Cumucore, established by postdoctoral researchers, made it into Startup Sauna

One of Cumucore's values is to address challenges in a way that seeks to find new innovative network solutions to replace traditional ones. With the help of a service provided by Cumucore, operators will be able to provide better and more customised service to their customers. From the customers’ point of view, this means access to a mobile network that runs smoother and better. 

‘In the service we are offering, operators can separate heavy traffic from control traffic. Our sales slogan is “from bit pipes to service providers”, and that is the basis on which we have been developing our services,’ says the CEO of Cumucore Jose Costa Requena.

With the help of Cumucore’s product, operators can also establish a more comprehensive overall picture of the network, when these sources of network traffic can be separated from each other. The control traffic ensures that packets find the right address, and that the users have access to the right services. Cumucore aims to virtualise the core network: this enables better network scalability, and virtualisation reduces situations where users cannot access the network due to congestion.  In addition, virtualisation also enables more efficient utilisation of network capacity, which means savings in energy and other cost for the operator.

Cumucore was established by a group of former and current Aalto University students, four of whom currently work as researchers at the School of Electrical Engineering. The team consists of CEO Jose Costa Requena, CTO Jesus Llorente Santos, COO Vicent Ferrer Guasch, CFO Heikki Kokkinen, and VP, Market Strategy, Nan Zhang.

Team members Requena and Kokkinen also have former experience of the establishment of a start-up and successful start-up exit.

Honing one's business model to perfection at Startup Sauna

The whole five-week participation in Startup Sauna means intensive work. The purpose is to develop one’s business in collaboration with other teams, own staff and mentors coming from the business world.

‘Meetings with coaches have definitely been one of the best features of the programme. They help you see the market and marketing perspective of your own product and crystallise your own business strategy,’ says Zhang.

A more internationally diverse group of early-stage enterprises than ever before is taking part in the five-week Startup Sauna business accelerator programme. To date, 173 companies have graduated from Startup Sauna since its establishment in 2010, raising more than USD 88 million in external funding. This year, 2% of the more than 700 applicants were admitted to the programme, including three Finnish companies.

Further information:

Cumucore (cumucore.com)
Startup Sauna (startupsauna.com)

Contact information:

VP, Market Strategy, Nan Zhang
[email protected]

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Established in 2010, Startup Sauna is a business accelerator programme primarily targeted at promising new growth enterprises in northern and eastern Europe. The programme is convened twice a year at Aalto University. The background for the programme lies in the work of the Startup foundation, which is supported by Aalto University and other stakeholders such as the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, Sitra - The Finnish Innovation Fund, and Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.