Espoo stands out as a start-up city – a strong pipeline from research to international growth
A recent study reveals that Espoo's start-up ecosystem is the most international and competitive in Finland. The city has an exceptionally strong pipeline from research to commercialisation and scaling up, which is reflected by the number of private investments, rapid growth in turnover and broad technological spectrum from quantum to space technology. A start-up study performed in autumn 2025 was published on 15 December 2025.
The study focused on start-ups in Espoo and proved that the city provides a strong pipeline from research to commercialisation and further scaling up, which is supported by various deep-tech, software and R&D-intensive businesses. Growth is also supported by better access to financing as well as the presence of large companies, investors and global partners. Espoo has more large start-ups with a turnover of more than 500,000 euros compared to similar cities. The results for Espoo were compared to similar studies performed for the cities of Turku, Tampere and Vantaa.
Espoo has the most international start-up ecosystem
The study proves that Espoo's start-up ecosystem has a strong international background and is competitive and growth oriented. The combined turnover of start-ups in Espoo is more than 103 million euros and has risen sharply in recent years. More than 70 per cent of start-ups seek rapid international growth, with almost a fourth seeking international markets from the start. Internationalisation is particularly focused on Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the United States, Norway and Denmark.
Internationality is also reflected in the working language.
“Espoo's internationality is one of our strongest pull factors. We have a multicultural start-up community with experts from across the world. This is also shown in everyday life, with English being the primary working language in 71 per cent of businesses – even when the founders have a Finnish background. Internationality is not just part of Espoo’s identity, it opens global markets for businesses,” says Teemu Haapalehto, Director of Economic Development, City of Espoo.
The portfolio of technologies used by start-ups in Espoo is very extensive and diverse. Espoo is one of the leading centres for technologies based on research and science in Finland, and the city has a strong centre of excellence in quantum, microelectronics and semiconductor technologies. Interest towards dual use technologies is rising rapidly. The same applies to defence, space and cyber security technologies.
An attractive location for start-ups
Espoo's innovation ecosystem attracts people from other regions in Finland to start a business in Espoo. More than 30 per cent of start-ups under examination were originally founded elsewhere in Finland, while over 60 per cent have been founded in Espoo.
“Our strategic goal is to remain the innovation centre in Finland and the most important concentration of start-up and growth businesses in the country. We want to offer a solid foundation for growth and to get start-ups rooted here,” says Haapalehto.
Various accelerator and hothouse programmes, such as Kiuas or ESA BIC, play an important role in the formation of new teams or the testing of ideas in comparison to similar cities. Businesses created through start-up programmes or university studies also seem to grow faster than other start-ups.
Background: Espoo start-up study
Espoo has a large number of successful businesses that were originally start-ups, and it should be pointed that there is no established definition for start-ups. This study focused on businesses that employ 1–49 persons, are privately owned limited liability companies and which develop innovative products or services with a high level of business risk, are actively seeking internationalisation and strong growth, have received risk financing or have garnered interest from a venture capitalist and are 0–10 years old.
The study offers a concrete knowledge base to support the development of Espoo's industrial policy and business services.
The study was implemented by Crazy Town in cooperation with the City of Espoo.
The City of Espoo is part of the Business Espoo service network for businesses and entrepreneurs, which supports the vitality of entrepreneurs and businesses in Espoo and surrounding municipalities by providing the best, continuously evolving services in one place: BusinessEspoo.com.
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Enquiries
City of Espoo
Heli Hidén, Senior Planning Officer
Tel. +358 40 8019930
heli.hiden@espoo.fi
Crazy Town
Tommi Uitti, Research Director
Tel. +358 40 3675698
tommi.uitti@crazytown.fi