Simucube Podcast: CTO and co-founder Tero Kontkanen
The journey of Simucube, a leader in sim racing technology, is a testament to the power of curiosity, innovation, and resilience. In the recent episode of the Simucube Podcast, CTO and co-founder Tero Kontkanen shared his fascinating story behind Simucube. Tero’s insights provide a unique and inspiring perspective on how a small two-men-company grew into an industry-leading force, shaping the future of sim racing. Listen to the podcast on Youtube or read the episode highlights in this blog.
Three key takeaways from Tero’s story
From two men at Granite Devices to a 60+ team at Simucube
The podcast episode revolves around Simucube’s evolution from a niche industrial automation company to a dominant player in sim racing hardware. The transformation to sim racing was not intentional. How did this happen?
Tero was always curious about how things work. As a kid, he took machines apart and put them back together. Later, in university, he built a CNC machine and needed motor controllers. That led him to design a motor driver, which became the foundation of Granite Devices in 2007.
Until 2015 the company was only serving and thinking about the industrial customers and CNC builders. After getting a visitor from Australia, who shared their knowledge of people who are using Granite Devices products as a part of building a direct drive wheels, the company designed its first product for sim racing, Simucube 1.
Tero’s passion towards robustness and quality has always been deep inside him and that also led to the though that how to make an even better version of Simucube 1, reducing the work of the customer. This is how Simucube 2 was created.
Another part that has been an important topic for Tero was to serve the customer, no matter who they are. Tero feels that this is an important part of the Simucube culture.
We give products our love, and the customers will receive that love that we put in there and the customers and community will love us back. -Tero Kontkanen, CTO and co-founder of Simucube
Simucube’s work culture: Trust and freedom
Open communication and teamwork are at the heart of Simucube. From the start Tero has kept the structure flat, everyone can share ideas and are not stuck in strict hierarchies.
Employees work in ways that suit them best. Tero leads with trust, creativity, and a focus on learning, creating a motivated and dedicated team. Freedom and human to human work is deep inside Simucube’s way of work and this is something Tero values and is proud of.
Tero sees Simucube as more than just a company. He values the team, the work, and the whole Simucube community. Keeping the “Simucube family” strong and supported is a key focus for the future.
The challenges of building the ActivePedal
The idea for an ActivePedal came from customers, asking Simucube to make a force feedback pedal. However, they didn’t define what it is and how this type of pedal would work.
I don’t know what they meant but in my head it was like what it is now. -Tero Kontkanen, CTO and co-founder of Simucube
The ActivePedal project started from an industrial project, someone needed a force feedback system for touchscreen testing. Simucube saw the potential for sim racing, but it wasn’t easy. Servo motors in pedals don’t always behave well under pressure and fixing this took long nights of testing and refining. The result? The world’s first force feedback pedal, changing how sim racers experience pedals.
Conclusion
Simucube keeps pushing forward with one goal in mind: making sim racing easier and more enjoyable. Tero’s vision is clear—better integration between hardware and software, so you can focus on racing, not tweaking settings.
Simucube is not just about high-end hardware; it’s about giving you tools that work effortlessly, letting you enjoy the ride. And beyond that, it’s about people—both inside and outside the company. Simucube is built on trust, passion, and a love for racing. That’s what will drive it into the future.
Learn more
Listen the episode on Youtube to hear more about Tero’s thoughts behind Simucube.
What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the YouTube comments or join the discussion on Discord.
