Global biomaterials company UPM has been recognized as one of Finland’s top five companies for artificial intelligence (AI) maturity in the inaugural Nordic AI Index 2026, published by AI transformation consultancy Impaktly. The recognition highlights UPM’s progress in embedding AI across its business operations while maintaining a strong focus on responsible and transparent AI governance.
The Nordic AI Index assessed the AI maturity of 90 of the largest companies across Finland, Sweden, and Norway, evaluating publicly available information in four key areas: AI strategy, products and services, internal capability, and governance. The study aims to provide investors, business leaders, and policymakers with a transparent benchmark of how leading Nordic companies are integrating AI into their business models and operations.
UPM’s inclusion among Finland’s leading AI-driven organizations reflects the company’s ongoing digital transformation and its efforts to integrate AI into both customer-facing services and internal processes. According to the company, AI is being deployed to improve operational efficiency, enhance commercial decision-making, streamline core business functions, and strengthen customer engagement.
“AI is helping us improve efficiency and drive growth through more streamlined core business processes and better commercial insights. For customers, this means more reliable operations and a faster, simpler, and more accurate way of engaging and doing business with UPM, while for employees it enhances experience and productivity through AI assistants, embedded tools, and upskilling,” said Juha-Matti Kuusinen, Director of UPM’s AI Center of Excellence.
Beyond operational improvements, UPM has emphasised the importance of responsible AI deployment. The company noted that its AI transformation is built on transparency, governance, and ethical development principles, ensuring that AI technologies are implemented securely and in alignment with business objectives.
Founded in Finland, UPM is one of the world’s leading companies in renewable fibres, advanced materials, specialty papers, communication papers, and renewable energy solutions. As industries increasingly embrace digital technologies, the company has been expanding its use of AI to optimize manufacturing, improve supply chain efficiency, support data-driven decision-making, and enhance customer experiences across its global operations.
According to the Nordic AI Index, the companies achieving the highest AI maturity are distinguished not merely by access to advanced technologies but by strong executive leadership, board-level oversight, enterprise-wide implementation, and systematic employee upskilling. In Finland, the top five companies identified in the index are Nokia, OP Pohjola, Nordea, Elisa, and UPM.
The recognition comes at a time when businesses across Europe are accelerating AI adoption to improve productivity, strengthen competitiveness, and support innovation. Industry analysts note that organizations moving beyond isolated AI pilots to enterprise-wide implementation are more likely to realize measurable business value.
For UPM, the latest recognition reinforces its commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence as a strategic capability that supports sustainable growth, operational excellence, and long-term value creation while maintaining high standards of governance and responsible innovation.
Why AI Maturity matters in Impaktly?
The Nordic region is well positioned to lead Europe’s next phase of AI transformation, supported by advanced digital infrastructure, strong engineering capabilities, trusted institutions, and a highly digital workforce. These strengths provide a solid foundation for leveraging AI to drive long-term innovation and competitive advantage.
The Nordic AI Index is the first transparent and comparable assessment of how the 90 largest companies in Finland, Sweden, and Norway are approaching AI. The Index evaluates public disclosures across annual reports, capital markets presentations, and quarterly results, providing an auditable view of the AI maturity that investors, boards, regulators, and other stakeholders can actually see.
The assessment evaluates companies across four core dimensions of AI maturity—strategy, products and services, internal capability, and governance—measuring how effectively AI is integrated into business operations, leadership priorities, organizational capabilities, and governance frameworks.
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