Jyväskylä-based startup Aisti has secured €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand production of its bio-based noise-reducing tiles for buildings.
The financing will support Aisti’s factory expansion in Kitee, a rural city in Eastern Finland. The loan will also be used for research and development to further enhance its product offering.
“With EIB’s support, we can move faster and further than our initial business plan. Doubling our capacity strengthens our ability to offer a natural, recyclable alternative to traditional acoustic tiles – at the scale the market now demands. This partnership brings us closer to our vision of changing construction for good by making healthier, lower-carbon materials the new industry standard,” said Mikko Paananen, founder and CEO of Aisti.
Founded in 2019 by Mikko Paananen, Antti Fredrikson, and Petri Jetsu, Aisti is a material technology company manufacturing natural suspended ceiling acoustic tiles from renewable wood fibre.
According to the company, it uses foam-forming technology to transform fibres into acoustic tiles that are safe, sustainable, recyclable, and competitively priced. The patented material offers a sustainable alternative to traditional mineral wool tiles. As these tiles don’t contain any mineral wool fibres, they don’t release mineral fibres into indoor air. The tiles are designed for use in commercial and public-sector buildings, including schools and office spaces.
The new large-scale production facility in Kitee will enable the company to double its planned production capacity of 2.5 million square metres. The factory is slated to begin tile manufacturing in the second half of 2026. According to EIB, the factory will itself have green features by using an energy-efficient production process powered by clean electricity
Aisti claims that its tiles have received global acoustics and indoor climate accreditations, and have been tested and achieved fire resistance class B-s1, d0.
The company noted the loan will allow it to step up research and development work to further enhance the tiles’ acoustic and fire-resistant properties. European market expansion is also on the cards, with a particular focus on the Nordic region.
In 2024, Aisti closed a €29 million Series A funding round, and in 2022, it picked up €1.6 million. It is backed by notable investors, including Voima Ventures, Maki.vc, Finnvra, and Valve Ventures.
The financing falls under the InvestEU programme and involves venture debt, which is a long-term loan offering flexible conditions without diluting ownership.
“Europe’s green transition depends on the emergence of innovative companies like Aisti. By backing this project, we are promoting the circular economy, supporting rural development, and reinforcing Europe’s capacity to produce sustainable construction materials at scale,” said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer.
The project also contributes to the EIB’s TechEU initiative by accelerating innovation in sustainable, biomass-based solutions.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/12/quietly-scaling-up-finlands-aisti-secures-e20-million-eib-loan-to-accelerate-bio-based-acoustic-tile-production/
