内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/16/have-money-will-travel-a16zs-hunt-for-the-next-european-unicorn/

内容总结：

美国知名风投机构安德森·霍洛维茨基金（a16z）近期将目光投向瑞典，其合伙人加布里埃尔·瓦斯奎兹在过去一年内九次飞赴斯德哥尔摩，积极寻找有望成为未来“独角兽”的初创企业。这一策略近日随着a16z领投瑞典人工智能牙科管理平台Dentio230万美元的预种子轮融资而浮出水面。尽管对于刚刚募集150亿美元新基金的a16z而言，这笔投资规模不大，但它清晰地表明，美国风险资本正积极在海外寻找投资机会，即便在当地尚未设立办公室。

瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩一直是a16z的重点关注区域，该机构早年投资由瑞典企业家创办的Skype曾获得丰厚回报。如今，这里持续涌现高增长初创企业，a16z正追踪其源头。瓦斯奎兹表示，团队投入大量时间深入理解特定市场，追踪创新发源地。在瑞典，他们紧密关注斯德哥尔摩经济学院创业孵化器SSE Business Lab等生态体系及其培育的公司。

Dentio正是该孵化器的成果之一。其三位联合创始人埃利亚斯·阿夫拉西亚比、安东·李和卢卡斯·肖格伦在斯德哥尔摩经济学院和皇家理工学院就读期间重聚，并带着李的牙医母亲所提出的临床工作受行政事务拖累的实际痛点，进入孵化器开始创业。他们利用大语言模型开发出首款产品——一款能生成临床记录的AI录音工具。

然而，团队清醒地认识到，AI记录工具本身可能很快成为通用产品。因此，Dentio必须向牙医证明其不可替代的价值，以防用户在未来转向其他服务商。目前，其潜在竞争对手包括去年完成5000万美元A轮融资、服务多科室的瑞典AI医疗公司Tandem Health。相比之下，Dentio专注于牙科领域，并相信通过国际扩张能达到风投期望的规模。

Dentio团队目前共七人，他们着眼于构建一套适用于全欧洲乃至全球的牙科行政事务处理系统。尽管欧洲医疗体系碎片化，但存在共性，团队认为在瑞典验证的模式有望复制到欧盟其他地区。该公司突出“瑞典制造”品牌，强调所有相关数据均在瑞典和芬兰处理，严格遵守瑞典及欧盟法律，这既是对重视数据保护的欧洲客户的承诺，也呼应了瑞典历来培育突破性公司的历史。

值得注意的是，Dentio的融资并非源于主动推销。阿夫拉西亚比表示，团队专注于产品开发，未参加任何线下活动或主动联系投资者，消息主要通过人际推荐传至美国。瓦斯奎兹透露，a16z通过将沃伊电动滑板车创始人弗雷德里克·耶尔姆、在线问诊平台Kry创始人约翰内斯·希尔德特等海外顶尖创始人发展为“侦察员”，构建全球网络，从而能像本土基金一样及早发现优质项目。

对于专注于AI应用投资的瓦斯奎兹而言，这种模式不仅限于瑞典，更是一种全球趋势——从德国的Black Forest Labs到被Meta收购的新加坡AI公司Manus，卓越的全球公司正不断在海外诞生并快速扩张。出生于萨尔瓦多的他同样关注着巴西乃至拉丁美洲的AI发展动态。他认为，AI是“伟大的平衡器”，如今大多数人通过手机即可获得博士级别的智能资源，而“硅谷本质上是一种心态”。

中文翻译：

安德森·霍洛维茨基金合伙人加布里埃尔·瓦斯奎兹近日透露，他曾在一年内九次从纽约飞往斯德哥尔摩。虽然行程中包含对Lovable等公司的拜访——他曾在该公司办公室发布动态——但更重要的目的是在大西洋彼岸寻找未来的瑞典独角兽企业。

这一切的曝光源于一则新闻：a16z领投了瑞典初创公司Dentio的230万美元预种子轮融资。该公司利用人工智能帮助牙科诊所处理行政工作。对于刚刚宣布筹集150亿美元新资金的a16z而言，这笔投资数额虽小，却印证了美国风投机构正积极在美国境外寻找投资机会，即便在当地没有设立办事处。

斯德哥尔摩是a16z的自然选择。该机构早年因投资瑞典企业家尼克拉斯·曾斯特罗姆联合创立的Skype而获得巨额回报。此后，瑞典首都涌现了大量高速增长的初创企业，这家顶级风投便追踪了其中许多企业的发源地。

瓦斯奎兹向TechCrunch表示：“我们投入大量时间深入理解特定市场，追踪创新萌芽的所在地。在瑞典，这意味着密切跟踪斯德哥尔摩经济学院创业孵化器SSE Business Lab等生态系统及其培育的企业。”

与金融科技巨头Klarna、法律AI初创公司Legora以及电动滑板车公司Voi一样，Dentio也诞生于SSE Business Lab——这个孵化器已孕育了多家成功的瑞典企业。三位高中同窗埃利亚斯·阿夫拉西亚比、安东·李和卢卡斯·舍格伦在斯德哥尔摩经济学院与皇家理工学院求学期间重逢，随后带着KTH创新启动计划的额外支持加入该孵化器。他们从身边问题入手：李的母亲是牙医，曾向他们倾诉行政工作如何挤占临床诊疗时间。

三人敏锐意识到可以运用大语言模型帮助像她这样的从业者，这个想法也获得了她及其同事的验证。由此他们开发出Dentio的首款产品——一款利用AI生成临床记录的录音工具。但阿夫拉西亚比指出，AI记录工具终将沦为大众化产品，Dentio必须向牙医证明其独特价值，以防他们在产品同质化时转向其他服务商。

潜在竞争者包括瑞典本土公司Tandem Health，该公司去年获得5000万美元A轮融资，致力于为多科室临床医生提供AI支持。相比之下，Dentio专注牙科领域，但相信通过国际扩张仍能达到风投期待的规模。

“我们现有七人团队，认为有可能构建一套适用于全欧洲乃至全球的标准化行政处理方案。”阿夫拉西亚比表示。尽管欧洲医疗体系呈现碎片化，但各国存在共性，Dentio假设在瑞典验证成功的模式也能推广至欧盟其他地区。

Dentio显著标注“瑞典制造”标识，强调“所有相关数据均依据瑞典及欧盟法律在瑞典与芬兰处理”。这既向注重隐私的欧洲客户传递数据保护承诺，也向风投机构暗示了潜力——呼应瑞典培育突破性企业的历史传统。

“我们从未参加创业聚会，也从未主动联系投资者。”阿夫拉西亚比说。当团队埋头研发时，口碑已悄然传播。“我认为主要是通过人际推荐和口口相传，消息才最终传到了美国。”

这并非偶然。瓦斯奎兹指出，a16z在全球布设网络，力求与本土基金同步发现潜力企业。“例如在瑞典，我们通过将Voi创始人弗雷德里克·耶尔姆、Kry创始人约翰内斯·希尔特等海外顶尖创业者发展为侦察伙伴，绘制出当地最优人才图谱。”

对于专注AI应用投资的瓦斯奎兹而言，这不仅是瑞典现象，更是“卓越全球企业诞生于海外并快速扩张的普遍规律”——从德国的Black Forest Labs到近期被Meta收购的新加坡AI初创公司Manus皆属此列。

这位在萨尔瓦多长大的投资人近期也频繁造访圣保罗。他曾在LinkedIn写道：“我对巴西及拉美地区AI领域的发展态势感到振奋。相信AI是伟大的平衡器——如今多数人通过手机就能获得博士级别的智能支持。归根结底，硅谷本质是一种思维模式。”

更正说明：本文因编辑错误曾称a16z投资了Lovable，特此修正。斯德哥尔摩经济学院孵化器名称也已更正。

英文来源：

Gabriel Vasquez, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, recently revealed he took nine flights from NYC to Stockholm in one year. While his visits included stops at companies like Lovable — where he posted from its office — the trips were also about finding future Swedish unicorns before they cross the Atlantic.
This all came to light when news emerged that a16z had led a $2.3 million pre-seed round into Dentio, a Swedish startup that uses AI to help dentists’ practices with admin work. While this is a small check for a firm that just announced new funds totaling $15 billion, it confirms that U.S. VCs are actively seeking deal flow outside of the U.S., even without local offices.
Stockholm is a natural stop for a16z, which previously achieved significant returns from backing Skype, cofounded by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström. Since then, a significant number of fast-growing startups have been created in the Swedish capital, and the VC heavyweight tracked down where many of them were coming from.
“We spend a lot of time developing a deep understanding of specific markets and knowing where innovation is emerging. In Sweden, that has meant closely tracking ecosystems like [SSE Business Lab] — the startup incubator of the Stockholm School of Economics — and the companies coming out of it,” Vasquez told TechCrunch.
Like fintech giant Klarna, legal AI startup Legora, and e-scooter company Voi, Dentio is an alum of SSE Business Lab — a startup incubator that has produced several successful Swedish companies. The three former high school classmates Elias Afrasiabi, Anton Li and Lukas Sjögren joined the incubator after reconnecting as students at both the SSE (Stockholm School of Economics) and KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), then joined the incubator with additional backing from KTH’s Innovation Launch program. They tackled a problem close to home: Li’s mom, a dentist, had told them how admin work detracted from clinical care.
The trio intuited that they could leverage LLMs to help people like her — an idea that they also validated with her and her colleagues. This led them to Dentio’s initial product, a recording tool that uses AI to generate clinical notes. But it’s only a matter of time before AI scribes become a commodity product, and Dentio needs to prove its value to dentists so they aren’t tempted to switch providers when that happens, Afrasiabi said.
Potential competitors include fellow Swedish startup Tandem Health, which raised a $50 million Series A round last year to support clinicians with AI across multiple medical specialties. Dentio, by contrast, focuses exclusively on dentists, but it believes it can still reach the scale VCs expect through international expansion
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“Now we’re a team of seven people, and we think that it’s possible to build a unified way of handling administration all over Europe, and maybe even all over the world,” Afrasiabi said. While Europe’s healthcare systems are fragmented, they share similarities, and Dentio’s assumption is that what works in Sweden could work elsewhere in the EU.
Dentio prominently features its “Made in Sweden” branding and emphasizes that “all relevant data is processed in Sweden and Finland in compliance with Swedish and EU law.” It signals data protection to privacy-conscious European customers. But it also signals potential to VCs — a callback to Sweden’s history of producing breakout companies.
“We went to zero meetups. I reached out to zero investors,” Afrasiabi said. While the team was heads down building, the word spread out. “I think it was mostly through referrals and people talking to each other that the news got all the way over to the U.S.,” he said.
This wasn’t happenstance: a16z has eyes around the world in order to spot these companies as early as local funds might, Vasquez said. “In Sweden for example, we partnered with top founders abroad like Fredrik Hjelm, founder of Voi, and Johannes Schildt, founder of Kry, by turning them into scouts and mapping the best local talent.”
For Vasquez, who focuses on AI application investments for a16z, this isn’t just about Sweden, but about “a pattern of great global companies being born abroad and scaling quickly,” from Black Forest Labs in Germany to Manus, the Singapore-based AI startup recently acquired by Meta.
Born and raised in El Salvador, he has also been spending time in São Paulo. “I’m really excited about what’s brewing in Brazil and across Latin America in AI,” he wrote on LinkedIn at the time. “I believe AI is the great equalizer,” he added. “Most people now have access to PhD-level intelligence on a phone, and ultimately, Silicon Valley is a state of mind.”
Corrections: This story originally stated that a16z is an investor in Lovable owing to an editing error. The name of SSE’s incubator has also been corrected.