5m euros injected in Finnish hyperspectral imaging instrumentation business
The financing package consists of venture capital financing by Teknoventure Oy of Oulu, Finland, and R&D financing by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.
The company, which was founded in 1995 by three former researchers of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, is a global forerunner in hyperspectral technology.
The imaging spectral camera products are widely used in various industrial, environmental and defense applications. The equipment is used by the mining industry to create mineral maps from core scanning, for defining plant diseases, monitoring the condition of pipelines from airplanes or drones, quality control in the industry, tracking drug plantations, and detecting explosives.
Specim has its roots in manufacturing often one-of-a-kind and demanding measurement systems. The projects can range as high as a million euro in value. Specim is going to continue to pursue this path and enforce its strong market position. The company’s past experience and know-how provide a foundation for the company to expand its business to become a proven provider for a new generation of intelligent hyperspectral measurement instruments.
Thanks to the development of optics and other key components, it is possible to develop efficient and small hyperspectral imaging instruments for a myriad of new applications for instance in the fields of foodstuffs, medicine, forensics, and plant diseases. Specim will focus the new financing into developing a new product generation as well as enforcing and expanding its global market position.
“Many applications, which have originally been developed for high-end research or defense administration purposes, have in time begun to serve more our everyday life.
We see clear signs that this is also the case for hyperspectral imaging. We want to be early movers in these new markets thanks to our R&D efforts,” explained Timo Hyvärinen, one of the original founders and a majority owner of the company.
The Specim team is multinational, but all of the company’s employees have settled in Oulu, Finland.
“This investment round positively portrays the commercialization of Finnish know-how with a multiplier effect. Specim, which was originally spinned off from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., will accelerate its international growth thanks to Finnish financing, utilizing the miniaturization expertise of its subcontractor, a local company which in turn is a Nokia spin-off. All the present and potential new jobs enabled by the new growth leap are based in Finland, including manufacturing of the products,” emphasized Risto Kalske, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Related articles and links:
www.specim.fi
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