HMD Global has announced that it is acquiring assets of Valona Labs and launching a brand-new Centre of Excellence in Tampere, Finland. The new Centre of Excellence in Tampere will specialise in software, security, and services, accelerating HMD Global’s transition from a pure hardware business, to a combined hardware and services company.
A couple of months back, HMD Global launched HMD Connect, a new service category, which enables people around the world to benefit from a hassle-free data SIM.
In the upcoming months, this new centre will concentrate on developing this service further and begin work on other services such as remote device locking, enterprise mobility management, mobile device software security, secure network communication, and black-box testing.
Furthermore, the company planning to expand the scope of the centre to include imaging and audio technologies in the future. The centre will create an immediate need to hire new technical talent in the region and will be led by the former award-winning Head of Unit for Valona Labs, Ari Heikkinen.
Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer, HMD Global, said:
As a company that believes every phone should be built upon the foundations of security, reliability, and dependability, we are proud to announce the acquisition of assets of Valona Labs – a renowned and trusted mobile software business.
Nokia phones are known around the world for purposeful innovation and our pure, secure, and up-to-date Android promise ensures people receive a smartphone experience that continues to get better over time. This is one of the reasons we maintain our position as leaders in fast OS updates. According to research from Counterpoint, we are, in fact, the fastest brand, covering 94% of our portfolio. By bringing in assets from Valona Labs, we will be in a stronger position than ever to deliver on this promise and further build the trust of our fans, which is one of our core values as a business.
We pride ourselves on our Finnish roots and our premium Nordic design, which is why we’re delighted to be bringing this new Centre of Excellence to Tampere. Through the acquisition of these assets, we will lay the foundations of an R&D hub that will transform our business and the products we offer to our fans.