In this Research Note, we examine Haltian, the Finnish developer of IoT hardware and software solutions for the built environment. This analysis covers their 2021 financial performance, stakeholders and funding, vertical market strategy, partnerships and recent projects.

This article, part of a series covering the activities of new entrants such as Nuuka Solutions, Spica Technologies, Flowscape, Uptick and PlanRadar, updates the information in our 2021 Startups Report and our 2022 Digital Workplace Report.

Founded in September 2012, Haltian started out as a product development and design company of five people from Nokia’s product development team. They began to develop their own IoT products which later became the Thingsee IoT product family. Haltian’s wireless Thingsee IoT devices can be used to remotely monitor, for example, utilization rates of premises, air quality and temperature, water leaks, the behaviour of building services and the location of assets.

In September 2020, Haltian acquired the Empathic Building solution from digital services and software company TietoEVRY. Haltian Empathic Building is a workplace application to improve employee experience in offices and hospitals. It makes the everyday tasks of the end-user easier and simpler, helping them to find the right workspace, colleagues, and equipment; share information and voice their feelings. In addition, Empathic Building provides data on space utilization, air quality and employee satisfaction, through which companies can make data-driven decisions on how to plan their spaces and improve productivity.

In March 2020, Finnish startup Haltian closed a $9.8 million funding round backed by Finnish VC company Inventure, employment pension company Ilmarinen, venture capital fund Nordic Option and a group of private investors through investment service SijoittajaPRO, including Head Invest. Two years later, Haltian closed a €6.6 million funding round, supported by Inventure, Nordic Option, Tesi, Ventic and other Finnish and Swedish private investors. Total disclosed funding amounts to $22.5 million.

Haltianʼs revenue has grown by 44% in 2020 and by more than 71% in 2021 from €9 to €15.5 million, despite the global component shortage and the ongoing pandemic.  

Pasi Leipälä, CEO of Haltian reported that the highest growth has been in the smart buildings and facilities sector, for which Haltian offers both the Empathic Building smart office solution and Thingsee IoT hardware.

According to Leipälä the transition of offices to hybrid work and the need for remote monitoring of premises have increased the demand for IoT solutions. Haltian has also been recruiting in 2021 with a current workforce of 130 employees.

Major customers include Lindström, Stora Enso, Telia, Telefonica and the Finnish postal service Posti, which has over one hundred thousand new self-service parcel lockers operating with Haltianʼs IoT technology.

The company has also expanded its Empathic Building solution beyond the office sector to the healthcare vertical. Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) is piloting the Haltian Empathic Building Smart Hospital Solution to support and facilitate a productive and efficient service for their patients as well as make data-driven decisions on space usage. The solution includes utilization monitoring of rooms and other spaces as well as location data of critical equipment. MKUH is the first National Health Service (NHS) hospital in the UK to pilot Haltian’s new solution.

In May 2020, ISS, the facility management services company announced a partnership with Haltian who will serve as a global partner in providing ISS with an IoT platform that complements the ISS vision for facility services. Haltian’s sensors and Thingsee IoT platform have been used for more than a year in ISS Finland, and the cooperation will be expanded globally.

In November 2021, TRAX Analytics and Haltian announced a partnership to provide a smart facility management solution for washrooms and facilities in North America. The joint solution includes measuring the fill rates of paper and towel dispensers, visitor counting, occupancy information and air quality monitoring. Haltian delivers IoT data to the TRAX Analytics platform and mobile application by using Haltian’s Thingsee IoT platform which consists of sensors, gateways, cellular connectivity, and cloud-based device management software.

In June 2022, Tele2 IoT and Haltian launched a partnering program that will support B2B and IoT customers in digitalizing their offices. Haltian’s platform and sensors will enable Tele2 IoT clients to optimize workplaces by tracking people’s movements in order to identify underused workspaces.

Haltian will use the new capital raised to target new markets in, for example, North America, where Haltian has been growing at a steady pace. 

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.