You can read the news in Finnish here. You can read about the future campus in English here.
What started as an open development call by the City of Helsinki in 2017 is becoming a concrete reality.
The future Maria 01 campus plans had been under discussion and scrutiny for the past two years amongst corporates, city officials, Helsinki city inhabitants, and the whole startup ecosystem. For the startup ecosystem, this development had been followed through the lens of hope – the realization of this development as a continuation of the initial Maria 01 development means that the whole country will become a stronger contender in terms of innovation and attracting talent to the country.
Yesterday, the Helsinki City Council gathered to approve the development plans of the campus. During the session, Helsingin Sanomat reported that many commissioners commented on the change, saying it was one of the most important decisions of their term. For us at Maria 01, this decision now concretely helps us to advance Maria 01 initial mission, but now becomes more significant, “to bring together startup companies developing their ideas, growth companies, investors looking to fund the stars of the future, and major corporations providing startups with international development opportunities and partnerships.“
The decision is the reward of 2.5 years of hard work by the consortium, city of Helsinki, and the Maria 01 community. I’m super happy to see that the decision-makers trusted in this ambitious project. With this decision, I’m hoping that we can finally start competing in attracting highly skilled talent to move to Helsinki and work for the future growth companies or start a company here at Maria 01 campus.
Ville Simola, Maria 01, CEO
Growth Campus Maria 01 will support the growth of ambitious businesses
The future campus is developed by YIT. In Maria 01’s extension area, 50,000 sqm of new space will arise. Maria 01 will be a space where startups, growth companies, and major corporation´s R&D will meet and work together.
The extension will enable premises for startups and growth companies as well as big corporations. Businesses will have the ecosystem’s support and flexible premises to assist their operations. Besides, the area’s service offering will grow and be accessible to all citizens.
When planning the extension the aim is to ensure the premises will correspond to growth companies changing needs and not having to move every year.
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For media inquiries
Ville Simola, CEO, ville@maria.io
Kim Oguilve, CMO, kim@maria.io
Press kit can be found here.