ELLIS Institute Finland officially launches at Turku AI Summit

By Chris Price, Turku, Finland

November 17, 2025

The official opening of the ELLIS Institute Finland took place today at the inaugural AI Summit in Turku, marking – what’s hoped – will be a pivotal moment in Europe’s drive to reclaim its technological leadership.

The Institute, dedicated to world-class machine learning research, aims to be a “new cornerstone for European AI excellence” by transforming scientific discovery into industrial and societal impact.

Dr. Samuel Kaski, Founding Director of the ELLIS Institute Finland and Professor at Aalto University, emphasized the strategic importance of the launch:

“It is clear that we need economic growth right now, and that requires a competitive edge,” Kaski told attendees. “Our competitors have exactly the same AI tools as well. So what keeps an edge are new breakthroughs, and especially in the technologies that drive AI.”

The Institute’s strategy is built on aggressive talent recruitment and a distinctive research focus. It has already made a promising start, hiring 10 world-class professors to lead its research groups. With its existing base of top-notch researchers, the Institute will soon be “300 strong,” making it a significant hub for machine learning talent.

Unlike broad AI initiatives, ELLIS Institute Finland focuses on the “fundamentals of applied AI.” Kaski clarified that this is research designed to make machine learning more readily and widely applicable, and better at working with people. Initial focus areas include probabilistic machine learning and genetic modelling.

Crucially, the Institute is committed to direct industry and societal collaboration, operating under the mantra of “no ivory towers.” It has already begun transforming research in the field of health, leveraging Finland’s unique data to address global needs and create concrete opportunities for company collaboration and new startups.

The overall mission, Kaski stated, is to bridge the gap between academia, industry, and society, ensuring scientific discoveries lead to tangible outcomes.

“What Europe and Finland need is a new way of breakthrough innovations, and now we have the elements right here,” Kaski concluded. The goal is clear: to “save the future with new scientific discoveries, products, companies, jobs and societal well being.”

The launch aligns with the AI Summit’s mission to strengthen Finland’s role as a shaper of AI technologies, ensuring policymakers, researchers and companies work together to keep the nation at the forefront of innovation.