Maria 01 – October Digest 📩
Hi John,
Maria 01 Celebrated a 10-year Anniversary
October was a big month for Maria 01! We celebrated our 10th birthday with an evening full of familiar faces, new connections and plenty of ways to have fun.
We turned a whole building into a club, had multiple dancefloors, tarot readings, a Maria 01-branded temporary tattoo station, arcade games, a casino and a Pitch the Word idea challenge. Guests could also contribute to our time capsule and earn Maria 01 chips to take part in an auction, with some great prizes up for grabs.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening special, and especially to our supporters Wolt Benefits, Konecranes, and Supercell for making the celebration possible. Here's to the people, ideas and companies that have shaped our first decade – and everything still ahead!
Looking ahead: A New Strategic Direction
As Maria 01 enters its next decade, we're taking an important step forward. Our board has approved a new strategy with a clear focus: making Maria 01 the best possible environment for ambitious founders to build their companies.
Going forward, we'll be more deliberate about the community we build, the connections we facilitate and where we focus our resources. Our role will be to act as an orchestrator, connecting founders with exceptional peers, investors, talent, customers and partners, rather than trying to build every service ourselves.
This strategic shift also means moving to a leaner team with a clearer focus. Unfortunately, this involves saying goodbye to some valued members of our team. We're grateful for everything they've contributed and know that the experience, extensive startup networks and deep ecosystem knowledge they've built along the way will be valuable assets wherever their next opportunities take them.
While these changes are difficult, we strongly believe in the direction we're taking and in the opportunity to make an even greater impact on the success of ambitious founders.
SLUSH WEEK AT MARIA 01 🦄
Slush week is almost here, and things are about to get busy both at Slush and at Maria 01! Come find us at the Maria 01 booth at Slush to say hello, meet the team and some of our startups. And who knows… you might even get the chance to ride a unicorn. We'll keep the details a little mysterious for now. 👀
The excitement doesn't stop at the Slush venue. Our campus will be buzzing with activity throughout the week, with plenty of events to join. From our Builders' Breakfast and Maria 01 Startups Demo Day, where you can meet some of the brilliant startups building here, to a special event we're co-organising with Anthropic, there's a lot happening.
Want to get to know the community behind it all? Join one of our campus tours and discover what makes Maria 01 one of the leading startup communities in the Nordics.
NEWS FROM THE MARIA 01 COMMUNITY
⚡In October, we welcomed 9 new companies into our ever-growing community. Welcome!
⚡At the Birthday Party, we were excited to give the annual Maria 01 Awards. Celebrating Maria 01 Legends Marja-Leena Rinkineva and Jarmo Hyökyvaara, Maria 01 Rising stars - NestAI, Userlens, Taiga, and Ecosystem Heros - Monika Liikamaa, Aape Pohjavirta, Olga Balakina.
⚡KPMG’s latest Venture Pulse points to strengthening European venture investment in Q3’26 and continued depth in the Nordic growth ecosystem, with strong venture funding complemented by active public markets. Recent momentum in Finland, including Steady Energy and Sensofusion, is an encouraging sign that the route from private growth capital to the public markets is reopening.
⚡Big congrats to our member Jónsbók on securing investment from Crowberry Capital and Leo Capital, both members of our investor network!
⚡Huge congratulations to our member Volare on raising €7.1 million!
⚡Congratulations to AutoAgentti team, for raising €5.4M from Sanoma and our investor network member Superhero Capital as their main investors!
⚡Congratulations to Comparables.ai team for raising $6M in seed funding!
⚡ Congratulations to Narvi Payments for making it to the TOP 10 of Sifted 250 ranking!
⚡Congratulations to our member AgenttiX for making it to the Helsingin Sanomat front page!
UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
🗓 03.11. | 13:00–14:30 | Successful Business Finland Reporting – Well Planned, Smoothly Reported | Maria 01, Classroom
Join Valjas CEO Pasi and DFK auditor Fredrik for a practical session on Business Finland project reporting and documenting development expenses, with tips from both an auditor and an accountant.
🗓 04.11. | 16:00–18:00 | SCOPE GALLERY: Exhibition Opening | Maria 01
ExploreFriction, the third chapter of STATES OF CHANGE. The exhibition explores what happens when forces, ideas, identities and perspectives meet and resist one another – creating tension, conflict, but also movement, energy and transformation.
🗓 04.11. | 18:00–19:00 EET | Investor Signals: Why Outreach Fails on Timing, Not on the Deck | Online
Raising soon? Your deck may not be the problem. You may be emailing the right investors at the wrong moment. Join HubSpot for Startups and Fund Momentum to learn how to read investor signals and write a first email that gets replies. New HubSpot for Startups members also get 3 months of Fund Momentum Pro free.
🗓 11.11. | 08:30–10:30 | Talent in a Growth Company – Breakfast at Maria 01 | Maria 01
Join us for breakfast and a conversation about building the right team to support your company's growth. Perfect for founders, CEOs, HR and people leads, and team leads.
🗓 12.11. | 17:30–20:00 | Nordic AI Night – Nordic Ambition Meets the US | Maria 01
Join an evening bringing together AI founders, investors and corporate leaders exploring the Nordic-to-US journey. Meet globally ambitious people building and scaling AI, hear honest stories from founders already making the leap to the US, and enjoy good conversations over wine and pizza.
🗓 16.11. | 09:00–11:00 | Builders’ Breakfast with Niilo Pirttijärvi: From Slush to Building One of Finland’s Fastest-Growing Companies | Maria 01
Join Niilo Pirttijärvi, Co-Founder and CEO of Inven, for a fireside chat about building one of the Nordics’ fastest-growing AI companies. Hear the honest story behind growing to 1,000+ customers, raising €11.2M, breaking into the US market and navigating investor rejections along the way.
🗓 16.11. | 13:00–15:00 | Meet Maria 01 Startups: Slush Edition | Maria 01
Discover Helsinki’s next wave of startups during Slush Week! Meet promising early-stage teams, hear their 1-minute pitches and connect with founders directly at their own tables. A great opportunity for investors, corporates and startup ecosystem professionals to discover new companies and opportunities.
🗓 17.11. | 16:00–18:00 | Inside Anthropic: Claude in Practice | Maria 01
Join Anthropic and Maria 01 for a practical look at how Claude is used inside Anthropic to boost productivity across teams. Hear from Anthropic's Nick Carmont and meet three standout startups from Maria 01 NEXT: AIATELLA, Tai.ga and MultivisionDX.
🗓 24.11. | 13:00–14:30 | Startup Financial Statements: Are Your Numbers, Minutes and Corporate Decisions in Order? | Maria 01
Join this practical training led by an accounting professional and an auditor to learn what to check before your startup’s financial year-end. Perfect for startup founders, finance leads and board members.
Maria 01, Lapinlahdenkatu 16, Helsinki, Uusimaa 00180, Finland