Pitch Finland DefSec will be held in Riihimäki on 7 June in connection with the MaanpuolustusAreena at the Erämessut fair. At the pitching event, startups will compete for a EUR 100,000 investment and get to present their innovations publicly for the first time to Finland’s largest investor organisations. This is the startup field’s first pitching event of this scale focused on the defence and security sector.

The event is organised by FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network ry), Tesi (Suomen Teollisuussijoitus Oy), VTT (Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy), Business Finland, the City of Riihimäki, Defence Innovation Network Finland, Digital Defense Ecosystem, FVCA – Pääomasijoittajat ry and Kyberala ry. The event is part of the EU-funded Connect2Scale project and the Define project led by the City of Riihimäki.

Although hundreds of companies seek funding every year through FiBAN, the Finnish business angel association, finding funding has previously been challenging for companies in the defence and security sector. Finland’s NATO membership has significantly raised investors’ interest in the defence sector. The eyes of international investors have also turned towards Finland.

“The idea for the event, and through it for mapping the number of startups, arose from discussions among certain venture capital and angel investors. The desire to help is felt to be particularly important in these times. But no investor does this out of patriotism alone – the defence and security sector will grow tremendously over the next decade, and that growth is worth being part of,” confirms Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, CEO of the Finnish Business Angels Network.

Strong defence expertise in Riihimäki

The event will be held as part of MaanpuolustusAreena in Riihimäki. Riihimäki already has defence industry, and even stronger defence business activity is being built in the city. The defence industry already employs over 1,000 people in the area: the area is home to, among others, the Finnish Defence Research Agency, the command and control systems centre and the electronic warfare centre, Sako and Millog.

“Cities build growth on their strengths. Riihimäki has strong specialised expertise in the security and defence sector, which we want to harness as an engine of Finland’s economic growth. We are proud to host this significant new opening, which will hopefully continue in the future,” says Jouni Eho, Mayor of Riihimäki.

Dual-use solutions for the whole of society: satellite technologies and quantum computers

In the defence and security sectors, dual use in particular is seen as having strong potential, as dual-use technology can be utilised in both civilian and defence applications.

“There is now strong demand for defence innovations, and the NATO Diana accelerator and two test centres awarded to Finland will in future be available to startup companies. We therefore hope for the greatest possible participation from Finland in the 2024 Diana challenge competition. The Pitch Finland DefSec event is a great example of how to map Finnish startups interested in the defence sector,” says Sauli Eloranta, Vice President at VTT.

Dual-use and defence technologies are also increasingly topical for Tesi – Tesi is already a significant investor in companies such as Sisu Auto and Rauma Marine

“Our startup and growth-stage investments include Iceye, IQM, Varjo Technologies and Dispelix. We are currently exploring how Tesi could be more actively involved in developing and internationalising Finland’s defence industry ecosystem together with other actors in the field,” says Keith Bonnici, Investment Director at Tesi.

In addition to direct investments, Tesi invested EUR 35 million in the NATO Innovation Fund in May 2023. The total size of the fund is one billion euros.

“For Tesi, the June pitching competition provides an excellent opportunity to get to know promising early-stage dual-use companies,” Bonnici adds.

Applicants for the Pitch Finland DefSec competition are expected from Finland, the Baltics and the Nordic countries, and the startup application period ends on 26 April. Angel and venture capital investors are prepared to invest EUR 100,000 in the best company of the competition.

At the MaanpuolustusAreena public event, discussion on Finland’s role in NATO and in the technology competition between great powers will be sparked by Risto E.J. Penttilä, CEO of Nordic West Office, and a representative of the Defence Forces. The discussion will continue in a panel discussion featuring, among others, Professor of Cybersecurity and Member of Parliament Jarno Limnéll and Patria’s CEO Esa Rautalinko. In addition, at the afternoon’s invitation-only seminar, speakers on defence industry innovations will include Olli Ruutu from the Ministry of Defence as well as representatives of the business community.

MaanpuolustusAreena and Pitch Finland DefSec will be held in connection with the Kansainväliset Erämessut fair taking place in Riihimäki.

See the Erämessut event pages and tickets.

Further information

Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen
CEO, Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN)
tel. 040 750 7417
tiina.laisi-puheloinen@fiban.org
Read also: Defence and security startups need funding channels for growth (The opinion piece is behind a paywall in Kauppalehti.)

Jouni Eho
Mayor, City of Riihimäki
tel.  044 767 6674
jouni.eho@riihimaki.fi
Read also on the City of Riihimäki website: Riihimäki is building a new kind of defence cooperation

Keith Bonnici
Investment Director, Tesi
tel.  040 179 9584
keith.bonnici@tesi.fi
Read also on Tesi’s website: Finland joins NATO’s one-billion-euro innovation fund

Sauli Eloranta
Vice president, VTT
tel. 040 580 8664
sauli.eloranta@vtt.fi
Read also on VTT’s website: A NATO business accelerator for Finland