Top Startup Accelerators & Incubators in Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki isn't just about saunas, design, and endless summer days. It's quietly become one of Europe's most dynamic startup ecosystems. Finland's capital has transformed from Nokia's hometown into a breeding ground for tech unicorns like Supercell and Wolt. Behind this Nordic success story lies a uniquely Finnish approach to innovation: pragmatic, resilient, and built on the idea that solving genuine problems might be good business.
This guide explores the leading accelerators and incubators shaping Helsinki's evolving startup landscape. These programs support domestic and international startups seeking to establish themselves in the Finnish market.
Top 20 Startup Accelerators & Incubators in Helsinki, Finland
1. Kiuas
Target Audience: Early-stage startups at different development phases
Niche: Stage-specific acceleration
Kiuas operates two complementary programs tailored to startups at different stages of development. It offers a focused four-week Kiuas Start program for validating ideas and an eight-week Accelerator for more established ventures. The program provides comprehensive mentoring and workshops addressing stage-specific challenges and opportunities. It also creates a robust community leveraging an extensive network of successful Finnish startups.
2. Health Incubator Helsinki
Target Audience: Research-based health startups
Niche: Life sciences and medical innovation
Health Incubator Helsinki delivers an extended three-year program specifically for health technology ventures. It focuses on complex innovations in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and life sciences. It provides tailored coaching and mentoring that addresses the unique challenges of health innovation and creates connections within Helsinki's extensive health technology ecosystem.
3. Nordic XR Startups
Target Audience: Virtual and augmented reality ventures
Niche: XR technology
Nordic XR Startups specializes in supporting ventures developing virtual and augmented reality solutions. It provides substantial financial support with up to €100,000 pre-seed and seed funding. It offers an intensive six-month program with specialized mentoring and workshops. It also creates connections to a global network of XR investors and industry experts.
4. NewCo Helsinki
Target Audience: Internationally oriented startups
Niche: Global growth preparation
NewCo Helsinki is one of Finland's oldest and most established accelerator programs. It provides comprehensive mentoring and support focused on international market expansion, offers extensive networking opportunities connecting startups with global resources, and creates pathways for Finnish innovations to achieve international scale and impact.
5. Urban Tech Helsinki
Target Audience: Urban innovation startups
Niche: Sustainable urban solutions
Urban Tech Helsinki focuses on ventures developing sustainable solutions for urban environments. It specializes in innovations addressing the circular economy, clean energy, smart traffic, and urban agriculture. It provides specialized coaching and extensive networking opportunities and creates pathways for implementing urban solutions in real-world settings.
6. Helsinki XR Center
Target Audience: Extended reality creators and developers
Niche: XR development resources
Helsinki XR Center delivers specialized support for virtual and augmented reality ventures. It provides access to advanced workspace facilities and specialized XR development equipment. It offers mentoring specifically addressing the unique challenges of XR product development and creates a collaborative environment for extended reality innovation.
7. Business Helsinki Accelerator
Target Audience: Early-stage local ventures
Niche: Business model development
Business Helsinki Accelerator provides long-term support for early-stage startups through personalized development programs. It offers one-on-one coaching sessions focusing on business model refinement and validation. The accelerator helps ventures prepare effectively for successful market entry and customer acquisition and creates a strong foundation for sustainable business growth.
8. Terkko Health Hub
Target Audience: Health and life sciences innovators
Niche: Health technology development
Terkko Health Hub combines accelerator and incubator models for health technology ventures. It provides an initial €2,500 grant funding with pathways to additional seed investment. It offers both a two-month accelerator program and an extended three-year incubator for research-based companies. It creates a comprehensive support system for health innovation commercialization.
9. ESA BIC Finland
Target Audience: Space technology startups
Niche: Space technology commercialization
ESA BIC Finland specializes in supporting ventures applying space technologies to non-space applications. It provides substantial funding of up to €75,000 for selected ventures with significant potential. It offers technical support and access to specialized laboratory facilities and creates connections to European Space Agency expertise and networks.
10. Helsinki Education Hub
Target Audience: Education technology ventures
Niche: Educational innovation
Helsinki Education Hub focuses exclusively on startups developing innovative education solutions. It provides a dedicated workspace and expert coaching tailored to educational market needs. The hub offers a collaborative environment connecting entrepreneurs with educational institutions and experts. It also creates pathways for implementing innovations within Finland's world-renowned education system.
11. EnergySpin
Target Audience: Energy sector innovators
Niche: Energy technology
EnergySpin delivers a focused ten-week accelerator program for energy-related innovations. It provides access to substantial funding opportunities of up to €1 million for selected ventures. It offers intensive mentorship from established energy industry experts and leaders. It also creates connections to potential corporate customers and implementation partners.
12. Red Brick Accelerator
Target Audience: Early-stage ventures at different phases
Niche: Stage-specific acceleration
Red Brick Accelerator operates complementary programs addressing different startup development stages. It offers a six-week pre-accelerator program focused on idea validation and a comprehensive 12-week accelerator focusing on product-market fit development. The accelerator creates a structured pathway from the initial idea to the market-ready product.
13. SPARK Finland
Target Audience: Health technology innovators
Niche: Health innovation commercialization
SPARK Finland specializes in supporting the transition from health research to commercial application. It provides mentorship, specifically addressing the complex challenges of health technology development. It offers resources facilitating the journey from laboratory to market implementation. SPARK Finland creates pathways for transforming scientific discovery into viable health businesses.
14. Viikki Food Design Factory
Target Audience: Food system innovators
Niche: Food technology
Viikki Food Design Factory supports ventures that are developing innovations across the food value chain. It provides expert coaching from food industry specialists and technical experts. It offers access to specialized facilities for food product testing and development. It creates an environment for transforming food innovation concepts into viable products.
15. Founder Institute Helsinki
Target Audience: Pre-seed entrepreneurs
Niche: Early-stage venture development
Founder Institute Helsinki operates as the local chapter of this global pre-seed startup accelerator. It structures an equity arrangement in which founders commit 4% to the Founder Institute Collective. The institute delivers comprehensive programs supporting aspiring entrepreneurs from idea to company formation, creating a foundation for sustainable venture development and growth.
16. Mutiny Accelerator
Target Audience: Problem-solvers and early-stage innovators
Niche: Challenge-based innovation
Mutiny Accelerator runs a six-week idea acceleration program with a unique approach to innovation. It focuses on solving real-world challenges through structured workshops and development processes. Industry professionals with relevant domain expertise provide guidance. Mutiny Accelerator creates an environment for transforming problem-solving into viable business ventures.
17. Boost Turku (Helsinki Chapter)
Target Audience: Student entrepreneurs
Niche: Academic entrepreneurship
Boost Turku delivers specialized support for student-led ventures and innovations. It provides mentoring and resources addressing the unique challenges of student entrepreneurship. It offers networking and community-building opportunities connecting young entrepreneurs. It creates pathways for academic innovation to achieve commercial implementation.
18. Maria 01
Target Audience: Technology startups with scaling potential
Niche: Tech ecosystem hub
Maria 01 functions as Helsinki's premier startup campus and ecosystem hub. It provides a collaborative workspace hosting over 170 startups and dozens of venture capital firms. It offers networking events, mentorship opportunities, and connections to investors. It creates a vibrant community where tech startups can grow through collaboration and resource sharing.
19. xEdu
Target Audience: Education technology startups
Niche: Education innovation
xEdu specializes in accelerating companies' development of innovations in learning and education. It provides structured programs helping edtech ventures develop and validate their solutions. It also connects to Finland's world-class education system for piloting and feedback. xEdu creates pathways for implementing educational innovations in real learning environments.
20. Circular Economy Accelerator
Target Audience: Sustainability-focused startups
Niche: Circular economy solutions
Circular Economy Accelerator supports ventures developing solutions for sustainable resource utilization. It provides specialized mentoring addressing the unique challenges of circular business models. It offers connections to corporate partners seeking sustainable innovations. It creates implementation opportunities for solutions reducing waste and environmental impact.
AcceleratorApp's Closing Thoughts on Startup Accelerators and Incubators in Helsinki, Finland
What makes Helsinki's startup scene unique isn't just the technical talent or the funding, though both are abundant. It's something more profound in the Finnish character: a practical, no-nonsense approach to solving real problems combined with a society built on trust and cooperation.
In a country where winter nights are long and summers short, Finns have developed an innate understanding that resources are precious and should be used wisely. This translates into a startup culture that values substance over hype, sustainable growth over overnight sensation, and genuine impact over vanity metrics. Helsinki's entrepreneurs don't build startups to flip them; they build companies meant to last.
As Helsinki continues to punch above its weight on the global startup stage, it remains distinctly Finnish, pragmatic, resilient, and refreshingly authentic. In a world of startup ecosystems chasing the Silicon Valley model, Helsinki proves there's another way forward: building companies that solve real problems, treat people well, and still create tremendous value. Maybe it's something in the water or something in the sauna.