HMD is Founding new R&D Centre of Excellence in Finland

HMD Global, the owner of the Nokia smartphone brand, is acquiring Valona Labs and launching a Centre of Excellence in Tampere, Finland. The company said that the acquisition of assets will further build upon their reputation as a global leader in smartphone software updates and security.

The new Centre of Excellence will specialise in software, security and services, propelling HMD’s transition from a purely hardware business, to a combined hardware and services company. It will also diversify their intellectual property and differentiate their market offering.

In March this year, HMD entered a new service category with the launch of its global data roaming service, HMD Connect, which enables people around the world to benefit from a hassle-free data SIM. Over the coming months, the centre in Tampere will concentrate on developing this service further and begin work on other services such as remote device locking, enterprise mobility management, mobile device software security, secure network communication and black box testing.

The company also plans to expand the scope of the centre to include imaging and audio technologies in the future. The centre will create an immediate need to hire new technical talent in the region and will be led by the former Head of Unit for Valona Labs, Ari Heikkinen.

“We pride ourselves on our Finnish roots and our premium Nordic design, which is why we’re delighted to be bringing this new Centre of Excellence to Tampere. Through the acquisition of these assets, we will lay the foundations of a R&D hub that will transform our business and the products we offer to our fans,“ said Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global.