Health Incubator Helsinki was founded in 2020 to support the commercialisation of innovations yielded by research and their growth towards successful business activities. Health Incubator Helsinki provides its participants tailored support, such as mentoring and expert assistance, as well as networking with investors and health sector operators. Startups selected to the program are also provided with access to an office and a co-working space at Terkko Health Hub, located in the heart of Meilahti hospital area in Helsinki. Aside from a small fee collected for the office, the program is free of charge for the startups.
“During the first two months of the program, we focus on providing the new teams with an overall picture of developing an innovation into a finalised product for them to have a good grasp of the basics. After that, we focus on topics related to product development and acquiring funding for the development and the piloting phase. After this initial period of two months, our support will be focused on advising each team individually”, Christian Lardot, Incubator Lead at Health Incubator Helsinki, describes the design of the program.
Millions of euros in funding collected by startups taking part in the program
Health Incubator Helsinki currently has 35 teams taking part in the program. Over the years, participating companies have collected a total of 30 million euros in funding. During the program, teams have focused on acquiring funding, piloting and finalising their product – and achieved significant results.
Startups and teams taking part in the program have been very satisfied with the content of the program. One of last year’s new participants was AarogyaAI whose intelligent genomics software aims to identify antibiotic resistance in patients and assist policymakers by predicting future antimicrobial resistance with their AI-powered genomics platform.
“When thinking about EU expansion, we immediately thought of the Finnish investment ecosystem’s open and receptive atmosphere. If we think of EU, Helsinki needs to be our base. That’s why Health Incubator Helsinki made sense. The team at the incubator is super supportive and helpful in understanding market needs, how to pitch, and particularly the regulatory pathways. When entering a new market as a foreign company, it is important to understand the local ecosystem and its requirements before going to market. Health Incubator Helsinki is actively helping us do that,” comments co-founder and CTO of AarogyaAI Avlokita Tiwari.
Seeking innovative ideas and dedicated teams
The incubator, initiated by the City of Helsinki and the University of Helsinki is now seeking innovative Finnish and international startups and teams in the early stages of their operations for the fifth time now. The application period for Health Incubator Helsinki is 14 February–31 March 2024. The teams invited to interviews based on their applications will be contacted during week 14, after which 10–12 startups and teams will be selected to the program that will begin in the end of April.
“In the application phase, we assess whether there is a demand for the innovation, service or product or whether the team is working on something new or just improving existing solutions. Key selection criteria include the team’s competence, experience, dedication and passion. Equally important is that the product must also be internationally scalable”, Christian Lardot states.