Media Companies and Start-ups Join WAN-IFRA Finnish Innovation Programme
29 September 2025 –WAN-IFRA has announced a groundbreaking new media innovation programme teaming Finnish media companies and start-ups. It will officially kick off on 29 and 30 September 2025 in Helsinki, in partnership with Finnmedia, the Finnish Media Federation, and the Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland.
The GAMI Incubator #Finland programme brings together three selected Finnish media companies and international start-ups for a collaborative six-month journey. The two-day kick-off meeting will serve as the starting point for the collaboration, during which each media company will collaborate with their partner start-up to explore and experiment with new ideas and technologies.
Over the next six months, the teams will work closely to develop proof-of-concept prototypes, tackling challenges and opportunities within the rapidly evolving media landscape. At the conclusion of the programme, the results of each collaboration will be presented at a public event, open to all stakeholders in the Finnish news media industry. This event will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the innovative outcomes, foster further discussions, and build connections within the media sector.
The three teams shortlisted to participate in the incubator include:
A-Lehdet X Neuwo
The first team brings together A-lehdet, a family-owned magazine publisher established in 1933, and Finnish start-up Neuwo. A-lehdet is known for its strong portfolio of titles covering home and living, wellbeing, food, fashion, and family life. Neuwo specialises in advanced contextual enrichment tools designed to enhance content engagement. Together, the team will address A-lehdet’s challenge of scaling its impact beyond traditional article-centric publishing by harnessing Neuwo.ai’s AI-driven insights and integrating external data sources to power smarter, more personalised content experiences.
Sanoma X Limecraft
The second team includes Sanoma, Finland’s leading media company, which reaches approximately 97% of Finns weekly through its various media brands. Sanoma will be working with the Belgian Start-up Limecraft, developing Media Asset Management and Production Workflow automation for Media Producers, including audiovisual, ProAV, and written press. Together, they will create a tool that automates the transformation of phone interviews directly into draft articles.
Viestimedia X Factiverse
The third team brings together Viestimedia, the leading media company in the agriculture, forest industries, and related businesses in Finland. They will be working with the Norwegian start-up Factiverse, which is pioneering a tool that extracts reliable, real-time insights from text, video, and audio, providing the necessary information to improve content authenticity and credibility reporting. Together, the partners will address Viestimedia’s challenge of strengthening and maintaining public trust during political campaigns by tackling misinformation.
The three teams will be supported and coached by external industry experts in change management and innovation.
Contact Inquiries:
Stephen Fozard, Project Director at GAMI, WAN-IFRA – [email protected]
About the programme
GAMI Incubator #Finland, a programme initiated by WAN-IFRA’s Global Alliance for Media Innovation (GAMI), and supported by Finnmedia and the Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland.will enhance partnerships between media organisations and technology companies, driving positive change in the Finnish media industry and supporting the future of professional journalism.
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the media industry must embrace new technologies, products, and business models. This requires fostering collaboration among various stakeholders, driving innovation within the sector, and supporting transformation and change in news media organisations. To address these challenges, WAN-IFRA has developed a structured programme and framework to help bridge the gaps between media organisations and start-ups or tech companies, providing new skills and potential solutions.
The GAMI Incubator #Finland programme aims to:
- Facilitate collaboration between legacy media and start-ups/tech companies
- Support new skills uptake and technology adoption in Finnish newsrooms
- Create opportunities for promising international start-ups/tech companies in the Finnish media landscape
- Share best practices and lessons learned across the Finnish media industry
About GAMI, the Global Alliance for Media Innovation
The Global Alliance for Media Innovation (GAMI) is WAN-IFRA’s innovation and research initiative, a network of publishers, media labs, universities, and R&D centres that provides its members with new ideas and applied research by bringing the outside in and looking beyond our comfort zone. By encouraging partnerships and collaborations, GAMI aims to create and support a healthier ecosystem for innovation in news media