Demola and BusinessOulu Connect Talent and Companies Through Innovation Projects – Future Expert Launchpad is now in Oulu!
The Future Expert Launchpad (FELP) aims to support the employment and skills development of highly educated international professionals, graduating students, and individuals seeking new career directions. FELP offers participants the opportunity to work on genuine, market‑driven projects and strengthen their expertise through hands-on collaboration.
Demola is a Finnish company with 15 years of experience in new concept development and co-creation. Its globally operating innovation platform brings together talent and real business needs.
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Originally published on 2 Mar
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Lithuania has reached a new milestone in the Global Innovation Index, climbing two places to 33rd among 139 countries. This is Lithuania’s highest position ever and a strong signal of the country’s rapid progress in building a competitive and innovation-driven economy.
“Lithuania is making remarkable progress in innovation, which is also reflected in the Global Innovation Index. This achievement is especially significant given the current global economic uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical challenges that directly affect our region’s investment climate. Yet we continue moving in the right direction — towards building a high value-added, startup-driven innovation ecosystem,” said Acting Minister of Economy and Innovation, Lukas Savickas.
Lithuania’s strengths lie in areas that are directly shaping its dynamic startup ecosystem. The country ranks 3rd globally for the share of women with higher education employed in the labor force, 8th for mobile app development, and continues to lead in unicorn value relative to GDP. These results highlight Lithuania’s role as an agile and forward-looking innovation hub.
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Originally published on 16 Sep
We are very pleased to announce that we have now officially opened ELCO I, a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Tallinn, Estonia. The launch marks a pivotal step in scaling up the company’s role in the global energy transition.
The 14,000 m² facility significantly increases Elcogen’s available production capacity from 10 MW to 360 MW, positioning the company as one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of high-efficiency Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Electrolysis (SOEC) technology. Elcogen’s components – cells, stacks and modules – are integrated into third-party systems for a wide range of applications including distributed energy, off-grid and stationary power, industrial backup, green hydrogen production, and Power-to-X solutions.
“This new facility is built for scale, speed, and global impact,” said Enn Õunpuu, CEO of Elcogen. “As demand for reliable Solid Oxide-based clean energy solutions accelerates worldwide, Elcogen is now uniquely positioned to deliver the high-performance technology the market needs, at commercial volumes.”
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Originally published on 17 Sep
The latest data from Statistics Estonia’s internet use and digital skills survey reveal that there are now 564,800 households with an internet connection, accounting for 95% of all households in Estonia. Compared with 2024, the number of households with internet access has increased by 20,000.
Tiina Pärson, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that internet use is a common practice among younger and middle-aged people (16–54-year-olds), with almost 100% of them using the internet.
Internet use has increased significantly among the elderly. For example, compared with last year, internet use has risen by five percentage points in the 55–64 age group and by six percentage points among 65–74-year-olds. Compared with 2020, the increase has been even greater, at 11 percentage points among people aged 55–64 and 20 percentage points among people aged 65–74. “One key factor is the natural change of age groups. People who are already accustomed to using the internet are moving into older age groups, leading to greater digital competence among the elderly,” the analyst explained.
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Originally published on 16 Sep
Outlast Fund, a Baltic-Nordic VC fund, has closed its first fund at 21M EUR to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups from the region. The fund is based in Riga and Stockholm, and aims to be the first cheque in backing founders building solutions that are built to last, with initial pre-seed tickets of up to 250,000 EUR and 1.5M EUR seed rounds.
The fund goes against the grain in the investment environment, eschewing typical VC advice to prioritize quick exits. Rather, they look to scour the edges to uncover the most promising founders in the Baltics and Nordics, and are prepared to invest in them at the earliest stages to help them build enduring companies.
The fund is particularly keen to keep an eye out for serial entrepreneurs with a proven track record, ready to back them as early as the idea stage. Outlast Fund also invests in first-time founders who possess unique and specific insights within their chosen verticals. However, a trait that they look for in all cases is an obsessive drive to solve their customers’ most pressing problems. Regardless of whether the founders are better suited for building lean teams with the help of angels, microfunds, and syndicates, or if they are eyeing large rounds from the get-go, Outlast Fund is ready to support from the first cheque, rather than jumping in at the middle.
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Originally published on 18 Sep
Our administrative structures were created under conditions that no longer exist. This makes it difficult to manage long-term challenges such as demographic change, argues a new publication by Sitra and The Institutional Architecture Lab (TIAL).
The Rethinking Institutions in an era of Demographic Transition report offers concrete proposals tailored to Finland’s situation, along with international examples of how institutions can be reformed to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. According to the report, reform and foresight are essential if Finland is to respond effectively to the changes brought about by demographic development.
Demographic change is challenging the foundations of society: aging populations, declining birth rates, and migration trends directly affect the sustainability of the welfare system, labor markets, and agility of governance.
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Originally published on 17 Sep
Telematics and Connected Mobility Conference in Vilnius: A Signal Moment for the Industry Took Place
Gurtam, a global leader in fleet management software headquartered in Lithuania, hosted the Telematics and Connected Mobility conference on 10–11 September at LITEXPO, the largest event venue in the Baltics. The conference brought together fleet operators, telematics service providers, connectivity experts, and technology innovators from around the world, creating a concentrated space for dialogue and discovery on the future of vehicle operations.
Telematics and Connected Mobility combined two full days of sessions across two tracks, including a tech expo with 18 companies showcasing their latest solutions and innovations. This format allowed fleet managers to exchange directly with developers, hardware providers, and peers, blending strategic insight with practical, hands-on demonstrations.
With more than 500 attendees spanning from Australia to Latin America, event speakers included senior engineers from global IoT providers, professionals from Porsche Consulting, Bamboo Group, and Amazon, as well as top Lithuanian-headquartered but globally operating companies such as Teltonika, Ruptela, Gurtam, and Girteka. Their presence underscored Lithuania’s growing role as a hub for innovation in fleet digitalization.
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Originally published on 12 Sep
DRUID AI has secured $31 million in a Series C funding round, led by Cipio Partners, with participation from TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, Smedvig, and Hoxton Ventures. The funding will advance DRUID AI’s mission to empower companies to create, manage, and orchestrate conversational AI agents, and will be used to accelerate the global expansion of its enterprise-ready agentic AI platform under the leadership of its new CEO, Joseph Kim.
“This investment is both a testament to DRUID AI’s success and a catalyst to elevate businesses globally through the power of agentic AI,” said Kim. “Customer success is what it’s all about, and delivering real business outcomes requires understanding companies’ pain points and introducing innovations that help those customers address their complex challenges. That’s the DRUID AI way, and now we’re bringing it to the world through this new phase of global growth.”
In 2024, DRUID AI grew ARR 2.7x year-over-year. Its award-winning platform has powered more than 1 billion conversations across thousands of agents. In addition, the DRUID AI global partner ecosystem has attracted industry giants Microsoft, Genpact, Cognizant, and Accenture.
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Originally published on 16 Sep
At the beginning of September, Riga hosted the European Hydrogen Valleys Investment Forum (EHVIF TechTour 2025), reaffirming hydrogen as one of the central themes for Europe’s future energy landscape. The event gathered more than 220 participants – including start-ups, investors, corporate representatives, experts, and policymakers.
In total, 40 start-ups and hydrogen valley projects presented their innovative ideas, while more than 40 investors and industry leaders shared their perspectives on developing and financing clean energy solutions. The event concluded with eight companies being recognized by the expert jury as Top Presenters.
Special attention in the programme was devoted to discussions on hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and use in mobility and industry, as well as on governance and cooperation models. One of the key highlights was the pitching session, where the H2Value project was presented – the first cross-border initiative to build a green hydrogen value chain between Latvia and Estonia. The project’s goal is to gradually establish the entire chain, from production and storage to distribution and real-life application in transport.
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Originally published on 15 Sep
From green hydrogen to electrification: “Blue Supply Chains” roadmaps highlighted at BPO conferences
The recently developed two roadmaps in the Baltic Sea region outline concrete steps towards climate-neutral port operations and sustainable maritime transport. They provide actionable pathways for ports, municipalities, and industry stakeholders to accelerate the transition to renewable fuels, electrification, and other low-emission solutions. Both projects will be briefly presented at two upcoming conferences organised by the Baltic Ports Organization.
These strategic documents, created within the framework of the EU-funded Interreg Baltic Sea Region project “Blue Supply Chains”, serve as practical guidance on how to plan, implement, and scale green energy and zero-emission solutions in and around ports. They cover the entire value chain – from production sites, storage, and bunkering facilities to infrastructure requirements, policy frameworks, and stakeholder involvement, including both alternative fuel production and the electrification of inland waterway transport. The Baltic Ports Organization is one of the BSC project partners.
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Originally published on 9 Sep
The Tallinn Urban Planning Department has initiated the detailed planning process for the properties at Paljassaare tee 5 and 7 and the surrounding area in Põhja-Tallinn, creating the conditions for the comprehensive implementation of the film stuudio complex Tallinn Film Wonderland.
Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning Madle Lippus noted that this is an important decision for the future of the Paljassaare district. “Although this man-made peninsula is currently still largely an industrial landscape, the initiated planning provides an opportunity to bring new development potential to Tallinn through the construction of the film studio complex and the supporting infrastructure,” she said.
The planning area covers approximately 7 hectares. The goal is to create a new identity and development potential for the district, including the construction of a world-class film studio.
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Originally published on 11 Sep