SMAU Stockholm 2026 | Interview with Jernej Dekleva, Sony Acceleration Platform Europe

At SMAU Stockholm 2026 we interviewed Jernej Dekleva, Innovation Manager, Sony Acceleration Platform Europe. We asked him to tell as more about Sony Acceleration Platform and their startups collaboration model: "Sony Acceleration Platform is essentially an open innovation platform from Sony. We are based in Sweden and also in Tokyo, Japan. So what we do is twofold. One is we help internal Sony units commercialize their ideas, their IP, and trademarks, bringing them to market. And then the second part is we help Sony and Sony customers from Japan come to Europe to expand their market share, starting with the Nordics and the rest of Europe. So we work with a lot of startups, in particular Japanese startups coming to Europe. So there is, of course, a big difference in terms of timelines and expectations, so we make sure that we talk to them beforehand and that they understand what we offer. But essentially, it’s a pleasure working with founders and startups, because they can move really fast. Sony can help them, and we value bringing them to Europe as well. I think the best way for a startup to work with a corporate like Sony is to really understand the technology and the space they are in, but also how they can add value for a corporate such as Sony. This is such a big business, and Sony does many things, but essentially it is very valuable to really understand where in the distribution chain or value chain you actually add value, and where you can create a win-win situation for all parties".