Founded in 2022 by Johanna Stina Haar (MA) at the age of 24, Claricy is an Estonian DeepTech company that helps small and mid-sized enterprises navigate digital transformation. Johanna holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in IT management, complemented by experience as both a financial specialist and an IT analyst. Before establishing Claricy, she led the development of a note brokerage platform, gaining hands-on insight into building and managing financial technologies.
In addition to connecting companies with suitable software providers, Claricy ensures that technological outcomes align with business needs through expert project management, testing, product management, and quality assurance services. Its proprietary framework enables organizations to assess technology fit by analyzing strategic, operational, and external factors, simplifying decisions in a market overflowing with new solutions.
Claricy’s IT service offering is unique in that they remain fully independent and non-biased—every choice is guided only by the client’s needs. This approach reflects their core values of Clarity, Consistency, and Transparency, ensuring that businesses can trust both the process and the outcome. Too often, companies purchase IT services without the competence to evaluate results before delivery — that’s where their experts step in to review, test, and ensure the solution truly meets the client’s needs.
This consultancy-driven foundation enabled the company to reinvest in research and development as early as its second year, demonstrating a commitment to innovation, sustainable growth, and long-term impact.
FROM CRISIS TO INNOVATION: THE BIRTH OF IRIS-X
After the COVID-19 pandemic had reshaped the economy and strained the IT sector, Johanna chose to turn the crisis into an opportunity. Her research and interviews revealed a clear trend: demand for psychological support was rising sharply, yet services couldn’t keep up.
Digging deeper, she identified financial pressure as a key driver of stress — sparking the idea to merge AI with behavioral science and create an innovation that addresses both financial behavior and the psychological factors behind it. Backed by strong feedback and careful planning, the idea secured a grant from Tehnopol Science and Business Park, followed by a research grant from Enterprise Estonia — a great example of how Estonia’s innovation ecosystem can help turn bold ideas into impactful ventures.
From this R&D focus emerged IRIS-X, Claricy’s flagship deep-tech advisory platform. In Greek mythology, Iris was the messenger of the gods — here symbolizing psychological messaging in financial decision-making. The X highlights its cross-disciplinary foundation, uniting behavioral science and financial education. Developed in collaboration with university psychology researchers, IRIS-X identifies the psychological traits that shape financial behavior and delivers science-based, personalized guidance.
By aligning financial decisions with individual psychology, IRIS-X not only supports everyday money management but also helps users approach savings long-term planning, and investment decisions with greater confidence and clarity. This groundbreaking research collaboration was awarded first prize at Tallinn Innovation Day 2025, recognized as the “Year’s Best Applied Research Project” for its strong potential to drive economic impact and sustainable growth.
“Financial behavior is deeply influenced by psychology, which means one-size-fits-all advice simply doesn’t work,” Johanna noted. “With daily stress on the rise, we need scalable solutions to support mental health — and one of the biggest stressors we can start addressing is money.”
DRIVEN BY VISION AND EXPERTISE
Breaking new ground, Claricy’s founder Johanna Stina Haar became the first Estonian woman in the field of AI to be selected for the EU’s prestigious Women Tech EU programme, which supports female-led DeepTech ventures with funding and mentorship. Selected as one of only 40 winners across Europe, this milestone underscores Johanna’s pioneering role and Estonia’s growing influence in shaping Europe’s DeepTech future.
Johanna’s bold step into the IT world is strengthened by the support of her two older brothers. Kristjan Kalma, a digital product strategist with over 10 years of product management experience, and Mikk Kalma, an IT infrastructure and security specialist with over 20 years of professional IT experience, bring technical depth and strategic focus. From everyday virtual conversations to evenings at concerts, years of daily connection built a foundation of trust, directness, and boldness — making it only natural to drive the company’s progress together.
Grounded in trust and expertise, Claricy stands as a reliable partner for enterprises seeking clarity, consistency, and transparency in technology adoption — and in building innovative solutions that shape the future of financial services.
