Estonia launches bold AI initiative to double productivity
Estonia is no stranger to being the first in official digital adoption — already succeeding in making all governmental services online, using blockchain and e-voting. Now it’s time to take this approach into the AI era. The Estonian government unveiled Eesti.ai on Tuesday, an ambitious national program that aims to systematically implement artificial intelligence across all sectors, with the goal of doubling the value of Estonian work by 2035.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal launched the initiative alongside Bolt founder Markus Villig, who will chair the international advisory council driving the program. The council brings together Estonian tech leaders, including IT visionary Linnar Viik and entrepreneurs Sten Tamkivi (Skaala), Kaspar Korjus (Pactum), and Taavi Madiberk (Skeleton), working alongside international experts and sector representatives.
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Originally published on 27 Jan
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Following numerous attacks by unidentified hostile actors, the leaders of the Baltic states have committed to jointly expanding their ability to monitor and protect critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Scattered across the 110,000-square-nautical-mile (422,000-square-kilometer) maritime region are energy and communication cables, pipelines, and wind pylons—all potential targets for disruption.
Protecting undersea infrastructure requires continuous maritime presence, not episodic patrols. Persistent surface and subsurface awareness eliminates predictable gaps that adversaries can exploit and strengthens deterrence in contested waters. Saildrone, the global leader in autonomous ocean exploration, has successfully integrated and operated a sub-bottom profiler (SBP) on a Saildrone Voyager unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
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Originally published on 3 Mar
The latest 2025/2026 global report published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) confirms that Lithuania leads Europe in the quality of its entrepreneurial environment and ranks among the world’s strongest economies in this field.
The most recent data capture entrepreneurial development at a time of heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty worldwide. Around 67% of economies reported that in 2025 more people experienced a decline in income than an increase. In many countries, starting a business is now perceived as more challenging than a year ago, while structural imbalances are emerging as persistent, long-term obstacles.
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Originally published on 2 Mar
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into everyday work processes in Latvia. However, the labor market’s overall preparedness for these changes remains insufficient. A representative survey conducted in February 2026 by the research company Norstat, commissioned by ERDA and the Future of Work Institute, shows that only 23% of employed respondents have received training in artificial intelligence over the past 12 months, highlighting a significant skills development challenge in the labor market.
In only 16.2% of cases was the training provided by the employer, while a substantial share of employees acquired knowledge at their own expense. This means that more than three-quarters of Latvia’s workforce operate in an AI-driven environment without systematic support.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
In February, Ilkka Räsänen took up his role as Sitra’s first Head of EU Affairs, strengthening Sitra’s presence in Brussels.
The Head of EU Affairs position in Brussels supports Sitra’s strategic goal of being a trusted partner in the EU and globally. In practice, this means expanding networks, deepening partnerships for EU funding programmes, and bolstering Sitra’s EU advocacy. At the same time, it builds on Sitra’s nationally and internationally recognised work in foresight and innovation.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
At present, the contractor consortium Femern Link Contractors (FLC) is testing the special vessel that will immerse the tunnel elements for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. Over the weekend, the unique immersion pontoon IVY 1 & 2 carried out the first test of connecting the vessel to a completed tunnel element.
The immersion pontoons are currently located in the large Danish work harbour on Lolland, with the first tunnel element secured between the two units. The initial phase of testing has already been successfully completed and includes, among other things, confirming that all functions operate correctly – both when IVY 1 & 2 are operated separately holding a standard element secured in between, and when they are operated as a combined vessel.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
The Finnish technology company Insta, specializing in defence solutions and cybersecurity, and the Ukrainian supplier of robotic platforms Tencore have agreed on extensive Build With Ukraine joint production initiative, cooperation and the development of military technology.
According to the agreement (Memorandum of Understanding), Insta and Tencore will advance and explore the localization of production of unmanned TerMIT UGV ground vehicles in Finland. This includes manufacturing, assembly, and supply chain development. The agreement also covers joint product development related to integrating AI and autonomy solutions combat or military platforms
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Originally published on 26 Feb
Marine Technology, part of the Western Shipyard Group and a specialist in large-scale cable-handling equipment for the global energy and marine sectors, is investing €15 million to expand its manufacturing operations at Klaipėda Seaport. The expansion will add advanced robotic welding capabilities and modernized production facilities, enabling the company to scale up output of modular and composite equipment for offshore and onshore renewable energy projects.
As part of the Western Shipyard Group, Marine Technology operates within a well-established maritime engineering ecosystem. The group itself is part of BLRT Group, a Baltic industrial holding with more than a century of heritage, over 25 subsidiaries, and 3.500 employees across the region.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs has launched a full-service offering for institutions and companies developing AI solutions, ensuring that the system being created is legally compliant, technically secure, and trustworthy. The AI & Robotics Estonia centre (AIRE), based at TalTech, is responsible for conducting the initial risk classification assessment of projects.
AIRE’s client relations manager Evelin Ebruk noted that AIRE acts as an advisory partner, helping developers understand the risk class of their AI solution under the EU AI Act.
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Originally published on 27 Feb
Estonian-based Bigbank AS has signed a synthetic securitisation transaction with the European Investment Bank Group, comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The transaction, which is the first synthetic securitisation transaction for the Bigbank, will support new lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with a particular focus on micro-enterprises, young companies and environmentally sustainable investments.
Under the agreement, the EIF is providing Bigbank with a financial guarantee covering a reference portfolio of more than €210 million, consisting of loans, credit lines and leases. The guarantee provides credit risk protection on a senior tranche of €184.3 million and a mezzanine tranche of €23.1 million. The EIF’s exposure to the mezzanine tranche, as well as part of its exposure to the senior tranche, is counter-guaranteed by the EIB. Bigbank retains the junior tranche of the portfolio, amounting to approximately €2.6 million.
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Originally published on 2 Mar
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