Demola

What Demola does

Demola (Demola Global Ltd., FI24087016) is a Finnish co-creation operator headquartered in Tampere that runs the operating layer connecting corporations, universities, startups, and public-sector organisations into a single working network. Founded in 2008 as a Nokia-driven initiative and re-established in 2011 as Demola Global, the company has executed 7,000+ co-creation projects across 40+ countries, building deep operating expertise in facilitation, modular IPR management, and cross-stakeholder programme operation. Its platform includes the Demola Portal (project discovery, team building, application), Demola Chat (messaging and voice/video collaboration), the Demola Companion app (meeting recording with AI transcription and developmental feedback), Demola Dealflow (deal pipeline management), and Iris (a cumulative knowledge platform that turns project history into reusable insight).

The company's business model is B2B/B2G programme commissioning: corporations, governments, and universities pay fees to Demola to operate multi-stakeholder co-creation programmes on multi-year contracts. Talent participation (students and other contributors) is free. The current operating portfolio comprises four layers — RAIDE (a Finland-wide national AI ecosystem launching 26 May 2026 with Business Finland, Wärtsilä, Danfoss, and Kempower), a four-city Partner Cities Programme in Finland (Oulu, Jyväskylä, Vantaa, Riihimäki) operated with regional economic development agencies, a Czechia national ecosystem in inception phase with TACR and CzechInvest, and International Partner Programmes at six locations (Glasgow, Budapest, Bragança, Windhoek, Delhi, Tokyo). Customer segments span industrial and enterprise corporations seeking cross-industry R&D and validated startup partners, universities seeking industry-relevant projects and graduate employability, startups seeking pre-pilot validation and enterprise decision-maker access, and government bodies seeking innovation activity and talent retention. AI is used internally for staff assistance (transcription, summarisation, tagging) and advisory team feedback via third-party models (OpenAI, Deepgram, Claude); the company states that AI does not make selection or evaluation decisions.

Name

Demola

Legal name

Demola Global Ltd.

Website

https://demola.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Demola is a Finnish co-creation operator that runs multi-stakeholder innovation programmes connecting corporations, universities, startups, and public-sector organisations. It has executed 7,000+ projects across 40+ countries via commissioning fees from enterprise, government, and university clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation and Co-creation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Enablement & Adoption Services (Change Management, Adoption, Champions) (BPAEANAC)

Keywords

• Co-creation services
• Innovation consulting
• Open innovation programmes
• Ecosystem development
• University partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampere

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Programme commissioning fees: Corporations, governments, and universities commission co-creation programmes and pay fees to Demola to operate the collaboration. Each of the four operational layers (RAIDE, Partner Cities, Czechia, International Partners) serves a different commissioning client.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Demola is a co-creation operator that designs and runs structured innovation programmes connecting corporations, universities, startups, and public-sector organisations. Its core deliverables are professionally facilitated co-creation projects, a modular IPR and contract management framework, and proprietary knowledge platforms (Iris and Demola Dealflow) that turn operating history into compounding insight. The portfolio spans the RAIDE national AI ecosystem in Finland, the Partner Cities Programme, the Czechia national ecosystem, and international partner programmes in six countries.

Product overview

Demola is a co-creation operator offering a platform of interconnected programmes and digital tools. At its core is the Demola Portal (portal.demola.net) and Demola Chat, which provide project discovery, team building, and real-time collaboration. Supporting these are Demola Dealflow (for cumulative IPR and knowledge management) and the Demola Companion app (for AI-powered meeting transcription and developmental feedback). The programmes layer sits above the platform, encompassing RAIDE (a national AI ecosystem launching May 2026), the four-city Partner Cities Programme in Finland, the Czechia national ecosystem, and International Partner Programmes at universities in Glasgow, Budapest, Bragança, Windhoek, Delhi, and Tokyo. Together these form an integrated operating layer connecting companies, universities, startups, and the public sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RAIDE: Radical AI Deployment Ecosystem - Finland's national AI ecosystem for turning AI into products and services. Anchored by Wärtsilä, Danfoss, Kempower, and Business Finland.
• Demola Dealflow
• Iris

Products and services

• Demola Portal Online platform where students and talent discover, apply to, and collaborate on Demola innovation projects. Includes team-building tooling and project progress tracking. Used by individual talent (students, multidisciplinary teams) applying to commissioned co-creation projects.
• Demola Dealflow Data and digital platform that turns Demola's operating history into compounding insight, tracking cumulative IPR, project findings, and deal flow across the ecosystem. Reuses past insights to accelerate new development and curate cross-programme intelligence for partners.
• Demola Companion app Mobile application enabling team meeting recordings with AI-powered transcription, summarisation, and developmental feedback. Used by Demola project teams and facilitators to capture and interpret session outputs.
• RAIDE — Radical AI Deployment Ecosystem Finland's national AI ecosystem platform turning AI possibilities into new products and services through cross-industry collaboration between corporations, universities, and startups. Anchored by Business Finland, Wärtsilä, Danfoss, and Kempower.
• Partner Cities Programme Multi-city co-creation programme across Oulu, Jyväskylä, Vantaa, and Riihimäki connecting talent, regional companies, and startups with cities and regional economic development agencies.
• Demola Czechia National Ecosystem National co-creation ecosystem for the Czech Republic, building on lessons from Finland. Demola innovation projects run with talents and professors from key Czech universities, in collaboration with TACR and CzechInvest.
• International Partner Programmes Licensed partner programmes with universities, ecosystem operators, and cities in Glasgow (University of the West of Scotland), Budapest (Óbuda University), Bragança (Polytechnic University of Bragança), Windhoek (NUST), Delhi (IIT Delhi Design School), and Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Government).
• Innovation Projects Structured co-creation projects connecting multidisciplinary student teams with companies to solve real-world innovation challenges across technology, sustainability, business intelligence, and other domains.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,000+ co-creation projects operated since 2008
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• WärtsiläflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAIDE anchor partner. Wärtsilä participates in Finland's national AI ecosystem co-creation, working alongside universities and startups to turn AI possibilities into new products and services.
• DanfossflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAIDE anchor partner. Danfoss is part of the national AI ecosystem anchored by Business Finland, co-creating with universities and startups.
• KempowerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAIDE anchor partner. One Demola project produced three deliverables for Kempower: a prototype, a master's thesis, and a future talent pipeline. Active commissioning client.
• Business FinlandflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAIDE co-creator and primary funder. Business Finland launched RAIDE as Finland's national AI ecosystem initiative with Demola and industry partners.
• TACR (Czech Technology Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCzech national ecosystem collaboration partner. Active collaboration in the Czechia inception phase of the Demola national ecosystem.
• CzechInvestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCzech national ecosystem collaboration partner. Active collaboration in the Czechia ecosystem inception alongside TACR and growing corporate network.
• Business OulucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development agency co-operating the Partner Cities Programme in Oulu.
• Business JyväskyläcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development agency co-operating the Partner Cities Programme in Jyväskylä.
• University of the West of Scotland (UWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner university programme in Glasgow. UWS operates a Demola programme bringing together students with industry challenges.
• Óbuda UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner university programme in Budapest. Óbuda University runs a Demola programme with industry and startup partners.
• Polytechnic University of BragançacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner university programme in Bragança, Portugal. Polytechnic university operates a Demola programme with local industry.
• Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner university programme in Windhoek, Namibia. NUST runs a Demola programme for African innovation ecosystem development.
• IIT Delhi (Design School)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner university programme in Delhi. IIT Delhi's design school participates in cross-border innovation with Demola's European ecosystem.
• Tokyo Metropolitan GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner programme in Tokyo. Tokyo Metro Gov operates a Demola programme accelerating creative renewal and innovation culture.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Station F: Paris-based world's largest startup campus operating its own accelerator batches and partner programmes with corporates (e.g., Facebook, Microsoft, BNP Paribas). Functions as a broader incumbent in the same ecosystem-orchestration category.

Direct peers

• MassChallenge: Global non-profit accelerator network running cohort-based innovation programmes partnering with corporates, universities, and governments. Comparable in multi-stakeholder model and university/community tie-ins, though revenue model is grant/sponsor-based.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Sunnyvale-headquartered corporate-startup innovation platform running accelerator batches and corporate venture programmes globally. Directly comparable business model of orchestrating corporates, startups, and institutional partners around applied innovation.
• Nesta: UK innovation foundation running challenge prizes, accelerator programmes, and applied research partnerships with corporates and governments. Operates with a similar mandate of unlocking cross-sector innovation, though as a non-profit.
• Founders Factory: Global startup accelerator and venture builder partnered with corporates (e.g., Aviva, L'Oréal, Marks & Spencer) to build and scale startups inside corporate problem spaces. Comparable corporate-startup matchmaking model.
• EIT Digital: European knowledge and innovation community operating accelerator, scale-up, and doctoral programmes across EU universities and corporates. The most direct European public-private analogue to Demola's ecosystem-orchestrator role.
• Mind the Bridge: Italy-headquartered open innovation platform running corporate-startup bridge programmes with international scope, including in the Nordics. Closest direct analogue to Demola in operating structured co-creation between corporates, universities, and startups.

Emerging players

• Antler: Global startup generator that builds companies from scratch with cohort programmes across multiple continents. Overlaps with Demola on startup origination and ecosystem-building but does not focus on co-creation with corporates in the same way.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DemolaGlobal
• Instagraminstagram.com/demolaglobal
• Xx.com/demolanet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/demola

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Demola