Weekend Wrap
A table to sleep on, EUR 7 billion acquisition and shared snow shovels
Tampere is a historically industrial town built on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids.
Laura Vanzo / Visit TampereThe word of the week is tech. Major money comes in for a Finnish meal delivery platform and AR technology, and a new quantum processor plant opens in Espoo. Click on any photo and take a look at recent creativity from Finland.
Dinner in bed, anyone? Finnish furniture innovation Tablebed has made it to the Time magazine’s The Best Innovations of 2021 list. Tablebed works wonders in a small living space, turning from a six-person dinner table to a double bed in only 10 seconds. (Photo: Tablebed) Read more on Time.
The heat has been turned up in the food delivery market. US delivery app DoorDash has acquired its Finnish counterpart Wolt in a seven billion-euro all-stock deal. The deal gives DoorDash access to the highly-competitive European market, where Wolt already operates in many countries. (Photo: Wolt) Financial Times has the story.
Travelling to Finland? Try Tampere, but don’t take our word for it. Tampere-native Emmi Berlin promises you won’t find many people in the lakeside town who are “pretentious, dishonest or unfriendly”. Berlin shared her tips and thoughts on living in Tampere in an interview with Scandinavian Mind. (Photo: Laura Vanzo / Visit Tampere)
Flying high (virtually). Together, VRM Switzerland’s helicopter motion simulation platform and the Finnish-made Varjo Aero VR headset create a flight experience realistic enough for the European Union Safety Agency (EASA). EASA has approved the combo for professional pilots to log VR flight hours. (Photo: Varjo) Checkout Varjo’s video for more.
Share a shovel and help the environment. In an effort to reduce consumption, the City of Turku has introduced a lending system for sewing machines and snow shovels. Alongside eco-friendly transport and heat production using forest industry by-products, this is one of the schemes driving the city towards carbon neutrality by the end of the decade. (Photo: Eero Keski-Oja / City of Turku) The National interviewed Turku officials at the COP26 summit.
It’s quantum, baby. Espoo-based IQM Quantum Computers has opened a 20 million-euro fabrication facility to design, research and manufacture its processors. IQM is also building Finland’s first commercial quantum computer in collaboration with VTT. (Photo: IQM) Read more in eeNews Europe’s article.
Amoth moves to Rockshots Records. The Helsinki-based melodic progressive heavy metal band will release its third album, The Hour Of The Wolf, under its new label on 28 January 2022. (Photo: Facebook / Amoth / Metal Spell Photography) Listen to the album’s first single on Bravewords.
One down, one to go. A new museum of architecture and design is one step closer to becoming reality in Helsinki after it gained city approval. The next hurdle is to receive the same backing from the Finnish state. (Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Tori Quarter) Yle writes about the museum plans.
Oddbods’ colourful characters jump into kids’ meal boxes. The Singaporean Oddbods creator, One Animation, has struck a branding deal with Finnish fast-food chain Hesburger. It will use the animation studio’s characters in meal boxes across its 464 restaurants in Europe. (Photo: Facebook / Oddbods) LicenseGlobal writes about the deal.
The future is feather-light. Espoo-based Dispelix, a pioneer in extremely lightweight and thin see-through displays for augmented reality (AR), has closed a 28.4 million-euro series-B funding round. The new investment will allow the company to better serve AR equipment manufacturers and pave the way for the first consumer products to hit the market in 2023. (Photo: Dispelix) EU-startup has details on the deal.