A brief history of ÅKP: It has been a hundred since the year 2000.
Jan 20, 2026
One of the characteristics of ÅKP is that we never stand still, but are always in development.
Our story began just before the turn of the millennium, with the official establishment of the company in 2000. We were then called Ålesund Knowledge Park, and initially, we focused particularly on consulting for startup companies. In the years that followed, the establishment of both a maritime and a marine cluster took place. Networking, knowledge sharing, and skill enhancement are the main focuses here.
ÅKP gained an increasingly stronger engagement with larger and more established companies after just a few years. The focus was, as it is today, on strategy and business development. The goal is always to accelerate healthy growth and, if it is right for our customers, international success.
We are passionate about creating innovation and jobs.
One of the characteristics of ÅKP is that we never stand still, but are always in development.
A few years before 2020, we got Digicat, now Norsk Katapult Digital, under our umbrella. Mafoss (Maritime Association for Southern Sunnmøre) joined a little later. We have increasingly had an international focus and have facilitated for our customers to participate in EU projects that provide new knowledge and new markets for them. At the same time, we continue to develop infrastructure for innovation. As recently as 2025, Digismia, Norway's entire digital workshop, was established. In recent years, we have also involved ourselves in possible maritime deliveries to the defense sector. ÅKP always understands and follows societal developments, including here.
Our primary competitive advantage lies in the expertise our employees possess. We have strong ties to universities and other educational institutions. The knowledge and experience we convey, and together hold, is unique. We are called one of Norway's most complete innovation companies, which is not without reason.
ÅKP offers services that are fully commercial, but also a close collaboration with public entities such as Innovation Norway, Siva, county municipalities, and local municipalities allows us to offer services at reduced prices in many cases. The same is true for a strong partnership with private actors, primarily banks.
Fortunately, many good forces want to better equip businesses for the challenges of the future. We are a small, but for many companies, an important piece in this journey.
