Shaking up the construction material industry, AISTI has just picked up €1.6 million for its sustainable approach to tiling. The funding was raised by a group of investors assembled by Valve Ventures, and at the same time, two new members were invited to the company’s Board of Directors, Pirkka Palomäki and Eerik Paasikivi.
Tackling the climate crisis, making greener choices and moving towards a more sustainable economy is now part of every market and industry. The construction industry, while perhaps slower to join this shift, is no exception. Founded in 2019, AISTI is developing wood fiber-based acoustic tiles that are carbon negative, easy to recycle and plastic-free – bringing sustainability to construction tile by tile.
The Finnish startup is bringing a viable option to the construction industry to help the goal of attaining a reduced carbon footprint and greener choices. By using AISTI tiles instead of existing (stone and glass wool) products, construction companies can reduce their carbon footprint without any cost impact. In addition, the Aisti tiles cause no irritation during installation or use.
Mikko Paananen, the company’s founder and CEO, explained: “Our goal is to rise alongside the world’s largest acoustic tile manufacturers by offering sustainable products for the needs of today’s construction.”
AISTI’s founders Antti Fredrikson, Petri Jetsu and Mikko Paananen have a strong background in acoustics, business development, wood fibre-based product and process development and brand creation. The first customers have already been obtained from large architectural firms and the demo tiles have been well received by developers and construction companies.
The young startup is bringing something new to the market. While there’s been a demand for carbon-negative products growing for years until now there’s been no supply. The fresh funding will be used by AISTI to build a demo plant, product development and the preparation of an investment for a large production plant – key parts of the goal to take on the tile market.
Pirkka Palomäki, Maki.vc’s partner, added: “AISTI’s technology is ready and scalable quickly. There is a huge potential in carbon-negative and cost-competitive new building materials”.
