Top Startups / December 23, 2023
Asaf Fybish

As a growth marketing expert, Asaf helps startups driving scalable growth through data-driven strategies and innovative marketing techniques.

Top Finnish Startups To Watch in 2024

Finland is known for being the happiest country in the world to live in. It is not just the beautiful landscapes and magical stories that make life in Finland what it is. The Finnish startup ecosystem is in an environment to thrive, and the index of economic freedom has scored Finland at 78.3. This makes the country sit within the top ten most free in 2022. The Finnish ecosystem continuously produces top startups that trade in the global economy.

Helsinki, the country's capital, is hub for Finnish startups. Being valued at over 25 billion euros, Helsinki is one of the most valuable startup hubs across Europe. Roughly 3,821 startups and now scaleups are active in Finland and have a combined value of €48.2b.

Support for entrepreneurs is provided by the Employment and Economic Development Offices to help Finnish entrepreneurs flourish in the ecosystem. The startup grants are provided for those running startups, to support the entrepreneur with an income whilst the business finds its feet. Lots of different factors are taken into consideration when offering the grants, but the aim is to promote new business and entrepreneurship in Finland.


1. Statzon

Year Founded: 2018

HQ: Lahti, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 1-10

Founders: Kimmo Kuokkanen, Tomi Karila

This first startup works in the B2B industry, using software, SaaS, and market research to provide industry and tech insights. Statzon gives its customers the opportunity to use and understand global industry and technology data insights. The Finnish startup claims to be the 'only solution' that provides customers with access to over 250 insight providers. This makes it easier for customers, as they can access a huge variety of insights through just one subscription after they register an account.

Statzon currently has a complete total amount of funding of $1.1M. This top startup has completed four funding rounds so far since starting. The last funding round took place on the 12th of December 2022, with a Seed investment of $421K.


2. Hoxhunt

Year Founded: 2016

HQ: Espoo, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Mika Aalto, Pyry Åvist, Karri Kurunmäki, Pasi Salo

Hoxhunt is our next top startup to follow through 2023, as it is working hard to provide cyber security training for the computing and cyber security sectors. This startup is rewriting the way cyber security training is done. Hoxhunt aims to reduce human risk in cyber security by sharing Hoxhunt training with employees in companies all around the world. The training is developed with humans in mind, putting people at the forefront of importance in cyber security training.

The company's total funding amount currently sits at $43.3M. It raised $40 million in a Series B funding round that was led by New York-based Level Equity Management.


3. Nordic Umami Company

Year Founded: 2021

HQ: Espoo, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 1-10

Founders: Outi, Reetta, Tytti-Lotta

Nordic Umami Company is a sustainable food and beverage startup company from Finland. This Finnish startup has been working on developing new flavours to help encourage everyone to start to switch from meat eating. Nordic Umami Company creates products with an umami taste. It is the flavour that has been found to sometimes lack in plant-based foods. The food company has developed umami sauces, to enhance plant-based foods, whilst incorporating the irresistible flavours we want. Umami products could help customers move to a more plant-based and more sustainable diet, without losing the tasty flavours they love.

This top startup has so far raised an amount of €3.3M in total funding. In the most recent seed funding round, Nordic Umami Company managed to raise €1.8 million. Vaens and Nordic Foodtech VC are two of the seven investors who have supported the Finnish startup to get to where it is now.


4. The Upright Project

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Annu Nieminen, Juho Ojala

The next Finnish startup on the list of the top startups to follow in 2023 is The Upright Project. This company develops an AI-enabled quantification model that can measure a company and funds' net impact. The big data, fintech startup helps investors to make smarter decisions, by informing them of what they need to know about a company. The net impact is information on a variety of things, measured and presented in an understandable format. Information that is included in the net impact includes the company's impact on the environment, health, society, and knowledge. All of these factors are measured in terms of the positive and negative impact the company has on them, before creating the net impact.

$5.3M of total funding has been raised so far by The Upright Project. The last funding round that The Upright Project ran was a Seed round of funding. It took place on the 13th of December, 2022.


5. Cactos

Year Founded: 2021

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 1-10

Founders: Olli Nuutila

The next top startup is the Finnish energy management company Cactos. It is a company operating in the battery, energy, renewable energy, energy storage, and energy management sectors. Cactos is providing a smart energy storage system, which can secure power supplies locally. This Finnish startup company also supports upcycling EV batteries, for an end of life use.

Across just two funding rounds, the Finnish startup has raised $2.6M in total funding. This was done with the help of just one investor and both funding rounds took place on the 29th of November 2022.


6. Solar Foods Oy

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Pasi Vainikka

Next on the list of top startups to follow in 2023 is the biotechnology and food processing Finnish startup Solar Foods Oy. The company gives its customers a product that is filled with nutrient-rich protein and only uses air and electricity as its resources. Solar Foods Oy, or otherwise known as Solein, has a motto of 'food out of thin air'. This food production method solves the issue of being weather reliant whilst being sustainable.

In five funding rounds, the startup has raised $42M in total funding amount. The most recent funding round was supported by just one investor and took place on the 13th of April, 2021. Across all five funding rounds, the Finnish startup has had help from ten investors and four lead investors. The first funding round took place on the 23rd of March, 2018.


7. Sensible 4

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Espoo, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Harri Santamala, Jari Saarinen, Jussi Suomela, Tommi Rimpiläinen

Sensible 4 is another Finnish startup company worth watching in 2023. The company works in the automotive and artificial intelligence sectors, to make automated vehicles safe to use throughout the year. The purpose of the company is to produce autonomous driving software, for self-driving vehicles to be able to drive all year round, in all kinds of weather conditions. DAWN is a software platform that allows vehicles to drive in any weather condition. This solves the problem of self-driving vehicles not functioning in changing weather conditions, which can be particularly problematic for HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) or LGVs (large goods vehicles) when transporting goods across a long distance.

$17.1M of total funding has been raised in funding rounds for the company so far. The most recent funding round for the Finnish startup took place on the 9th of August, 2022.


8. Bob W

Year Founded: 2018

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Niko Karstikko, Sebastian Emberger

Bob W is another top startup from Finland and it works in the hospitality, and hotel rental industries. The Finnish startup provides accommodation for holidayers, via a technology-powered platform. Bob W offers its customers alternatives to the traditional hotels and short-stay apartments; instead, Bob W offers customers cool apartments they can rent for days, weeks, or even months.

The short-stay rental provider has raised a total of €31M in funding. Bob W had its most recent funding round take place on the 25th of October, 2022, which raised an impressive €21 million.


9. Spinnova

Year Founded: 2014

HQ: Jyväskylä, Western Finland, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Janne Poranen and Juha Salmela

Spinnova is using what they call a climate-positive textile fiber to produce clothes. This top startup operates in the industrial manufacturing, textiles, sustainability, and fashion industries, working to make fashion more sustainable. The textile manufacturer uses wood and waste for its textile material but does not use harmful chemicals. Spinnova aims to change textile manufacturing and make it more sustainable for a greener future. Brands have already taken on board Spinnova's concept and have produced clothes with the fiber. Another Finnish company called Halti uses the fiber in their outdoor brand clothing.

Since launching in 2014, the company has completed three funding rounds, raising a total of €20.1M funding. The first funding round took place on the 23rd of August, 2018, the second took place on the 9th of October, 2019, and the most recent funding round took place on the 4th of October, 2022, and was supported by one investor. Across the three funding rounds, the Finnish startup has had support from three investors.


10. iFarm

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Alex Lyskovsky, Konstantin Ulianov, Max Chizhov

The next Finnish startup on the list of the top startups to follow in 2023 is called iFarm. This is a startup working in the agricultural sector, but using agricultural technology and software, to create solutions and make the farming process easier. Using indoor farming systems that are supported by IT and software, the company is making systems to grow crops more cost-effectively. It is called vertical farming, and the crops are grown on large shelves indoors, so less ground space is used up, and more produce can be farmed.

iFarm has raised $4M so far in total funding. The funding round was led by Gagarin Capital. This Finnish startup had its most recent funding round take place on the 20th of August, 2020.


11. MaaS Global

Year Founded: 2015

HQ: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Kaj Pyyhtia, Sampo Hietanen

The next startup on our list to follow in 2023 is the Finnish startup MaaS Global. It is also known as Whimapp and operates in the transportation, ride-sharing, apps, and mobile payment industries. MaaS Global provides its customers with a mobility-as-a-service operator which allows customers to use different kinds of transport through a city. Different kinds of transport can all be accessed and found within one app, making transportation around a city so much easier.

This top startup has currently got a total of $73.9M of funding. It has been raised through the process of eight funding rounds, with support from sixteen investors. Five were lead investors and supported the various funding rounds. The first funding round took place for MaaS Global on the 9th of February, 2016, and the most recent funding round took place on the 24th of March, 2022, with help from two investors.


12. Yahaha

Year Founded: 2020

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Chris Zhu, Hao Min, Penfei Zhang

Yahaha is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in the city of Helsinki. The company operates in the gaming industry and has created a platform for developers and players that allows them to create and design their own games and then publish them on the platform. This helps to give some spotlight to up and coming developers with new ideas.

The business has raised a large amount of funding since being founded, with its last funding round in November 2022 netting the company $40 Million. Overall, the Finnish startup has raised a total of $121 Million from twelve investors.


13. Neural DSP

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Douglas Castro, Francisco Cresp

Neural DSP is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. The company operates in the electronics market and has created a software and hardware ecosystem that allows music players to access high-quality democratized sounds for a variety of different uses.

The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the Finnish startup raising a total of 5.9 Million Euros from a group of three investors. It is likely that the business will seek further funding as it looks to expand further into other markets.


14. StyleDoubler

Year Founded: 2019

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 51-100

Founders: Eetu Raudas, Roman Vasilkov

StyleDoubler is a startup in Finland that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. The business operates in the influencer marketing sector and creates technological solutions to run a range of performance-driven marketing campaigns based around influencers. This helps the influencers and the businesses themselves to get better results.

The business has been through a pair of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent taking place in July 2022 when it raised 1.5 Million Euros from an unknown number of investors. In total, the company has raised a figure of 2.5 Million Euros from its investors.


15. Silo.AI

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Johan Kronberg, Peter Sarlin, Tero Ojanpera, Ville Hulkko

Silo.AI is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in the city of Helsinki. The business is behind one of the most respected AI labs in the Nordic regions and provides expertise for a range of projects relating to CV, NLP and machine learning among others. They serve a range of industries such as automotive, maritime, IoT and there are many more applications for this.

The business has been significantly backed since being founded, with the last funding round taking place in June 2021, where it raised an undisclosed amount from Altor. Overall, the business has publicly raised a figure of $11.3 Million and used some of this funding to complete an acquisition of another business.


16. Aiforia

Year Founded: 2013

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Jochan Lundin, Kari Pitkanen, Mikael Lundin

Aiforia is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2013 and is currently based in the city of Helsinki. The business works in the medical field and aims to provide AI-powered image analysis for use in the medical field and make it available to medical facilities globally. This helps to improve the diagnostic abillity of these facilities and saves lives.

The startup has seen signficant funding since being founded, with the business raising a total of 21.2 Million Euros from a group of eight investors. As the medical field continues to rapidly advance, new technologies are needed and its likely that Aiforia will see further funding to continue its great work.


17. BeeHealthy

Year Founded: 2020

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Anni Iso-Mustajarvi

BeeHealthy is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. The business aims to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone, regardless of circumstance. They are achieving this through the development of a platform where users can get access to healthcare solutions digitally, reducing the need for travel and waiting.

Despite the fact that the business has grown rapidly since being founded, there has been no instances of the business publicly raising startup funding. As the company continues to expand, it will become more likely that it will seek funding.


18. Veri

Year Founded: 2020

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Anttoni Aniebonam, Frans Lehmusvaara, Verneri Jaamuru

Veri is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. Their company helps users to improve their metabolic health by providing guidance on the things they eat, how they should eat them and how often. This is achieved through a blood sugar sensor that is tied to the company's mobile app.

The business has raised funding on multiple occasions since being founded, with the most recent taking place in June 2022, when it raised 7.5 Million Euros. In total, the company has raised 10.8 Million Euros from five investors.


19. IQM Quantum Computers

Year Founded: 2018

HQ: Espoo, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Jan Goetz, Juha Vartiainen, Kuen Yen Tan, Mikko Mottonen

IQM Quantum Computers is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2018 and is based is Espoo, Finland. The company is at the cutting edge of computing technology and developers leading quantum computing technology for data centres and labs. They also offer full access to their hardware to these institutions in order to further research into the technology.

The business is one of the most exciting in Finland and its startup funding reflects this, with a total of 233.8 Million Euros being raised from 20 investors. Due to the nature of this new technology, it is very likely that the business will receive further funding to develop new innovations.


20. Metacore Games

Year Founded: 2020

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 101-250

Founders: Aki Jarvilehto, Mika Tammenkoski

Metacore Games is a startup in Finland that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. The busines is a mobile game development studio that has seen fast success, with their most successful game, Merge Mansion having taken in more than 20 million players. This highlights that the business knows how to make a game to draw attention and players.

The studio has been very well supported since being founded, with a total of 175 Million Euros being raised from a sole investor. The last funding round for the company was a May 2021 round where it raised 150 Million Euros.


21. Tesseract

Year Founded: 2017

HQ: Helsinki, Finland

Size: 11-50

Founders: Yichen Wu

Tesseract is a Finnish startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Helsinki, Finland. The company provides a platform for financial management and investment services that allows customers to earn yields on their digital assets whilst being protected by their risk engines and custody management protocols to prevent catastrophic losses.

Since being founded, the business has been very successful in raising startup funding. In total, the business has raised a total of $25.4 Million in funding from thirteen investors, with its last round netting it $25 Million in June 2021.


FAQs

How Many Startups Are There in Finland?

There are more than 3800 tech startups in Finland.

What is the Average Investment in Finnish Startups?

Finding figures for the entirety of Finland is difficult, however Finnish startups average $746,000 during Seed Rounds and $2.4 Million during Series A Rounds.

What Startup Industries Are The Strongest in Finland?

The strongest startup sectors in Finland are Hardware and IoT, Energy and FoodTech.

Top Finnish Startups To Watch...
Asaf Fybish

As a growth marketing expert, Asaf helps startups driving scalable growth through data-driven strategies and innovative marketing techniques.

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