Finland has a new unicorn company.
Iceye has become the third Finnish technology “unicorn” to be valued at more than 10 billion euros, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
The space tech company’s valuation reached 10.5 billion euros following a new funding round that raised 450 million. The Finnish state also increased its stake in the company to roughly 12 percent.
The only others in the same bracket are the smartring maker Oura and mobile gaming company Supercell.
According to HS, Europe is rapidly building up its own space defence capabilities, and Iceye has emerged as a central player in this effort.
Harassment persists
Sexual harassment remains a problem in the armed forces, though its prevalence appears to have declined somewhat, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.
The Finnish Defence Forces’ survey of conscripts indicates that women encounter inappropriate treatment nearly five times as often as men. The survey is conducted twice a year among conscripts carrying out their military service.
The Defence Forces provided the results to the daily following a public information request. The findings don’t fit into the Defence Forces’ stated aim of attracting more women into military service.
By the end of the decade, the military aims to increase the number of female applicants to 2,000 a year from the current 1,500.
Divine intervention?
A 24-hour power outage at a confirmation camp in the capital area left teenagers without electricity, turning the Finnish rite of passage into an accidental break from screens and devices.
“Phone batteries running out created a bit of a survival vibe. It feels like the world is ending when your phone dies,” said Juhana Malme, a camp counsellor from Espoo.
The camp, run by a large parish in the capital region, had to adjust to basic conditions. Flush toilets were replaced with outhouses, and washing options were limited because there was no way to heat water in the sauna building.
Meals were still prepared using gas stoves, so the camp could continue as planned.
Still, the blackout had some upsides.
Without phones, young people spent more time talking to each other, and board and outdoor games became more popular. The lack of electric light also made evenings calmer, and many campers slept better than usual, Maaseudun Tulevaisuus reports.
