According to a fresh impact report from the startup campus Maria 01, startups in its community tripled their total funding last year, soaring from €102M to €337M. Finland is cementing its position as one of the world’s most attractive markets for deep tech and dual-usage innovation.
HELSINKI, Finland (March 12th, 2026) – Maria 01, the largest startup campus in the Nordics, saw its community of startups triple total funding last year, soaring from €102 million to €337 million, highlighting Finland’s growing appeal to international investors seeking high-impact technology ventures. The findings are part of the campus’s impact report, which was published today.
The report comes following the recent release of Pitchbook’s international study ranking Finland fourth globally in startup funding per capita, ahead of all European nations and only behind the United States, Singapore, and Israel. The nation is becoming increasingly known as a prime destination for high-stakes, strategic tech investment, with globally notable success stories such as Silo AI, the largest AI acquisition in Europe, and IQM Quantum Computers, Europe’s first listed quantum company. Finland’s rise is no accident: these achievements demonstrate how a tiny nation can consistently deliver outsized technological impact on the global stage.
“Finland is no longer just a source of innovative apps or games,” declares Sarita Runeberg, CEO of Maria 01. “We are seeing an unprecedented international appetite for Finnish startups, particularly in the fields of deeptech and defence tech. Our mission is to ensure that global capital, talent, and partnerships flow into Finland, enabling startups to scale internationally while keeping Finland at the forefront of technological innovation.”
Maria 01’s Impact Report underscores a significant shift in investor focus. While Europe at large saw funding rounds decline in 2024–2025, Finland’s startup funding grew 56%, with 85% of Nordic defence-tech startup funding flowing to Finnish companies. This cements Finland’s position as a hub for deeptech and strategically important technologies that attract long-term global investment.
”On the broader ecosystem side, 2025 revealed that world-class innovations can be built in the Nordics. Companies like Lovable, Legora, and Tandem Health demonstrated that the Nordic application layer is genuinely competitive globally. That’s both validation and inspiration for the next generation. Maria 01 brings toreceiveher companies working on some of the most consequential technology challenges of our time,” declares Peter Sarlin, co-founder of Silo AI. Silo AI was a Maria 01 alumnus, and Peter Sarlin currently serves as Chairman of Qutwo and NestAI, two emerging AI startups with a presence at Maria 01.
Finnish startups are now entering a phase where ambition, expertise, and global interest converge.
“At Maria 01, we are building the ecosystem, talent, and visibility necessary for promising companies to become world leaders. This is not just growth. It’s a new era for Finnish innovation on the global stage,” Runeberg concludes.
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For additional information:
Impact report and media kit with pictures
Sarita Runeberg
CEO, Maria 01
+358 50 3578214
sarita@maria.io
Maria 01
Maria 01 is one of the leading startup campapplys in Europe. Our community brings toreceiveher early-stage startups, recognised venture capital firms and international investors, startup ecosystem organisations, and large enterprises with a strong foothold in the tech community, assisting each other succeed.
Founded in 2016 and located in an old hospital campus in central Helsinki, Maria 01 operates as a community-driven, not-for-profit organisation, co-owned by the Startup Foundation, Helsinki Enterprise Agency and the City of Helsinki. Currently, the community serves as the home to 2000 members working with 230 startups, 28 partner companies, and 17 local and foreign investor network members.
For more information, visit www.maria.io
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