Finland’s startup scene is seeing a noticeable shift towards deep tech industries. With an estimated 3,678 businesses and 11 unicorns, the ecosystem exemplifies a combination of global competitiveness and entrepreneurial vitality.
The Finnish startup ecosystem is deliberately placing itself in developing industries like alternative packaging, quantum computing, and recycling technologies, whereas before, well-known corporations like Nokia and gaming businesses dominated the scene. Finland has transformed into a vibrant innovation center for top startups because of the backing of hard tech-focused investors and a solid academic base.
The Finnish government has implemented several initiatives to support startups and foster innovation. Various public funding and grant programs are available to startups in Finland. These include grants from Business Finland (formerly Tekes), which supports research, development, and innovation activities. Finland offers a unique "startup permit" that allows non-EU startup entrepreneurs to establish and operate their businesses in Finland. This initiative aims to attract international talent and encourage entrepreneurship. Let’s take a look at the top 15 startups in Finland to watch out for in 2024.
1. Aircohol
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Helsinki, Uusimaa
Size: 2-10
Founders: Simo Hämäläinen
Aircohol, a Helsinki-based startup, allows breweries and distilleries to produce the most environmentally friendly beverages. Aircohol attempts to decarbonize the alcohol business by producing drinks using carbon dioxide emitted during alcohol fermentation. The outcome is a crop-free liqueur with almost 50% less carbon footprint.
Aircohol offers a unique consumption method that caters to health-conscious consumers and those looking to enjoy alcoholic beverages in a novel way. The company raised €2.4 million in 2022 and is committed to influencing a more sustainable and ecologically responsible future in the industry.
2. Carbonaide
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Scandinavia
Size: 2-10
Founders: Tapio Vehmas and Jonne Hirvonen
Carbonaide is a Finnish startup that aims to transform the billion-dollar concrete manufacturing sector by making it carbon-negative. Carbonaide uses unique technology to trap more CO2 than building materials like concrete do during their lifetime rather than just lowering their carbon emissions. The foundation of Carbonaide's solution is a successful carbonation technique. It basically uses an automated mechanism operating at atmospheric pressure to bind carbon dioxide into precast concrete. The automated mechanism will cut the CO2 emissions of conventional Portland cement concrete in half.
Carbonaide recently raised €1.8 million to expand its technology. Vantaa Energy and Lakan Betoni led the seed funding. Public financing, in-kind donations from Business Finland, other Finnish concrete producers, and strategic investors completed the round in 2023.
3. Hycamite
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Kokkola, Central Ostrobothnia
Size: 51-200
Founders: Laura Rahikka
Hycamite is a startup in Finland that uses patented zero-emission technology to split methane, producing clean hydrogen and solid carbon. Its foundation is the thermo-catalytic decomposition of methane molecules.
Hycamite's process uses only 13% of the energy required for traditional hydrogen production methods like electrolysis, making it highly efficient and cost-effective. Its solution allows the creation of carbon sinks, giving customers access to industrial-grade carbon suitable for demanding applications such as filter purifiers, composite materials, and Li-ion batteries.
Throughout two investment rounds, Hycamite has raised €35 million. On July 18, 2023, they raised their most recent round of money from a Venture - Series Unknown.
4. Cosmic Lounge
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Helsinki, Uusimaa
Size: 2-10
Founders: Mika Karkinen, Johannes Päivinen, Simo Rajamäki, Peter Tokoi, Tommi Kiviniemi, and Tomi Huttula
Cosmic Lounge is a puzzle game startup in Finland, based in Helsinki. Its unique AI-improved Puzzle Engine technology enables practical experimentation, creation, and distribution of game prototypes, features, and content. The company raised over €4.5 million in its last seed round in 2023 to continue developing puzzle games for mobile devices.
Cosmic Lounge represents a resurgence of faith in the free-to-play puzzle game category, which Transcend acknowledges has become a little crowded. It suggests that regardless of the situation, a studio may still inspire investor trust if it can provide an innovative product. The fact that AI is used to supplement, not replace, the work of creatives also provides a potential model for how studios may ethically use this technology.
5. Inven
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Helsinki, Uusimaa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Niilo Pirttijärvi, Tommi Kupiainen, and Ekku Jokinen
Inven is a startup in Finland that aims to change the financial sector by streamlining the laborious and time-consuming processes that M&A specialists face. Inven's platform significantly reduces the time and effort required for M&A professionals to identify and analyze potential acquisition targets by automating tedious manual research tasks.
Inven’s software can analyze millions of websites to offer deeper insights into companies beyond traditional industry codes. You can get a market overview about relevant factors that affect only your business and target audience. On March 31, 2023, Inven raised €1.5 million in one investment round. Inven plans to use the money to expand its workforce and improve client acquisition.
6. Huuva
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Helsinki, Uusimaa
Size: 51-200
Founders: Ville Leppälä and Ville Lehto
Huuva focuses on delivering high-quality food to underserved neighborhoods by creating cohorts of restaurants throughout cities and suburbs. Every Huuva kitchen houses three to six different restaurant brands, allowing patrons to order and have their favorite dishes delivered from various brands at once.
By putting its restaurant cohorts outside of cities, Huuva's neighborhood-first strategy offers fresh dining options to those outside city cores. Before opening a new kitchen, Huuva's team researches neighborhood trends and existing restaurant offerings to present the best eateries to that particular neighborhood. Simultaneously, the corporation prioritizes the comfort of the neighborhood in its delivery operations and kitchen installations.
Huuva raised seed funding of €4.9 million in 2022. The company plans to use the money to hire 100+ new team members, emphasizing business and operations talent. Hiring a new workforce will accelerate its expansion in Central Europe.
7. Yahaha
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Helinski
Size: 100-250
Founders: Hao Min, Chris Zhu, and Penfei Zhang
Yahaha is a startup in Finland in the gaming sector and has developed a platform that lets gamers and developers make and build their own games. These games are then made available to the public, helping emerging developers to emerge with fresh concepts.
For more advanced creators, Yahaha supports Lua scripting for complex game logic that others can use. This flexibility ensures that Yahaha caters to a wide range of skill levels, from beginners to experienced developers.
Yahaha has raised $121 million from its last funding round in November 2022. It plans to use its funding to improve its no-code game creation platform, expand its user base, and develop its community features.
8. Agileday
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Helsinki, Uusimaa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Mikko Virtanen and Jaakko Hartikainen
Agileday integrates employees, projects, and clients to help professional services firms increase efficiency and streamline operations. It facilitates a collaborative matching process that connects talent with demand based on skills, interests, and availability. This approach ensures higher utilization rates, faster project deliveries, and more robust talent engagement and retention.
The Finnish startup has successfully concluded a financing round, garnering €1.4 million. The investment round included €0.2 million from the team and €1.15 million from Vendep Capital, the top venture capital firm in the Nordic region for B2B SaaS startups. The company will use the funding to build a strong operating platform for professional service organizations, allowing individuals to have the work lives they deserve.
9. Videobot
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Helsinki
Size: 11-50
Founders: Matias Mäenpää
Videbot ushered in a new era of interactive video engagement. Unlike conventional text-heavy websites, it strongly emphasizes using interactive videos to increase user engagement.
Videobot allows businesses to generate customized video messages for individual customers to improve engagement and communication without requiring extensive manual effort. This feature allows for highly targeted marketing, improved customer service, and efficient content creation, making Videobot a standout solution in the digital communication and marketing landscape.
Users can make the most of short-form interactive video advertisements. Videobot helps connect and engage potential clients so they can communicate with the platform before visiting the website. Videobot secured 2.2 million euros from its last funding round on August 29, 2023.
10. Woamy
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Espoo
Size: 11-50
Founders: Susanna Partane
Woamy is introducing an original plastic-free bio foam to the market to replace dangerous plastic foams in protective packaging. The most prominent players in the foam industry and luxury and large electronics brands are interested in this innovative solution. This bio-foam is lightweight and exceptionally strong and features a mold-free manufacturing process. It addresses critical environmental concerns associated with plastic waste.
Woamy is at the forefront of the eco-friendly packaging revolution, offering industries a high-performance alternative that significantly reduces environmental impact. As one of the first Finnish startups to do so, Woamy has already made a mark, securing over €1 million in its 2023 seed round. With this funding, Woamy aims to further enhance its production process and expand its market presence.
11. Style Doubler
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Helsinki
Size: 51-100
Founders: Roman Vasilkov and Eetu Raudas
StyleDoubler develops technology solutions for a variety of influencer-based, performance-driven marketing initiatives. With a mission to democratize economic opportunities for creators, StyleDoubler enables influencers to monetize their content through brand collaborations and affiliate marketing.
The platform offers end-to-end campaign management, from finding and partnering with influencers to tracking performance and optimizing campaigns. Campaign management includes incentivizing creators, managing relationships, and automating payments.
StyleDoubler has undergone two investment rounds. The most recent one occurred in July 2022, during which it raised 1.5 million euros from an undisclosed number of investors. In total, the company has raised 2.5 million euros from its investors.
12. Gubbe
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Helsinki
Size: 51-200
Founders: Sandra Lounamaa and Meri-Tuuli Laaksonen
Gubbe focuses on improving the quality of life for the elderly through personalized and consistent companionship services. Gubbe connects young, compassionate companions with seniors to provide social interaction, assistance with daily tasks, and support. This approach not only addresses loneliness among the elderly but also fosters meaningful intergenerational relationships to promote emotional well-being and a sense of community. Gubbe's model emphasizes continuity and personalized care, making it a unique offering in the eldercare market.
In 2023, Gubbe raised $6 million from 3 investors. Gubbe wants to invest in technology to improve its service platform and make it easier for families to connect with caregivers. It plans to use the funding to expand its operations to multiple areas and improve service quality. Gubbe will increase its marketing efforts to raise awareness about its mission and attract more clients and caregivers.
13. Happeo
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Helsinki
Size: 51-200
Founders: Perttu Ojansuu
Happeo provides businesses with a "virtual headquarters" that centralizes knowledge and information. It ensures staff members have all they need to perform at their highest level while fostering relationships and a pleasant workplace culture. The tool provides businesses with a location to store all files and documents in context by utilizing its robust Federated Search feature. Happeo relieves teams of the stress of sending important data via instant messaging platforms.
Endeit Capital, Smartfin, and Evli Growth Partners led a Series B fundraising round that raised $46 million for Happeo. Thanks to this investment, the company is better positioned to lead the industry in resolving information chaos in the workplace. With this money, Happeo will also be able to expand the functionality of its social intranet platform.
14. Swappie
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Helsinki
Size: 501-1000
Founders: Ruoholahti, Uusimaa
Swappie is a startup in Finland that handles the complete process of refurbishing and reselling second hand iPhones. The company offers refurbished phones with a 12-month warranty on the marketplace. Swappie refurbishes iPhones in-house through a 52-step process, ensuring each device meets strict quality standards and works like new ones. With a wide range of iPhone models at competitive prices, Swappie makes it easy for consumers to access premium technology at lower costs.
Swappie closed a €35.8 million Series B financing round in 2020 to enter new European markets. Its current backers, Inventure, Lifeline Ventures, Reaktor Ventures, and TESI, have secured $18.4 million in total capital in 2024.
15. Varjo
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland
Size: 201-500
Founders: Niko Eiden
Varjo develops innovative VR/XR gear and software that, when combined, lets you see and interact with virtual and augmented content with the same clarity as the real world. By accurately capturing the sensations and circumstances of real life, their virtual and mixed reality solutions raise the bar for performance and emotional immersion, allowing you to learn more quickly and perform at a higher level.
Their devices are particularly valued in industries requiring precision and detail, such as aerospace, automotive design, and architecture, where accurate visualization is essential for design, training, and simulation purposes.
Varjo secured $165.8 million from its last funding round in 2023. Varjo will use the money for its R&D cloud services, including Varjo Reality Cloud. With the additional funding, the business can expand into new industry sectors like engineering, healthcare, education, and design & manufacturing.
FAQs
What are the strongest industries in Finland?
The strongest industries in Finland are technology, forestry, and clean energy. The technology sector is the most significant, constituting over 50% of Finnish exports. Finland startups also focus on maritime, biotech, and circular economy sectors, leveraging its innovative capabilities and sustainable practices.
What is the average investment in Finland's startup industry?
The average early funding investment in Finnish startups is about $767 million. This significant funding supports the growth and development of innovative companies, particularly in the tech and clean energy sectors.
How many startups are there in Finland?
There are over 1,300 startups in Finland. These 1,300 Finnish startups employ over 25,000 people and have €7 billion in venture capital investments and €1.4 billion in support for research and development. These companies have a revenue of €6.4 billion and contribute €4 billion to exports.
How fast is the startup industry growing in Finland?
Finnish startups are growing rapidly, with an annual growth rate of around 10%. This growth is driven by strong support for innovation, extensive collaboration between companies and research institutions, and significant investment in tech and sustainability.
