News

The American company Skylo Technologies acquired Finnish start-up RANIOT

- a success story that took just two years to build

Located in Silicon Valley in the United States, Skylo Technologies has acquired the Finnish start-up RANIOT Technologies. Originating from Aalto University’s Aalto Startup Center in 2018, RANIOT took just two years to develop a software-based industrial base station for wireless and scalable communication between the industrial IoT and sensors.

RANIOT has now made a deal with the American company Skylo Technologies. Four of RANIOT’s five founders will become part of the Skylo organisation, and RANIOT will continue as Skylo’s unit in Finland.

“Skylo was a RANIOT customer and our first contract with them was signed in September 2018. That was just a few months after the company was established. The acquisition was preceded by 18 months of cooperation, during which both sides discovered that we were a ‘match made in heaven’,” says Marko Keskinen, Managing Director of RANIOT.

According to Keskinen, the acquisition completed at the end of March also gives RANIOT the opportunity to develop as a company.

“We created a profitable and growing software business in just two years, and we want to ensure its continuity and growth with this deal. This is a critical move in terms of the company’s future. Obtaining new financing would have been very difficult in the current economic situation, and now we can focus on developing and expanding our expertise as part of a global company. The alternative would have meant spending several years in the start-up phase and concentrating on too many different things,” states Keskinen.

Recruitment is beginning

The new business infrastructure also provides new opportunities. RANIOT is now starting to recruit new employees.

“The deal won’t have an immediate impact on the development work itself, except that we no longer have to worry about having sufficient financing. However, the process of updating the basic infrastructure to the level of an established company began immediately. This includes HR and other support services that we didn’t have previously. The division of work and responsibilities among the team will change slightly, and we’re going to start recruiting right away: the company plans to hire four new employees by the autumn,” reveals Keskinen.

Keskinen sees a bright future ahead.

“Future actions include adapting to a new environment and being part of a larger organisation as well as recruiting more people and doubling the size of the team this year. We’ll also be disseminating the team’s expertise to Skylo’s organisation and processes and making a contribution to growing its competence and business portfolio. We intend to be actively involved in the significant new global business that Skylo is building.”

Managing Director of RANIOT Technologies, Marko Keskinen.

Aalto Startup Center provided a growth platform

Aalto Startup Center played a strong role in accelerating the success story of RANIOT, and three of the company’s five founders of the company have doctorate degrees in engineering and a background at Aalto University.

“Aalto Startup Center was an important springboard for us, and we see the work it does as vital to helping start-up companies achieve the same results that we’ve seen since RANIOT was established,” says Keskinen.

“It’s been great to watch RANIOT grow and develop over these years, and we’re convinced that the company has a bright future with its new owners. They’re a good example of the work we do here at Aalto Startup Center,” says Marika Paakkala, Head of Aalto Startup Center

Further information and interview requests: Marko Keskinen, Managing Director, RANIOT Technologies, tel. +358 40 541 7767

Aalto Startup Center 

Aalto Startup Center is a business accelerator for start-up companies that are less than three years old, with a particular focus on the technological field. The accelerator utilises the interdisciplinary competence offered by Aalto University in design, business and technology as well as the expertise and networks of the university. The participants include companies both from within Aalto and outside of it, and the accelerator also creates business activities from research-based projects. Currently, there are about 40 companies at Aalto Startup Center, 10 of which operate under Esa Bic Finland, which focuses on space technology and is a member of Aalto Startup Center. Aalto Startup Center’s premises are located in Otaniemi, Espoo. https://startupcenter.aalto.fi/