Keynote

Juhani Mykkänen – Co-founder, Wolt

Global Scaling from the Nordics

Learn the practical lessons of growing internationally while staying rooted in Nordic values, design, and product-first thinking.

Theo Wethered ― Principal at Nauta Labs
Pasi Nikkanen ― Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer at HappySignals
Eugene Kruglov ― COO & Co-Founder at AppFollow

Fireside Chat | The “Born Global” Mindset

Moderator: Reidar Wasenius ―AI Researcher, Personal Brainer, Voice
Lauri Sippola ― CEO & Co-founder of Gosta Labs

Panel | Providing Value -The Art of the Pilot

Moderator: Reidar Wasenius ―AI Researcher, Personal Brainer, Voice
Aloo Salonen ― CEO & Founder of MoniDose
Victoria Williamson ― Co-founder of Audicin
Teppo Malmivaara ―Chief Strategy & Finance Officer at Audicin

Panel | Securing the Fuel -The Global Investor Lens on Health Tech

Moderator: Reidar Wasenius ― AI Researcher, Personal Brainer, Voice
Elizabeth Jennings ― Managing Partner at Venture Atlas Labs
Erki Mölder ― Partner at Verge Fund
Marko Kuisma ― Partner at Innovestor Life Science

Keynote | Finland in the Agent Society – A Nordic Blueprint for What’s Next

Tero Ojanperä – Co-founder of Silo AI

Panel | The Agentic Frontier Beyond the Screen: The Rise of Physical AI

Ahti Heinla ― CEO & Co-founder of Starship
Claes Radojewski ― Partners & Ecosystem Nordics at Nvidia
Roger Björkbacka ― Head of Public Policy Nordics at Bolt
Fabian Kjer ― Co-Founder & CEO of Qualia

The conversation around AI has reached a pivotal turning point. We are moving beyond “Digital AI” that lives in the cloud and entering the era of Physical AI—autonomous agents that reason and act in the real world. This panel brings together the primary pillars of this revolution to discuss how we move from successful technical milestones to integrated, city-wide scale.

Keynote | Autonomous Delivery Robots: 10 Million Deliveries – Physical AI Proven at Real-World Scale

Ahti Heinla – Co-founder & CEO of Starship

Opening Words

Top 100 Innovations Showcase

Discover the curated Top 100 startups selected for their innovation, traction, and potential to redefine industries from the Nordics. Interact with booths, demos, and team meetups to uncover hidden gems across deep tech, AI, climate, and beyond.

Top 15 Live Stage Pitches

Watch the elite Top 15 innovations deliver high stakes pitches on the main stage. Each founder presents to a panel of top tier investors and experts, battling for visibility, feedback, partnerships, and the ultimate Day 2 spotlight award.

Beyond Borders: Scaling Startups with International Angels

Securing an angel is about more than capital; it’s about choosing the right partner to unlock new markets. This panel of Nordic and international investors pulls back the curtain on the modern investment lifecycle. We’ll discuss how to earn trust with global backers before the pitch, the different “lenses” through which local vs. international angels view your team, and how their combined networks provide the ultimate unfair advantage for Nordic startups aiming for the world stage.

Keynote | From a Gut Feeling to Useful Quantum Advantage

Mikko Möttönen ― Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of QMill

Keynote |Future Tech Cities: Building the Next 15 Years of Innovation – Powered by City of Vantaa

Opening

Exit Mirage: Where Liquidity Actually Comes From — and Where It Doesn’t

Unlocking Private Capital in Venture: What Will It Take?

Why the Nordics Need to Think Bigger: Building a Globally Competitive Venture Ecosystem?

Moderator: Tian Yu ― Senior Advisor, VC&LP at Helsinki Partners
Yannick Sonnenberg ― General Partner at Emerge Ventures
Tonje Ørnholt ― Venture Partner Nordics at Ada Ventures
Maria Wasastjerna ―Managing Partner & Co-founder of Kvanted VC

Three Questions That Kill the Pitch Deck Closing

Beyond the Burnout: The Untold Data of the Nordic Founder

The Human Runway 2026 report provides fresh survey data of how founders across the Nordic startup ecosystem are really doing. It finally makes visible what the challenges are.

The Human Runway initiative regularly conducts research to identify and quantify founder challenges. It publishes the results to benefit all startup ecosystem stakeholders. The goal is to bring together relevant actors to create solutions for extending the human runway of startups.
Human runway is the capacity of startup founders and teams to keep performing and making good decisions under pressure in the long run.

Panel | Are Investors Extending or Shortening a Founder’s Runway?

Fresh survey data clearly shows how founders are under constant pressure. What breaks them isn’t the workload. It’s their isolation and inability to share what’s really going on.

Moderator: Reidar Wasenius ― AI Researcher, Personal Brainer, Voice
Kirsi Vine-Haaparinne ― General Partner at Gorilla Capital
Pirkka Palomäki ― Founding Partner at Maki.VC
Ilkka Kaikuvuo ― Angel Investor, FiBAN Chair
Riikka Rajaviita ― Human Runway, Founder & Angel Investor

Experience Zone

Get hands on with immersive tech demos, AR/VR experiences, and live product trials from ARCTIC15 Experience Zone startups, revealing how Nordic & global ingenuity solves real world challenges.

Alumni Firesides

Join intimate conversations with past ARCTIC15 pitching champions, unpacking how their wins fueled hypergrowth, key pivots, and lessons for the next generation of founders.

Celebration & Awards

Cap the day with the Top 15 pitch winner announcement, VIP dinners, and the legendary ARCTIC15 After Party, prime time to network, toast breakthroughs, and forge the connections that power Nordic innovation.

Stay tuned: Full Top 100 lineup, Top 15 pitchers, judges, and session details coming soon.