Onerva

What Onerva does

Onerva Hoivaviestintä Oy is a Finnish healthcare communication software company headquartered in Jyväskylä that develops GDPR-compliant messaging and voice-AI solutions for social and healthcare organizations, with a primary focus on elderly home care and service housing. Its core product is a secure instant messaging application marketed as a WhatsApp alternative for the social and healthcare sector, enabling real-time communication between care staff and family members with photo sharing, care updates, and calendar coordination. The company has expanded its platform with Onerva-bot, a voice-operated conversational AI virtual assistant built on proprietary bidirectional LSTM neural networks with attention mechanisms and a domain-specific Finnish language model tuned for elderly speech, as well as the Valtti messaging app for child protection (developed with City of Helsinki), an Onerva instant messenger for professional-to-professional communication, and a grocery shopping application integrated with Kesko's retail network.

The company's revenue model is B2B subscription-based, selling directly to Finnish municipalities and welfare areas under multi-year contracts following a typical 4-month free pilot period. Its go-to-market combines enterprise field sales with a product-led pilot motion, supported by content marketing, webinars, and conference participation (Slush, Medica, Hello Tomorrow, Frontiers Health). Customers include more than 20 Finnish municipalities and welfare areas spanning from Porvoo to Rovaniemi, with flagship deployments in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, and the Keski-Suomi and Lapland welfare areas. The company is privately held, founder-led by CEO Ville Niemijärvi and technical lead Lauri Lehtovaara, has received a €50,000 Business Finland Tempo grant, and has been actively exploring Nordic and Japanese markets since 2020.

Name

Onerva

Legal name

Onerva Hoivaviestintä Oy

Website

https://onervahoiva.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Onerva is a Finnish healthcare communication software company that provides GDPR-compliant secure messaging and voice-AI solutions primarily to Finnish municipalities and welfare areas for elderly home care, enabling communication between care staff and families as a regulated alternative to consumer messaging apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Communication Software

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Engagement, Education & Messaging Platforms (portal/CRM integrated) (HLALABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Patient Portals & Self-Service Access (HLACAEAA), Childcare & Eldercare Caregiving Platforms (BPAMAHAJ)

Keywords

• Elder care messaging
• Healthcare communication software
• Conversational AI eldercare
• Home care messaging platform
• GDPR compliant messaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Jyväskylä

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Omaisviestintä (Family Messaging) Subscription: Onerva's primary product is a secure messaging service for home care and service housing. The subscription model provides family communication capabilities to municipalities and care organizations, with pricing based on organization size or usage volume.
2. Onerva-bot Virtual Assistant: Voice-operated conversational AI assistant for elderly customers, delivered via smart speaker or app. Revenue generated through deployment and licensing to care providers.
3. Grocery Shopping Application: In-app grocery ordering service integrated with Kesko's retail network, potentially generating transaction-based revenue from retail partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Onerva develops a secure messaging and communication software platform purpose-built for Finnish elderly care, home care, and healthcare organizations. The platform enables relatives, caregivers, and care professionals to exchange messages, share information about the wellbeing of clients, and coordinate care activities in a GDPR-compliant environment. The portfolio extends to voice-operated virtual assistants (Onerva-bot), instant messaging for healthcare professionals, a grocery shopping integration with Kesko, and the Valtti messaging service for child protection.

Product overview

Onerva is a Finnish healthcare communication platform consisting of multiple integrated products: the core Onerva messaging platform for secure healthcare communication, the Onerva-bot conversational AI virtual assistant for voice-operated care support, Onerva-pikaviestisovellus for professional-to-professional instant messaging, the Valtti app (developed with Helsinki) for child protection services, Onerva kauppasovellus (with Kesko) for grocery shopping, and Onerva omaisviestintäsovellus for family-care staff communication. The platform operates as a unified ecosystem designed for eldercare and social services, with AI capabilities built on proprietary NLU models for Finnish language understanding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Onerva-bot: Voice-operated virtual assistant and conversational AI for elderly home care customers. Can have two-way conversations, send messages to family members, send alarms to nurses, and provide companionship.
• Valtti
• Onerva Pikaviestisovellus

Products and services

• Onerva Messaging Platform A secure, GDPR-compliant messaging platform that connects family members with home care clients and care staff, allowing relatives to receive updates about the wellbeing of elderly clients and communicate with caregivers. Deployed by Finnish municipalities and welfare areas for home care.
• Onerva-bot (Voice Virtual Assistant) A voice-operated conversational AI assistant designed for elderly users who may not have access to or familiarity with digital devices, enabling voice-based interaction and communication for home care clients.
• Onerva-pikaviestisovellus (Healthcare Professional Instant Messaging) A secure instant messaging application for healthcare professionals to communicate, coordinate care tasks, and share information about client wellbeing in real time.
• Valtti Messaging Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of families wanted to continue using Onerva after Kuopio pilot
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KeskocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Kesko (K-Citymarket, K-Supermarket) to integrate grocery shopping functionality into Onerva platform. Enables home delivery of groceries ordered through the app, using Kesko's logistics network. Customer price €9.90 delivery with Plussakortti card.
• Savonia University of Applied SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with Savonia AMK in collecting Finnish speech data for training Onerva-bot AI to understand Savo dialect. Project part of 6-municipality AI development initiative in 2019.
• Oulu University and City (CoHeWe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoHeWe (Co-creating Health and Wellbeing) cooperation with University of Oulu and City of Oulu. Onerva won minicompetition in spring 2019 for social services communication pilot. Pilot defined with social services professionals for secure messaging.
• City of HelsinkicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with City of Helsinki to develop Valtti messaging application for child protection and family social work. Onerva developing secure messaging for professionals and for communication between professionals and clients.
• City of HelsinkicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPilot started October 2020 for Onerva family communication service in Helsinki home care and two senior centers. Testing across multiple districts including Haaga, Kannelmäki, Herttoniemi, Myllypuro, Kontula, Kivikko.
• Tutoris OyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrivate care company using Onerva at Tenhokoti in Helsinki, expanding to Kuopio unit and Lauttasaari Senior House. Represents broader private care sector adoption.
• ReissuElluminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReissuEllu - Hyvinvointia kehittävä liikkuva oppimisympäristö project invited Onerva to webinars on family communication in elderly care. Partnership for educational content and awareness.
• Alma TalentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAlma Talent invited Onerva CEO Ville Niemijärvi to speak at Chatbot Day 2020 conference on conversational AI in healthcare. Partnership for thought leadership and industry visibility.
• Finlanders - 'Lahjoita puhetta' crowdsourcingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational crowdsourcing initiative 'Donate Speech' collected Finnish speech samples from general population to train Onerva-bot AI. Won Grand One award for best mobile service. Critical data collection for Finnish language AI development.
• HytebottiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOnerva participated in developing Hytebotti for upper secondary school aged youth. Generative AI project in collaboration with other Finnish technology companies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Memora Health: US-based AI-driven patient engagement platform that automates clinical workflows via messaging. Highly comparable to Onerva as both deliver HIPAA/GDPR-compliant patient communication and conversational AI in healthcare, though Memora focuses on US health systems rather than municipal elderly care.
• Luma Health: Patient communication platform for provider-to-patient messaging, reminders, and intake. Comparable to Onerva in the secure healthcare messaging category, though primarily US-focused and serving outpatient/provider workflows rather than municipal home care.
• Celo Health: Secure messaging platform purpose-built for clinical teams to communicate and coordinate care. A direct peer to Onerva's healthcare messaging focus, with comparable emphasis on compliance and replacing consumer messaging apps in clinical settings.
• Klara: Healthcare messaging and patient communication platform used by medical practices. Directly comparable to Onerva's secure messaging offering, though focused on the US provider market rather than European municipal elderly care.
• Medanets: Finnish mobile point-of-care solutions provider for nurses and caregivers, serving Nordic hospitals and home care. A direct peer given shared Finnish healthcare heritage, mobile-first clinical workflows, and overlap in home care customers.
• OhMD: HIPAA-compliant patient texting and communication platform for healthcare providers. Comparable to Onerva in replacing WhatsApp-style consumer messaging with compliant healthcare alternatives, primarily serving US providers.
• Cureatr: Clinical communications and care coordination platform for healthcare providers. Comparable to Onerva in delivering secure, real-time messaging for clinical teams with focus on reducing care gaps.

Broad incumbents

• Weave Communications: Public customer communication and engagement platform for small and mid-sized healthcare practices, offering texting, reviews, and payments. A broader incumbent in healthcare messaging with overlapping patient communication capabilities, though focused on US SMB practices.
• Doctolib: European healthcare booking, telehealth, and patient communication platform dominant in France, Germany, and Italy. A broader incumbent in healthcare communication with overlapping patient engagement capabilities, though at much larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• Haltian: Finnish IoT and smart devices company with healthcare and smart building applications. Adjacent peer with comparable Finnish heritage and overlap in elderly care technology, though focused more on devices and sensors than messaging/communication.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/onervahoiva
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/villeniemijarvi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmQi5DmiSIBnyIIlPWIz0gA

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Onerva