Inside Arctic15 Day 2: the startups, the investors and the millions at stake
On the second day of Arctic15 2025, the spotlight shifted firmly toward what truly fuels the Nordic tech scene: startups chasing new solutions and the money to make them real.
From ultra-thin antennas for nano-satellites to breast cancer tests modeled after COVID swabs, innovation was everywhere you looked inside Helsinki’s iconic Cable Factory. If Day 1 we talked about the networking and the event environment, Day 2 is all about the builders—and the investors sizing them up.
The startups: real problems, real tech
The founders at Arctic15 weren’t just pitching dreams—they were addressing gnarly, real-world problems with science and software.
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One startup, Project Diamant, -a spun out of Aalto University-, showcased a membrane-thin satellite antenna that offers more transmission frequencies than Elon Musk’s Starlink services, at a fraction of its price, something that can potentially slash the cost of space-based services.
Another team, called PreMet, under the Research to Business (R2B) division from Tampere University -and the backing of Business Finland-, introduced a biomarker-powered lateral flow test for early breast cancer detection, aiming to disrupt the traditional mammogram with a simple, accessible strip test.
Then there was Koll, a startup born from the pain of enduring 1,300 cold calls, now offering a mobile solution that shows you who’s calling and why, turning upside down the current market, where most people thinks in True Caller. This puts the responsibility in who calls. It's the anti-spam revolution we didn’t know we needed.
Meanwhile, one company (My!Gamez) is solving something -that 10 years ago would seem unthinkable-: getting Western mobile games into China. With regulatory hurdles and localization chaos making the Chinese market nearly impenetrable, this startup acts as both publisher and compliance sherpa.
And in sports tech, a child-focused startup named Dribla -that haves the backup and business interest of Finland’s football squad captain, Lukas Hradecky, is letting kids practice football at home—interactive turf shoes and all—so that winter, heat, or safety concerns don’t stop play. "We’re aiming to replace cones and chaos with data and game design," the founder said.
The ask: from seed to A series and -maybe- beyond
Pitch decks flew fast, but so did funding requests. Some startups were raising as little as €50,000 to €100,000 in angel capital to finish hardware or boost marketplace marketing (named Nite Labs, which aims to help artists to improve their show experience with a mobile and all-in-one gizmo).
Others aimed higher: €500K to enter the U.S., €1 million to expand their publishing platform, and even €5 million to go global and secure CE/FDA regulatory approval.
In total, the funding landscape ranged from Business Finland’s €800K grants to multi-million euro blends of public-private partnerships, including potential ESA contributions for deeptech commercialization.
Investor Pulse: High energy, Real connections
Investors, for their part, seemed equally engaged. "What makes Arctic15 work is the density of meaningful meetings," said Carittä Seppä, from Spintop Ventures. "It’s curated intimacy, not just chaos in a hall.", explaining that the matchmaking system was in full force.
"I love it, it’s been really high energy. Of course, AI has been such a broad pillar of the conference, so I’ve been partaking in many discussions both on stage and off stage. I think it’s very timely, on topic, and been very well attended—so many good experiences and good conversations." — Chris Rynning, AMYP Ventures
If Day 2 proved anything, it’s that the Nordics aren’t just building startups. They’re engineering the next chapter of global innovation.
