Aalto University's spinout companies, including quantum company IQM and satellite company ICEYE, have raised approximately EUR 2.6 billion in funding since 2010
Eight research-based spinout companies have already been launched this year from Aalto University, a marked increase from the early 2020s when the yearly number ranged between zero and five. A spinout is a company to which the university transfers the scientific inventions and patents coming out from research.
Aalto University ranked third among European universities — following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge — in terms of funding raised by spinouts in the first half of 2026. Aalto’s spinouts raised over EUR 500 million, with Oxford topping the list by a wide margin at over EUR 900 million; Cambridge was only slightly ahead of Aalto. Although the majority of Aalto spinouts’ funding pot comes from satellite company ICEYE, a top three ranking is by no means a coincidence.