What KK-stiftelsen does

KK-stiftelsen (The Knowledge Foundation) is an independent Swedish nonprofit foundation established in 1994 by the Swedish government and headquartered at Kungsträdgårdsgatan 18 in Stockholm. It funds research and competence development at a statutorily defined target group of 22 Swedish university colleges and newer universities when those activities are conducted in close co-production with the business sector. The foundation operates from endowment capital and disburses grants through an annual cyclical funding program covering Research Projects, Research Profiles (up to 40 million SEK over 8 years), Industrial Graduate Schools, Synergy Projects, Associate Senior Lectureships, Early Academic Career, Competence Enhancement, Education for Working Professionals, and KK Environments.

Application intake and project reporting run through the SBS Manager portal provided by digiPlant AB, with Swedish/English support and BankID authentication. CEO Eva Schelin leads an 11-50 employee organization supported by program managers (Programansvarig) for each funding line. All funded projects require industry co-financing ranging from 10% to 100% depending on program, with a 30-year cumulative track record of 12.9 billion SEK disbursed across 3,599 projects. Named industry partners include Ericsson Research, Toyota Material Handling, and BioGaia. The foundation is governed by a board that adopted a new organizational strategy in autumn 2024, and funds special initiatives in areas including AI reskilling (PRAISE, 2026), carbon-neutral production (Mission 0 House), battery production competence, and total-defense education (Campus totalförsvar).

Name

KK-stiftelsen

Legal name

The Knowledge Foundation

Website

https://kks.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KK-stiftelsen (The Knowledge Foundation) is a Swedish nonprofit foundation established in 1994 that funds research and competence development at 22 Swedish university colleges and newer universities when conducted in co-production with the business sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Research funding programs
• Higher education grants
• Academic industry collaboration
• Competence development funding
• University research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Capital Endowment: KK-stiftelsen operates from its endowment capital, distributing grants for research and competence development. The foundation manages its capital to generate returns that fund ongoing grant-making activities. Funding is distributed through various programs including research projects, research profiles, industrial graduate schools, and education programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KK-stiftelsen is a Swedish nonprofit foundation that finances research and competence development at Sweden's university colleges and newer universities when conducted in collaboration with the business sector. The foundation has disbursed approximately 12.9 billion SEK since 1994, with 584 million SEK granted in 2024, funding collaborative research and competence-building projects between academia and industry.

Product overview

KK-stiftelsen (The Knowledge Foundation) is a Swedish foundation that funds research and competence development at Sweden's university colleges and newer universities when conducted in collaboration with the business sector. The organization operates a portfolio of funding programmes including: Forskningsprojekt (Research Projects), Tidig akademisk karriär (Early Academic Career), Utbildning på avancerad nivå (Second Cycle Education), Biträdande lektorat (Associate Senior Lectureships), Kompetensförstärkning (Capacity Building), Forskningsprofiler (Research Profiles), Företagsforskarskolor (Industrial Graduate Schools), Synergiprojekt (Synergy Projects), Utbildning för yrkesverksamma (Education for Working Professionals), and KK-miljöer (KK Environments). Applications and reporting are managed through the SBS Manager platform by digiPlant AB.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research and competence development grant programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 584 million SEK awarded to 107 projects in 2024 alone
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, special and minor.

• Mission 0 HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaborative initiative between multiple major companies and universities to develop solutions for production processes with zero climate-impacting emissions. Part of KK-stiftelsen's special initiatives funded in 2024.
• Campus totalförsvarspecialStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Education initiative supported by KK-stiftelsen as part of special funding in 2024. Focus on total defense-related education and competence development.
• WASP (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Sweden's largest individual research program for strengthening strategically motivated basic research for Swedish industry. Johan Eker serves as chairman of advisory group. Involves collaboration between academia and industry on AI and autonomous systems.
• Internet of Things and People (IoTAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch centre at Malmö University co-funded by KK-stiftelsen. Johan Eker serves as chairman of the advisory group. Focus on IoT research in collaboration with industry.
• Center for Applied Intelligent Systems Research (CAISR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI research and education centre at Halmstad University funded by the university with Knowledge Foundation support and industry partners. Collaborates with companies on applied AI and machine learning research.
• Örebro University - Food and Health Research ProfilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term research profile supported by KK-stiftelsen since 2011. Interdisciplinary research on diet, gut, and brain interactions with collaboration from healthcare sector and business sector.
• Mälardalens universitet - Battery ProductionspecialStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial initiative to build competence in battery production, an area of strategic importance for Sweden's green transition. Supported by KK-stiftelsen through special funding.
• DORA (Declaration on Research Assessment)minorOthersInternational declaration that KK-stiftelsen has signed, committing to responsible research assessment practices.
• CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment)minorOthersInternational coalition that KK-stiftelsen has signed, committing to advancing research assessment reform.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• FORMAS: Swedish government research council for sustainable development and environment; comparable as a Swedish public-sector research funding body, though with a thematic rather than institutional focus.
• VINNOVA: Sweden's innovation agency funding research and innovation with a broader national mandate across all universities and companies; comparable as a Swedish public grantmaking body for research, though VINNOVA's scope extends beyond newer universities.
• Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council): Sweden's principal government research funding agency across all disciplines and institutions; comparable as a Swedish grantmaking foundation funding academic research, but with a broader university mandate than KK-stiftelsen's restriction to newer universities.

Regional players

• Innovation Fund Denmark: Denmark's national research and innovation funding body; comparable as a Nordic public-sector grantmaking foundation funding university-industry collaboration, but serving Denmark rather than Sweden.
• NWO (Dutch Research Council): Netherlands' national research funding organization; comparable as a European national grantmaking body funding academic research and talent development, but serving the Netherlands rather than Sweden.

Direct peers

• Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF): Swedish research funding foundation supporting strategic research at Swedish universities with industry collaboration; comparable as a grantmaking foundation funding long-term research profiles and industrial doctoral programs.
• Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation: Major Swedish private research funding foundation supporting basic research at Swedish universities; directly comparable as a large Swedish grantmaking foundation funding long-term university research profiles and STEM research.
• Riksbankens Jubileumsfond: Swedish research foundation funding humanities and social science research; comparable as a Swedish grantmaking foundation distributing funds from endowment returns to academic research, though focused on different disciplines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/stiftelsen_kk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KK-stiftelsen