This chapter is based on previously classified archives and explores the role of business in the development of Swedish economic intelligence during the Cold War. It covers the embryonic organisational development within the Defence Staff during World War II and the subsequent reorganisations up to the formation of the East Economic Bureau (ÖEB) in 1959. The study shows that a common denominator for many business representatives and academic staff involved in the investigatory work was previous employment or training at the Industrial Research Institute (IUI). Two later eminent professors, Torsten Gårdlund and Erik Dahmén, were part of the early investigatory activities when the Swedish Employers’ Federation (SAF) supplied the financial support. During the early 1950s, the focus shifted from investigations of war economies towards macroeconomic information on the emerging planned economies. Under the leadership of the lawyer Jan Rydström, previously affiliated with several business interest organisations, the aspiration was for a broader investigatory agency. Consequently, discussions and negotiations were initiated with several interested parties, paving the way for the establishment of a formal yet secret economic intelligence organisation in 1959. In contrast to its precursors, the ÖEB became more independent from the Defence Staff, while it comprised a broad network of representatives from the defence organisation, government, export businesses, banks, and experts within the scholarly community.