a16z Scouts Europe for Next Unicorn, Invests in Swedish Startup Dentio

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz looks beyond Silicon Valley to find promising AI-powered startups in Europe.

Published on Feb. 17, 2026

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Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has been actively scouting for the next European unicorn startup. The firm recently led a $2.3 million pre-seed round into Dentio, a Swedish startup that uses AI to help dentists' practices with administrative work. This investment confirms that U.S. VCs are seeking deal flow outside of the U.S., even without local offices. a16z partner Gabriel Vasquez revealed he took nine flights from New York City to Stockholm in one year to track promising startups, including those coming out of the SSE Labs incubator at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Why it matters

This investment highlights the growing interest of U.S. venture capital firms in finding and backing promising startups outside of Silicon Valley, particularly in Europe. As innovation hubs emerge globally, firms like a16z are looking to identify and support the next generation of high-growth companies, even if they are based thousands of miles away from the traditional tech epicenter.

The details

Dentio, founded by three former high school classmates, is an alum of the SSE Labs incubator in Stockholm. The startup uses AI to help dentists' practices with administrative tasks, freeing up clinicians to focus on patient care. While Europe's healthcare systems are fragmented, Dentio believes its model can scale across the continent and potentially worldwide. The startup prominently features its 'Made in Sweden' branding to signal data privacy and compliance with European regulations, as well as to tap into Sweden's reputation for producing successful tech companies.

  • a16z partner Gabriel Vasquez took nine flights from New York City to Stockholm in one year to scout for promising startups.
  • Dentio received a $2.3 million pre-seed round led by a16z in 2026.

The players

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

A prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has been actively searching for the next European unicorn startup.

Gabriel Vasquez

A partner at Andreessen Horowitz who has been traveling to Stockholm to scout for promising startups, including those coming out of the SSE Labs incubator.

Dentio

A Swedish startup that uses AI to help dentists' practices with administrative work, founded by three former high school classmates.

Elias Afrasiabi, Anton Li, and Lukas Sjögren

The three co-founders of Dentio, who met as students at the Stockholm School of Economics and the Royal Institute of Technology.

SSE Labs

A startup incubator at the Stockholm School of Economics that has produced several successful Swedish companies, including Dentio.

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What they’re saying

“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 Labs — the startup incubator of the Stockholm School of Economics — and the companies coming out of it.”

— Gabriel Vasquez, Partner, Andreessen Horowitz (TechCrunch)

“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.”

— Elias Afrasiabi, Co-founder, Dentio (TechCrunch)

What’s next

Dentio plans to expand its AI-powered administrative tools for dentists' practices across Europe and potentially globally.

The takeaway

This investment by a prominent U.S. venture capital firm in a Swedish startup highlights the growing global nature of the tech industry, as innovation hubs emerge outside of Silicon Valley. It also underscores the value that mission-driven, community-focused startups can offer, even in traditionally fragmented sectors like healthcare.