The Spektri Business Park in Tapiola, led by Trevian, serves as the base for Starship’s delivery robots that have appeared on the streets of Espoo. Starship’s robots are already widely used around the world, and in Finland, the robot fleet has been first taken into use for Alepa’s grocery deliveries. The robots leave Spektri in the mornings and return to the building after a day of work to recharge for the night. Near Tapiola, delivery robots are already a common sight that inspires both companies and consumers in the region.

The origin of Starship’s robots is initially in an Estonian innovation based on the Mars rover project. The business was launched by the innovators who previously operated behind Skype in Tallinn, which still serves as the location for technical product development. Today, the company is headquartered in San Francisco. Finnish designers have also been involved in developing the robots – the Finnish Aivan Oy created the design concept.

Starship ended up in Espoo’s Spektri at the end of 2021, as the company was looking for premises in Finland to support the company’s business and the daily routines of the robot fleet. Based on a comprehensive market study, starship ended up in Espoo for the region’s suitable population density and road network.

– We were looking for a sustainable solution for our premises: A location that first and foremost meets the needs of the robots above all else. Robots require a lot of electricity, and Spektri’s ambitious energy projects were an appealing option for us. The opportunity to further develop building automation that supports our operations is also important to us, says Peter McIntyre, Operations Site Lead for Starship’s Spektri operations.

The delivery robots run 98.5% autonomously on the streets of Espoo. The development of routes utilizes large amounts of data collected by robots from their journeys and other existing data sources. This has enabled development work in icy and snowy conditions, for example. Cooperation has also been established with the city of Espoo and the authorities to ensure the safety of robots and other road users.

In Finland, Starship’s robots have been first taken into use for Alepa’s grocery deliveries. The robots transport all kinds of products in several locations worldwide, and Starship wants to expand its Finnish operations too. Spektri’s corporate ecosystem provides a sound basis for networking for companies and individuals for collaboration opportunities.

– There is a lot of potential in Finland for different cooperation models. Spektri as an ecosystem already offers us a wide range of opportunities to begin to map out expansion. In addition to networking between companies, Spektri and its services are a supportive option for our people working with robots. Trevian’s team at Spektri has been remarkably flexible in understanding the needs of staff and robots and considering the continuously changing operating requirements, McIntyre continues.

– We have received much positive feedback from Starship and the rest of the community about the robots in Spektri. We want to support Starship and all the companies that have chosen Spektri by creating a framework for community development and business cooperation. This is achieved, among other things, through networking events. Supporting innovations like Starship’s sympathetic robots through flexible services is at the heart of our business ambitions, says Kaisa Granholm, Spektri’s Asset Manager at Trevian.

Trevian Asset Management is a Finnish investment and asset management company specializing in commercial and residential properties. The company was established in 2012 and is owned by its key personnel. The company produces actively managed real estate equity funds and asset management services optimized for its customers. The services are focused especially for institutional real estate investors, banks, and other professional investors. Trevian’s assets under management near 1.0B€. www.trevian.fi/en/