So far this year Finnish startups have raised €1bn from VC funds, more than the €1bn in all of 2020.
But which are the most exciting startups and scaleups? Which are the ones to watch in 2021?
Our team of experts at Sifted have chosen a list of exciting companies we think you need to know about, with an added ‘Sifted take’ on some to provide an extra layer of insight.
It’s a mixture of the big and the small, the well known and the under the radar. But all are making waves. Keep reading below and stay informed about Europe’s new economy!
(P.S The data is from European Startups, with valuation estimates from Dealroom. If there is anyone missing from this list, or anything is wrong, please let us know by email at [email protected]).
Key
Year founded
Amount raised
Last funding round
Valuation
Employees
Canatu
Developer and manufacturer of transparent conductive films and touch sensors
Helsinki, Finland
53.77m
€60-€90m
10-50
53.77m
€60-€90m
10-50
Varjo Technologies
Bionic display technology that allows users to see VR in human-eye resolution
Helsinki, Finland
46m
€184-€275m
100-500
Varjo Technologies
Bionic display technology that allows users to see VR in human-eye resolution
Helsinki, Finland
46m
€184-€275m
100-500
Supermetrics
Automation tools for web analytics, social media and online marketing
Helsinki, Finland
43.5m
€160-€240m
100-500
43.5m
€160-€240m
100-500
Swappie
Swappie | Refurbished and affordable iPhones with 12 months warranty
Helsinki, Finland
41.8m
€145-€218m
100-500
41.8m
€145-€218m
100-500
EPassi Payments Oy
Offers an electronic means of payment for employee benefits
Helsinki, Finland
41.5m
10-50
41.5m
10-50
37.12m
€44-€65m
10-50
HappyOrNot
Guaranteed Customer & Employee Satisfaction Improvement
Tampere, Finland
36.6m
€91-€136m
100-500
Sifted Take
HappyorNot is best known for its consumer satisfaction terminals featuring four smiley-faced buttons. People are invited to press to indicate whether they are ‘very happy, happy, unhappy or very unhappy’ with a given service. Since launching, the company has collected more than 1.3bn individual data-points.
The data retrieved is extremely simple compared, for example, to a customer questionnaire, but it gives companies huge volumes of data about how customers feel about their services at different points in the day.
The colourful smiley faces can now be seen next to exits in shops and supermarkets, airport controls and state hospitals. The UK airport Heathrow, the Swedish supermarket chain Coop, the American doughnut company Krispy Kreme, the UK’s national health service (NHS) and even digital giants such as Netflix and Amazon are among the company’s 4,000 customers, spread across 135 countries.
The company is now investing heavily in the data side of the business. Last year founder Heikki Väänänen told Sifted: “This is not a hardware business at all. We have about 1,000 features on the data collection side of the business so we are more about the data and how to analyse it and use it than anything else."
36.6m
€91-€136m
100-500
Sifted Take
HappyorNot is best known for its consumer satisfaction terminals featuring four smiley-faced buttons. People are invited to press to indicate whether they are ‘very happy, happy, unhappy or very unhappy’ with a given service. Since launching, the company has collected more than 1.3bn individual data-points.
The data retrieved is extremely simple compared, for example, to a customer questionnaire, but it gives companies huge volumes of data about how customers feel about their services at different points in the day.
The colourful smiley faces can now be seen next to exits in shops and supermarkets, airport controls and state hospitals. The UK airport Heathrow, the Swedish supermarket chain Coop, the American doughnut company Krispy Kreme, the UK’s national health service (NHS) and even digital giants such as Netflix and Amazon are among the company’s 4,000 customers, spread across 135 countries.
The company is now investing heavily in the data side of the business. Last year founder Heikki Väänänen told Sifted: “This is not a hardware business at all. We have about 1,000 features on the data collection side of the business so we are more about the data and how to analyse it and use it than anything else."
Virta
Provide leading-edge smart charging services for EV drivers and companies alike with a vision of a clean, carbon-free future with silent EVs driving emission-free down the street
Helsinki, Finland
30m
€120—180m
100-500
Virta
Provide leading-edge smart charging services for EV drivers and companies alike with a vision of a clean, carbon-free future with silent EVs driving emission-free down the street
Helsinki, Finland
30m
€120—180m
100-500
Robocorp
Cloud platform for robotic process automation (RPA) and open source RPA tools
San Francisco, United States
29.6m
€76-€115m
10-50
Robocorp
Cloud platform for robotic process automation (RPA) and open source RPA tools
San Francisco, United States
29.6m
€76-€115m
10-50
25m
€55m
50-100
Dispelix
Internationally leading company specialized in augmented reality display modules and waveguides
Espoo, Finland
23.7m
€60M
50-100
Dispelix
Internationally leading company specialized in augmented reality display modules and waveguides
Espoo, Finland
23.7m
€60M
50-100
23.09m
€44-€65m
50-100
Tesseract
Providing digital asset management solutions focused on investing, portfolio management, capital markets, and blockchain technology
Helsinki, Finland
22.7m
€91-€136m
10-50
Tesseract
Providing digital asset management solutions focused on investing, portfolio management, capital markets, and blockchain technology
Helsinki, Finland
22.7m
€91-€136m
10-50
IndoorAtlas
Locating people or objects inside a building using radio waves, magnetic fields, acoustic signals or other sensory information
Helsinki, Finland
22.21m
€14-€22m
10-50
IndoorAtlas
Locating people or objects inside a building using radio waves, magnetic fields, acoustic signals or other sensory information
Helsinki, Finland
22.21m
€14-€22m
10-50
22.14m
€16-€24m
50-100
22.14m
€59-€88m
50-100
Sulapac
Biodegradable wood-based material innovation designed to replace traditional plastic
Helsinki, Finland
€21m
€60-€90m
10-50
Sulapac
Biodegradable wood-based material innovation designed to replace traditional plastic
Helsinki, Finland
€21m
€60-€90m
10-50
19.51m
€58-€87m
50-100
Norsepower oy ltd
Provider of push button auxiliary wind propulsion
Helsinki, Finland
18.5m
€32-€48m
10-50
18.5m
€32-€48m
10-50
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