A growing number of Finnish companies are innovating with military equipment, suggesting preparation for major conflict. Research for state-funded venture capital company Tesi first flagged the trend last September, with start-ups and scale-ups making up around 40% of these firms.
Timo Toikkanen, CEO of startup company Varjo, whose company produces headsets for simulating military scenarios, said his products are already in use by NATO both in Europe and the U.S.
The military turn includes dual-use technologies with civilian applications that can also be used in other industries, putting Helsinki among the top five European cities for defence, security, and resilience investment, according to a more recent report. With an estimated 368 defence tech companies working at near-capacity (for now), the Nordic NATO member (population five million) is taking its security within Europe seriously.
