Blokki's story began in 2021, when Elisa Juntunen and Samuli Lehtinen had the idea of creating a comprehensive AI partner for run coaching. In 2022, Olli-Pekka Nuuttila proposed establishing a research project and applying for R2B funding based on his doctoral dissertation. In spring 2023, the funding was granted, and the project began under the name RunApp at the University of Jyväskylä. Nuuttila's doctoral research laid the foundation for our methods and formed the core of the entire project.
However, our CEO Janne Hautala noticed a growing need among coaches, and very quickly we pivoted toward a project serving a wider audience and the entire wellness industry. Janne's idea gave birth to Blokki – an AI tool for coaches.
A Need Born of Experience
Hautala knew the daily reality of the coaching industry firsthand: coaching businesses are difficult to make profitable without a massive number of clients, and as the client count grows, it is nearly impossible to coach individually. A massive amount of unpaid working hours is also spent on background work related to coaching. That is why we built Blokki – an AI-powered coaching tool that enables individual coaching and business scaling without unnecessary background work.
We believe in human-to-human coaching, and our thinking is that AI does not need to replace the coach. Its job is to act as a teammate that handles routines and thereby frees up time for what really matters: maintaining client relationships, motivation, as well as sales and marketing.
The Client at the Core of Everything
From the very beginning, product development has been done in collaboration with coaches and end-users, i.e., fitness enthusiasts and athletes, listening to their hopes and needs.
The Team
Blokki AI Oy is led by our CEO Janne Hautala, and the team includes Samuli Lehtinen (CPO), Elisa Juntunen (CMO), Joonas Jokivartio (CTO), Joonas Lyytinen (Sales Manager), and Postdoctoral Researcher Olli-Pekka Nuuttila. The company has also received EU funding for its development work.
Blokki's mission is to help coaches save time and scale their business without compromising the quality of individual coaching. The goal is a coaching business that enables not only growing revenue but also a stress-free daily life and more time for loved ones.
Blokki's beta version will be released in the fall of 2026.