My trip to Finland is coming to an end, and I’m leaving this country with a bit of sadness because I had a very good week here. These days I’ve got to learn more about the Finnish XR ecosystem and of course, before I leave, I want to share this knowledge with you.
Business Finland (an entity under the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy with the purpose, among many other things, of providing funds for innovation) has identified five industries on which to focus in the next years. One is defined as “engaging and immersive experiences”, or as people loved to call it until 6 months ago, the “metaverse”.
The metaverse is one of the innovation sectors identified as strategic.
While I was at MatchXR, Business Finland revealed a first draft of the Finnish metaverse strategy, which has the ambitious goal of making Finland one of the global leaders for what concerns Metaverse by 2035.
I was also quite happy to hear about a European country trying to have a long-term plan for the “metaverse”. After having hated that word so much during the hype, I was actually relieved to hear it again in a context about strategic planning and not inside the sentence “the metaverse is dead”. Kudos to Finland not to fall for the hype of the moment, but to be consistent in its purpose. Announcing such a strategy means that some innovation funds will be allocated for the development of “metaverse” solutions, and this means money arriving at the XR ecosystem in Finland, which is very positive for the companies in the field.
Business Finland also identified three key sectors from which to start their metaverse efforts: industrial, healthcare, and social interaction.
If this topic interested you and you want to discover more, you can check out all the needed info on the official website of the Metaverse Initiative.
MatchXR always happens before Slush, which is one of the biggest events for startups in the whole Europe. If you have a startup looking for partners, customers, or investors, Slush is the place to be. What I learned the hard way is that if you want to attend Slush, you have to plan for it way ahead because tickets usually go sold out.
There are various interesting companies in the greater Helsinki area, like Varjo, Nokia, and Rovio. If you come for one of these events, you could try to contact these companies for a visit. We attendees of MatchXR were able to visit Varjo and try the new headset, for instance.
As for the language barrier, many people speak English here, so I had no problems in general.
It was worth it. If you go, just take with you a thermal shirt and thermal trousers and you will be fine outside, while inside it is usually warm enough. Also come with some shoes with a good grip on the sole, so you don’t risk sliding on the ice when there is some. Bring also some medicines for the flu, because you may end up getting sick like me.
I just want to briefly thank everyone who contributed to making this trip so interesting, and give a special mention to some people who helped in a particular way: Jussi, Tiina, Damon, Janne, Ida, and Aleksis. Kiitos, you’re amazing!