Photonics Finland Part 2: The Secret Life Of Lenses And Lasers

Kasey Snyder 0:01
Welcome back. This is Kasey Snyder, bringing you part two of Global Edge Talks Optics and Photonics Days 2026 series from Jyväskylä, Finland. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, go back and do that. If you have, then you already know this is worth your time. Finland alone has over 340 active photonics companies, more than two and a half billion in Euros in annual export revenue and 25% sector growth in the last two years. This ecosystem is not waiting around. In this episode, I’m talking to six more people from the event. First up is Tomi Salo from Kvanttinova. He’s bridging quantum tech and the real world. Then Sesha Manuguri from Dyspelix. If you’ve ever wondered how AR glasses actually work, he is the person to talk to. Then Byron Siabolt of Optikos, an American company providing precision testing and access to trusted manufacturing partners. Then we’ll talk to Mikko Närhi, a former Tampere University Scientist, steward of Fin Light, and optical engineer at Coherent Global Fiber Laser Center of Excellence. Then Sampo Härkönen from Business Tampere, with a clear-eyed view of why this region keeps punching above its weight. And finally, Julian Gallego Urrea from Horiba, a global instrumentation company with a lot going on in the Nordics right now. Okay, let’s get going. So Tomi, thank you for sitting down with me. Would you mind introducing yourself?

Tomi Salo 1:56
Yes, so I’m I’m Tomi Salo. I’m co-creation manager at Kvanttinova Limited. And through that, we are partnering at the Finnish Chips Competence Center.

Kasey Snyder 2:07
And what brought you out to Jyväskylä for the OPE conferences?

Tomi Salo 2:12
We at uh at FYCCC, the Finnish Chips Competence Center. We are Photonics Finland is part of that organization. And uh and we had a presentation table there, so so I was the only free person to uh to be available, but no, I’m I’m I’ve been a frequent guest at at the uh at photonics events and and OPD especially. Um so I really like I like how the the events are arranged and so on. And of course, it’s a good place to meet old friends and make new ones.

Kasey Snyder 2:48
That’s fantastic. I feel like uh the conversation around data centership, so semiconductors are starting to become a little bit more common for people, but maybe photonics, optics, those types of things are maybe a little bit less familiar. So is there anything that you could say that would help us kind of understand how this all comes together and what sort of uh role these types of uh technologies kind of play, maybe in it in industry or in practical application?

Tomi Salo 3:15
Yeah, well, I I wouldn’t separate separate them then that that drastically uh the companies or the industry’s uh needs and and applications. They are they are not interested in in technology. Like they like the vertical industries, they are not interested in in the technologies, they need solutions. And and if the solution is uh most cost effectively and uh with the uh best uh like performance to value monetary value ratio be done with with uh photonics, then they go with that. If it’s done with some uh I don’t know some some uh motion sensing or or just AI-based data crunching or whatever, they choose that. So what we need to do is is to make the industries aware of the possibilities of the different uh different technologies and and and so that they are aware of the uh when they are making their selections, they are better aware of of of the possibilities. And of course, having the support to make these these selections and and to uh to find out who knows what and and who are those persons, because these are like people things, human issues. Who are those people who can advise them, maybe collaborate with them? And that’s obviously somewhere some something that that where where we as as the uh Chips Competence Center or as Continova step in. That’s that’s what we do. We find the uh the partners. But of course, what we need to do, like I said just just previously, that the awareness is not there, and that’s something that that we need to do as well. And and definitely I’ve been doing uh mem sensing, I’ve been doing photonics, so I don’t make a separation that that yeah, that that’s that technology and that’s that technology. They just provide solutions to challenges and and and to be aware of the possibilities. That’s that’s the key.

Kasey Snyder 5:29
We understand that the Helsinki region has the number two quantum cluster in the world, which is something, of course, we’re tremendously proud of. But what do you think makes our region so successful for this technology and the others that you were mentioning? How can we be punching so far above our weight when it comes to the size of the country, the population, and then the innovations we’ve created?

Tomi Salo 5:52
I would say that the courage in the in the history to invest in in basic research. That’s like, I feel the key thing that that like for example, R of Technology Development was started somewhere in the 20s when when the the uh Department of Electrical Engineering was founded at the uh at the uh at Helsinki University of Technology, whatever the name was back then. And and from that came Nokia, eventually. And and where we are now with that. Or or 1965, when the Cold Temperature Lab was uh was established, and and Professor Lonasma fought decades to to uh get the funding to continue that research against the the uh all the adversaries that okay what what could it good does it do for us that that we have the coldest point in the universe? And from that research directly came uh Blue Force, and and without that cryostatic, cryogenic development, IQM would never have been more. So and and at the same we can we can look at in in different areas in Finland as well, like like Opto Electronics Research Center in in Tampara University, and and and now what we have there in the in the in the laser laser field. So that’s one of the key issues that there was once courage to invest in that.

Kasey Snyder 7:21
Wow, that was actually a really direct explanation. That was extremely helpful and easy to follow. So thank you. Just thinking now about the optics and photonics days for the future. If a company were going to travel all the way to a remote location in Finland, be it Uvascula or Olu or a UNSU, what would you say would be the the biggest benefit for someone to come all the way out here for this week? And what would they expect to find?

Tomi Salo 7:48
Well, seeing is believing. So it’s it’s hard to hard to believe that that this kind of ecosystem or or this kind of networks and and expertise exists if you don’t see it yourself. And and and then talking to the different people from from companies, from from universities, that that opens opens eyes for or for the excellence that that there is. And it’s obviously we don’t have have everything, but we have bits and pieces that that could be the crucial thing for another company’s future success. So yeah, seeing is believing. That’s excellent.

Kasey Snyder 8:30
Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you so much for sitting down with me. I appreciate your time.

Tomi Salo 8:34
Thank you.

Kasey Snyder 8:44
Hi, Sesha. Thank you for sitting down with me. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling me a little bit about Dyspelix?

Sesha Manuguri 8:50
Thank you, Kasey, for the opportunity. Uh my name is Sesha Manuguri. Uh, I work for a company called Dyspelix. Uh we design and manufacture see-through displays for augmented reality applications. We are based in Espo and we work with uh people all around the world.

Kasey Snyder 9:05
Wow. So big tech companies in the US are spending billions to make augmented reality glasses that people actually want to wear. And the hardest part seems to be this lens itself. So explain to me how a Finnish company ended up at the forefront of solving one of the toughest problems in consumer tech.

Sesha Manuguri 9:24
Yeah, so the big picture here is uh big tech companies are looking for the next frontier in consumer electronics, looking beyond the smartphone. So they’d like to uh go beyond the smartphone and see what they can develop. So in that endeavor, augmented reality classes play a major role. So, with regard to Dyspel ix evolution, it actually happened from a serendipitous discovery that was made in the lab in Aulu by one of our founders, Anti Sunari, uh, followed by which uh another co-founder by name Yusso Olkonen is a physicist slash mathematician. So he developed these elaborate uh algorithms that can uh uh detailed map how light bounces inside a high refractive index glass. Uh so together with the manufacturing knowledge, come uh coupled with our uh ability to model these intricate interactions of light bouncing in the wave guide, we’re able to capture the light and display, uh create a display out of it. So capture and expand the light so that we can put a TV in front of the eyes, literally.

Kasey Snyder 10:32
Wow, that’s fascinating. I don’t think most people realize how difficult it is to make a lens that allows you to see both the real world and digital information at the same time. So talk to me a little bit about what you’re trying to do to help the next generation of AR devices that people actually want to wear.

Sesha Manuguri 10:49
So essentially what we are trying to do is the kind of brightness and the kind of clarity of colors you experience in a TV, you’re trying to miniaturize it and put it in front of your eyes. And that requires precise manipulation of light at nanoscale. So for that, we first design the kind of nanostructures we need to allow the light to bounce. Literally, we make the light to dance to our tunes. So that’s why these nanostructures are essential. And then we model these over uh a certain peak, certain distances in the wave guide, and then we create the final output of uh displays with excellent brightness, excellent clarity, with excellent white balance without creating any uh difficult uh image artifacts for the user. So the user should not experience weird colors when the displays are put in front of them, it has to be seamless. So only when it is seamless can we clearly overlay the physical and the virtual world.

Kasey Snyder 11:49
Is there a particular product or service that you are promoting here at OPD?

Sesha Manuguri 11:53
Yes. Uh we are showcasing here uh a couple of our latest uh uh products uh based on uh polymer waveguides and glass. Uh the idea is to uh uh create an alternate ecosystem for glass because all this while glass has been the mainstay of uh augmented reality waveguides. Now we are pushing the frontier a little bit more. So we want to reduce the weight of the waveguides that we so the displays are called waveguides in uh classic physics terminology. So for the audience. Uh so we want to reduce the weight so that a user can experience uh enhanced uh feel around their eyes without being bogged on by the weight of the uh glasses.

Kasey Snyder 12:36
Okay, that makes perfect sense. Um so I’ve been looking at some of the American companies that are involved in this space right now, and it looks like they’re trying to build AR glasses, smart helmets, and even heads-up displays for workers and commercial um uh manufacturing production. Um, tell me a little bit about the type of partnership that you are looking for with those American companies and um who should we be uh kind of speaking to?

Sesha Manuguri 13:02
Oh well, uh essentially we are interested in all the big tech companies around the world, either in Asia or in America. Uh the reason is we are not the whole end product manufacturer. Our USP is we make excellent waveguides, the displays, we design and make them. So, however, the design, the waveguides or the displays have to be packaged along with the software and along with other uh functionalities that come along with it. So we don’t do that. So for the software and the final product, we rely on these big tech uh uh gends in either in the uh North American region or in the Asian region so that our product uh gets uh has a massive uh reach around the world. Like billions of users use it. So primarily these are our focus areas and the focus customers.

Kasey Snyder 13:51
Well, this was excellent. Thank you so much for sitting down with me, Seisha. I feel like I learned a lot and I am very curious to see where AR is going next. Thank you.

Sesha Manuguri 13:59
Thank you, Kasey, for the opportunity.

Kasey Snyder 14:10
Hi, Byron. Thanks for sitting down with me. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling me a little bit about Optikos?

Byron Seabolt 14:16
Yeah, absolutely. Uh so I’m Byron Seabolt, Senior Business Development Manager at Optikos LLC. Opticos is an engineering, design, manufacturing, and precise uh optical metrology company. So we focus on concept through volume production for optical systems. And so that can come in various shapes and sizes and complexities. And that, you know, we drive that across many market segments. Uh, typically, those market segments are focused on uh life science diagnostics, med tech, uh semiconductor applications, more so on overlay metrology, uh critical dimension metrology, you know, defense and aerospace, aerial imaging applications. And uh and our our goal is really to support our customers through their journey, through that sort of initial concept on the back of the napkin, if you will, or you know, specifications and help them go through the sort of full evolution of the design process. And so we have a specialized team of engineers that are focused on optical and optimal mechanical design. And our customers own the IP. So they walk away with all the design files. Um, and you know, that’s kind of a uniqueness of our organization, is that we try to be vertically integrated with our customers. Um, it provide sort of that unique engagement where, you know, it’s more of a collaborative environment as opposed to, okay, here’s a design, you don’t get access to it because we want our customers to be successful because their success is our success.

Kasey Snyder 15:53
Very nice. And it’s a good reminder that optics applies to so many different markets and in so many different applications. So that’s fascinating. Now, Optikos is a well-established American company, but yet you’re here with me in mid-Finland. What made you decide to come and what sort of opportunities are you looking for here?

Byron Seabolt 16:12
Yeah, it’s a great question. So I give a shout out to my colleague Nicholas Saxon. He’s based in Espo, Finland. And so naturally, uh, since he’s here, we’re here to support him uh and his sort of endeavors across uh not only the Nordic countries, but all of Europe. So we have always worked in Europe specifically, but I think what draws us to Finland specifically is uh the the pool of talent and companies that reside here. Um I think you know it’s a unique, um it’s a unique country for the fact that a lot of American countries find themselves sort of here in Finland specifically. And I don’t think it’s any secret that Nokia had a big play in that in the past, and that really drew uh a lot of folks in optics and photonics specifically. So there are a lot of U.S. companies, but there are a lot of let’s say homegrown Finnish companies as well that are working in optics and photonics. And when there’s business opportunity, there’s an opponent.

Kasey Snyder 17:12
Opticos tests lenses for industries, like you mentioned, as diverse as space satellites to medical imaging. So can you pinpoint for me where the most exciting growth is happening right now for your business?

Byron Seabolt 17:24
Again, another great question. For us specifically, I would say the biggest growth drivers right now are going to be things like defense, uh, aerial imaging systems, uh unmanned aerial vehicles, you know, anything with sensing, uh detection, photon collection, uh, you know, that’s kind of where we play and we focus on. But that is, you know, obviously a big growth driver because Europe specifically has uh increased their defense spending significantly over the next five years. The US continues to make investments there as well. But I would say outside of just pure defense, I would say the commercial space applications like telecommunications, laser comms is a huge growth driver across Europe, but also the United States. So we uh see significant growth there. I mean, there are just huge investments across the space industry, you know, uh for the US, but uh more specifically here as well. We see a lot of engagements kind of with a pretty huge uptick in, you know, in in terms of conversation, opportunities, uh, et cetera. So we see that as kind of the next big one. But I think the other one to take note of is quantum. So for quantum, um, there was more recently a CHIPS Act in the United States made a $2 billion investment over the last couple of days across nine companies. Um, and the majority of those companies, as of right now, reside in the US. I mean, so I think it’s a little bit unseen where that that industry goes and whether it tracks to commercialization in some, you know, shape or form. Um, but we see this as a big area of growth as well. But I think still medical and life science agnostics still track very well, but there’s just been a bit of de-emphasation on just kind of investments for life science diagnostics. So it’s not as strong as it has been in the past, or let’s say pre-COVID. But but again, we we still see really strong engagement in medical as well.

Kasey Snyder 19:26
Okay, excellent. And we know that uh here in Finland, we have the number two quantum cluster in the world in the Helsinki region. So we’re very happy to have you here to learn more about that. And hopefully you can visit our our Helsinki area in the future. Uh now let’s talk a little bit about your actual processes. So I’ve understood that you’re moving a little bit more towards automation and robotics and your way of testing optics. Could you describe that a little bit more and how that has an impact on your customers?

Byron Seabolt 19:52
Yeah, absolutely. So there have been several engagements for high volume production where we have had to take a different approach and the overall tack time of each sort of assembly being produced in the production environment. And as you know, cost is king in a lot of production engagements, especially as the volume and the maybe the complexity decreases a bit, but the volume increases. Um, you know, people want to see a reduction in cost, which means a reduction in touch time. Um, so i.e., this really drives us to invest in automation for testing. Um, now we have been no stranger to automation in the past for developing custom metrology solutions for, say, missile seeker platforms, um, and those having to use automation and robotics to you know, um, high volume interocular lens testing and using cobots for pick and place applications. But more recently, we used uh cobot for pick and place and test of image quality of a high throughput, low uh low light imaging system for application. So we’re doing tens of thousands of units per month, which requires quite a lot of throughput. So introducing that level of automation, but also statistical analysis. So being able to see the data in real time as it’s coming off each lens and being able to assess where like the root cause, you know, failures might be within that process is very key to our business and our customers as well.

Kasey Snyder 21:29
I think you touched on some really good points there. In the panel yesterday, I recall that there was big conversation about scalability and how to take your maybe king or prize research to you know scale. And it sounds like something that automation could really support with, and also a need for more robustness in testing, which again, it sounds like uh through data collection and through automation, you’re able to achieve that. So great points. Okay, my last question for you. As I mentioned, I’m really glad to have you as a fellow American here at the conference with. Me to provide your perspective and you know kind of an understanding of Finnish culture. So if you were speaking with an American investor or a corporate partner, trying to understand what makes Finland, you know, genuinely special and what they bring to the optics and photonics space, um, what surprising insights would you share with them?

Byron Seabolt 22:19
I would probably share that there, again, as I mentioned before, is a wealth of knowledge and experience within the Finnish optics and photonics community. We have collaborated on a number of programs in the past, uh, and some even recent ones for an array of applications, which I unfortunately can’t talk about. But nevertheless, we uh we in all of those engagements, we’ve been thoroughly impressed with the the talent, the knowledge, and the experience. Um so I think there’s a in to kind of add to that, uh it’s a a high quality of thoughtfulness in the approaches and the designs. So I think, you know, if I were to give sort of feedback to investors in the U US or elsewhere that are looking to engage with Finnish companies, I would say do your due diligence because you will be impressed. And that has been certainly our experience at Optikos.

Kasey Snyder 23:14
That’s wonderful to hear. Well, thank you so much for sitting down with me. And I was really happy to learn that Optikos has a presence here in Finland in the Espo area. So enjoy the rest of the conference.

Byron Seabolt 23:23
Yeah, thank you.

Kasey Snyder 23:33
Okay, Mikko, thank you so much for sitting down with me. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling me a little bit about Coherent?

Mikko Närhi 23:39
Yeah, sure. So yeah, my name is Mikko Närhi. I’m currently working at uh Coherent in Finland in the fiber lasers uh business unit, somewhere in between manufacturing and RD. So as an optical engineer, that’s the official title. But uh we’re we’re making high power lasers for uh industrial welding and cutting. And then new new direction for us is uh these kind of medical lasers in the two micron uh wavelength range and uh plastics and and polymer welding. Let’s say that’s the new thing for us.

Kasey Snyder 24:11
Okay. And before we dig into what Coherent is working on today, I want to hear a little bit more about your background. So I understand that you were a staff scientist um in the photonics labs at Tempre University. Can you tell me a little bit about your work there and the projects you were handling?

Mikko Närhi 24:27
Yeah, so let’s say I’ve I’ve been kind of transitioning between academia and industry for a few years. So started at Coherent only eight months ago. And then before that, I was working as a postdoc at the Tempere University and then as a staff scientist. And as a staff scientist, uh I was involved in in this uh Finlight uh infrastructure things that we have nationwide, uh photonics infrastructure. And then also in in uh in I was involved in in planning the new uh laboratory space being built at Tampere University. So they’re kind of uh building a shared laboratory space for all of the natural sciences there with modern uh lab spaces, and and then I was relay uh kind of trying to map out the needs for the photonics laboratories. Uh so I was represent representative of the photonics laboratories in the with with the meetings with the architects and and we were designing, you know, what are the requirements for photonics laboratories and and what kind of labs and uses are we doing there? So yeah, that’s kind of the foot.

Kasey Snyder 25:32
Can you elaborate a little more on the FinLite concept, this shared lab space? I think this is very unique to our region here in Finland and something that uh maybe our American listeners aren’t familiar with. So how does that work and how do you think that that maybe creates an advantage for Finnish companies?

Mikko Närhi 25:50
So Finland is a relatively Finland is a relatively small uh country and population-wise, and and we’re not very dense. So so we’re scattered around. Uh, what we’re trying to do is that uh university has a lot of uh or universities and research institutes or around Finland have a lot of good equipment uh and uh high re like you know clean room spaces and tools that are needed for uh high-tech uh manufacturing purposes, but of course, research groups cannot utilize them 24-7. And and and the idea is to have those, you know, taxpayer-paid uh devices that they could be available, let’s say during the research of hours, that they’re available for for companies to be utilized, especially for smaller companies where who are really entering market and and and trying to establish technology. So uh we’re trying to support the the companies and and it’s kind of a you know symbiotic relationship. So hopefully, you know, we we rent the devices, uh, guide them uh if if needed. And that’s kind of you know, and then it’s a network of of different, like I said, different universities and research institutes. So so we’re trying to kind of gather all the equipment in one place and and advertise it. But it’s it’s a very new concept also. So the the whole, let’s say, model how it works, and and then going through the regulations at different universities, that’s another story. But uh that that’s the idea at least that we’re trying to get to.

Kasey Snyder 27:22
Okay, that perfect. That makes sense. And you mentioned that now in the last year you have transitioned from the academic side to more of the commercial side. So tell me what attracted you to Coherent and in particular, why would a large American company be interested in having a presence here in Finland?

Mikko Närhi 27:40
So yeah, I’ve been always kind of uh interested in in the applications and then and also developing new uh concepts and new new technologies. And then a few friends of mine, all colleagues, were working at Coherent, and they said that they enjoyed there, and then we have an open position, so very traditional story, let’s say. And I thought that okay, it sounds very interesting. And my my colleagues had enjoyed their time there, so and I I thought, okay, I will try that. And it’s been quite uh nice learning experience, so it’s something new. Challenges, it’s it’s fun to challenge yourself, so yeah. I think coherent uh as a corporation. So so the it was a Finnish company established late 90s, early 2000, I think. And it started out as a spin-off from Tampere University, and then they grew. They had some semiconductor manufacturing at first, but then they transitioned into fiber lasers. And I suppose that uh basically the technology that Coherent felt that you know they were uh good, you know, they had high-tech, high-quality products uh that they would like to have in their portfolio, and that’s probably what led to led to the acquisition at the time.

Kasey Snyder 28:49
Okay, yeah, that makes sense. And talk to us a little bit about the products and services that Coherent offers today.

Mikko Närhi 28:56
Yeah, so yeah, it’s uh most of the things that we’re doing. Traditionally, it’s been uh high power fiber lasers so for cutting and welding, especially in the automotive industry, the electrification. So, so these lithium batteries require some specific welding and we’re able to provide these kind of customized beam shapes for the welding. Then uh so that’s the kind of backbone what we’ve been doing. And now we’re kind of establishing uh new markets in in uh two two micrometer wavelength range. So so that’s the medical lasers uh for different kinds of uh treatments. To be honest, I’m not so well aware of the those technicals. So I’m I’m a laser guy, but uh yeah, materials processing with two microns, plastic uh welding. That’s a kind of a new opening for us.

Kasey Snyder 29:44
Okay, interesting. It sounds like you’re touching a variety of different industries then with your products. So um tell me specifically what brings you to the optics and photonics days here in Uvascula. Are you looking for particular types of collaborations or partnerships?

Mikko Närhi 29:58
Main reason is that I was uh part of a panel discussion for student events where they were discussing about the transition from academia to industry, and I had kind of first hand experience. So that was reason number one. Reason number two is that uh it brings together majority of the uh Finnish, let’s say, photonics people. So it’s it’s good to meet old colleagues who are now at different places in Finland and and to catch up with them. And then now the exhibition has also grown quite interesting. So there’s a lot of new things every year, also from abroad, which is which is quite interesting to see what’s available and and and you learn quite a lot based on that. But networking, I would say, is the most key, key number one point that I’m here for.

Kasey Snyder 30:42
Excellent. Well, thank you for sitting down with me and sharing your story. It really helps to highlight or illuminate the collaboration between RD side and commercial technology. And um we’re really excited to hear what is coming in the future for Coherent. Thank you.

Mikko Närhi 30:57
Thank you.

Kasey Snyder 31:06
Okay, so we’re very fortunate now to have Sampo from Business Tampere here with us. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about the work that you do?

Sampo Härkönen 31:16
So Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Kasey. So Sampo Härkönen is my name, and I work for Business Tampere. So Business Tampere is the regional development agency helping companies in Tampere region. So our services are basically free. We are non-profit, and we help, for example, companies to establish their operations and offices in Tampere. So we help with the recruitment, we help with the right contacts, and we also help, for example, with marketing and export. So we have several export programs where we promote companies from Tampere region. So we have a lot of lot of services actually for companies. Also, if you are a startup company, we uh give some advice how to how to raise funding and helping helping also new companies to to start their business in Tampere.

Kasey Snyder 32:09
Okay. And if uh our listeners are not familiar with where you’re located, where would you describe your position in Finland and maybe what’s unique about your area?

Sampo Härkönen 32:18
So Tampere is a beautiful location. So it’s exceptionally beautiful. I I love the city. I was born there. Tampere is roughly 175 kilometers north from Helsinki. Tampere region has roughly 500,000 people. The quality of life is is really good because there are not too many people, it’s not too crowded, but it’s very, very high quality of life in Tampere. The most attractive city in Finland and attracting a lot of lot of young talent. One reason for that is that Tampere is a big university town. So Tampere has several tens of thousands of students. And that’s of course the source of of talent also for companies in in Tampere. Still, I need to mention that Tampere is located between two lakes. So there’s Lake Nasiyarabe and Lake Puhayarabe. That makes also the city very beautiful, especially during summertime.

Kasey Snyder 33:11
Okay, I have to say you’re really describing something very interesting. So I’m I’m sure everyone will be curious and Googling your location to see what it’s all about. Talking about the the research side of things and the university, we’re so interested to understand how such a small country can have such a robust cluster for photonics and for technology companies. Do you think that there’s anything in particular that business Tempere has done to sort of uh promote this sector and help it to grow? Any particular investments or projects that you can can can think of?

Sampo Härkönen 33:46
So I would say that the the key for the success is very close collaboration with the university. Tambere University has long background in photonics research. And Business Tampere is doing doing its best to promote that research, also help uh companies to spin off from the university. And I would say that this is the the key success factor for for Tampere region in this this area.

Kasey Snyder 34:13
Okay. And if you were uh speaking to someone in the US right now in our audience, maybe an investor, a manufacturer, a tech company that’s looking for a European partner, what would you want them to understand about your community and the the companies that are in the Tampere region?

Sampo Härkönen 34:32
So, first I would highlight that there’s already over 40 years legacy and experience in photonics area. And one special area is of course lasers. So there’s been significant research done uh for lasers in in Tampere. The result is also that several companies have been spinned out from the university. So there are major uh laser companies in in Tampere region, and some of them have been also acquired by by US companies. So Coherent is is one example. So they they do industrial or they manufacture industrial lasers in in Tampere. So it’s one significant company operating in in Tampere. There are also many other other startups and smaller companies in in Tampere area.

Kasey Snyder 35:21
Excellent. And having you here at the Optics and Photonics Day in New Vascula, can you tell me a little bit about what you’ve seen so far? Are there any interesting opportunities for collaboration or international companies that have caught your attention?

Sampo Härkönen 35:36
So I have seen actually quite many interesting companies here for sure. And I’m looking for also for new applications. And I was, for example, impressed by by some AR ER classes I saw here. I have followed that technology since my Nokia days, one long time ago. So I worked more than 15 years ago in Nokia, and I saw the birth of such a technology in Nokia, and I’m very happy that that there’s now a company whose name is Dispelix taking that into mass production. Of course, defense is one of dual use, and defense are hot topics. And Tampere is also the location where many defense companies are located. So I visited, for example, CNOC here in OPD and uh saw the latest technology advancements. And that’s a great example of the company from Tampere region, which is then benefiting from photonics research and photonics expertise in that that area.

Kasey Snyder 36:33
Okay, excellent. And we’ve been focusing a lot on the optics and photonics side, of course, because that’s what what we’re here for today. But I’m just curious, are there any other technology segments that are really growing in your region or that you’d want to highlight for our audience?

Sampo Härkönen 36:50
So Tampere is also a major hub for chip design. So Tampere has very good competencies in SOC, so system on chip design. And Tampere has a special unit in the university focusing on that so-called SOC hub. And very, very advanced, very complex SOCs are actually designed in Tampere. And this also makes exciting creates exciting new opportunities to integrate photonics and electronics. So so we could talk about photoelectronics. And for example, for quantum computing, of course, communications and data centers, that creates totally new types of opportunities to adapt and utilize new technologies in those fields.

Kasey Snyder 37:39
Well, this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing these insights with us. And I’m sure we’re all going to be very curious to visit Tampere very soon.

Sampo Härkönen 37:46
You are more than welcome to visit Tampere. So I am happy to host you in Tampere if you decide to visit there.

Kasey Snyder 37:52
Wonderful. Thank you. Hi, Julian. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today. I’d love to learn a little bit more about you and about the company that you work for, Horiba.

Julian Gallego Urrea 38:10
Thank you very much. Yes, um I work for for Horiba Sweden. It’s a branch of the Horiba Germany organization, which is part of the biggest bigger organization, Horiba Japan. It’s a Japanese group of companies. We are manufacturers of measurement instruments around the world. We are around 40 companies located in all the continents in the world, with multiple factory sites and multiple rendezvous sites in the world.

Kasey Snyder 38:37
Wow, it’s exciting to have such a large multinational company here with us in Uvascula. I’d love to learn a little bit more about the particular industries that you are working with, perhaps the ones that have been most popular for you over the years, and then the ones that are more up and coming today.

Julian Gallego Urrea 38:54
We have different segments within Joriva. One of them is particularly important for us, is the automotive industry and has been historically important for us. But the segment where I come from, which is the segment scientific, we have um mostly academic customers. So we are a big provider of uh scientific instrumentation when it comes to spectroscopy, raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, monochromators, detectors. We have our own production for that. So we have uh one of our large one of our one of our largest customer base is uh academia. But we also have industry wherever you have quality control or RD where you’re required to analyze the materials using uh spectroscopy methods, we can also provide those those instrumentations.

Kasey Snyder 39:41
Okay, so from the academia perspective, what does your relationship look like with a single organization? When would they come to you for assistance and how do you guide them through the process?

Julian Gallego Urrea 39:55
I’m gonna need you to repeat that.

Kasey Snyder 39:57
That’s okay. So when it comes to the academia side of your work, how do you collaborate with a single institution, a research group or a university? Do they come to you, for example, in the early stage when they’re building their lab and they need your assistance? Or is it at a later stage when they’re adding on more complex machinery or tools? How do you kind of handle that relationship?

Julian Gallego Urrea 40:24
We we have a um a wide uh range of customers, and some of them come to us because they know us. Historically, we have been uh distributing spectrometers in in many universities and academia sector. They come to us and they will discuss the the specifications that they need, what they require, what are the expectations that they have, time frames for the for the instrumentation that they need? At the same time, well, there is uh there is some regulations that they have to be followed. So they uh they ask other cost or other vendors for their um input, but we are confident that we have uh some of the best quality instrumentations uh available.

Kasey Snyder 41:03
Okay, very good. And um I’d like to understand: is there a big part of your organization that’s focused on innovation and RD? How does that work?

Julian Gallego Urrea 41:14
We have a big part of our revenue globally, the global revenue of Horiva is uh invested in RD and uh um innovation products. So wherever we have a factory, there is in France or in the US or in Japan, there is always a big team of RD that is uh willing to help and receiving feedback from us who are in the field, working with the sales and service to improve the products accordingly. Wow, that’s great.

Kasey Snyder 41:45
And as we’ve already said, Horiba is such a large global player. So I’m wondering what is it that brought you all the way here to Uvascula? What makes the optics and photonics day events worth your time?

Julian Gallego Urrea 42:02
Well, historically, Horiba has always been working with the interactions of light and matter. So it is a big pleasure for us to be here and participate in this event that uh brings together so many players in in the photonics field, which is a very important field for us to work, is uh our core photonics is our core technology where we base uh most of our measurement instrumentation that we use in not only in scientific instruments, but in the other segments that we that we provide solutions for.

Kasey Snyder 42:34
Okay, great. And is there anything in particular you’re looking for while you’re at the conference this week? Any particular types of collaborators or partners you’re searching for, or any types of services that you are promoting from Horiba?

Julian Gallego Urrea 42:49
We are here introducing our um optical instrumentation. We we are uh we we have an instrument here showing our state-of-the-art instruments, but at the same time we are also um promoting our higher-end instruments, such as Ram and spectrometers, Ram and microspectrometers, particle size distribution analysis, um spectrofluorometers. So we have all these instrumentations in our product catalog that we can showcase in here in this conference, and I think it will be um uh uh a gain for the participants to learn about these products that we have.

Kasey Snyder 43:30
That’s wonderful. Well, we’re certainly glad to have you here, and thank you for taking the time to sit up with us.

Julian Gallego Urrea 43:35
Thank you very much for the time.

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