Nørdsnipe secures multi-million Vinnova funding for AI defense

STOCKHOLM. As AI-powered cyberattacks grow increasingly sophisticated, Swedish startup Nørdsnipe is stepping up. Backed by a SEK 6.8 million grant from Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, the company is spearheading the development of an intelligent decision-support system designed to predict and neutralize threats in real time. The project is a collaboration with cybersecurity firm Cparta, Cybercampus Sweden and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

The threat landscape facing modern enterprises has fundamentally shifted. AI-enhanced attacks now occur at a speed that human operators struggle to match. To meet this challenge, Nørdsnipe has been awarded funding through Vinnova's "AI for Advanced Digitalization" program.

The project, titled GRACE (Graph-Reasoning Agents and Cyber-range Evaluation), aims to develop autonomous AI agents capable of analyzing complex computing environments and simulating attacks to identify exposures before they can be exploited. By integrating this technology into the Cybercampus national training facility, the results will also bolster national cyber defense capabilities on a broad scale.

Jacob Henricson, CEO of Nørdsnipe, believes we are facing a paradigm shift in digital security.

“Receiving this endorsement from Vinnova is a testament to the strength and credibility of our vision. I am incredibly proud of the innovative drive within Nørdsnipe and the deep trust we share with our partners at Cparta and KTH. Together, we are building solutions that will set a new industry standard,” says Jacob Henricson.

The project partners also view the initiative as a decisive step in addressing the evolving threat landscape. Harri Larsson, CEO of Cparta, emphasizes the importance of continuous development.

“In today’s threat environment, organizations must practice continuously to be ready when it truly matters. At the same time, we must remain at the forefront of technological development to counter increasingly advanced adversaries,” says Harri Larsson.

From a research perspective, there is immense potential in exploring the full capacity of AI within cybersecurity.

“Autonomous agents are undeniably the future. I look forward to working with the project team to explore their strengths and weaknesses, and how they can be supported to become more effective and responsible penetration testers,” says Mathias Ekstedt, Professor at KTH.

In its decision, Vinnova highlighted the unique composition of the group, where Nørdsnipe’s innovation is combined with Cparta’s operational expertise and world-leading research from KTH and Cybercampus. This collaboration ensures that advanced research can be transformed into practical tools that help organizations keep pace with the rapid technological evolution on the attacker side.

With this new funding, Nørdsnipe is accelerating its mission to create effective digital protection built for an increasingly automated threat landscape. Project GRACE will commence shortly and is expected to make significant contributions to the use of AI in securing future digital infrastructure.