Finnish startups are thriving in the wake of NATO expansion

HELSINKI — Startups are driving growth within Finland’s defense sector after the country joined NATO last year, with companies showing upticks in revenue of between 30% and 40%, according to an industry survey by the Helsinki-based investment firm Tesi Oy.

The survey found that the “NATO dividend” is working best for dual-use companies that are gaining traction from membership in the alliance to grow at a faster pace than pure defense groups.

Significantly, the survey revealed that many of the industry’s established companies, including the Finnish state controlled defense group Patria, are scaling up investments in the face of expanding their international reach to take advantage of NATO-sphere partnerships and contract opportunities.

Dual-use companies offering solutions for both civil and military use are not just experiencing rapid growth, but are also attracting indigenous and international investors, said Jakob Sandell, Tesi’s research director.

“Finland’s oldest defense companies date from the 1800s, yet as a whole the industry is still young but developing quite rapidly now. New companies are being established at a higher rate and their growth figures are impressive,” Sandell said.

The Tesi survey identified 368 companies operating in the indigenous defense sector, of which 144 were designated as “fast-growing startups and growth companies.”

Over one-third of Finnish companies offering dual-use products (DUPs) have venture capital and private equity investors as owners, the survey noted. Venture capital investors are currently the single biggest investor group in DUP companies. The growth capital needs in those firms has risen in line with investor interest and a boom in export licenses and sales.

New capital is required to ensure dual-use companies can meet increasing demand for products, orders and the wider opportunities presented by Finland’s membership of NATO, said Keith Bonnici, investment director at Tesi.

“Testimony to the country’s competitiveness in the defense industry generally is that Finnish companies include the world’s largest defense contractors amongst their customers, as well as NATO countries’ defense forces,” Bonnici said.

Some of Finland’s more established defense-only companies, the Tesi survey found, are producing moderate but positive growth albeit susceptible to weak profitability.

“It’s more difficult for companies focused entirely on defense materials and technology … to attract investments. Many investors are bound by financing agreements that may prohibit investing in technologies used for war purposes. This limitation does not apply to companies offering dual-purpose solutions since they operate with a specific commercial purpose,” said Bonnici.

Finland’s membership in NATO has opened the door to a “vast new array” of projects and commercial opportunities for startups like Varjo Oy, a company offering virtual- and mixed-reality solutions for flight training applications

“NATO membership has made a positive impact on Varjo’s operations. It has opened doors that were once largely closed to doing business with NATO countries in Europe, the United States and beyond,” said Varjo’s chief executive Timo Toikkanen.

Varjo opened a new secure manufacturing facility near Helsinki in August to bolster production and delivery of high-resolution, extended-reality (XR) solutions that are used in defense training and simulation, a niche market the company forecasts will be worth $900 million by 2027.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy currently use Varjo XR headsets in their virtual training programs, with additional prototypes slates for the air service for evaluation.

The NATO dividend is also lifting orders for Finland’s mature defense groups like Patria, which continues to deliver Patria 6x6 armored vehicles to the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) as part of Finland’s commitment to strengthening its land forces in support of deeper collaboration with the alliance.

The FDF’s Logistics Command Unit signed an agreement to purchase 91 6x6 armored personnel carriers (APCs), with equipment, from Patria in 2023.

The 2023 deal included an option to procure an additional 70 six-wheeled vehicles. The FDF, which exercised its option to purchase 41 additional Patria APCs in January 2024, is now utilizing that right to acquire the remaining 29 vehicles. These are slated to be delivered by year-end 2025.

The Patria 6x6 APC procurement is linked to the European Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) joint development program partnered by Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Germany .

The landscape for growth and contracts among native defense companies has substantially improved due to Finland’s ambitious capital spending commitments to the NATO alliance. Finland’s defense budget will rise by 12% to a record $7.3 billion in 2025. The increase in capital spending is $550 million above Finland’s defense budget in 2024.

The acquisition of fighter jets and armored vehicles from Patria are among the priciest items in the 2025 budget, which also includes spending of $80 million towards Finland’s NATO contribution.

The increased level of funding is earmarked to help establish an alliance command structure in Finland and enable land forces to be stationed as part of the reinforcement of the NATO’s eastern flank along Finland’s 833-mile border with Russia.

Gerard O'Dwyer is the Scandinavian affairs correspondent for Defense News.

赫尔辛基——据总部位于赫尔辛基的投资公司 Tesi Oy 的一项行业调查显示，芬兰去年加入北约后，初创企业正在推动芬兰国防领域的增长，相关公司的收入增长了 30% 至 40%。

调查发现，“北约红利”对那些因加入北约而获得发展动力、增长速度比纯粹的国防集团更快的军民两用公司效果最佳。

值得注意的是，调查显示，包括芬兰国有国防集团 Patria 在内的许多业内老牌公司正在扩大投资规模，以拓展其国际影响力，从而利用北约领域的伙伴关系和合同机会。

Tesi 研究主管 Jakob Sandell 表示，提供民用和军用两用解决方案的公司不仅正在经历快速增长，而且还在吸引本土和国际投资者。

桑德尔表示：“芬兰历史最悠久的国防企业可以追溯到19世纪，但总体而言，该行业仍处于发展初期，不过目前发展速度相当快。新公司的成立速度更快，其增长数据也令人瞩目。”

Tesi 的调查确定了 368 家在本土国防领域运营的公司，其中 144 家被认定为“快速增长的初创企业和成长型公司”。

调查显示，超过三分之一的芬兰两用产品（DUP）公司由风险投资和私募股权投资者持有股份。风险投资目前是两用产品公司最大的单一投资者群体。随着投资者兴趣的增长以及出口许可证和销售额的激增，这些公司的增长资本需求也随之上升。

Tesi 投资总监 Keith Bonnici 表示，需要新的资金来确保军民两用企业能够满足不断增长的产品需求、订单以及芬兰加入北约带来的更广泛机遇。

博尼奇表示：“芬兰国防工业的整体竞争力体现在，芬兰公司的客户包括世界上最大的国防承包商以及北约国家的国防部队。”

Tesi 的调查发现，芬兰一些较为成熟的国防企业虽然盈利能力较弱，但仍实现了适度但积极的增长。

博尼奇表示：“专注于国防材料和技术的公司更难吸引投资。许多投资者受到融资协议的约束，这些协议可能禁止投资用于战争目的的技术。但这种限制不适用于提供军民两用解决方案的公司，因为它们的运营具有明确的商业目的。”

芬兰加入北约为像Varjo Oy这样的初创公司打开了“大量全新”的项目和商业机会之门。Varjo Oy是一家为飞行训练应用提供虚拟现实和混合现实解决方案的公司。

“加入北约对Varjo的业务产生了积极影响。它为Varjo打开了曾经几乎完全关闭的与欧洲、美国及其他地区的北约国家开展业务的大门，”Varjo首席执行官Timo Toikkanen表示。

Varjo 于 8 月在赫​​尔辛基附近开设了一家新的安全制造工厂，以加强高分辨率扩展现实 (XR) 解决方案的生产和交付，这些解决方案用于国防训练和模拟，该公司预测到 2027 年，这一细分市场的价值将达到 9 亿美元。

美国空军和海军目前在其虚拟训练计划中使用 Varjo XR 头戴式耳机，空军还将获得额外的原型机进行评估。

北约带来的红利也提升了芬兰成熟国防集团（如 Patria）的订单，Patria 继续向芬兰国防军 (FDF) 交付 Patria 6x6 装甲车，这是芬兰致力于加强其陆军力量，以支持与联盟更深入合作的一部分。

2023 年，FDF 后勤指挥部与 Patria 公司签署协议，购买 91 辆 6x6 装甲运兵车（APC）及相关设备。

2023年的协议中包含一项增购70辆六轮车辆的选择权。FDF已于2024年1月行使了增购41辆Patria装甲运兵车的选择权，目前正利用该权利采购剩余的29辆车辆。这些车辆预计将于2025年底前交付。

Patria 6x6 装甲运兵车的采购与欧洲通用装甲车辆系统 (CAVS) 联合开发计划有关，该计划由芬兰、拉脱维亚、瑞典和德国共同参与。

由于芬兰对北约联盟做出了雄心勃勃的资本支出承诺，本土国防企业的发展和合同环境已显著改善。芬兰的国防预算将在2025年增长12%，达到创纪录的73亿美元。这一资本支出增幅比芬兰2024年的国防预算高出5.5亿美元。

从 Patria 公司采购战斗机和装甲车是 2025 年预算中最昂贵的项目之一，该预算还包括向芬兰的北约捐款 8000 万美元。

增加的资金将用于帮助在芬兰建立联盟指挥结构，并使陆军部队能够驻扎在芬兰与俄罗斯接壤的 833 英里长的边境线上，以加强北约东翼。

杰拉德·奥德怀尔是《防务新闻》的斯堪的纳维亚事务记者。