Deeptech
HELSINKI – Europe finds itself at a critical juncture in the energy sector, grappling with issues of security, sovereignty, and the urgent need for scalable innovation, said investors at this week’s Deep Tech Investor Day panel discussion, "The New Energy Tech Playbook: Security, Sovereignty and Resilience" The consensus
Dispatches
Everyone is talking about AI. We need AI everywhere. AI will replace your sales team, your HR team, your finance team, your co-founder, your therapist, and probably your mum. At this point, if your toaster does not have a Claude integration and a “strategic reasoning layer”, investors might ask whether
Angel investing
Did you know that the winner of this year’s Business Angels Europe (BAE) Golden Aurora Award lives here in Estonia? Vicky Brock won the award, which is given to Europe’s most influential female business angel. I caught up with Brock at the EBAN Congress in Vilnius this week
TALLINN - When destination marketing veteran Peter Kentie arrived in Tallinn on a cruise a decade ago, his initial impression was far from digital. "For me, it was like medieval," Kentie recalls. Yet, after meeting Enterprise Estonia representative Shardee Rebas at a conference in Finland, he was introduced
Lithuania
VILNIUS - When Mantas Mikuckas recalled the intense pressure surrounding Accel Partners' 2013 investment into Vinted, he framed it as a baseline trial for an entire nation. Addressing a packed hall at the LOGIN innovation conference inside the Litexpo exhibition centre in Vilnius, Vinted’s co-founder noted that international
Angel investing
TALLINN — The Estonian startup ecosystem, which has seen an 83% drop in direct angel investments over the last few years, could follow Lithuania's lead in seeking a solution to get angels off the sidelines. Fomo.Observer caught up with Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director of Lithuania's state-backed
Accelerators
TALLINN — The traditional startup accelerator model is facing an existential crossroad as rapid advancements in artificial intelligence dismantle technical barriers, allowing solo entrepreneurs to launch companies with little to no human assistance. At a Latitude59 panel discussion titled "If AI can build startups, how should we define the role
Estonia is calling pay transparency a bureaucratic burden. For a digital country, that is pathetic. There are policy disagreements, and then there are moments when a government makes itself look embarrassingly small. Estonia’s pushback against the EU Pay Transparency Directive is one of those moments. The government's
As Latitude59 prepares its 2026 stage, Baltic angel networks are focused on ensuring that "Hollywood" moments translate into long-term equity deals
How many apps from the Baltics can say they have a 50,000-person waitlist? BirdyChat does.
Angel Investing is Rational and Random at The Same Time
Startup stories from Estonia. Free weekly newsletter.
TALLINN - The Estonian startup sector, frequently lauded for its record-breaking concentration of unicorns per capita, is facing a critical bottleneck: a deficit in raw numbers of new, active builders. Sitting down on the sidelines of the Latitude59 conference in Tallinn, Tim Vaino, an early-stage investor with Practica Capital, discusses
TALLINN - Finnish Granarium won the largest award at Latitude59 pitching competition, with Backoffice and Dogbase winning other awards. Finland's Granarium, the maker of renewable supercapacitors for grid-scale power stabilisation, received a 200,000-euro investment offer from business angel networks. “A key structural shift is that storage is
TALLINN — Gabriel Ferraz grew up in Brazil, scaling a crypto payment gateway past $200 million in gross merchandise value (GMV). But when launching his next venture, he traded São Paulo for Tallinn, choosing to become a physical resident of Estonia rather than running a digital business from a distance. "
TALLINN — Speaking at Norrsken Evolveevent at Latitude59, Wise co-founder and tech veteran Taavet Hinrikus laid out the fundamental vision driving Kasvuhoone, an ambitious 15,000-square-meter technology hub currently under construction in Tallinn’s Krulli quarter. For Hinrikus, backing the project isn't just about real estate development — it is
TALLINN — The primary bottleneck to the next generation of tech innovation is no longer a lack of capital or ideas, but rigid, outdated regulatory frameworks and a public-sector risk aversion that stifles growth – this was the consensus among tech leaders and policymakers at the official pre-event of the Latitude59 tech
Estonia has ranked 12th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 by StartupBlink, with an 8.8% annual ecosystem growth rate, down one place from last year. On the list, headed by the United States and Britain, Estonia ranks close to the Netherlands at 10th and to France at 11th,
The Estonian fund market is moving towards a critical turning point. Smartcap has an important role in this development. It is difficult to summarise the six years I have spent in the Estonian fund market, both as a member of the Superangel investment team and as the chairwoman of EstVCA,
RIGA — Estonian deeptech companies secured victories at the Deep Tech Atelier 2026 pitching competition, capturing top category awards and prominent corporate prizes at the Baltic region's flagship deep-tech event. The conference, which concluded this week, drew more than 2,300 registered participants representing 69 countries. The annual gathering
TALLINN - Are you heading to Latitude59 next week? Even for the seasoned conference goer it can end up being a very hectic week. There’s so many events, so many people to meet and even the tempting agenda can take you away from your actual business agenda. To help
TALLINN - Congratulations to the seven finalists, representing four different countries, in Latitude59’s pitch competition. They beat out 465 applicants to reach the Bold stage next week, where they will pitch for a chance to secure angel and VC investment. With nearly €500,000 in this year’s prize
Why Apple & Wealthy Individuals Use Both Equity & Debt Striking the right balance between equity and debt can optimise your company’s balance sheet and fuel its growth. Every business requires equity, while debt is mostly optional. Borrowing money can complement equity and boost returns, without diluting ownership. The
RIGA - On Wednesday evening, at the Baltic Fintech Days event, the following teams won the annual awards: Company of the Year: Lightyear Growth Story of the Year: SME Bank Infrastructure of the Year: Inventi Innovator of the Year: Flagright Startup to Watch: Flagright Leader of the Year: Nauris Bloks