Finland boasts a number of successful start-ups which cover everything from satellites to quantum computers.

Finland is known for a number of things: breathtaking sights such as the Northern Lights, saunas, Lapland and a love for heavy metal music.

It also holds the title of happiest country in the world, according to the World Population Review.

However, what you may not know is that there are also some very innovative start-ups that call this Nordic country home. To highlight this fact, SiliconRepublic.com has compiled a list of start-ups from Finland that are already showcasing an abundance of ambition.

Haltian

Originating in the city of Oulu, this start-up emerged from five members of Nokia’s product development team in 2012.

It provides IoT software, as well as sensor solutions and services, for commercial real estate. Haltian’s trademark sensor Empathic Building is a digital twin solution in modern desk-sharing offices. At present, the business is being led by interim CEO Mikko Moilanen.

In 2023, Haltian raised €22m in growth funding for its IoT software and sensor solutions and services for real estate.

IQM Quantum Computers

Founded in 2018, IQM Quantum Computers builds quantum computers and applications for research institutions and business enterprises.

Founded by a team of scientists including Dr Jan Goetz (who is also its CEO), Dr Juha Vartiainen, Dr Kuan Yen Tan and Dr Mikko Möttönen, the company raised €128m in Series A2 funding in 2022.

It also recently received funding from the French government to build the first industrial-scale quantum processor production facility in Europe, while just last week, the start-up expanded its operations to Poland.

ReOrbit

This start-up, which was founded in 2019, has its sights set on a project that uses satellites.

ReOrbit is pioneering “software-enabled satellites”, a dispersed network of secure satellites that act like an IoT in space.

CEO and founder of the start-up, Sethu Saveda Suvanam, told Wired that ReOrbit is building “flying routers”, which allow, for instance, military satellites to send images of certain ships to the coastguard through space at high-speed, accelerating warnings.

In addition, ReOrbit raised €7.4m in a seed round in September 2023, which will fund an in-orbit demonstration satellite, which is scheduled for launch later this year.

Bob W

This budding hospitality platform managed to raise €40m in Series B funding to stimulate growth nearly one year ago.

Bob W provides a unique hybrid of hotel and short-stay apartments in a similar manner to hospitality giant Airbnb.

It currently operates in 10 countries across Europe and is led by its CEO and co-founder Niko Karstikko.

Last November, Bob W announced that it would operate across all Nordic capitals after securing its first Stockholm property.

HappySignals

Our final entry, HappySignals, was founded in 2014 and helps organisations transform their IT and services to become more human-centric by leveraging employee experience data and AI.

Led by its CEO and co-founder, Sami Kallio, it aims to achieve this by leveraging employee experience data and AI.

The company’s IT experience management platform and framework work in an effort to transform IT in large enterprises, making IT teams (as well as their end users) more satisfied.

HappySignals also enjoyed success last April when it managed to raise €12m in funding.

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