A previous bubble in tech

It was jokingly said that “For all these companies budgets to add up, every Swede would need a website worth 2 million kronor.”

During the late 90s dot-com bubble, Sweden had its own tech superstars. Jonas Birgersson became known as “Broadband Jesus” for his vision of universal internet access through his company Framfab. Johan Staël von Holstein built Icon Medialab into a global player before the crash, while Ernst Malmsten and Kajsa Leander’s Boo.com famously burned through massive venture capital in just 18 months before collapsing. Boo.com epitomized being too early - their Flash-heavy website required significant bandwidth that most users simply didn’t have at the time.

What these companies share with today’s AI boom is striking: outsized hype about profitability and technology prioritized over utility. These entrepreneurs were creative people riding a wave of genuine possibility.