There is no open application process for this category. The award is based on the Finnish AI Start-up Landscape 2026 survey.

Havuja Solutions Oy
Physical AI runs on photonics, and none of it ships without production testing. Havuja builds complete test systems for AR glasses, AI data centre optical interconnects and quantum computing. HAVUJA Runko connects them into one intelligent fleet, using AI to route every device for up to 50× faster testing.

OP Pohjola
OP Pohjola has long been known for its ambition to deploy new technologies like AI to grow its business. Today the journey continues with Quantum and AI Research Centre. The ambition: to break conventional thinking today, reinvent finance and build Finland’s competitive edge for tomorrow.

Oura
AI has always been central to Oura’s technology, powering core features and interpreting data from over 30 biometric signals. Oura Advisor takes this further, combining biometric data, personal health patterns and context to deliver personalised, actionable guidance that evolves with each member.

DNA Oyj
DNA has built a responsible approach to AI transformation. The program unites people, operating models and value creation, while accelerating customer solution development and supporting customers’ AI journeys. It has delivered measurable and scalable benefits in seven value delivery areas DNA drives.

Jobilla
In three years Jobilla went from writing recruitment campaigns by hand to building its business around its own AI product, AI Recruiter. In 2026, over 600 campaigns a month in 50+ countries now go live in two minutes instead of 48 hours, and humans still make every hiring decision.

UPM-Kymmene Corporation
UPM made a CEO-led strategic decision in 2024 to pursue enterprise-wide AI transformation, with business value at its core. Its systematic, end-to-end approach drives smarter work, business performance and reinvention. Built to scale from day one, it already met its 2026 financial targets in nine months.

A-Insinöörit
A-Insinöörit’s Environmental Handprint Advisor brings sustainability knowledge to every expert and thousands of construction projects. Powered by AI, it draws on knowledge and data from past projects to recommend actions that help accelerate the green transition across the construction sector.

Helsingin Sanomat (Sanoma Media Finland)
HS and Estonia’s Delfi investigated Russia’s shadow fleet using AI coding agents to collect and analyse data from multiple sources. AI also helped map vessel movements, investigate crews and identify photo locations. Journalists retained full control of sources and methodology, verifying all findings.

NaturAI Oy
NaturAI turns sound into insight using AI-powered acoustic intelligence. Filling the gaps of other detection methods, it supports biodiversity conservation and ecosystem monitoring, while enabling faster threat detection and situational awareness for security and defence across land and sky.

Ruben Bryon (Verda)
Ruben Bryon is the Founder and CEO of Verda, building the next generation of AI infrastructure. With a lifelong passion for computing and AI, he founded Verda to democratize access to GPU infrastructure for AI teams worldwide, without compromising on efficiency, sovereignty, or sustainability.

Anna Koivuniemi (Google DeepMind)
Anna Koivuniemi leads Google DeepMind’s Impact Accelerator, developing and deploying frontier AI to solve global challenges in health, science, and climate to maximize benefits of the cutting edge models to humanity

Antti Vasara
Antti Vasara builds foundations for Europe’s next era of AI. At VTT, he built Finland’s first quantum computers with IQM. He chairs the University of Helsinki Board, QMill and SemiQon, sits on QuTwo’s board, advises the EU on quantum strategy and is Finland’s Special Envoy for Technology.

Aalto University / House of AI
Aalto University House of AI: 30 researchers working intensively with Finnish companies. Close collaboration & rapid pilots give industrial impact and excellent research: interactions with 30+ companies, 6 large contract research projects in two years.

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Attendo Suomi Oy
The AI Solutions in Care project found that AI-assisted voice documentation on smartphones can save time and reduce memory load in nursing homes. Recording throughout the day can increase time for residents and the meaningfulness of work. Benefits depend on reliable technology and integration into daily work.

TurkuNLP and AMD Silo AI
TurkuNLP and AMD Silo AI have developed open Large Language Models (LLMs) for Finnish and small European languages, including the Poro and Viking models. Their collaboration continues in the OpenEuroLLM consortium, where the two are in leading positions developing open models for all European languages.

Wapice Oy
Open City Innovation Engine is an AI-powered smart city solution built on Wapice’s IoT-TICKET platform. It brings together the city’s various data sources and enables AI-based forecasts, analytics and services, supporting data-driven decision-making and the development of city services.

Wellbeing services county of North Savo, Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Pharmacy
AI-MedRiskTool makes medication-related risks visible earlier. Piloted at Kuopio University Hospital, it uses AI to help clinicians identify these risks in older patients, aiming to prevent harm, improve patient safety and reduce avoidable healthcare costs.

YTK Työttömyyskassa
What if your next job is one you don’t even know to look for yet? YTK Unemployment Fund’s AI-powered job search securely matches skills with open positions across job titles and industries. It helps members discover opportunities they wouldn’t spot on their own.

Jourier
A data, analytics and AI platform built for technical sovereignty, cost predictability and a future-proof architecture. AI-native with pre-built apps across sales, finance, marketing and more, it connects company data to power a unified data foundation for AI agents and customizable business applications.

Nordea
Nordea is taking agentic AI from experimentation into the heart of banking. Its governed network of AI agents supports product development from discovery to delivery, with human oversight, security and auditability, showing how agentic AI can scale responsibly in a highly regulated industry.

Viran
Viran is the AI Bid Team helping companies win public contracts worldwide. It monitors 200,000+ tenders weekly across 90+ markets, identifies the best opportunities, assesses requirements and win potential, and helps companies prepare competitive bids from discovery to submission.

Makiina Oy
Tampere-based Makiina builds real physical AI. Founded in 2024, it has developed its entire stack in-house, from cameras and machine learning to modular robot arms, at a highly competitive price. Its robots handle physical objects flexibly, with strong potential in areas like commercial dishwashing.

Sandvik Mining and Construction Oy
Sandvik’s autonomous, battery-electric surface drilling concept connects edge AI, robotics, a digital twin and mine-level agentic AI to turn goals into physical action. It drills, handles tools robotically and adapts to its surroundings – instead of operating a machine, you talk to the mine.

Unikie Oy
Physical AI connects sensing, intelligent decisions and real-world action. Unikie combines environmental perception, autonomous vehicle control and orchestration to automate logistics. At Audi’s Ingolstadt facility, these capabilities enabled precise vehicle movements during automated rail loading tests.

AI Gigafactory Northern
AI Gigafactory Northern, a Nokia led consortium uniting European technology leaders, aims to bring one of the EU’s planned AI gigafactories to the Nordics and Baltics. This unique ecosystem will connect compute, cloud networks and decarbonised energy at scale, to power research, industry, start-ups and the public sector with trusted, sovereign AI.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom
Traficom’s AI network brings together 120 public sector organizations in a new way to accelerate the safe, impactful adoption of AI. Cooperation in developing scalable solutions saves resources. Our events also enable AI companies and the public sector to connect and build success stories together.