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Local Sweden
2 days ago
- Business
- Local Sweden
Podcast pioneer to drone destroyer: Swedish founder's defence start-up
Karl Rosander is best known as co-founder of the world's largest independent podcast hosting company, Acast. But in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has entirely reinvented himself, co-founding the drone interceptor start-up Nordic Air Defence. Advertisement Karl Rosander takes a break from his lunch to show off the Kreuger 100 interceptor on the conference table in front of him. "It's actually here," he declares, picking up a model a little larger than a Toblerone bar or a cardboard tube for kitchen roll. "This is a prototype. It's not larger than this. This is the actual size." The interceptor is "unjammable", he says, "because today, drones can be autonomous, which means they don't have any range of signal between the drone and the operator." The company, he says, has developed "a special technology we're pretty secret about", with two patents pending. "What we do is that we take away expensive hardware and replace it with software and clever aerodynamics. That means we bring down the costs a lot and we can mass produce it." Advertisement The Kreuger 100 uses an innovative method to control and propel itself. Photo: Nordic Air Defence When I ask, however, if Nordic Air Defence, the company of which he is CEO, has produced a working prototype capable of flying at the speeds required to take down an Iranian Shahed drone, he avoids the question. "I always start a company by building hype around it. Nice design. You build hype, you have a couple of angles for the press. And what that means you will be attractive to capital but also to talented people that want to work with you." "What we're doing now it's we are getting production ready, and we're not there yet, but we are moving really fast, much faster than the old legacy industry that builds a very expensive, huge systems that take ten years to develop." Advertisement Karl Rosander is the co-founder of Acast. Photo: Malin Hoelstad/SvD/TT Rosander is one of Sweden's most prolific tech entrepreneurs. He co-founded the podcast platform Acast in 2013, leaving the board five years later. He then co-founded the media micropayments platform Sesamy. The idea for Nordic Air Defence was brought to him in late 2023 in his role as an angel investor. Three people, one of whom was "a very technically skilled person", presented to him with a plan to use "software and clever aerodynamics" to make a cheap drone interceptor. "I said 'okay, is this going to work for real? Because if it does, it's going to be huge success, and we need it fast to meet the threat'." Advertisement They hired a physicist involved in defence research, who used "advanced simulation software" to check that the idea would work, and when they concluded that it would, he decided to go all in. "In the third meeting with investors, it suddenly came to me. 'I've spent the last 27 years learning how to be an entrepreneur just to do this project'. So I told them in the meeting, 'I'm going to be the CEO'. Since then I've been working day and night." For him, there is no essential difference between launching a media software platform like Acast or Sesamy, and developing military hardware. "An industry that's about to change. That's my sweet spot," he says. "It doesn't matter what area it actually is - it's fun to work with defense and also with tech, because you can scale a lot. When I started with the company 15 to 16 months ago, you could see that this is an industry that has to change rapidly." Rosander is not the only tech investor looking at defence. Daniel Ek, the Spotify founder, has become a major investor in the German drone company Helsing. He argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has transformed the perception of the defence industry. "Before that happened, as an entrepreneur in tech, or any kind of entrepreneur, it was not nice, it was ugly. It was sort of better to work with gambling," he says. "Now I get a hug when I tell people I'm working in defense. So it's an industry about to change. That's why I'm here." The fundamental idea behind Nordic Air Defence is simple. A single Patriot missile costs $4 million, and even the cheapest air defence missiles cost $200,000, Rosander explains. This makes stopping drone attacks prohibitively expensive. In Ukraine, Russia now brings drones to their targets at very high altitudes so that they cannot be shot down by machine guns, which are much cheaper, and then makes them dive. If someone can develop a drone interceptor that can take out a swarm of drones at a low cost, it would be a game changer, particularly if it could be easily manufactured in Europe. Whether Nordic Air Defence can achieve this feat is another question. On their website, the company displays an image of a box containing nine interceptors. Rosander is vague, however, when asked exactly what hardware his company is able to replace with software, or on how the revolutionary electrically driven "pulsed air" propulsion system will work. "We are taking away a lot of controlling mechanisms, like servos, things that are expensive. On an aeroplane, you have a lot of flaps and systems. You have to do tests, tests, tests. And we take away that. We have this innovation in our way to control this little vehicle. No one has done this before." Perhaps this is because he is the CEO and frontman rather than the technical leader. But he is still confident that his company can execute its vision faster than established defence giants like Saab, Lockheed-Martin, or BAE Systems. "Those big companies have great innovation, but they are slower than we are. Until a year ago, the procurement agencies were buying systems on a ten-year scheme. So they've already bought what's going to be delivered. "But now everything has changed, because we need new stuff. And those large companies, they want to partner up with the companies like us. Sometimes they buy companies like us." Advertisement Rosander's colleague, Jens Holzapfel, who previously worked on security for the Swedish public sector, chips in to add that the Swedish Armed Forces are belatedly realising the strategic significance of drones. "We're in the middle of that reform at the moment. Before the second Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish army and many other European armies considered drones to be something very exclusive. You had low numbers. They were reusable. You used them for reconnaissance rather than for strikes. You basically thought of drones as unmanned aircraft. You didn't look at drones as ammunition, which we're seeing in Ukraine today." Even so, his says, it will still take several years before the Swedish Armed Forces start to approach the drone capability of the Ukrainians. "They have innovated out of necessity, fighting for their lives. We have the luxury of not having to do that yet." So, back to the question of what current prototypes of the Kreuger 100 can actually do. Nordic Air Defence is not yet allowing journalists to visit its research and prototyping unit. "But do you have something that can actually fly?" I ask. "We can fly," he responds. "Yes. We can say that."
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
The New Zealand Podcast Awards Return For 2025 - Acast Named Headline Partner
The New Zealand Podcast Awards, supported by Acast, are back for 2025, celebrating the country's thriving podcasting community and recognising the creators and voices shaping the audio landscape in Aotearoa. Going into our 5th edition and building on the success of 2024, which reached over 1.2 million Kiwis, this year's awards promise to be bigger, better and offer more exposure, prizes and engagement than ever before. We are proud to announce Acast – the world's largest independent podcast company – as the Headline Partner for the 2025 awards. With a marketplace spanning more than 140,000 podcasts globally, Acast creates the technology that connects podcast creators, advertisers and listeners. Acast will also sponsor three cornerstone categories: Podcast of the Year, Listener's Choice and Best Māori and Pasifika Podcast or Host, reaffirming their commitment to spotlighting diverse and exceptional talent across Aotearoa. 'We're excited to be supporting the New Zealand Podcast Awards in 2025,' said Ryan Lamont, Senior Content Manager at Acast ANZ. 'There's so much talent in Aotearoa's ever-growing podcasting scene and we're keen to continue championing the creators, stories and great mahi of Kiwis all across the motu.' Gold winners of each Acast category will be awarded 500,000 advertising impressions to promote their show across Acast's podcast network in New Zealand Also joining the awards as Supporting Partner is Podlab Studio, Auckland's premier podcast production studio and content creation house. As proud supporters of New Zealand's vibrant podcasting community, PodLab have sponsored three key categories at this year's NZ Podcast Awards: Best New Podcast, Best Business Podcast, and Best Branded Podcast. Each PodLab category winner will receive a complimentary recording session at PodLab, with every other category winner receiving 50% off a recording session 'Podcasting in New Zealand is going from strength to strength, and what we see each week in our PodLab studios makes us feel very excited and confident about the future of the industry,' said a PodLab spokesperson. 'Getting behind the NZ Podcast Awards was a no-brainer for us at PodLab. We're stoked to be part of something that shines a light on the magic Kiwi podcasters are making.' - Jay-Jay Feeney, Co - Owner & Founder of PodLab Key Dates for NZ Podcast Awards 2025: 18 June – Register Your Interest on our website 3 September – Entries Officially Open for Submission 15 October – Entries Officially Close 16 October – Listener's Choice Voting Opens 14 November – Listener's Choice Voting Closes 20 November – Winners Announced Want to get involved? We're looking for category sponsors, partners, judges, collaborators and champions. Drop us a line at team@ to join the NZPA movement. About the NZ Podcast Awards The NZ Podcast Awards honour excellence in podcasting from across Aotearoa, celebrating creative talent, originality, and the power of audio to inform, inspire, and entertain. For more information, visit or follow us @NZPodcastAwards on social media. About Acast Since 2014, Acast has been building the world's most valuable podcast marketplace, creating the technology that connects podcast creators, advertisers and listeners. Its marketplace spans more than 140,000 podcasts, 3,300 advertisers and one billion quarterly listens. Crucially, those listens are monetised wherever they happen – across any podcast app or listening platform. The company operates worldwide, with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Acast is listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (
The Verge
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Marc Maron's WTF podcast is coming to an end this fall.
The show that launched in 2009 is c losing up shop, as a three-year distribution deal with Acast seems ready to wrap up. 'Comedian interviewing everyone' podcasts are everywhere now, but WTF was an early and very popular version, with Squarespace paying $100k to be the sole advertiser on the Barack Obama episode in 2015 without knowing he was the guest.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marc Maron's ‘WTF' podcast to end after 16 years: ‘We're burnt out'
WTF with Marc Maron, one of the most popular podcasts in the world, is ending after 16 years. The show, hosted by comedian Marc Maron, launched in 2009 and has been downloaded more than one billion times and has recorded more than 1,600 episodes. In the latest episode released on Tuesday (2 June), which features a conversation with comedian John Mulaney, Maron said: 'Sixteen years we've been doing this, and we've decided that we had a great run. Now, basically, it's time, folks. It's time. WTF is coming to an end. It's our decision.' The 61-year-old added: 'It really comes down to the fact that we've put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost sixteen years and we're tired. We're burnt out. And we are utterly satisfied with the work we've done. We've done great work. 'This doesn't mean I'm never going to do something like this again. Doesn't mean I'll never have talks like I do here or some kind of podcast at some point in time. But for now, we're just wrapping things up. It's okay. It's okay to end things. It's okay to try to start some other chapter in your life.' He continued: 'It's nice to be able to end things on our terms. We've always had that power to do that and that's what we're going to do. We started the show on our terms, we grew it on our terms, and we'll end it on our terms. 'Look, we've had great partners who have helped us do the show over the years. Acast has been our partner for the past three years and we've been able to do things on our terms with them. We always had that and it's always been the way we've done it and that's been great. We've been very fortunate to be able to do things the way we want to do them and now this is part of it. Ending it the way we want it to end.' Maron confirmed that the final episode is expected to be released later in autumn 2015. WTF primarily began as a podcast about comedians talking about the highs and lows of their careers but soon evolved to include actors, directors, musicians, politicians and activists. His notable guests have included Paul McCartney, Jerry Seinfeld, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorne Michaels and Barack Obama, the latter of which gained widespread attention after the former president used the N-word. Other newsworthy moments on the podcast have included comedian Todd Glass coming out as gay, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticising the 'backward' depiction of the Seven Dwarfs in the recent Snow White film and Kevin Smith describing his acrimonious relationship with Bruce Willis which sparked a public feud between the pair. In 2022, Maron's 2010 interview with Robin Williams, where the actor discussed contemplating suicide was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Maron is set to continue working in the world of comedy and acting which includes an upcoming HBO stand-up special and roles in the Bruce Springsteen biopic DeliverMeFromNowhere and Owen Wilson's golf comedy series Stick.
