Finland

Greater Helsinki

MEMBERS:

Helsinki Business Hub

Even in times of crisis, Helsinki continues to be a functional, safe and sustainable city. We work with the local community to help startups survive and rebound.

Ecosystem by the Numbers

EARLY-STAGE FUNDING

$511 m

GLOBAL AVG.

$687 m

ECOSYSTEM VALUE

$5.8 bn

GLOBAL AVG.

$28.6 bn

MEDIAN SEED ROUND

$465 k

GLOBAL AVG.

$671 k

MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND

$2.2 m

GLOBAL AVG.

$4.7 m

SOFT. ENGINEER SALARY

$51 k

GLOBAL AVG.

$46 k

AI, Big Data & Analytics

Finland was the first EU country to publish a National AI Strategy in June 2017. The free AI education program offered by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki enrolled nearly 90,000 students from 80 countries in its first 4 months, making ‘Elements of AI’ Finland's top online course. The Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) earmarked €8.3 million in funding for 2019–2022. Giosg, an AI customer behavior tool, raised $5.3 million in venture funding led by Varenne Investment. ZenRobotics, which uses AI-powered robots to sort trash, raised $17 million.

Digital Health

Finland ranks among the strongest health technology economies in the world, while digital health is its largest high-tech export. Foreign exports of health technology rose to a new record in 2019, amounting to $2.67 billion, an increase of 5.7% from the previous year. Helsinki is focused on further advancing its healthtech ecosystem and launched the Health Incubator Helsinki in 2019 with the aim of driving health innovation and research. Patient monitoring software provider Kaiku Health was acquired for an undisclosed amount in May 2020.

Reasons to Move Your Startup to Greater Helsinki

COVID-19 Policy

The City of Helsinki, in its first phase of measures to relieve the burden on businesses due to COVID-19, announced a three-month postponement of rent (interest-free) on city-owned commercial properties leased by the city. Additionally, Helsinki granted a one-off support facility to sole traders worth €2,000. These measures are part of a wider package of support offered at the municipal, regional and national levels.

Low cost, high quality

The Greater Helsinki startup ecosystem offers entrepreneurs all the benefits of a Scandinavian lifestyle at a lower cost of living than many other tech hubs in the region. Startups have access to excellent talent at reasonable salary levels, as well as to various government funding actions. Finnish startups receive the most venture capital per capita in Europe. Helsinki is home to Artic15 and Slush, leading startup and tech community events.