VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has appointed Pauli Laitinen, Doctor of Philosophy (Physics), as In-kind Investment Manager and Timo Rossi, Master of Social Sciences, who previously served as the Portfolio Manager of Aalto University's spin-off investment portfolio, as Spin-off Investment Portfolio Manager. The aim is to create societal impact by commercialising advanced technologies through spin-off companies, thereby accelerating the introduction of VTT's technologies to the market more quickly and developing VTT's investment activities.
Laitinen and Rossi work together as a team, being responsible for the preparation of contribution in-kind investments into portfolio companies including negotiations and investment rounds, as well as exits from portfolio companies. Laitinen and Rossi also act as contact persons for start-up and growth companies and investors who want to strengthen companies' investment rounds and their success by investing in technology and IPR.
Laitinen started as VTT's In-kind Investment Manager on 1 April 2025. Laitinen's role is central in assessing, advancing and closing VTT's IPR investment opportunities. In addition, he will be responsible for supporting spin-off teams and managing VTT's spin-off portfolio’s IPR so that VTT's technology can be successfully commercialised through spin-off companies.
Laitinen has worked as VTT's IPR Manager since 2019 and has been also responsible for the operations of the entire IPR team. Prior to this, he has worked as CTO and founder of Aito BV, Head of Technology Licensing, Development Director and Innovation Advisor at Aalto University, and as a Senior Technology Researcher at Nokia. Laitinen has more than 30 patents and patent applications, as well as 25 publications in the field of physics and technology.
Rossi will start as VTT's Spin-off Investment Portfolio Manager on 19 May 2025. Rossi is responsible for VTT's financial interests in the creation of new companies, as well as for the strategic development of VTT's spin-off portfolio, the assessment of commercially viable technologies, and the strengthening of investor cooperation. Rossi also supports and spars VTT's spin-off teams in the incubator phase in creating, developing and communicating economically viable and sustainable business plans.
Rossi joins from Aalto University's Spin-off Asset Management, where he has been responsible for the management of Aalto's spin-off investment portfolio and acted as a key advisor to Aalto University's research-driven startups. Rossi has more than 20 years of international experience in investing, technology transfers and sustainability finance. He has previously worked as a portfolio manager for funds and investment companies and in capital market management positions in Finland and abroad. Rossi has previously worked as a start-up entrepreneur in companies that have developed e.g. AI-based solutions for the real estate sector and low-carbon modular buildings for the world's crisis areas. In addition, he has been a founder of an asset management company that focused on impact investing.
VTT-based companies have already raised more than EUR 1.2 billion in capital funding
VTT is a powerhouse of technological development and scientific research. Many of Finland's most significant technology startups originate from VTT. VTT develops eligible spin-off companies whose innovations can renew industries and society. VTT-based spin-off companies are based on the technology developed by VTT and the IPR created as a result of the development work.
VTT has created spin-off companies since 2006, and VTT is currently an owner in about 45 companies. In total, VTT-based companies have raised more than EUR 1.2 billion in funding. In 2020–2024, the funding raised by VTT-based companies totalled 10.5% of all capital invested in Finnish startups.
In 2019, VTT established the VTT LaunchPad business incubator, which brings together VTT's researchers and IP offering, the best business expertise and investors. The Financial Times selected VTT LaunchPad as one of its leading European startup incubators for 2024. Spin-off companies that have emerged through VTT LaunchPad include Onego Bio Ltd, which manufactures egg white without chickens, Steady Energy Oy, which commercialises a small nuclear reactor, and SemiQon Oy, which develops semiconductor quantum processors.
A recent report on the financial impacts of VTT-based companies: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/joint-study-spin-companies-rapid-growth-jobs-and-investment
A recent report on the financial impacts of VTT-based companies: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/joint-study-spin-companies-rapid-growth-jobs-and-investment
Read more about the venture capital funding raised by VTT-based companies:https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/record-breaking-year-15-capital-funding-raised-finnish-startups-vtt-spin-offs
Read more about VTT LaunchPad and spin-offs: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/about-us/invest-innovation
Read more about VTT LaunchPad: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/vtt-launchpad
