Among the countries in the European Union, Finland has a low population density along with a few others. Despite this fact, the country is home to numerous tech startups of which some have dominated the global market. Some success stories from Finland include Nokia and Angry Birds maker Rovio and these are based in Helsinki.
If you are wondering how the country with a small population manages to be successful in the startup ecosystem, then you need to know that Finland is extremely connected to the rest of the world. Helsinki’s ecosystem is ranked the best on a global scale in terms of local connectedness as per the 2018 Global Startup Ecosystem.
If you have moved to Helsinki recently and looking for a job in the city, then here we have curated a list of Helsinki-based tech startups as sourced from Dealroom.
HoxHunt
Founders: Mika Aalto, Pyry Åvist
Valuation: €8 million to €12 million
Total Funding: €2.4 million
Founded year: 2016
What it does: HoxHunt provides training for employees so that they can improve cybersecurity. The AI solution used by the company simulates real phishing attacks and also reveals the techniques that the hackers have used. Employees are rewarded if the report such attacks, be it simulated or real.
Swappie
Founders: Jiri Heinonen, Sami Marttinen
Valuation: €18 million to €27 million
Total Funding: €5.4 million
Founded year: 2016
What it does: Swappie is a marketplace, which lets you buy and sell refurbished smartphones. The company purchases a large number of used devices from companies across Europe. This fast-growing Finnish startup focuses on making used smartphone sale and buying mainstream.
Wolt
Founders: Miki Kuusi
Valuation: $520 million to $780 million
Total Funding: €160 million
Founded year: 2014
What it does: Wolt is a food delivery startup based in Helsinki. This company uses its proprietary technology and works with more than 5,000 restaurants across 50 cities in 15 European countries. The platform optimises logistics in real-time and makes it possible to deliver food efficiently. It focuses on the small markets with less population density.
Vainu
Founders: Mikko Honkanen, Pietari Suvanto, Tuomas Rasila
Founded year: 2013
What it does: Vainu scrapes the web in order to generate sales leads and gather data from social media profiles to recruit news into its own SaaS integration. The firm uses Artificial Intelligence to prepare the training data and has offices in Helsinki, Stockholm, New York, Amsterdam and Oslo.
Smartly
Founders: Kristo Ovaska, Tuomo Riekki
Valuation: €10 million to €15 million
Total Funding: €2.5 million
Founded year: 2013
What it does: Smartly is a SaaS startup, which aims to fully automate and optimise online marketing for the leading global advertisers. This firm operates with the mission to simplify online advertising easy, efficient and enjoyable. The company does this by combining ad operations, outstanding customer service and creative automation.
Matchmade
Founders: Jiri Kupiainen, Leo Lännenmäki
Valuation: €16 million to €24 million
Total Funding: €6.8 million
Founded year: 2014
What it does: Matchmade is a Finnish gaming influencer marketing platform, which has analysed over 3 million channels and 300 million videos on YouTube. The startup lets advertisers search for and communicate with numerous influences from a single place.
Kuuhubb
Founders: Christian Kolster, Jouni Keranen, Tero Kuittinen
Founded year: 2014
What it does: Kuuhubb is a publicly listed mobile game development as well as a publishing company. This company targets the female audience with customised mobile experiences. Kuuhubb aims to be a leading player in the female mobile gaming space. Those at the startup believe in empowering women by creating apps and games for them to express, relax and entertain themselves.
Freska
Founders: Esa Vuolas
Valuation: €39 million to €60 million
Total Funding: €12.5 million
Founded year: 2015
What it does: Freska is an on-demand online home cleaning service offering online booking for professional home cleaning services. It offers an intelligent platform, which optimises cleaners by minimising the necessity to travel from a customer’s home to another. And, this makes the cleaners more productive.
Happeo
Founders: Antero Hanhirova, Perttu Ojansuu, Vesa Sironen
Valuation: $32 million to $48 million
Total Funding: €7.3 million
Founded year: 2017
What it does: Happeo is an all-in-one digital workplace platform empowering internal communicators connect with employees in new ways. It brings together collaboration and social networking within its solution. And, its SaaS platform provides software solutions on a daily basis providing ways to work efficiently.
MaaS Global Oy
Founders: Kaj Pyyhtia, Sampo Hietanen
Valuation: €36 million to €54 million
Total Funding: €21.2 million
Founded year: 2015
What it does: MaaS Global is a mobility startup operating with the intention to make transportation smarter. It is the world’s first mobility service provider, which wants to make a major change in the industry since affordable cars have entered the market. The company wants to provide everyone with alternative options for owning a car and is focused on sustainability.
Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.
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