Xiphera has a strong connection to Aalto University – both co-founders have studied in Helsinki University of Technology, one of the predecessor schools of Aalto University that was founded in 2010. Also, three of Xiphera’s employees are currently studying or about to graduate from different schools of Aalto. Since 2018 Xiphera’s office has been located in the premises of Aalto Startup Center – the former Electrical and Communications Engineering building where both Xiphera’s co-founders, CEO Matti Tommiska and CTO Kimmo Järvinen studied and worked in the 90’s and early 2000’s.
Xiphera’s first office was in Tapiola, Espoo, around three kilometers (circa two miles) west from its current location. When the opportunity to move to Otaniemi arose, the two co-founders didn’t hesitate. “Having our own company in the Aalto Startup Center almost felt as returning back home,” Tommiska reminisces.
In addition to the sentimental value, Otaniemi is an ideal location for Xiphera for another reason as well: being next to Aalto University makes Xiphera an ideal employer for Aalto students, and the company aims to employ the competitive talents from Aalto University’s technology-based schools as well as other schools of Aalto. Of course the recruitment pool for Xiphera is not limited to Aalto alumni only, and applicants from all over the world are welcome to join the company.
Aalto Startup Center brings various tech startups under the same roof
The Startup Center is a home for various innovative startups, that base their business in technology and or are aiming to use Aalto University’s various benefits; networking, talents, knowledge, business advisors, to name a few. At the moment, Startup Center offers premises for over 30 startups.
Aalto Startup Center recently featured Xiphera in their online article titled “Xiphera: expertise in digital electronics and cryptography”. The article tells a fascinating narrative about how Xiphera came to be what it is today, and what plans do we have for the future: “One of their recurring discussion topics was the business potential of hardware based security. Matti [Tommiska] and Kimmo [Järvinen] realised that by joining forces, they could create something that was in scarce supply in the market. And in 2017, Xiphera was officially founded.”
