Swedish companies on the Global Innovation 1000

Ericsson, Volvo Group, Autoliv, Electrolux, SKF, Saab, Assa Abloy and Husqvarna among the world’s top innovators. 

  • Several Swedish companies are among the world’s top innovators, according to the 2018 Global Innovation 1000 study. The Global Innovation 1000 study analyzes spending at the world's 1000 largest publicly listed corporate research and development spenders.

  • At the very top of the list are, not surprisingly, Amazon, with annual R&D investments of $22.6 billion and Google’s parent company Alphabet, with $16.2 billion. Apple, Intel, Microsoft are all among the top 10 as are a mix of pharma and automotive.

  • A total of 15 Swedish companies are listed: Ericsson is in a global 36th place with R&D investments of $4.63 billion, followed by Volvo Group in 80th place with $2 billion. Automotive safety group Autoliv comes in 210th place. While Ericsson and Volvo Group represent over 60 percent of the total R&D expenditures of the Swedish companies on the list—with $6.63 billion out of a total of $10.6 billion—other well known brands that make the list are Atlas Copco, Electrolux, SKF, Saab, Assa Abloy and Husqvarna.