTH Innovation and the Brighter program goes to France with startups within digital deeptech and new materials. In recent years, France has invested heavily in innovation and startups, especially in the deeptech area. Paris, with its many innovation hubs, national and regional initiatives, strong universities and world-class research, will host this year's Brighter program. The programme includes workshops on local business culture, networking, visits to selected organizations in the ecosystem, as well as pitching and networking opportunities with local founders and investors.

Travel scholarships

Everyone admitted to the program gets the opportunity to apply for a travel grant thanks to KTH Innovation's collaboration with the Grosshandelssocieteten foundation within Stockholm's Borgerskap.

Brighter program participants

Group image in front of NASA logo

Many successful startups have taken their first steps on the global market in the Brighter program. Through meetings with local experts, investors, and contact with a new ecosystem, they have gained inspiration and motivation to take their ideas to the next level.

In the picture: Visit to NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

The teams in the 2023 Brighter program

Meet the alumni of the Brighter Program

Josefin Larsson

Reselo

“We got great exposure to all levels of the ecosystem in Boulder, and we gained an incredibly generous network. It was important for us to see the many available roads to success and something we still use as inspiration. Applying the American perspective our business was an excellent way for us to learn and to grow!”

- Josefin Larsson, CPO and Co-founder of Reselo . Joined the program in Boulder in 2022. 

Sara Nozkova

Flox Robotics

"The Brighter program was instrumental in guiding us through the complexities of entering the U.S.market. It provided us with the insights needed to develop a realistic strategy and timeline. The practical knowledge and networking opportunities we gained have been invaluable. Now, only 6 months after the program, we have secured our first customer contracts, established a U.S. office, and are actively expanding into the U.S. market"

- Sara Nozkova, CEO and Co-founder of Flox Robotics . Participated in the KTH Innovation Brighter program in Silicon Valley 2023. Opened their first US office in 2024. 

Alvaro Morales Lopez

Akira Science

"Visiting Silicon Valley and its world-renowned research institutions was a dream come true. The program was designed to guided us through every step necessary for a successful transition to the US market. For Akira Science, this experience reaffirmed the uniqueness of our innovation. We received highly positive feedback from the entrepreneurial and investment communities. We are now seriously considering entering the US market, leveraging the invaluable network and insights gained from this program."

- Álvaro Morales López, CEO and co-founder of Akira Science . Participated in the 2023 program in Silicon Valley. In 2023, Akira Science won the New Nordics Pitch Competition Grand Final Winners by Silicon Vikings. 

Mikael Törnwall

Dialog Therapy

"The Brighter program was great - both valuable and fun. We learned about the requirements for international expansion, how others have done it, and what resources are available that might be helpful in that process. We got to meet some of the world’s leading researchers in the domain we operate. The trip opened up new perceptions of what is possible."

- Mikael Törnwall, Co-Founder of Dialog Therapy . Participated in the Brighter program in London, 2022. 

Portrait of Tanmoy Bari

Greenely

"We got incredibly useful information from the external meetings. For me personally, it was important and interesting to be able to spend time with other talented entrepreneurs and to open my eyes to an international perspective, but also to feel the atmosphere and experience the entire startup environment over there."

- Tanmoy Bari, founder of Greenely . Greenely joined the program in Silicon Valley in 2014. It is now one of Sweden's fastest-growing energy companies. 

Portrait of Dora Palfi

ImagiLabs

"We loved visiting organizations around the city, meeting with founders, and having conversations with the others in the program. We tend to get stuck in our own problems, so it was great to hear what the others were struggling with, doing well or are doing better than us. It was a great boost for our personal motivation!"

- Dora Palfi, founder of ImagiLabs . Participated in the Brighter program in 2018. Their app has been highlighted in Apple's keynotes and has been installed by 150k+ coders in 99 countries.

Portrait of Karoly Szipka

iPercept

"The Brighter program helped us understand what it takes to enter the German market so that we could set a realistic timeline and strategy. We also learned several practical aspects, which together with the network we got helped us get to where we are today when we have our first customers in Germany."

- Károly Szipka, KTH researcher and founder of IPercept . Participated in the Brighter Program in Munich 2019. Today, their solution is used by the leading industrial companies in Sweden and Europe.