AI-TIE brought relatable Finnish SMEs' AI stories to the international audience

In the picture from left to right: Erkki Seppäläinen, Jan Järveläinen, Tuomo Kousa, Ulla Broms, William O'Gorman.

Held on June 13, 2023, "AI in Finnish SMEs: Relatable Stories and Practical Tools from Finland" webinar offered platform for experts and companies to share their latest insights and experiences with a wider audience.

The webinar showcased a diverse range of topics, spanning from Finland's visionary approach to AI to the potential it holds for empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The webinar was organized as part of the AI-TIE – AI Innovation Ecosystem for Competitiveness of SMEs & AI-TIE Southern Finland projects.

Participants delved into discussions surrounding AI's growing prevalence and its impact on businesses, particularly highlighting the vast scope of possible AI use cases in SMEs, including product and service development and production, quality control, service and remote diagnostics, sales and marketing, customer service, finance, IT and HR functions.

Harnessing the full potential of AI

In his opening keynote speech, Mr. Lassi Kurkijärvi, an influential executive CTO from Sofigate and member of AI-TIE steering committee, shared Finland’s vision for AI and how SMEs can benefit from the opportunities. Mr. Kurkijärvi noted the value of AI in the context of twin transition and the untapped opportunity for AI to drive sustainability goals. He placed AI at the nexus of social impact, business impact and technological impact, stating that the potential of AI is in humans and machines working together.

Dr. Anna Lahtinen, Senior Researcher and AI-TIE Project Manager, shared the AI experiences of over 100 Finnish SMEs, underlining the growing demand for developing AI understanding in companies and AI integration as its solutions become increasingly prevalent across industries. 

While acknowledging the significant benefits that large multinational companies have reaped from AI implementation, she shed light on the persistent challenges with AI adoption faced by SMEs, with up to 70% of SMEs in Finland not yet using AI in their business. Dr. Lahtinen stressed the importance of offering the necessary tools and acceleration programs for SMEs to bridge the gap between SMEs and their larger counterparts and support them in their competitiveness. Real examples and practical cases from SMEs are essential to inspire companies and help them benchmark relevant solutions. As a tip, online portal www.aistories.fi offers articles and podcasts of Finnish SMEs in respect to their AI journeys.

Inspiring success stories

The webinar concluded with a panel discussion, featuring representatives from four different SMEs: Mr. Erkki Seppäläinen from Link Design and Development, Mr. Jan Järveläinen from Premix Group, Mr. Tuomo Kousa from Powdea Technologies, and Mrs. Ulla Broms from Foibekartano, and moderated by Mr. William O'Gorman, Ulysseus AI Innovation Hub Officer from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.

These SMEs’ representatives, all of whom participated in the AI accelerators organized by AI-TIE, shared their personal experiences, insights, and practical knowledge regarding the grassroots implementation of AI within their respective businesses. The need for creating and sustaining innovation and development culture within a company, proactive attitude towards gaining AI understanding and efforts in identifying AI use case and prioritizing them, were highlighted as some of the prerequisites for successful AI adoption.

Over the past two years, AI-TIE has supported over 100 SMEs in their quest to learn about AI and develop AI-based solutions for their businesses.

For those interested in delving deeper into the world of AI-TIE and seizing the opportunity to participate in our complimentary virtual course, we invite you to visit our website at www.aistories.fi. Here you will also discover inspiring stories from Finnish SMEs leveraging AI technology. As an added resource, feel free to download our recently published guide titled “Empowering SMEs with AI” available at no cost, to better understand the transformative power of AI in small and medium-sized businesses. We look forward to embarking on this technological journey with you.