EstVCA Announces its New Management Board & Chairman of the Board for 2025-2027
The Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA) members have elected a new 11-member board to steer the association for the next two years, until October 2027. Hendrik Reimand, Founding Partner at the venture capital fund 2C Ventures, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board.
Madis Lehtmets, Managing Director of EstVCA, noted that the organization was fortunate to have such a strong and diverse pool of candidates in this year’s board elections, reflecting the willingness of both established and next-generation industry players to contribute and push the industry ahead as the Estonian private capital ecosystem is entering a pivotal period. He added: “With this new board, we have the experience, drive, and diverse perspectives to take bold steps, both locally and internationally, to strengthen our industry’s impact and reach. I look forward to working with them to support our members and build new partnerships across borders.”
The newly elected 11-member board reflects a broad blend of VC and PE professionals, key LPs, and legal-sector leaders: Dag Ainsoo (Startup Wise Guys), Ene Õunmaa (Swedbank Investment Funds), Hendrik Reimand (2C Ventures), Kärt Siilats (Superangel), Kristel Raidla-Talur (COBALT Legal), Maarja Pärs (Livonia Partners), Mari Kuhi (SmartCap), Margus Uudam (Karma Ventures), Mart Maasik (Nordic Science Investments), Rando Rannus (Siena Secondary Fund), and Sigrid Lii Treialt (LHV Asset Management).
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Originally published on 21 Nov
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Cast AI, a cloud infrastructure automation and cost-optimization company with strong operational roots in Lithuania, has officially reached unicorn status after securing a strategic investment from Pacific Alliance Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of South Korea’s Shinsegae Group. While the exact investment amount remains undisclosed, the funding round has pushed the company’s valuation beyond USD 1 billion.
This milestone places Cast AI among the world’s elite billion-dollar startups and makes it Lithuania’s fifth unicorn, according to the national startup association Unicorns Lithuania.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
Continuing to expand cooperation between Baltic and Nordic chip competence centres, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between four Nordic centres—Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark—and the three Baltic states.
The memorandum of understanding was signed at a meeting of Nordic chip centres, where the main areas of cooperation were defined to promote joint activities in education, research, and industry support. It is envisaged that cooperation will be expanded in the future to strengthen knowledge exchange and jointly address regional challenges in the semiconductor industry.
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Originally published on 11 Jan
The expansion of the grid connection systems for connecting offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea is progressing well. 40 kilometres northeast of the island of Rügen, an important stage in the 50Hertz Ostwind 3 project has now been successfully completed – the installation of the Jasmund offshore platform. It is to collect 300 megawatts from the Windanker wind farm from October, transform it to the voltage level of 220 kilovolts and transmit the electricity via a submarine land cable connection to the new Stilow substation in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, which is still under construction.
Stefan Kapferer, Chairman of the Management Board of 50Hertz: “After Ostwind 1 and 2, Ostwind 3 is the next project in the sea area northeast of Rügen, which we will complete on time and within budget. We are also on track with the next OST-6-1 project with a transmission capacity of 927 MW, which serves to connect the Gennaker wind farm north of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. Two offshore platforms are already under construction, the laying of protective pipes has begun, and a new substation near Gnewitz is taking shape. Overall, 50Hertz is making a significant contribution to reliably tapping the great wind energy potential of the Baltic Sea – in German waters, but also beyond in cooperation with Energinet from Denmark and, in the future, with other partners in the Baltic region.”
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Originally published on 12 Jan
ICEYE, the global leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operations, and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) have signed a contract to deliver sovereign SAR systems for the Swedish Armed Forces. The multi-million, multi-year agreement will strengthen Sweden’s national intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and resilience by providing timely, actionable insights in all weather and lighting conditions.
The agreement was signed in Stockholm by Brigadier General Carl-Fredrik Edström, Director of the Air and Space Systems Division, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and Seppo Aaltonen, VP Nordics & NATO, ICEYE.
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Originally published on 12 Jan
The Port of Oulu’s sawn timber exports hit a new record – container traffic also near all‑time highs
The Port of Oulu achieved a significant new export record in 2025. The volume of sawn timber exports rose to the highest level in the port’s history, totaling 675,000 m³. The previous record was from 2018, when exports reached 620,000 m³.
Container traffic also came close to an all‑time record. The final container volume for 2025 was 50,715 TEU, strengthening Oulu’s position as the most important container port in Northern Finland. Growth compared to the previous year was +31%.
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Originally published on 12 Jan
Ignitis Group has been recognised by CDP, a global environmental non-profit, for its leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change, securing a place on CDP’s respected annual A List.
CDP operates the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system and assesses thousands of companies each year, having spent 25 years building the world’s most trusted environmental data system. In 2025, nearly 20,000 companies were scored, out of more than 22,100 reporting through CDP’s platform. Achieving a score of ‘A’ places Ignitis Group among the global leaders, which demonstrates its comprehensive disclosure, mature environmental governance practices, and meaningful progress towards environmental resilience. Securing a place on the A List means that the company is among the top 4% of companies scored by CDP.
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Originally published on 8 Jan
Baltic Ground Services (BGS) has extended its contract with the Latvian airline airBaltic for more than a year. Under the renewed agreement, BGS will supply fuel to airBaltic aircraft at two airports: Palanga and Riga.
Effective November 1, 2025, the agreement confirms that BGS will remain responsible for fueling airBaltic aircraft at Palanga (PLQ) and Riga (RIX) airports until the end of 2026. In Riga, BGS will provide fueling services for a defined part of airBaltic’s operations, in accordance with the airline’s procurement results.
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Originally published on 8 Jan
Peili Vision has partnered with a West Yorkshire school to show how targeted interventions can significantly improve children’s attention and executive function.
Over 12 weeks, a local school ran an executive function intervention with 10 students. Assessments using Peili Vision’s EFSim tool, conducted before and after the programme, revealed that 66% of participants advanced from the “severe” to the “moderate” category for attention and executive function. This highlights the substantial potential for tracking and improving cognitive skills in young people facing ADHD-related challenges.
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Originally published on 7 Jan
SIA Rimi Baltic has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of Havi Logistics SIA, marking a significant step toward strengthening its supply chain capabilities across the Baltic region.
The transaction is currently subject to approval by the Competition Council.
Rimi Baltic is acquiring Havi Logistic SIA, which owns shares of Havi Logistics UAB and Havi Logistics OU in all three Baltic countries, including approximately 800 employees who will join the Rimi Baltic Group.
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Originally published on 7 Jan
Today, the Government approved the National Development Plan of the Energy Sector until 2035 (ENMAK 2035), drafted by the Ministry of Climate. The plan sets the goals of ensuring energy security, increasing national competitiveness, and facilitating the transition to a clean energy economy.
Preparation for the plan began in 2021. The final document provides an overview of how Estonia’s energy sector reached its current state, the steps to be taken leading up to 2035, and a vision for 2050. It also establishes general and sub-objectives and planned activities for renewable energy, gas supply, oil shale energy, as well as heating and cooling.
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Originally published on 8 Jan