This article was taken from the November 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
For the third year, WIRED's editors have visited the continent's startup hubs to identify the ten tech cities you need to know about. Our conclusion: Europe is on a roll. Here are the 100 companies causing the greatest buzz, according to the local commentators, investors and entrepreneurs we surveyed.
HELSINKI
From street level, numbers 11-13 on Itämerenkatu, a wide boulevard near Helsinki's harbour, seems like any office block. But inside it's getting a makeover: Nokia's research team have moved out and startups are moving in. Jolla, a smartphone firm, moved 150 developers in. Supercell, the wildly successful company behind
Hay Day and Clash of Clans, has taken over one floor. "There are lots of new companies in Helsinki, quite a few to do with mobile," Tomi Pienimäki, the CEO of Jolla, says. "Finland is small so there are many people who have worked for Nokia."
Rovio released Angry Birds and became the new Nokia - which worried some: "Over the last year in Helsinki, Supercell has grown tremendously and has been topping the charts," says Greg Anderson, editor of the blog Arctic Startup. "Aside from the $2.4 million (£1.4 million) a day that's pouring into Helsinki from
Clash of Clans, Supercell has also given us something more than Angry Birds to point to."
Many smaller studios are quietly creating successes: no big deal was made when Tribeflame recently hit 15 million downloads with Benji Bananas, published by another Finnish startup, Fingersoft.
And an ecosystem of tertiary services such as Metrify.io, Everyplay and Applifier is helping publishers to grow.
1. Holvi
Tallberginkatu 1
Kristoffer Lawson and Tuomas Toivonen wanted to create a simpler user-interface for online banking. "The only solution we could find was to attack the very core of the financial system," says Lawson. "In other words, rethink what a bank is and how it relates to our life." Lawson and Toivonen founded Holvi in 2011. "We got frustrated with how difficult it was to manage our own finances - the user interfaces were horrible, the information they gave you was non-existent," says Lawson. "We thought this was something computers should be doing."
Holvi users can share accounts with others, set up shops for collecting money owed, incorporate an easy-to-use invoice service and set up bills. A budget tool creates financial reports, breaking down money in and out, according to category. The service launched in Finland last autumn, and 1,000 organisations are now using Holvi. Lawson says he's planning to launch Europe-wide, with the UK the first market - subject to red tape. "It's the biggest challenge. But we're actually quite proud none of us are bankers."
2. Jolla
Itämerenkatu 11-13
Thought the battle for mobile OS domination was a straight slug-out between iOS and Android? Jolla begs to differ. "In general, the operating systems for the mobile world are very old," the company's CEO Tomi Pienimäki says. The startup was founded in March 2011 by refugees from Nokia's cancelled MeeGo mobile OS: they continued working on the OS to create Sailfish. It's gesture-based, built for multitasking, but energy-efficient. The company recently unveiled the Jolla phone, a sleek, buttonless slab with a 4.5" screen, which can run Android apps.
3. Kippt
Helsinki and San Francisco
The first Finnish company to be backed by Y Combinator, Kippt supercharges bookmarking, making it easy to store web content, and then collaborate on it with others. A specialised version called Inc is pitched for businesses. Earlier this year the company moved, giving it a pretty distinct identity: "Handcrafted in San Francisco with Finnish heritage".
Ones to watch
4. Grand Cru
Hämeentie 33
Investors looking for the next Rovio may already have missed their chance with Grand Cru, which managed to raise $2 million (£1.2 million) for its debut game The Supernauts -- a puzzle platformer that mixes Minecraft with a social twist.
5. Supercell
Itämerenkatu 11-13
Is Supercell still a startup? Each day it takes $2.4 million (£1.4 million) and its $130 million (£80 million) funding round in April valued it at $770 million (£474 million). But it was founded only three years ago and has released just two games. CEO Ilkka Paananen isn't getting carried away: "We remind ourselves every day, don't grow too quickly. We say: get
big by thinking small."
6. ProtoGeo
Salomonkatu 17
ProtoGeo is the company behind the Moves app, which works just like the Jawbone UP or Nike+ Fuelband, but without the wristwear. It uses a smartphone's sensor to recognise automatically when the user is walking, running or cycling. CEO Sampo Karjalainen founded kids' virtual world Habbo Hotel. In January the company raised €1.2 million (£1 million).
7. Scarlet Motors
Lutherinkatu 2
Scarlet Motors is taking Helsinki's traditional strength in mobile to the most mobile of devices: the car. It is designing an electric sports vehicle and open-sourcing the process, inviting users to offer suggestions online. Julien Fourgeaud, CEO and cofounder, has stepped down, but remains as an investor, and a design is due this year.
8. Walkbase
Tykistökatu 4D
It's easy for online retailers to track shoppers' activity, but what about offline? Walkbase puts sensors into shops, letting businesses monitor consumer behaviour -- including the number of passers-by entering a shop, where customers browse and for how long -- based on smartphones' Wi-Fi signals. The service can be combined with Google Analytics.
9. ZenRobotics
Vilhonkatu 5A
Computer vision, metal detectors, 3D scanners and brain science combine with a big robot arm in the world's first automated recycling system, capable of sorting wood, metal and stone from recyclable material. A ZenRobotics system won't be taking out your rubbish yet, though: the cheapest costs almost one million euros, even though it's built from off-the-shelf components.
10. Indoor Atlas
Elektroniikkatie 3
Google's street-mapping involved driving cars around neighbourhoods; Indoor Atlas wants to map inside buildings. But instead of cameras, it will use anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field that are caused by building structures. Users and businesses can then build linked location-aware apps. In April the company raised a €500,000 (£410,000) seed round from Mobility Ventures.
EUROPES OTHER HOTTEST STARTUP CAPITALS London
PREVIOUS YEARS
WIRED's 2012 European startup guide
WIRED's 2011 European startup guide
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
