Europe is scaling up, and so is Finnish deep tech

Europe's venture ecosystem keeps growing, and Invest Europe's latest consolidated data proves it. In 2025, €19.7 billion was invested into 4,827 companies at venture stage, 4% more than in 2024. Venture-backed growth investments grew considerably faster: €4.7 billion was invested into 429 companies, up 15% on the previous year.

The 10-year view shows how different the two stages are. Over the last decade, €132.5 billion has been invested into 26,388 European companies at venture stage, and €48.3 billion into 1,983 venture-backed growth companies. Venture-backed growth involves far fewer companies, and each one receives a larger investment. For deep tech companies, this is the stage where the challenge shifts from developing the technology to building and scaling a business.

Turning from European investor figures to Finnish companies: according to the Finnish Venture Capital Association's (FVCA) statistics, Finnish startups raised a record €1.9 billion in 2025. Finland is a small market in Europe, but it has produced 18 unicorns to date, one of the highest numbers per capita in the world. Some of the clearest examples come from deep tech. In June, ICEYE, whose satellites image the Earth through cloud cover, became Finland's third decacorn, joining Supercell and Oura. Within just a few weeks, two new deep tech unicorns emerged: Bluefors, whose cryogenic systems support quantum computing, and Sensofusion, which develops systems that detect and neutralise drones. Deep tech is also reaching public markets: IQM, the quantum computer company, has listed in both Nasdaq Helsinki and New York this year.

Early on, deep tech is about research and prototypes. In engineering-minded Finland, there is no shortage of either. The state is also building on this base: Finland invested €8.9 billion, or 3.2% of its GDP, in research and development in 2024, one of the highest shares in the EU, with companies accounting for two-thirds. The R&D Funding Act commits Finland to raising public R&D funding to 1.2% of GDP by 2030, underpinning the national target of 4% total. Universities in Helsinki-Espoo, Tampere, Oulu and Turku turn this research base into deep tech spinouts. Bluefors, for example, has its roots at Aalto University, and IQM started as an academic spinoff.

Complex technology, like satellites or quantum computers, does not emerge overnight, so deep tech companies need patient capital.

To build a global company is no easy task. A company has to move from a working prototype to repeatable production, from pilot customers to international contracts, and from a research team to a global organisation. Each step takes time, expertise and capital. This is where venture-backed growth investment becomes particularly important: it provides the financing needed to build production, enter new markets and expand an organisation once the underlying technology has been proven.

Finland has a significant opportunity ahead. Its startup ecosystem is currently valued at around €60 billion, and by 2035 it could be worth €250 billion, with deep tech making up a large part of that growth. A growing number of Finnish companies is now reaching the scaleup stage and looking for later stage investors.

Europe is scaling up, and with the right capital behind them, Finland's deep tech can scale with it.

Samuel Wendelin

Director, Fund Investments, Tesi

Member, LP Council, Invest Europe