Otaniemi - the sunny side of Europe

If you need a break from gloomy economic reports, visit Otaniemi. The innovation hub just outside of Helsinki is growing by leaps and bounds.

Ari Huczkowski picks up the phone on the run.

“I just had breakfast at DFfany’s at Aalto University Design Factory in Otaniemi, where we discussed differences between the Thai, Japanese, and Chinese innovation ecosystems,” says the CEO of the Otaniemi HiTech Hub international promotion arm Otaniemi Marketing Ltd, adding, “It was quite a potpourri of languages. But in any language, the main news is that Otaniemi players are working on a big project in Thailand to help develop Hitech Ecosystems over there!”

Breakfast at DFfany’s is housed in the campus of the new innovation university Aalto that last year merged the Helsinki School of Economics, the Helsinki University of Technology and the Helsinki University of Art and Design. Today, the university, located in the city of Espoo, is home to 20,000 students and over 1500 staff. Within walking distance in Otaniemi you can find over 5,000 researchers at the 25 different research organizations.

Twenty-nine AmCham member companies have already set up shop in Otaniemi. New research projects and innovation initiatives are being launched at a pace that warrants staying close to the action. Microsoft already has a presence in the area while Rovio, Nokia, Fortum, NesteOil have their global headquarters inside the area the likes of Texas Instruments, Foster Wheeler, Honeywell and hundred other foreign companies have their local headquarters or other offices inside the area. The 800 companies with their 16,000 Otaniemi area hitech professionals come from 110 different countries.

The startup scene is a fast-growing part of the ecosystem: new companies spring up on a weekly basis. It is no wonder that international venture capitalists have added Otaniemi to their speed dials and itineraries. Just last month, Silicon Valley legend Steve Blank held a series of seminars at Aalto. Otaniemi startups attract significant amounts of VC financing and most of it comes from abroad, mainly the US and UK. And because the flood of capital to the startups, Helsinki area is approaching $200 per capita in VC-investments this year. The EU average is mere $7. Sweden is at the level of $45.

The place to be

The largest non-Finnish ethnic groups in Otaniemi are the Russians and Chinese, but as mentioned, the whole world is presented in the 110 different nationalities working and studying inside Otaniemi. The biggest foreign companies meanwhile tend to hail from the United States, Japan, Germany and Sweden. The Start Up Sauna program, which plugs budding entrepreneurs into a network of coaches and operational support, has been a special draw for Russian and Baltic talent.

”Next year, the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society is taking a boat to Brazil. The trip is called “Aalto on Waves”. Last year, their adventure was a train trip to China via Siberia “Aalto on Tracks”. This is what I call the spirit of Aalto. Ideas start on the ground and the drive to get things done is tangible. With this kind of spirit, it’ll be hard not to succeed,” Huczkowski says.

The world at your fingertips

The beautiful campus environment is one of Otaniemi’s many assets. Everything is within short walking distance and the Helsinki city center is just 15 minutes away. It takes just one to three hours to reach other thriving European metropolises. Direct flights will take you to New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai, Delhi and Chicago in under 10 hours.

Nanotechnology, wireless mobile technology, microtechnology and renewable energy sources are what Otaniemi is already famous for, but new companies are being launched in many other emerging fields—some cutting edge.

”Things need to work. That is the most important requirement. We are pragmatic and all about solutions,” Huczkowski says.

For more information, please visit:
www.otaniemi.fi

Come and see the heart of European innovation and technology for yourself. Join the AmCham community on December 13th for a Champagne Reception hosted by Mayor of Espoo Jukka Mäkelä at the Espoo Cultural Center. For more information, visit the AmCham website or call the offices. We look forward to toasting a great new year with you!