A latest app designed to recommend video content in under a minute is already in user testing, one of the first concrete outcomes of a six-month incubator program pairing Finnish media organizations with technology startups. The program, a collaboration between WAN-IFRA’s Global Alliance for Media Innovation (GAMI) and the Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland, aimed to rapidly prototype solutions to pressing challenges facing the news industry.
Launched in March 2025, the incubator focused on three key areas: boosting audience engagement, automating journalistic workflows, and strengthening trust in political reporting. Each participating media outlet – A-lehdet, Sanoma, and Viestimedia – partnered with a technology firm to develop and test potential solutions.
Audience Engagement: A-lehdet and Neuwo’s Tvink
A-lehdet, a Finnish media company, collaborated with Neuwo, an artificial intelligence firm based in Norway, to address the shift in audience consumption towards video streaming. The result is Tvink, an application designed to provide quick video recommendations. According to A-lehdet, the app is now live and undergoing user testing, demonstrating a swift transition from concept to a functional product. Neuwo’s expertise in AI-powered recommendation engines was central to the project’s rapid development.
Automating Workflows: Sanoma and Limecraft’s Transcription Tool
Sanoma, another major Finnish media organization, partnered with Limecraft, a Belgium-based company specializing in AI-powered content processing, to explore automating the transcription of interviews. The collaboration highlighted a critical prerequisite for successful AI implementation: standardized input. Sanoma’s extensive network of journalists conducts a high volume of interviews daily, but a lack of consistent recording practices initially hindered the project. The teams ultimately developed a system where journalists maintain control over the recording and publication process, utilizing AI-generated transcripts as a drafting tool. “AI doesn’t fix broken processes, quality input determines quality output,” a key takeaway from the project, according to program materials.
Fact-Checking and Trust: Viestimedia and Factiverse
Viestimedia, a Finnish news organization focused on political reporting, teamed up with Factiverse, a Finnish startup specializing in AI-powered fact-checking, to combat the spread of misinformation. The collaboration resulted in a fact-checking tool integrated into Viestimedia’s existing AI system, Renki. This new tool allows journalists to verify both text-based articles and video content, including material hosted on platforms like YouTube. The integration accelerates the fact-checking process and provides an additional layer of scrutiny to Viestimedia’s reporting.
Key Learnings from the Incubator
A panel discussion following the program’s showcase highlighted several critical factors for successful media-startup collaboration. Maarten Verwaest, CEO of Limecraft, emphasized the importance of embracing diverse perspectives, stating, “You require to invite the sceptical people early on, innovation doesn’t drive on consensus, you need a visionary person to push for that ambitious goal and drag everybody along.” Taru Salo, Head of Digital Development, Data & AI at Viestimedia, encouraged participants to be ambitious, urging them to “Start today. Think bigger. Technology is not the limit—your imagination is.”
Participants likewise stressed the need for a clearly defined problem, a robust implementation plan, and buy-in from senior management. Antti Karvanen, Head of Digital, Product Design & Journalism at A-lehdet, noted that a dedicated incubator program provides essential structure and accountability, preventing projects from stalling within newsroom operations. “It also brings external momentum and facilitation, ensuring projects keep moving forward and don’t stall internally, which is always the risk,” he added.
WAN-IFRA CEO Stig Ørskov opened the event emphasizing the organization’s commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration within the journalism industry, alongside the defense of press freedom and the strengthening of public trust. The GAMI Incubator #Finland program represents a concrete step towards achieving these goals, demonstrating the potential of strategic partnerships to address the evolving challenges facing the media landscape.
More details about GAMI Incubator #Finland are available here.
