Health Design

What Health Design does

Health Design is a Helsinki-based annual conference and collaboration platform that convenes the health, design, and technology communities across the Nordic, Baltic, and wider European ecosystems. Founded in 2017 by Otto Olavinen (CEO of Northbay) and Saara Hassinen (CEO of Healthtech Finland), in partnership with HUS (Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa) and Aalto University, the event runs over two days each October at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University's Dipoli venue, drawing 400+ experts from hospitals, research institutions, industry, and venture capital. The core products are the annual Health Design Conference, a Health Design Pitching Competition with prize pools up to 200,000€ across Angel and VC Tracks, a series of thematic workshops, and an Expo showcasing healthtech, AI, VR/XR, and service-design innovations.

Health Design monetizes through a tiered model: Partner packages (multi-year co-creation deals), Sponsor packages (20,000€-4,000€), Supporter packages (1,000€+VAT), Exhibitor fees (from 550€+VAT), and attendee tickets sold via Holvi. The platform serves four primary customer segments — hospitals and healthcare providers, MedTech/Digital Health/Pharma companies, research organizations and universities, and investors/VCs — with secondary emphasis on clinical specialty use cases such as Women's Health, Aging, Pediatric Innovation, and Mental Health. Distribution is leveraged through partner networks (Healthtech Finland's 200 member companies, HUS's 24-municipality footprint, Aalto and Helsinki university channels) and cross-promotion at Helsinki Design Week and Slush.

The entity operates as a collaborative event brand rather than a standalone venture-backed company: no funding rounds are disclosed, no subsidiaries exist, and there is no formal legal-entity structure described in the source material. The operating company is Northbay, with Otto Olavinen as the only formally identified management figure. The pitch competition is funded by external sponsors including the Instrumentarium Science Foundation (50,000€ since 2017) and an investor consortium led by FiBAN, with prior winners such as Kiwecare (2024) and Surgerix (2025) closing funding rounds following their participation.

Name

Health Design

Legal name

Health Design

Website

https://healthdesign.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Health Design is a Helsinki-based annual conference platform, founded in 2017, that convenes 400+ Nordic/Baltic health, design, and technology stakeholders around startup pitching (up to 200,000€), workshops, and an expo focused on MedTech, Digital Health, and Pharma innovation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Conferences and Events

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHACAD

Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

SECONDARYTHAHABAH

Healthcare, Medical Devices & Pharma Shows Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

SECONDARYTHAHAJAA

Medical & Health Sciences Congresses

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Association, Government & Academic Congresses

SECONDARYMPAGAGAF

Healthcare & Medical Congresses

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

Keywords

• Health technology conference
• Healthcare innovation events
• Medical technology pitching
• Digital health expo
• Nordic healthcare ecosystem

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: The event sells attendee tickets for the annual Health Design conference in Helsinki. Tickets are available through Holvi platform with early bird discounts and standard pricing tiers.
2. Sponsorship Packages: Sponsorship tiers range from 20,000€ to 4,000€ for main sponsorship, with packages including visibility on expo, web, and print materials, plus allocated tickets.
3. Exhibitor Fees: Exhibitor packages starting from 550€ + VAT, providing promotional space on the exhibition floor with 2 tickets included.
4. Supporter Packages: Community support packages at 1,000€ + VAT offering visibility on expo and web plus 3 tickets.
5. Partner Packages: Co-creation partnerships that include program co-development, venue access, and 10+ tickets for organizations looking to shape the event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Health Design organizes an annual 2-day conference and collaboration platform in Helsinki that brings together healthcare, design and technology communities. The event combines an expo of AI and health technologies, a startup pitching competition offering Angel and VC track funding up to 200K€, and educational workshops on clinical topics (Women's Health, Aging, Mental Health, Pediatric Innovation), IP/regulatory strategy, and RDI partnerships. It is delivered through partner-supported programming with hospitals, universities, industry associations and investor networks.

Product overview

Health Design is an annual conference event series focused on health technology and design innovation. The core offering is the Health Design Conference, which brings together Health, Design and Technology communities. The event features multiple integrated components including the Pitching Competition for startups seeking funding up to 200K€, educational workshops on health topics, and an Expo showcasing health technology innovations. The conference is held annually in Helsinki, Finland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Design Conference Annual two-day conference in Helsinki convening 400+ healthcare, design and technology experts to discuss improving public and individual health, covering AI, VR/XR, digital health, IP/regulatory strategy and clinical topics.
• Health Design Pitching Competition Startup pitching competition with Angel Track and VC Track, offering funding opportunities up to 200K€ for MedTech, Digital Health and Pharma startups; selected via the conference program.
• Health Design Expo Exhibition space at the conference showcasing latest AI, health technologies and service innovations from startups and companies, available via exhibitor packages starting from 550€ + VAT.
• Health Design Workshops Educational workshops at the conference covering clinical topics (Women's Health, Aging, Mental Health, Pediatric Innovation) and operational topics (IP, Patenting, Regulatory Strategy, RDI partnerships, Wellbeing Service Counties).

Quantifiable outcome

• Startup winners receive funding discussions with Nordic/Baltic Angels and VCs with prize pools up to 200K€
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• NorthbaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Northbay is the main organizer and creative agency behind Health Design. Founded by Otto Olavinen (CEO), Northbay specializes in research and technology intensive clients and drives the event direction, design, and development. Contact: [email protected]
• Healthtech FinlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthtech Finland is an industry association and part of Technology Industries of Finland. Led by CEO Saara Hassinen, it represents about 200 health technology companies and fosters industry growth and collective knowledge. Co-founded the event in 2017.
• Aalto UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAalto University is a multidisciplinary community where science and art meet technology and business. Committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges. Provides academic leadership and hosts Day 2 venues at Dipoli.
• HUS - Hospital District of Helsinki and UusimaacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHUS is a Joint Authority formed by 24 municipalities. The aim is to offer patients timely and equal access to specialized medical care. Serves nearly 700,000 Helsinki residents with ~15,000 employees. Provides clinical expertise and healthcare innovation perspective.
• Oura Health Ltd.supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerFinnish health technology company founded in 2013, manufacturer of the world's first wellness ring. Has users in over 70 countries. HQ and major manufacturing in Oulu, Finland. Sponsors Health Design events.
• Biodesign FinlandsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovative path to find commercializable solutions supporting startup founding. Uses systematic identification of medical needs solved by inventing and implementing new biomedical technologies.
• THL/HYTE-AIROsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWell-being and Health Sector AiRo Programme aims to speed up utilization of AI and robotics in well-being services. Focus areas: Living at home, Care and logistics, Pharmacotherapy, Well-being coaching and rehabilitation.
• Health Capital HelsinkisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance formed by City of Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Aalto University and HUS. Develops Helsinki region into best Northern European hub for life science and healthtech innovations.
• Terkko Health HubsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup hub, co-working area and event venue focusing on health and life sciences. Initiated by Faculty of Medicine and Helsinki Institute of Life Science at University of Helsinki and HUS University Hospital.
• SPARK FinlandsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram designed to increase maturity of academic and clinical discoveries towards practical solutions in life science and health tech space.
• Maria 01supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMost thriving environment for ambitious tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and enterprises. Non-profit combination of entrepreneur community house, selective incubator and technology builders club.
• UpgradedsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit association for health & wellbeing startups in Finland. Goal is ensuring startup innovations have established role in society as source of health and wellbeing solutions.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish research institution supporting innovative procurement workshops including Aging and Home Care initiatives with Business Finland.
• EIT HealthsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean health innovation network supporting knowledge transfer and commercialization of health technologies.
• UN Technology Innovation Labs (UNTIL)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned to move humanity forward by focusing on innovative technology to solve pressing needs. Supports implementation of technology solutions addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish government ministry supporting workshops on national TKI model (Research, Development, Innovation) for wellbeing service counties.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Web Summit: Web Summit is one of the largest global tech conferences, with health-tech tracks and significant sponsor overlap. It is comparable to Health Design as a multi-thousand-attendee annual conference competing for the same Nordic/European tech sponsors, but at vastly greater scale.
• Slush: Slush is the flagship Nordic startup conference held annually in Helsinki. It is comparable to Health Design as both anchor the Helsinki health-tech/startup ecosystem, target founders, VCs, and corporates, and are explicitly cross-referenced as co-marketing partners. Slush is a much broader tech event while Health Design specialises in the health vertical.
• HIMSS Global Health Conference: HIMSS is the world's largest health-IT conference with a European edition. It is comparable as a hospital/provider-and-vendor-focused annual event with multi-track programming, though it is much broader (and US-anchored) than Health Design's specialised Nordic health-design niche.

Direct peers

• HLTH Europe: HLTH is a major global health innovation conference (with a European edition). It is directly comparable as a multi-track health-tech conference with startup pitch competitions, hospital/provider participation, and pharma/MedTech sponsorships targeting the same Health Design buyer personas.
• Frontiers Health: Frontiers Health is an annual global conference focused on digital health innovation, with pitching competitions and investor participation. It is comparable to Health Design as a focused digital-health forum combining startups, life-science investors, and pharma sponsors in a multi-day European event.
• Arctic15: Arctic15 is a Nordic startup and investor matching conference held in Helsinki. It is directly comparable as a Helsinki-based annual founder/VC gathering with pitching tracks, sponsorship tiers, and a curated 400-1000 attendee format — overlapping substantially with Health Design's audience and sponsorship pool.
• WIRED Health: WIRED Health is an annual conference exploring the intersection of health and emerging technology. It is comparable to Health Design in its cross-disciplinary framing of healthcare + technology + innovation, premium speaker curation, and health-tech sponsor base.

Peers

• Helsinki Design Week:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/health-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Health Design