Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden

What Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden does

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden (WiDS Sweden) is a Stockholm-based non-profit organization founded in March 2018 by Galina Esther Shubina, Sahar Asadi, and Rebecka Storm. Operating under the umbrella of Stanford University's worldwide Women in Data Science initiative, the organization's stated mission is to inspire and educate data scientists in Sweden regardless of gender, and to support women working in data science, machine learning, data engineering, and AI roles. WiDS Sweden runs a portfolio of community programs rather than a traditional product: an annual technical conference (now in its 8th edition as of March 2025), a yearly mentorship program launched in 2021, a Speaker Database launched in 2022 to help event organizers across Europe find women speakers in AI/ML/data science, and recurring mini-conferences and meetups.

The organization has no proprietary technology product; its digital infrastructure consists of a WordPress-based website (wids.se), a YouTube channel for conference recordings, LinkedIn and Facebook community groups, and event registration on third-party platforms (Confetti, Airmeet, Eventbrite). Events are intentionally free for all participants to maximize accessibility. As of 2024, the network comprises over 1,700 women in data-related roles across Sweden, and the organization has expanded beyond Sweden into the broader Nordic region via the Nordic WiDS Conference series beginning in January 2024.

Revenue is generated exclusively through corporate sponsorship, with Gold and Silver tiers; named gold sponsors include King (since inception), d-fine (since 2023), and Fever. The organization is volunteer-led with approximately 5 employees (or core organizers), relying on individual practitioners from companies including King, Spotify, Google, and Handelsbanken. WiDS Sweden announced in 2025 that its WiDS work is on pause with no sponsorships available for that year, indicating a contraction in operations.

Name

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden

Legal name

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden

Website

https://wids.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden is a Stockholm-based non-profit running an annual technical conference, mentorship program, and speaker database to support women in data science, machine learning, and AI roles across Sweden and the Nordic region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Community Events

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Data, AI & Analytics (EDAAAPAD), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Data science community
• Tech conference events
• Women in technology
• Mentorship programs
• Professional networking community

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship Revenue: WiDS Sweden operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through corporate sponsorships. Sponsors support the mission and help keep events free while enabling projects like the mentorship program and speaker database. Gold, Silver sponsor tiers exist. As of 2025, the WiDS work is on pause with no sponsorships available for that year.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden is a non-profit community organization that runs the WiDS Sweden annual technical conference, a public Speaker Database of women in Data Science/AI/ML, a yearly Mentorship Program for women in the field, and a series of mini-conferences and meetups across Sweden and the Nordic region. All events are intentionally kept free for participants, and the organization is funded by corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden is a non-profit organization that operates a portfolio of community-focused programs rather than a traditional SaaS product. The core offerings include the WiDS Sweden annual conference (part of Stanford's worldwide WiDS initiative), a Speaker Database for finding women in data science/AI/ML for events, a yearly Mentorship Program, and various mini-conferences and meetups. The organization has a network of over 1.7K women in the field and expanded to include data roles beyond data science, including ML engineering, research, data analytics, data engineering, and AI roles. The portfolio connects through a shared mission to inspire, educate, and support women in data science while showcasing female role models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WiDS Sweden Conference Annual technical conference (part of the Stanford WiDS Worldwide initiative) featuring only women technologists as speakers, aimed at current and aspiring data scientists, ML engineers, data engineers, data analysts and AI experts in Sweden. Open to all genders with free admission.
• Speaker Database A publicly accessible searchable database of women speakers in Data Science, AI & ML, and Data Engineering, intended for use by event planners across Europe. Includes categories such as Data Science, Data Visualization, Data/Cloud Engineering, Machine Learning, ML packages, Programming, Software Engineering, and Scaling AI.
• WiDS Mentorship Program Yearly mentorship program that matches women in the data science and AI field with mentors, covering career advice, communication skills, technical skills, leadership skills, and self-leadership skills. Applications are handled online.
• Mini-Conferences and Meetups Various smaller events including hybrid meetups and mini-conferences held with partners such as Spotify, QuantumBlack, and Modulai, plus industry-specific events throughout the year.
• Nordic WiDS Conference Regional conference collaboration across Nordic countries, including the 1st Nordic WiDS Conference (January 2024), 2nd Nordic WiDS Conference (January 2024) and 3rd Nordic WiDS Conference (November 2024).

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered gold sponsor and core.

• d-finegold sponsorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Gold sponsor, a European consulting firm with over 1500 colleagues in seven European countries including Stockholm since early 2023. Supports the mission to enable free events and run community projects.
• WiDS Global / Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiDS Sweden is part of the worldwide Women in Data Science events under the umbrella of Stanford University. While affiliated, the content is fully local. This partnership provides global credibility and access to the WiDS brand while allowing local autonomy.
• Fevergold sponsorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold sponsor supporting WiDS Sweden events. Fever is an API-centric modular platform for energy asset management. They support the mission to keep events free and fund projects like mentorship and speaker database.
• Kinggold sponsorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold sponsor, a leading interactive entertainment company behind Candy Crush franchise. King has supported WiDS Sweden since the start of the organisation and shares the mission of hiring, retaining, and promoting diverse talent.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide: The Stanford-anchored global umbrella organization of which WiDS Sweden is a regional affiliate. Directly comparable in mission (showcasing women in data science) and product (annual technical conferences featuring women speakers).
• Women in Machine Learning (WiML): Long-running global community for women in machine learning that organizes workshops co-located with major ML conferences (NeurIPS, ICML). Highly comparable in mission and format (technical events featuring women researchers/practitioners).
• Women in Tech Sweden: Swedish-based non-profit promoting gender diversity in the broader tech sector. Comparable geography and mission focus on women in technology, with overlapping event, mentorship, and community-building programs.

Broad incumbents

• AnitaB.org: Global non-profit advancing women in computing and technology. Comparable mission around technical women, but broader scope (computing overall, not data science/AI specifically) and operates at significantly larger scale with international programs.
• Women Who Code: International non-profit supporting women in technology through local networks, events, and career resources. Comparable mission of building community for women technologists, but with broader tech scope and a much larger global footprint.
• AI4ALL: Non-profit focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in artificial intelligence through education and pipeline programs. Comparable in the AI-diversity intersection, but with a focus on education rather than professional community-building.
• Girls in Tech: Global non-profit focused on women in technology with chapters worldwide, offering events, hackathons, and career programs. Comparable mission but broader tech scope and more international footprint than WiDS Sweden.
• TechWomen: U.S. State Department-backed initiative supporting women in STEM from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East through mentorship and exchange programs. Comparable in offering women-in-tech mentorship and networking at scale, but with a different geographic focus.

Emerging players

• PyLadies: Global grassroots community of women Python developers with local chapters including in Sweden. Comparable in being a volunteer-led community focused on women in a technical domain (Python), but narrower in technology stack.
• R-Ladies: Worldwide organization promoting gender diversity in the R community through local meetups. Comparable in being a volunteer-run community promoting women in a data-science-adjacent technology, with local-chapter model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WiDS_Sweden
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvGmduO2n9a6bfWg_BamNPg/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/widsse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-in-data-science-ai-ml-sweden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Women in Data Science (AI & ML) Sweden