HomeFinland-Startups10 promising startups from freezing Finland to watch in 2021

10 promising startups from freezing Finland to watch in 2021

What’s it like to start up a business in the country with the world’s happiest people? Being surrounded by stunning natural scenery, and boosted by advancements in gender equality and education, must contribute to this statistic. Finland’s business ecosystem is a strong hub for venture capital investments, also being home to cool tech events like Slush, and boasting success stories like Angry Birds and Wolt. In particular, entrepreneurs in this Nordic hub working in the gaming, electronics, software, cleantech, biotech and health industries are in luck, thanks to this country’s innovative tech scene particularly in these sectors. 

Thanks to its favourable entrepreneurial ecosystem, Finland has a strong number of successful and promising startups on the block. For this reason, it was a little complicated to narrow down this list to just 10, to say the least. With this in mind, it’s worth taking a look at our list of Finland-based startups to watch for 2020 and to watch in 2019, to compliment the startups you’ll find in this year’s article.

So without further ado, here are 10 promising and fresh-faced startup Finland-based teams founded in the last 2-3 years, who all have fast-growing teams, are working on innovative missions, and are also showing promising signs, such as raising funding in the last year.

IQM – If quantum computing is your thing, then IQM will be of interest to you. Founded in 2018, this Espoo-based startup is the one of the European leaders in superconducting quantum computers. Its team builds scalable hardware for universal quantum computers, focusing on superconducting technology. When it comes to funding, IQM has landed over an astonishing €70 million, closing 3 rounds last year reaching around €56 million.

Surrogate.tv – This startup is creating what it calls the ‘next generation of gaming’ – controlling and playing with real-life robotics, toys, vehicles, and more, over the internet, from anywhere in the world, and with HD ultra-low latency video. Its SaaS suite, SurroRTG was used in partnership with Ubisoft to produce The Viking Crossing, where players battled Viking ships against the World’s Strongest Man from their homes.The Espoo-based team raised a €2 million seed round in 2020.

Cooler Future – Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for investors to consider the impact of their actions on the environment or society. Cooler Future, founded in 2019, is developing transparent and effective impact investment solutions for the climate-conscious generation. Their solution has not gone unnoticed- having landed around €1.4 million funding in October 2020 to boost the likes of companies aggressively reducing their carbon emissions, or working on removing carbon from the atmosphere all together.

Bob W – Bob W first caught our attention in June 2020 when it landed €4 million to expand its ‘ridiculously clean’ hotel alternative across the Nordics, Baltics, and the UK. Founded in 2017, Bob W is an alternative to hotels and hosted homes, offering high-quality suites that come tech-driven (100% digital), sustainable, touchless and as they say, ‘Ridiculously Clean’. With many employees now working from wherever they have an internet connection, we expect the trend of ‘workactions’ to continue, and for Bob W to lead a new genre in the travel industry. 

Leadoo – Capturing (and keeping) the attention of leads is a huge challenge in competitive markets. Leadoo (founded in 2018) promises to ensure your company never misses a lead again. Via its lead-driven marketing platform, users can level up their marketing game and exceed sales results. In 2021 the startup has already landed funding, snapping up €5 million to help more business in their inevitable digitalisation.

Glue – Glue is one of the startups capitalising on the remote work revolution. Founded in 2017, Glue offers an online space where dispersed, high-performance teams come together to learn, share, plan and create. Users get access to features like virtual training rooms, for onboardings and company skill enhancements. The startup has already got some major clients on board, like Microsoft, HP and Toyota, and grown their team to 35+ people.

iFarm – If you’re more worried about eating healthy organic foods recently, then you’re not alone. The vertical farms and urban greenhouses sector is growing fast, and iFarm (founded in 2017) is at the front of it. Its innovative technology grows natural salads, berries and vegetables year-round in fully controlled automated environment. To find out more, check out our interview with iFarm’s co-founder and CEO Max Chizhov, or read about their €3.3 million funding round in 2020.

Silo.AI – As the largest AI solution and service provider in the Nordics, serving clients on 4 continents, Silo.AI is certainly a leader in the AI sector. Innovating human-centered AI solutions, the team already has some major clients, such as the Finnish airline Finnair. Since last year’s Finnish startups list, their team has doubled from 60+ to 121+, showing their lightening speed rate of growth, backed by a €10 million investment in 2019.

Happeo – Happy communications at work is certainly a topic we’re all familiar with, especially since the COVID pandemic. Happeo aims to improve employee communications, via an all-in-one, ‘happiness-driven’ platform. This social intranet acts as a communications tool, as well as knowledge base, productivity platform, and people directory. The team has already got some major clients on board, like BMW, WWF and Randstad Sourceright, and landed around €9.8 million funding in 2020.

Sensible 4 – This Espoo-based startup can turn any vehicle into self-driving, and enable driving in all weather conditions and environments. Driven by unique algorithms, AI, sensors, robotics and software, the team is using harsh Nordic winter conditions to ensure its technology works even in the most adverse of conditions. Its ‘Northern survival knowhow’ has caught the attention of investors, having landed a €6.3 million Series A round in 2020.

By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!

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Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte is the previous Editor at EU-Startups.com. She spends her time scouting the next big story, managing our contributor team, and getting excited about social impact ventures. She has previously worked as a Communications Consultant for number of European Commission funded startup projects.
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