KONE’s four-year Veturi program results in a thriving ecosystem of 200 partners
In 2020, KONE began addressing the big challenge of rapid urbanisation and the significant sustainability problems resulting from it. Solving such a large problem alone was not possible, which gave birth to the “Flow of Urban Life” Veturi ecosystem program led by KONE, now coming to an end.
In 2020, KONE was granted EUR 20 million in leading company funding by Business Finland. Ultimately, KONE’s Veturi program involved around 200 companies and partners, whose R&D projects are currently leading to more than a hundred patent applications.
“The Veturi program helped us find high-tech partners to co-create solutions for the physical and digital world. Business Finland and other leading companies, such as Nokia, Wärtsilä and Meyer Turku, have been important players. We have also collaborated with top universities and researchers who are experts in studying smart and sustainable cities,” says Tomio Pihkala, Chief Technology Officer at KONE.
“Leading companies set themselves and the ecosystem they lead a mission that aims to solve significant future challenges. The roadmap defined and maintained by the leading company describes how the parties share their responsibilities in the implementation of the roadmap. The missions must be motivating for the companies and research organisations involved, creating an inspiring goal for them. Since the ecosystem partners are co-financing the leading company projects with a significant financial contribution, participation in the Veturi projects must also be justifiable from both business and research perspectives. While the leading company’s own R&D activities must lead to good results, it is equally important to succeed in building and leading the ecosystem,” says Business Finland’s Director of Funding Services Kari Komulainen.
KONE has invested significantly in Finnish R&D
KONE’s Veturi program has generated new knowledge and innovations in several key technology areas, promoting the development of Finnish expertise and companies in the field of smart and sustainable cities. During the program, KONE’s R&D investments in Finland have increased by an average of 7% annually. The company has attracted top professionals to its expert networks, especially in data analytics and AI as well as digital twins and simulation technologies.
The four development areas in KONE’s Veturi program have been innovations for sustainability, smart construction, smart buildings and cities, and smart and green field services.
The Veturi initiative has enabled KONE to take greater risks and innovate in a completely new market. Joint development has resulted in a product portfolio that accelerate productivity in the construction industry, spearheaded by the service innovation application KONE SiteFlow. This application manages and monitors the construction elevators utilizing real-time data. KONE SiteFlow has been developed and tested jointly in the construction sector’s customer projects and Veturi ecosystem projects. In 2024, KONE SiteFlow received a prestigious Council of Tall Buildings Innovation Award in the Awards of Excellence category.
Within the Veturi program, KONE has also developed a groundbreaking digital twin innovation concept that creates a better user experience and helps to manage people flow by simulating the movement of people in traffic hubs. By utilising data, the solution provides smoother and more efficient commuting for public transport. The expertise created in the project with the Universities of Helsinki, Oulu and Lapland as well as various business partners will have a significant impact on the development of future cities.
“The Veturi program has provided both assistance as well as a piloting and testing platform for potential SMEs and startups to grow their business globally. For example, the GIM and Avertas multi-function robots have been tested in the ecosystem projects,” says KONE’s Chief Innovation Officer Amy Chen.
Innovation activities will continue after the Veturi program
KONE’s innovation activities and ecosystem cooperation will continue actively even after the Veturi program. The company found that initiating new projects with universities and R&D partners was successful.
“Research collaboration provided us with a vision of the future, an idea of where the world is going – a vision to create smart construction and sustainable urban environments for the future, for example. Now we have a better understanding of customer needs and emerging technologies. We received a lot of support from external partners that helped us develop the technologies used in our future products,” says Janne Öfversten, digital innovation lead at KONE.
Business Finland: Funding for Leading Companies and Ecosystems
KONE.com: Kone Veturi The Flow of Urban Life event recordings
KONE.com: KONE engaged 200 ecosystem partners into co-innovation to improve people flow