Research and Innovation Council report: TOP 100 Finnish companies increase R&D investments – Nokia still number one, but new tech sector players gaining ground quickly

In autumn 2025, the secretariat of the Research and Innovation Council commissioned a report on the state of Finnish companies’ research and development activities as part of its monitoring of R&D funding.

The report shows that Finland’s largest 100 companies investing in R&D continued to increase their investments in 2024 despite economic uncertainties. The total R&D expenditure of the TOP 100 companies rose from the previous year’s EUR 8.8 billion to EUR 9.1 billion, an increase of 7.4 per cent. 
 
Finland has set a goal of significantly increasing public R&D expenditure by 2030. The idea is that public investments by the central government will leverage R&D investments from private companies, generating sustainable growth in Finland.  The Research and Innovation Council closely monitors the impact of public R&D funding on the activities of businesses.  

The new report looks into the companies that invested most in R&D in 2024. The report takes into account the investments made by companies registered in Finland in R&D activities taking place in Finland and abroad. The study was carried out using data published in Tekniikka&Talous magazine in 2023, which is supplemented with Trade Register data from the companies’ 2024 financial statements. The study commissioned by the Research and Innovation Council was carried out by 4FRONT Oy.

Nokia accounts for nearly half of TOP 100 companies’ R&D expenditure 

The report finds that R&D expenditure is distributed very unevenly between companies: With investments totalling nearly EUR 4.5 billion, Nokia alone accounts for almost half of the TOP 100 companies’ total R&D expenditure. Compared with the previous year, Wolt, OP Pohjola, ICEYE and Wärtsilä saw the second-greatest increases in R&D expenditure in 2024.  

Electronics, ICT and software enterprises invested most in R&D activities (EUR 5.1 billion) when the companies were grouped by sector. The second largest group of companies consisted of manufacturing, engineering, forestry and construction enterprises (EUR 2.3 billion). 

Startups, scaleups and deep tech companies are clearly the most R&D-intensive – the ratio of R&D expenditure to turnover is especially high among companies such as Wolt (94 per cent), IQM (82 per cent) and Varian Medical Systems (72 per cent).  

Certain sectors stand out among the companies with the most growth 

In 2024, the companies that saw the biggest percentage increases in R&D expenditure were ICEYE (+351 per cent), Alma Media (+81 per cent) and Wolt (+77 per cent). The investments reflect the growing R&D needs of defence technology, digital services and the data-driven platform economy.  

When assessed over a five-year period (2019–2024), UPM-Kymmene has seen the greatest increase in investments, with a total of EUR +367 million. OP Norden (EUR +224 million) and Wolt (EUR +122 million) have also been major investors over the long term. 

Overall, the trend among TOP 100 companies shows an increasingly strong new group of growth companies built on data, software and deep tech.  
 
The Research and Innovation Council is an advisory body led by the Prime Minister. Its tasks include developing research and innovation policy and monitoring and assessing research and development funding.  
 
Inquiries:  Johanna Moisio, Secretary General of the Research and Innovation Council, tel. +358 295 160 625  
Antti Pelkonen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 160 533, Research and Innovation Council