KONE Launches First-Ever Spinout Company, VAELLA

Helsinki, Finland-headquartered KONE announced on June 10 the launch of its first-ever spinout company, VAELLA, aimed at tackling a growing challenge facing cities worldwide: how to operate increasingly crowded public infrastructure more safely and efficiently when physical expansion fails to keep pace with demand. Led by co-founder and CEO Fabien Fédy, VAELLA acts as an AI-powered operational layer for complex environments such as metro systems, airports, transit hubs, stadiums and large public buildings. Rather than relying on additional cameras or surveillance infrastructure, the platform combines existing operational data sources to provide real-time situational awareness and predictive insights for facility operators. VAELLA has already been piloted in real operational environments in Helsinki and Brussels, testing applications such as crowd build-up detection, passenger incident response, accessibility disruption management and adaptive energy optimization.