Jussi Mäkinen
CMO and co-founder of Distance Technologies, building glasses-free mixed-reality displays for automotive, aerospace, and defense cockpits. Previously a founding-team member, CMO, and Chief Business Officer at Varjo.
Jussi Mäkinen co-founded Distance Technologies in 2024 alongside fellow Varjo veteran Urho Konttori, serving as CMO and driving the company's marketing, R&D, and design strategy as it develops headset-free mixed-reality displays that turn transparent surfaces such as windshields and cockpit canopies into 3D light-field displays for automotive, aerospace, and defense applications. Before Distance, he was a founding-team member at Varjo, serving as CMO and Chief Business Officer and fostering global partnerships across the automotive, aerospace, and tech industries as the company grew into a leading professional VR/XR headset maker. Earlier in his career he was VP of Marketing at Rovio Entertainment, where he helped lead the Angry Birds brand through its IPO. He is a two-time Webby Award winner.
Overview
- Role
- CMO & Co-Founder, Distance Technologies
- Based in
- Helsinki, Finland
- Prior experience
- Varjo (founding team — CMO & Chief Business Officer), Rovio Entertainment (VP of Marketing)
- X / Twitter
- x.com/luovanto
Affiliated funds0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Jussi Mäkinen?
- Jussi Mäkinen co-founded Distance Technologies in 2024 alongside fellow Varjo veteran Urho Konttori, serving as CMO and driving the company's marketing, R&D, and design strategy as it develops headset-free mixed-reality displays that turn transparent surfaces such as windshields and cockpit canopies into 3D light-field displays for automotive, aerospace, and defense applications. Before Distance, he was a founding-team member at Varjo, serving as CMO and Chief Business Officer and fostering global partnerships across the automotive, aerospace, and tech industries as the company grew into a leading professional VR/XR headset maker. Earlier in his career he was VP of Marketing at Rovio Entertainment, where he helped lead the Angry Birds brand through its IPO. He is a two-time Webby Award winner.
- What is Jussi Mäkinen's role?
- Jussi Mäkinen is CMO & Co-Founder, Distance Technologies, based in Helsinki, Finland.
- Where did Jussi Mäkinen work before?
- Jussi Mäkinen's prior roles include Varjo (founding team — CMO & Chief Business Officer), Rovio Entertainment (VP of Marketing).
Sources & citations7
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Two-time Webby Award winner; Chief Brand Officer/founding-team member at Varjo; VP Marketing at Rovio leading Angry Birds through IPO; current co-founder/CMO at Distance
Distance Technologies: Founders | DistanceVerified2026-08-08 - 2
Co-founded Distance Technologies with Urho Konttori; served as Chief Brand Officer at Varjo for seven years; company emerged from stealth with $2.7M pre-seed
Auganix: Distance emerges from stealth with $2.7M in funding to announce its glasses-free XR technologyVerified2024-06-13 - 3
GV-led $11.1M investment in Distance; product turns car windshields/aircraft cockpits into mixed-reality displays; direct quote from Mäkinen
Tech Startups: Google's GV leads $11.1M investment in Finnish startup Distance to bring mixed reality to car windshields and plane cockpitsVerified2024-09-26 - 4
Distance Technologies' Field Operator HUD for armored-vehicle crews, NATO-partner field trials; Mäkinen quoted as CMO
Tech.eu: How Distance Technologies is giving armoured vehicle crews x-ray-like visionVerified2026-01-30 - 5
Jussi Mäkinen is CMO and co-founder of Distance Technologies; previously CMO, CBO, and founding team member at Varjo, and VP of Marketing at Rovio where he led the Angry Birds brand toward IPO; two-time Webby Award winner
Distance Technologies: Founders | DistanceVerified2026-08-10 - 6
Distance Technologies founded by former Varjo executives including Jussi Mäkinen from XR, software, and 3D graphics backgrounds
Distance Technologies: Company | DistanceVerified2026-08-10 - 7
Distance Technologies co-founded by Urho Konttori and Jussi Mäkinen; raised $2.7M pre-seed led by FOV Ventures
FOV Ventures: Backing The World's First Glasses-Free Mixed Reality SolutionVerified2024-06-01