Finnish changemakers make Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2025

Nine young entrepreneurs and changemakers from Finland have earned a place on the 10th edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list– a milestone that celebrates emerging leaders reshaping industries across the continent.

Spanning categories from Technology to Manufacturing & Industry, this year’s honourees reflect the depth of talent in Finland’s startup and innovation scene – particularly in sustainability, software and space tech.

The names from Finland featured this year are:
Antonia Eneh – CEO at Wave Ventures
Aino Bergius – CEO of Slush
Perttu Yli-Opas – CEO of Aurora
Johan Jern & Mikko Mäntylä – co-founders of Realm
Olli Kangas & Pasi Hakulinen – co-founders of Intergrid
Lorena Ferkic & Mona Ismail – co-founders of Arca

Take a closer look at the talent behind these ventures proving the Nordic tech scene is not just thriving, but helping define Europe’s future.

1. Antonia Eneh – championing Gen Z founders at Wave Ventures

At just 27, Antonia Eneh is already steering one of the most distinctive VC firms in Europe – and doing so on behalf of a generation that refuses to settle for the status quo.

As CEO of Wave Ventures, the continent’s largest student-run venture capital fund, Eneh is a driving force behind the next wave of Nordic founders. With a sharp eye for early-stage promise and a commitment to inclusivity, she’s investing in people as much as ideas.

 “Gen Z has grown up in a world shaped by global crises, with smartphones in hand and a constant awareness of climate change, inequality, and uncertainty,” Eneh said. The founders we support aren't just building successful companies – they're creating solutions and workplaces for the world we want to live in.”

Prior to taking the helm at Wave, Eneh held financial reins at Slush and gained strategic acumen at McKinsey. Her approach is rooted in giving founders more than just capital – she offers them conviction, credibility, and a network they can grow into.

2. Aino Bergius – shaping the future of European tech through Slush

When it comes to the biggest startup event in the Nordics, Aino Bergius’s trajectory has been impressive – from starting there as 15-year-old volunteer to running one of the most influential tech gatherings on the continent.

Now CEO of Slush, Bergius leads a team that hosts over 6 000 founders, operators and investors in Helsinki each year. But one its key achievements is giving up-and-comers a foot in the door.

“Over the past decade, over 10 000 young and young-at-heart startup enthusiasts have taken their very first steps in the startup ecosystem by volunteering at Slush,” she said. “It’s an excellent launchpad for future founders, operators or venture capitalists.”

Bergius has held key roles across the organisation, including COO and CFO, and her leadership is marked by clarity of purpose.

“At Slush, we ruthlessly focus on serving European startups. We actively prioritise founders in everything we do.”

3. Perttu Yli-Opas – pioneering sustainable space tech at Aurora

Space may be vast, but Perttu Yli-Opas is laser-focused on what happens when it gets too crowded. As CEO and co-founder of Aurora, he’s reimagining how we move through – and clean up – low Earth orbit.

The company’s star product is a tiny, water-powered thruster called a “resistojet” – the smallest rocket engine in the world to use water as fuel. Built for microsatellites, it allows spacecraft to dodge debris, avoid collisions, and ultimately reduce the clutter above our heads.

“This mission is a great example of a business-oriented satellite that simply must have a deorbiting solution with a minimal footprint – which we’re more than happy to provide,” Yli-Opas said, after Aurora was selected as a supplier for Singapore-based SpeQtral’s secure communications satellite.

Since launching, Aurora has raised 6.6 million US dollars and is valued at 11.5 million. Its components are already operational on four satellites, with six more prepped for launch in 2025 – all from a team of 20 in Helsinki. Call it a small rocket with big ambitions.

4. Johan Jern & Mikko Mäntylä – building smarter sales tools at Realm

In the information economy, answers are currency – and Realm is helping companies spend it wisely. Founded in 2023 by Johan Jern and Mikko Mäntylä, the Helsinki-based startup is using AI to make enterprise sales less chaotic and more strategic.

“In the past few years, computers have learned to understand and reason about natural language,” Jern explained to Tech.eu. “This is a historic shift, and helps us solve a problem that has been holding the world back for decades.”

Mäntylä added: “We all do knowledge work, but it’s very hard to find knowledge at work... it’s harder than ever to understand what your company knows.”

Jern brings product expertise from fintech unicorn Pipe, while Mäntylä draws on leadership experience from Slush. With 1.8 million US dollars in early backing, Realm is turning internal knowledge into an asset – not a bottleneck.

5. Olli Kangas & Pasi Hakulinen – building the software to decarbonise industry at Intergrid

Intergridmight not look like your typical climate tech darling – but its impact is industrial, measurable and unashamedly practical.

Founded in 2023 by Olli Kangas, Pasi Hakulinen and Mikko Ilmonen (over 30), the Helsinki startup is helping factories ditch fossil fuels with software that simulates and optimises their clean energy transition.

“What the customers need is an easy way out of fossil fuels,” Kangas told Forbes. “So we need to bring it to the level that it’s a no-brainer for companies to switch.”

A 2024 McKinsey report found that 20 per cent of global CO₂ emissions come from European industry. To hit EU climate targets, 100 factories a day would need to convert by 2050.

Intergrid is now supporting 40 industrial sites in Finland and the Netherlands and has raised 13 million US dollars to date – showing that green tech can be both grounded and scalable.

6. Lorena Ferkic & Mona Ismail – using AI to rewire how we discover information

In early 2023, Lorena Ferkic and Mona Ismail co-founded Arcaa, an AI-powered content platform designed to help users learn more intentionally through curated topic-based “Portals.”

Each Portal gathers trusted, diverse material – including podcasts, articles, and long-form interviews – pulled from across the web by Arca’s AI engine. The goal is to make meaningful discovery frictionless and personal.

According to the company,“Arca began with a simple question: The internet gave us access. What if you had a co-thinker that adds to your thinking, helping you to make sense of it all?”

Currently in beta, Arca has secured over 1.2 million US dollars in funding from Lifeline Ventures to scale the product and deepen its technology stack.

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