Nokia, Microsoft to invest in mobile start-ups in Finland

Smartphone partners Microsoft and Nokia will each invest up to €9m in a development program to drive training, support and startup business opportunities through the AppCampus program at Aalto University, Finland.

The AppCampus program will cater to the Windows Phone ecosystem, as well as Nokia’s legacy platforms, including Symbian and Series 40, “to create a new generation of self-sustaining mobile startups.”

From May, AppCampus intends to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world and will supply support, training in mobile technology, design and usability, and funding to create innovative new mobile apps and services.

Mentored by veterans in the mobile industry, program participants will be given insights and business coaching to help them commercialise their ideas while retaining the full intellectual property rights for their innovations, the companies said.

“Through our technology transfer and Aalto Venture Garage activities, the Aalto University community has been able to help catalyze the creation and growth of more than 30 companies during the past two years, with a number of them having mobile applications,” according to Will Cardwell, head of the Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship, which will be charged with managing the program.