Nordic Capital: Mid-year lessions Q&A spotlight

As we’ve reached the halfway point of 2026, we invited David Samuelson, Partner at Nordic Capital, to pause and take stock. In this Q&A, he shares the one shift in tech, AI, or customer behaviour they believe companies can’t afford to ignore – and the single practical step they recommend taking before the end of the year. It’s a quick, candid pulse–check on what’s changing now, and how to get ready for what’s coming next.

One shift Swedish–British companies should pay attention to right now?

The shift from one-size-fits-all generative AI to more disciplined deployment matched to the use-case and fintech, which is my focus area, is one of the areas where it matters most. Sweden and the UK, with Europe’s deepest capital markets and strongest fintech ecosystems, should be leading this development. Operating in a regulated market is both an advantage and a constraint. Verified and audited data is rare and valuable, but explainability requirements limit the use of generative AI in regulated decisions. The companies getting this right are using generative AI in areas such as customer support, document handling and internal productivity, while developing technologies such as deterministic machine learning for credit, fraud, and risk scoring.

One practical step before year-end?

Pick one team and start experimenting with AI properly, not as a tool roll-out but as a change exercise. The hard part of AI is not the technology itself, it is whether people will actually change how they work. Choose a function where the value is concrete, such as customer support, finance, or sales operations. Give the team time to redesign workflows around AI tools and pay attention to what gets in the way. By autumn, you will have learned more about your organisation’s capacity for change than any consultant can tell you, and you will have a template for the next team.