The Growth Pod #74 Axel Ahlström – robotics, industrial tech and the future of manufacturing in Europe
Mar 5, 2026
Axel Ahlström, industrial engineer-turned-investor and co-founder of Kvanted, specializes in industrial deep tech and robotics. He discusses starting a European deep-tech VC, robotics hype versus commercial reality, AI applications in factories, industrial capital gaps, and what signals he looks for in founders and startups.
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Hype Masks Technical Reality In Robotics
- Noise and hype (e.g., humanoid robots) obscure real technical progress; deeper technical vetting changes investment theses.
- Axel warns LinkedIn-ready demos can mislead; true progress needs scrutiny beyond flashy videos.
Industrial AI Yields Long Term ROI Not Instant Wins
- Some AI factory tools deliver outsized long-term ROI even if short-term proof points are scarce.
- Example: Samp AI builds full 3D visualizations of factories to find hidden risks and maintenance bottlenecks over time.
Start With Mission Critical Value Then Expand Horizontally
- Build mission-critical entry products that show early ROI and then expand horizontally into platform offerings.
- Kvanted looks for point solutions that prove value quickly and have a credible path to broader platform adoption in large enterprises.