Health Incubator Helsinki is a long-term incubator program driving the transformation of health innovation, research findings and expertise into international business and attracting new talent and companies to Helsinki. The concept is unique in the Nordics in its focus and duration: the incubator focuses solely on health-related startups, and the program lasts up to three years.
For the fourth incubator program that kickstarted in April 2023, Health Incubator Helsinki received 29 high-quality applications representing a wide range of health-related businesses. The majority of the applications came from Finland. In addition, the incubator attracted interest from teams based in other countries, including Denmark, Germany and Pakistan.
After the interviews, the following companies and teams were selected: AarogyaAI, Ai2Ai Oy, Auxcuro Inc, Cardiolyse, ClickPET, CorFlux, HATO Medical Technologies, MEDIVERSE, R2therapies Oy and SIR Analytics.
– During the selection process, we emphasised high growth potential, team dedication and high business scalability to international markets, says Christian Lardot, Health Incubator Helsinki Lead.
Up to 3 years of customised mentoring and advice
The incubator program, initiated by Business Helsinki and the University of Helsinki, provides long-term support, including customised mentoring and advice and broad network opportunities. The teams are also offered office and co-working facilities at Terkko Health Hub, in close proximity to HUS Helsinki University Hospital. The incubator services are free for the participants, apart from a small fee for the office space.
The new startups selected into the program will start their journey with a two-month onboarding, emphasising product and service concept development and to secure funding. After the initial period, the support will be focused on advising each team individually.
– According to our customer surveys, valuable aspects for the teams are to get support in securing financing, peer-to-peer support, and utilising Health Incubator Helsinki’s network in getting contacts with investors and industry experts, Lardot points out.
Addressing emerging trends
With the latest batch of startups, Health Incubator Helsinki companies now develop a more diverse range of technologies and new concepts that serve various needs of both the research community as well as end-users and caregivers. Trends such as AI, Telemedicine, Biodata and Personalized medicine are emerging and strengthening their presence in the health space. Some of the new startups strongly align with these emerging trends.
– We look forward to working with the startups and teams to support them in their growth plans and provide them with the needed support, says Lardot.
– We would also like to encourage startups and researchers to be in contact with us as we are continuously looking for new growth companies. We will open the next call in March 2024, Lardot adds.
Helsinki makes it a priority to support innovative business activities that promote health. Our goal is to create Europe’s best ecosystem for fledgling businesses by the year 2025. Helsinki is proud to provide a city-sized experimental platform for testing, developing, piloting and scaling innovations.
About Health Incubator Helsinki
Health Incubator Helsinki is a comprehensive incubator program in Finland for research-based, early-stage teams and startups operating in the health sector. The incubator, initiated by Business Helsinki and the University of Helsinki, and provided in partnership with Health Capital Helsinki, started operations in 2020. It is part of a consortium that supports startups and research-based teams from universities and SPRAK Finland to develop their health and life sciences innovations and business concepts towards becoming growth companies. Currently, 34 health startups are participating in the incubator programs.