Finland and Estonia back NestAI for sovereign military AI
Finland and Estonia have partnered with Helsinki-based NestAI to develop open military AI software, prioritising national control of data and technology over traditional procurement contracts.
Finland’s defence ministry and the Estonian Defence Forces have signed a letter of intent with Helsinki startup NestAI to cooperate on artificial intelligence for military operations. The document, signed on 30 June, contains no financial commitments or procurement promises. It instead establishes a framework for knowledge sharing, joint development, and training between the Finnish Defence Forces’ AI Centre of Excellence, Estonia’s Force Transformation Command, and the startup.
NestAI was founded in 2025 but has quickly scaled to roughly 200 engineers and scientists. In November, the company raised €100m from Nokia and Tesi, the Finnish state investment company, making it one of the best-capitalised physical-AI laboratories in Europe. The company also lists established defence contractors Patria and Bittium among its industry partners.
The startup's core offering, NestOS, functions as an operating layer for unmanned vehicles and command systems. It uses an open, modular architecture designed to continue learning after deployment rather than freezing at the moment of delivery. “European defence forces need AI systems that work together across national boundaries and continue to learn after deployment,” said Peter Sarlin, NestAI’s executive chairman.
This architectural choice is a deliberate procurement doctrine rather than a mere engineering preference. It ensures no single vendor controls the technology's future roadmap and keeps sovereign control of data in the hands of the nations operating the systems. Capability evolution, Sarlin added, should stay "in the hands of the nations who operate the systems."
Commercial developments are already moving faster than the diplomatic framework. On 9 July, Nokia Defense and NestAI unveiled a joint capability for denied environments where satellite navigation is jammed and bandwidth collapses. This arrives in a European defence technology market that has seen investment accelerate at a pace unthinkable before 2021.
NestAI operates in an increasingly crowded field, competing against Munich-based Helsing, valued at $18bn, and NATO's own sensor-fusion programme. Yet the company benefits from a distinct geographic urgency, as Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia. Major General Sami Nurmi framed the agreement as part of a broader data and AI strategy intended to eventually pull in additional nations.
