Estonian defence companies secure key partnerships at World Defence Show 2026
Estonia’s defence sector is making rounds even beyond Europe, and this week has demonstrated its digital capabilities at the World Defence Show in Riyadh. According to the official press release, the delegation members have secured three memoranda of understanding with regional and international partners.
The agreements, signed during the 13 February 2026 event, included partnerships between Threod Systems and Saudi Arabia’s First Shield, DefSecIntel Solutions and Oman’s The Armored Group, and Frankenburg Technologies and South Korea’s Hanwha. The deals cover autonomous systems, surveillance, counter-unmanned aircraft systems (counter-UAS), and digitally integrated defence technologies.
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Originally published on 13 Feb
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On May 27, 2026, Riga will host the second International Drone Summit, bringing together defence ministers from the countries of the International Drone Coalition, leading experts, and companies from the defence industry. The summit will serve as a leading platform for discussions and future decisions, where Drone Coalition and allied nations will have the opportunity to agree on further drone deliveries to Ukraine, discuss the development of the drone industry, and establish new partnerships with drone manufacturers and innovators.
“Latvia has taken on international leadership in the drone industry not only by heading the Drone Coalition but also by promoting the development of the drone industry, fostering cooperation among entrepreneurs, and driving innovation. It is important that we continue to strengthen the defence capabilities of our country and its allies by encouraging closer cooperation between industry, science, and military sector,” notes Latvian Minister of Defence Andris Sprūds.
At this year’s international high-level Drone Summit, the establishment of the Autonomous Systems Competence Center, also known as the Drone Centre, was announced. The center has already begun operating at full capacity, ensuring the development, testing, and implementation of the drone and counter-drone capabilities required by the Latvian National Armed Forces, as well as close cooperation with industry and research partners from Latvia and allied nations.
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Originally published on 3 Nov
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending Finnish energy supplier Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) €90 million to upgrade two nuclear power units in Finland. The project involves reactors 1 and 2 of a power plant on the southwestern island of Olkiluoto and aims to ensure continued safe, low-carbon electricity generation in line with national and European Union rules.
TVO plans to update automation and control systems and replace components known as steam separators in the Olkiluoto 1 and 2 units. The upgrades, which will be implemented progressively over a multi-year timeline, are essential for maintaining high safety standards and operational reliability at the Olkiluoto power plant, which has a total of three units.
The planned improvements are required under Finnish and EU nuclear-safety legislation. They are part of TVO’s long-term investment programme to ensure safe and efficient operation of the Olkiluoto plant and follow other EIB-backed enhancements at the site in 2016.
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Originally published on 30 Oct
We are excited to announce that Nordic Science Investments, an early-stage venture fund advancing research-empowered entrepreneurship across the New Nordics, has joined EstVCA as a new member!
Launched in February 2024, the fund has currently invested in 19 spinouts and startups, working at the crossroads of scientific disciplines and emerging technology, transforming frontier research into scalable, globally competitive companies.
Madis Lehtmets, Managing Director at EstVCA: “Nordic Science Investments is an excellent addition to the EstVCA community, enriching it with valuable knowledge and experience from the science-based innovation field. As EstVCA has become increasingly outward-looking, building relationships across Europe and beyond is more important than ever. Having a new member with a strong Nordic presence and partner-level connections adds significant value to our network.”
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Originally published on 27 Oct
Baltic Energy Island has commissioned three analytical documents to serve as a foundation for discussions about the perspectives Energy Island Bornholm holds for Bornholm’s future development.
The studies follow up on a socio-economic analysis conducted by the Centre for Regional and Tourism Research (CRT) in 2023, which examined the local economic and employment effects of the Energy Island project.
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Originally published on 31 Oct
In September, Latvian entrepreneurs and scientists participated in the world’s largest exhibition, EXPO 2025 Osaka, at a business conference organized by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) entitled “How Innovation in the Aerospace Industry Can Promote Sustainability and Environmental Conservation,” highlighting Latvia’s expertise and innovation potential in the field of space and smart technologies.
The conference took place as part of the Expo 2025 Osaka thematic week “The Future of Earth and Biodiversity,” bringing together experts, industry representatives, academics, and students from Latvia, Japan, and other countries to seek solutions on how sustainable aerospace technologies can help preserve the environment and biodiversity.
The conference was opened by Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže. In her speech, she emphasized: “Latvia’s achievements in innovation, ICT, quantum technology and other new technology fields are recognized worldwide. The geopolitical situation has promoted the development of the domestic security industry, including in the field of drone technology. Latvia also has the advantage of extensive technology testing opportunities – more and more manufacturers from our allied countries are coming to Latvia to test the latest generation of drones. We have also achieved a lot in quantum technologies – we are a “small quantum superpower” whose professors have developed algorithms that account for up to 20% of the world’s quantum algorithms. The minister also pointed out that confirmation of our companies’ achievements is also reflected in investor assessments – the investment climate in Latvia has improved significantly, and half of existing investors plan to continue investing in Latvia in the future.
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Originally published on 29 Sep
Last week we had the chance to participate in NYC Climate Week 2025, which has rapidly grown into one of the most important international gatherings for clean technologies. With ~100,000 participants, ~1,000 official events, and countless side-meetings, New York now positions itself as the alternative to COP and Davos — but with a sharper, more operational edge.
Here are some key insights:
1. The Conversation is Maturing
This year was less about general “climate” rhetoric and much more about energy systems, AI, resilience, and security. The room was filled with operators and infrastructure players, not spectators. Importantly, even conservative infrastructure investors are openly discussing the investability of cleantech projects. For Estonian companies, this is a strong signal: if you can demonstrate scalability and resilience, capital is ready to listen.
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Originally published on 29 Sep
The 72.5 megawatt (MW) Stelpe solar farm II, developed in Latvia by Ignitis Renewables, an international green energy company, has reached the commercial operation date. The project is located in the southern part of Latvia, Bauska municipality. The solar farm, which covers 85 hectares, is equipped with 121 thousand solar panels. The investments in the project, including the acquisition and construction costs, should amount to approximately EUR 54 million.
Stelpe solar farm II is a part of the Stelpe solar project, which consists of two sites, each with a capacity of 72.5 MW. The project has a combined installed capacity of 145 MW and will cover the electricity demand of around 70 thousand households.
Ignitis Renewables is actively continuing the development of renewable energy projects in Latvia. This year, the commercial operation date was also reached by the 94 MW Varme solar farm, and the development of the 174 MW Tume solar farm is on track. These solar farms, with a combined installed capacity exceeding 400 MW, will be able to cover the electricity demand of nearly 200 thousand households.
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Originally published on 22 Sep
eBay, a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers worldwide, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trind Ventures’ portfolio company, Tise – a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) social marketplace headquartered in Oslo, Norway.
The acquisition will strengthen eBay’s global proposition in C2C, building on the significant momentum it has made in elevating the customer experience. Tise’s social-first, highly intuitive platform will open the door to a vibrant community of Gen Z and Millennial enthusiasts who continue to drive demand across categories.
Oliver Klinck, VP, GM Global Markets Success & C2C at eBay: “This acquisition is a natural next step in our investment in Tise, which will allow us to accelerate Tise’s strategy and unlock new opportunities for innovation. With Tise’s on-trend inventory, loyal community, and social-first approach, we’ll strengthen eBay’s C2C offerings and more deeply connect with the next generation of enthusiasts.”
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Originally published on 25 Sep
There will be a shortage of grid connection capacity in southern Finland in the coming years. Fingrid’s objective is to ensure that there is sufficient connection capacity to meet the growth in electricity consumption in households, the service sector and industry, as well as new industrial investments that generate economic growth. As a result, Fingrid will continue to restrict the connection of new grid energy storage facilities in southern Finland until 2029. Location is of little importance for the commercial operation of energy storage facilities, and there are plenty of connection opportunities for grid energy storage elsewhere in Finland.
Last winter, Fingrid announced that no new electricity consumption and grid energy storage could be connected to the consumption-dominated southern Finland before the beginning of 2027. The restriction will now be continued for grid energy storage until 2029, when the new Hikiä-Toivila grid connection that will increase connection capacity in southern Finland is completed. This will ensure that there is sufficient connection capacity to meet the growth in electricity consumption in households, the service sector and industry, as well as new industrial investments that generate economic growth.
Fingrid is exploring new ways to connect grid energy storages to southern Finland earlier than currently announced, such as flexible connections.
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Originally published on 26 Sep
The mobile app KULG, which helps runners achieve long-term and sustainable progress with personalized training recommendations, has raised 100 thousand euros in pre-seed funding. With this investment, early investors have committed a total of 120 thousand euros to the Estonian startup in 2025. With the support of this funding, KULG will grow its engineering and AI teams, accelerate product development with new features, integrations, and mobile apps, and expand into new markets. KULG participated in the Tehnopol Startup Incubator’s accelerator programme.
The anchor investor of the funding round is a well-known, anonymous angel investor with decades of experience in technology and product scaling, combined with a passion for endurance sports. “We’ve been incredibly fortunate to bring on board an early investor who not only understands the problem we’re solving but also supports us in building the solution for runners in a highly competitive space,” said Maris Heinaru, KULG CEO and founder. Heinaru is a certified running coach, a marathon runner for 16 years, and currently holds the Estonian women’s age-group marathon record.
“Thanks to KULG app, my coach has a real-time 24/7 overview of my training. This helped me prepare much better for the recently held Tallinn Marathon and achieve a podium spot (bronze),” said runner Marek Truumaa. He added: “I’ve started monitoring the volume of my high-intensity training sessions and keeping them close to the recommended 20% of my weekly total. In KULG, this is very easy to track. As a result, I can now handle significantly higher training loads than before.”
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Originally published on 24 Sep