NestAI expands to Latvia to advance defence AI on NATO’s Eastern Flank
NestAI, a European AI lab for defence, is opening an R&D centre in Latvia to build defence AI capability alongside the forces and industry operating on NATO’s Eastern Flank. The centre is the next step in NestAI’s growing Nordic and Baltic presence, following the company’s expansion to Sweden announced in August.
As NestAI builds its presence in Latvia, the company is developing the center into a team of 30 scientists and engineers, and has set an investment target of €10 million for the centre over the next few years. The announcement coincides with NestAI’s participation in the Riga Conference on 11 September 2026, where Peter Sarlin, NestAI Founder and Executive Chairman, will meet with Latvian government and academic representatives and speak on European defence AI.
“NestAI’s decision to establish an R&D centre in Latvia is a strategic investment in a sector with significant growth potential. The planned €10 million investment and 30 new jobs for scientists and engineers will bring together knowledge, technology and international cooperation in Latvia. Attracting projects of this kind demonstrates our ability to compete at European level for high-value-added investment,” says Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis.
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Originally published on 21 Sep
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Homie, a Helsinki-based startup building a platform for relationship-driven B2B sales, has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to support its market launch and international expansion.
The round was led by Superhero Capital, with participation from Antler. The funding coincides with Homie’s public launch, making its network-based sales platform available to teams across Europe and North America.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
The Latvian airline airBaltic announces that it has been named among the world’s top 50 safest airlines for the second year in a row by Airline Ratings, a global authority on airline news, passenger reviews, and safety evaluations. In its category, airBaltic improved its ranking, rising from 25th place in 2025 to 7th place in 2026.
Pauls Cālītis, Chief Operations Officer of airBaltic: “Safety is the foundation of every decision we make at airBaltic. This recognition by Airline Ratings reflects our safety culture, the professionalism of our teams, and our continued investment in training, modern aircraft, and operational discipline. Operating reliably in demanding winter conditions further demonstrate the robustness of our procedures. Being recognized among the world’s safest airlines for the second year in a row reflects our ongoing commitment to operational excellence and to earning our customers’ trust. We thank Airline Ratings for this recognition.”
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Originally published on 13 Jan
Project financing from Interreg Øresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak will support the establishment of a cross-border collaboration platform aimed at accelerating the use of renewable energy through CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) in the Øresund region, paving the way for the production of sustainable fuels.
Building on a successful pre-project focused on mapping specific areas of action, the initiative now moves from analysis to implementation with a three-year project, bringing together Danish and Swedish strengths in a Center of Excellence. The ambition is to make CCUS an integrated, cross-border element of the energy system, where captured biogenic CO₂ is combined with green hydrogen and renewable energy to produce fuels for shipping and aviation.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
Bechtel and Westinghouse tap Arabelle Solutions to supply steam turbine and key auxiliary components
Bechtel and Westinghouse Electric Company have chosen Arabelle Solutions to supply three half-speed Arabelle steam turbine and generator sets for the AP1000® nuclear project in Poland. The selection was confirmed by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ), the Polish state-owned company developing the country’s first nuclear power plant at the Choczewo site in Pomerania.
Arabelle Solutions will provide the steam turbine and generator systems for all three units at the Choczewo nuclear plant, along with the major supporting equipment needed to run the steam cycle. In a nuclear power plant, heat from the reactor turns water into steam, which spins a turbine and generator to produce electricity.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
On December 3–4, the BalticSeaH2 consortium held its annual all consortia project meeting and General Assembly in an online format. The meeting marked an important milestone as the project approaches its mid-term phase.
During the sessions, consortium members presented completed project tasks and deliverables, as well as reviewed progress on ongoing activities. One of the key takeaways was that the implementation of the BalticSeaH2 project is progressing as planned, with approximately one-third of all deliverables already completed – 41 out of a total of 123.
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Originally published on 12 Jan
LTG Group company LTG Infra has signed contracts for land acquisition for public needs in the Panevėžys Railway Node and regional station areas, including engineering systems along the section between Kaunas and the Lithuanian–Latvian border.
The tenders were awarded to Tyrens Lietuva and a consortium operating under a joint venture agreement – Atamis (lead partner) and Projects House – which will carry out the land acquisition activities.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
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