Finnish IoT company Haltian has raised €22m to accelerate its expansion in the USA and Europe and launch more IoT products later in the year.

The demand for IoT products and services is driven by global megatrends, such as improving work comfort and supporting hybrid work, as well as digitalisation of the real estate industry and energy and space-use efficiency. According to a report by WorldGBC, buildings are responsible for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions, of which 28% are from operational emissions, from energy needed to heat, cool and power them.

Haltian is tapping into the demand by creating easy-to-use IoT software, sensors and services that can be implemented for multiple needs in commercial real estate. Its Empathic Building digital twin on the other hand is for modern desk-sharing offices, where employees need to find colleagues and available spaces when coming to the office, book those spaces and get analytics and reporting of the used workplaces.

Haltian’s IoT products and services have already gained traction and top-tier clients, with the US market accounting for a third of its revenue. The company has recently established offices in the Netherlands and California and, with the funding, is poised to continue its international expansion.

“At Haltian, our mission is deeply rooted in making working life smoother,” said Pasi Leipälä, CEO and co-founder of Haltian. “This mission has resonated with our clients. We are excited to continue to deliver cutting-edge IoT that helps our clients thrive in the digital age, make better data-driven decisions and ultimately contribute to building a more sustainable future.”

Haltian’s customers include international players, from Japan to North America, where Haltian will deliver its IoT systems to thousands of buildings this year. Many of the largest facility management and real estate companies in the world such as CBRE and ISS use Haltian’s products in their offices and other buildings. 

The funding round was led by Mandatum Asset Management Growth Equity II fund and joined by Varma, Tesi, Ventic and Inventure. Haltian has raised €40m in total to date.

“Haltian has a history of providing state-of-the-art IoT with unparalleled accuracy and data – an indispensable component of truly invaluable IoT,” said Kitty Laine, investment manager at MAM. “We are proud to be a part of Haltian’s new funding round and support the team to expand further into new markets. The new funding also strongly validates their unique position in the growing IoT market. Haltian’s impressive growth of over 50% annually and tripling turnover in just three years make it a fitting investment for Mandatum Asset Management’s Growth Equity Strategy.

Leipälä added: “The new funding enables us to boost our global commercialisation efforts and to build a truly successful Finnish hi-tech story. Specifically, the new funding will further support Haltian’s international expansion in central Europe and North America, as well as our recruiting effort. As a way of answering to growing customer demand, we are also looking to launch new cutting-edge IoT products in 2023.”

Founded in 2012 by Pasi Leipälä, Teemu Vaattovaara, Jyrki Okkonen and Ville Ylläsjarvi, Haltian is an IoT company offering services such as the Empathic Building digital twin for smart buildings, and Thingsee, an IoT technology platform that enables faster IoT launches for mass-scale deployments. Haltian also provides product development services to help companies get their product from an idea to a ready product.

Headquartered in Oulu, northern Finland, Haltian employs 145 people globally.