"With AI, we can help ensure that every tax dollar is used as efficiently as possible"

A new report from IT&Telekomföretagen shows that the tech industry has established itself as a new base for the Swedish economy. The tech industry encompasses a wide range of different types of companies. In the report, four of our member companies are interviewed to talk about how they contribute to the development of society, what major changes we will see in their areas in the coming years and what Sweden needs to do to get more global tech companies.

Here is the interview with Hannes Dernehl, CEO of Tendium

Tech is a new basic industry that contributes to the development of a large number of areas in society. How does Tendium contribute?
Every year, municipalities and regions procure hundreds of billions of euros worth of goods and services, but our current procurement system is dysfunctional and leads to insufficient value for money. Complicated rules and uncertainties prevent many small businesses from participating in procurements and inefficiencies affect both Swedish competitiveness and innovation. Tendium is working to develop solutions to improve and streamline public procurement with the help of AI. We help companies that want to participate in procurement, and we also see great potential in using AI to help municipalities, regions and buyers ensure that every tax dollar is used as efficiently as possible.

What is the biggest change we will see in your field in the next 5-10 years?
I think we will see an increased use of data throughout society in the future, including in the public sector. Data as a digital commodity will also be available in a completely different way. In the field of procurement alone, increased use of AI to analyze large amounts of procurement data can contribute knowledge that in turn makes the public sector better at setting requirements. For example, an analysis of the impact of different requirements can provide important knowledge about whether local businesses are able to participate in a procurement at all, or whether the requirements exclude small businesses, for example.

What does Sweden need to do to attract more global tech companies?
In general, there is a low tolerance for failure in Sweden, which makes it difficult for smaller companies and entrepreneurs to find funding and grow here. Many grants have clear requirements on turnover or company composition that make it difficult to apply for funding if you are also spending large sums on development. If we do not find a better way to secure funding for small businesses, the risk is that too many will be bought up long before they have even had time to start their journey in earnest.