Client stories
Case Nokia Bell Labs: Pluto
Case Nokia Bell Labs: Pluto
Imagine an award-winning research and development organization whose innovations have earned a remarkable 10 Nobel Prizes. This organization’s brightest minds are dedicated to tackling some of the world’s most significant challenges through cutting-edge technologies. Many of these innovations have achieved commercial success, enriching our lives over the decades. However, despite their impressive achievements, sometimes the transition from the lab to the real-world applications didn't meet their expectations, and they felt that moving faster and with smaller steps would have had a greater impact. Jani Kangas, a strategic innovations executive at Nokia Bell Labs, recognized this challenge and aimed to accelerate the process of bringing these innovations to market. He began searching for a partner who could expedite the market evaluation and commercialization of their pioneering technologies.
Enter two entrepreneurs with distinct yet complementary expertise. On the one hand, Valtteri Tuominen brings a unique mix of hands-on business experience and academic insight, with a proven history of turning technological innovation into a successful business. He’s drawn to high-tech ideas that struggle to find commercial footing, using his international experience to bridge the gap between innovation and real business potential. His journey has connected world-class innovations with customers whose lives they could transform.
On the other hand, Ville Riikkala, another Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) at Coventures, knows how to get things done, fast. With his broad expertise in both the technical and business sides of building and scaling companies, especially in the software industry, Ville is a master at seeking out connections and making things happen—often in the midst of chaos.
Together, Valtteri’s ability to see the bigger picture and Ville’s practical, action-oriented approach create the perfect balance. Where Valtteri sets the strategic direction, Ville thrives on executing it, finding the right people, and moving forward.
This is the story of the expedition Valtteri Tuominen and Ville Riikkala have been on with Nokia Bell Labs— finding where innovation and customer problems connect.
For nearly 100 years, Nokia Bell Labs has been at the forefront of technological innovation, from its early days within the Bell Telephone System to the future landscape of 6G communications. With a relentless commitment to improving and propelling communication forward, Nokia Bell Labs anticipates and addresses the challenges of human needs before they even arise.
Researchers at Nokia Bell Labs have played pivotal roles in nearly every significant technological milestone over the last century. They were instrumental in building the first lasers and transistors, discovering the origins of the universe, and connecting the globe through communications satellites. Additionally, they pioneered implementable technologies such as the solar battery and the first hearing aids while making substantial theoretical advances, including the foundational work in Information Theory.
Over the past century, the scientists at Nokia Bell Labs have achieved numerous groundbreaking discoveries and innovations, earning recognition through hundreds of prestigious awards, including ten Nobel Prizes and five Turing Awards.
The team’s initial mission centered on the commercialization of robotic communication technology, later known as Pluto, with the goal of obtaining funding to support its development. This involved building a compelling pitch deck that highlighted the potential of the technology. However, it soon became clear that more work on product development was needed to meet market demands.
Pluto combines all available networks and thus provides a robot with secured and reliable connectivity even in the most challenging network environment. While the technology had been developed and thoroughly tested, the real customer problem and the market opportunity had not yet been explored. The focus had been on perfecting the innovation, but real demand and viable business opportunities had yet to be identified. The primary challenge the team faced early on was that the real-life customers in the warehousing and storage industry did not recognize the problem the technology aimed to solve.
“We know that the network is a problem for robots. That's why the systems are designed not to rely on constant connectivity", interviewed customers explained to the team.
Recognizing the need for a strategic pivot the team began exploring alternative markets. Through discovery work, they identified the possibility that the solution could find applications in the healthcare sector. This hypothesis was further validated through discussions with hospitals and robotic vendors, confirming that the technology had the potential to address real challenges within the healthcare sector.
Corporations have grown accustomed to operating in a precisely planned world, while the startup and entrepreneurial landscape thrives on agile experimentation and adaptability. To uncover unexpected opportunities, sometimes you must take the uncharted route and embark on an expedition.
Christopher Columbus famously sought a westward route to Asia, particularly India, but instead stumbled upon the Americas. His journey in 1492 is often summarized by his own words, which reflect the unexpected nature of his discovery. While he didn’t specifically say this, a paraphrase of his sentiment might go:
“I set out to find a shorter route to India, but instead, I found a new world.”
This captures the essence of his initial goal and the surprising outcome of his exploration. Similarly, the Pluto project started as a solution for the manufacturing industry, but through discovery work, a greater opportunity was found in the healthcare industry.
But to truly embrace this path, organizations must take a leap of faith and find the courage to do things differently. This requires someone who can break the mold—an individual with an entrepreneurial heart and the experience to drive real change.
This expedition underscored the critical need for an outside person who possesses the skills and practices essential for building businesses and identifying opportunities. Valtteri acted as that driver for transformation, shifting the organization’s thinking and challenging its customary ways of operating. Without this external perspective and willingness to change, progress would have been difficult to achieve within the existing framework.
The team took a calculated risk by choosing to act contrary to initial directives. He recognized that the prescribed path was misguided and decided to pursue an alternative approach. This bold decision proved to be beneficial, opening up new opportunities and enabling change.
The big changes that resulted from this expedition have shifted how the organization, traditionally focused on research and innovation, approaches its work. By bringing in a team of entrepreneurs to lead the journey, they’ve learned not just how to commercialize their innovations, but how to find real business opportunities for them. The key changes include:
These improvements are leading the organization in a more business-oriented direction. By incorporating entrepreneurial thinking, they are discovering new ways to find tangible, sustainable business opportunities for their innovations that make a real impact in the world.
Jani Kangas: ‘’Our partnership with Entrepreneurs in Residence has revolutionized our approach, providing us with constant engagement with external customers and markets, and opening up a world of new possibilities.”
Valtteri loves to quote Albert Einstein: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” This mindset aligns with his approach of thoroughly understanding challenges before rushing to solutions.