From Stockholm to Riga, Outlast Fund launches €21M fund to back founders in it for the long game
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
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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
Chambers & Partners has published the Chambers Global Guide 2026, once again recognising Ellex among the leading law firms in the Baltics in Corporate/Commercial and Dispute Resolution.
The 2026 results reflect the strength of Ellex as one integrated Baltic team, combining top-tier department rankings with broad individual recognition across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
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Originally published on 13 Feb
On Sunday, 15 February 2026, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), and the CBSS Secretariat will jointly host a roundtable side event at this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC 2026). The session will focus on countering hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea Region.
The session will be chaired by Dr Gustav Lindström, Director General of the CBSS Secretariat, and is due to include interventions from Mr Radosław Sikorski (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, and Chair of the CBSS), Ms Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland), Mr Espen Barth Eide (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway), and Mr Martin Roger (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia).
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Originally published on 13 Feb
Latvian space technology startup Deep Space Energy has raised €350,000 in pre-seed funding from two sources: firstly the local Outlast Fund and secondly from Linas Sargautis, co-founder of the Lithuanian space startup NanoAvionics (now Kongsberg NanoAvionics).
Space technology startup Deep Space Energy has raised €350,000 in pre-seed funding from two sources: firstly the local Outlast Fund and secondly from Linas Sargautis, co-founder of the Lithuanian space startup NanoAvionics (now Kongsberg NanoAvionics).
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Originally published on 13 Feb
NIB has agreed on a credit facility of up to EUR 50 million with SIA Rīgas ūdens to support a 2025–2028 investment programme for wastewater treatment and clean-water infrastructure. The aim is to improve service reliability and quality and to cut non-revenue water.
The total programme cost is EUR 235 million and is also co-financed by a EUR 70 million loan from the European Investment Bank, as well as funding raised through green bond issuances.
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Originally published on 12 Feb
Strong and durable collaboration between cultural actors and tourism stakeholders across Northern Sweden and Northern Finland could play an important role in strengthening regional development in the Bothnian Arc. This conclusion is presented in a new white paper produced within the ACCENT project, a cross-border collaboration between the University of Oulu, Luleå University of Technology, LTU Business, and the Oulu Culture Foundation.
The white paper, Opening pathways to sustainable cultural tourism in the North, presents evidence-based insights from the ACCENT project on how culture-led tourism can support sustainable regional development across Northern Sweden and Northern Finland.
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Originally published on 9 Feb
Students from technical schools in the Pomeranian region, specializing in renewable energy, have embarked on a unique educational journey into the offshore wind industry. Launched by Equinor and Polenergia, the “Setting the Course for Offshore” program opens the door for young people to the world of offshore wind – one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Polish economy.
The program is delivered in cooperation with partners: Pomeranian Employers, the Polish Offshore Wind Energy Chamber, Rumia Invest Park, and the Pomeranian Offshore Renewable Energy Competence Centre.
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Originally published on 9 Feb
Last week, Rail Baltica hosted a delegation from Port Polska during a working visit to Riga. Port Polska is a Polish state-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) responsible for the delivery of a strategic national transport infrastructure programme with strong European added value and global impact.
The visit focused on knowledge exchange related to the delivery of large-scale European transport infrastructure projects. Discussions covered grant management under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), institutional capacity building, financing models, and the practical challenges associated with the implementation of complex cross-border rail projects.
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Originally published on 11 Feb
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) invites proposals for projects focusing on strengthening security and resilience in the Baltic Sea Region under its Project Support Facility (PSF) 2026 call, which opens on 15 February 2026. Applications will be accepted until 31 March 2026.
The PSF 2026 call seeks innovative projects that foster understanding, cooperation, and mutual trust, contributing to a safer, more resilient, and sustainable region. Proposals should align with one of the CBSS’s three long-term priority areas, promoting sustainable partnerships and macro-regional cooperation.
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Originally published on 5 Feb
The Drone Technology Unit is designed to focus on R&D in unmanned aviation, communications, navigation, flight physics, and hardware security. It will consist of laboratories designed to validate and industrialise unmanned systems across the air, ground, and maritime domains.
The unit is part of the recently established Applied Research Centre in Estonia and is planned to become fully operational during summer 2027.
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Originally published on 6 Feb