Estonia joins Nordic AI Gigafactory project
Estonia is no stranger to frontier AI projects, already using the most modern tools in the education system and producing an impressive array of AI-first startups and scale-ups. Now, there’s more on this front, as Estonia has signed a cooperation agreement with Nokia to participate in a Nordic consortium developing sovereign AI infrastructure across the region, Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta announced today in Oulu, Finland.
The project currently includes Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, with ongoing negotiations to bring Sweden and Denmark on board. The initiative responds to the European Commission’s program supporting the development of European sovereign AI infrastructure—specifically, AI gigafactories—designed to reduce dependence on third-party computing resources.
For Estonia, the agreement means establishing an AI-ready data centre on its territory that would integrate with both existing Estonian and broader regional infrastructure. The facility would provide essential computing capacity to the public sector, research institutions, and private enterprises.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
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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
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 12 Sep
Teton.ai, a Danish predictive intelligence company that uses proprietary AI and computer vision technology to provide predictive care for older people, has raised $20 million in a funding round led by Plural. Other participants in the round include Bertelsmann Investments, Antler Elevate, and Nebular, with follow-on investment from PSV Tech. The funding round will be used to launch nationwide in the United States, deepen its operations across Europe, and continue to push the boundaries of predictive AI in care.
“Teton is at the cutting edge of a much-needed transformation in healthcare,” said Taavet Hinrikus, Partner at Plural. “Within a short time, its technology is already reducing costs and resource needs while achieving the most important thing – improved health outcomes. It’s a complete game-changer for owners, operators, caregivers, families, and residents. The strength of Teton’s team and technology means it’s set to become the market leader as it solves a huge global problem.”
According to the company, healthcare, particularly senior care, faces systemic and urgent challenges. Populations are aging, and comorbidities are increasing. Care staff are over-burdened and exiting the industry at higher rates than ever. Costs are already steep and rising. Teton looks to bridge the gap between care needs and care capacity, enabling wider access to premium care for ordinary families and their loved ones.
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Originally published on 9 Sep
Startup Fair 2025 Invites You to the Pitch Battle: €3 Million in Investment Awaits the Best Startups
Lithuania’s largest startup event – Startup Fair 2025 – is soon returning to Vilnius. On October 9, the event will culminate in the Pitch Battle at LITEXPO, where innovative startup ideas will compete for the attention of experienced investors. It’s a unique opportunity for startups to showcase their businesses to an international audience, attract investment, and build valuable connections.
Success stories from last year prove just how important this event is. For the winners – including startups Psylink and BrachyDOSE – the Pitch Battle became a launchpad for their next growth stage.
“Lithuania’s startup ecosystem is now stronger than ever – with over a thousand innovative businesses operating globally, attracting both investment and talent, and 67% already active abroad. However, growing without the right support is difficult – nearly a third of startups cite lack of financial resources as their main challenge. That’s why it’s crucial to take advantage of funding opportunities and events like Pitch Battle, which help attract investor attention and secure the necessary resources for growth,” says Karolina Urbonaitė, Head of Startup Lithuania.
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Originally published on 9 Sep
The OYSTER health and life science business incubator, launched at the beginning of 2024, has been an interesting and educational journey both for the teams developing business ideas and for our project team. From the very start, our goal was to build both a pre-incubator and a full business incubator – to provide sparring for the development of early-stage ideas as well as long-term support for the growth of start-ups.
The first months were spent designing operational models, exploring the latest research on business incubation, and building cooperation with experienced incubators in the field. We also brought in external consultancy, while our project team already had strong experience in entrepreneurship and business incubation.
In autumn 2024, we organized the first 100-day pre-incubator program, with 13 teams participating. Five of them continued into the full OYSTER incubator program, which started at the beginning of 2025. Altogether, 10 teams began in the main business incubator program, which is still ongoing.
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Originally published on 11 Sep