Posts Tagged ‘Estonia’
Estonian Skeleton expands with a €220M German plant
Despite its compact size, Estonia is now making big moves in Energy technology, as its startups move into the scale-up category. Founded in Tallinn, Skeleton Technologies just opened one of Europe’s most advanced supercapacitor plants in Leipzig — and the timing couldn’t be better.
The €220M facility is the largest recent industrial investment from Estonia into Germany, and a perfect showcase of how innovations and strong industrial traditions could merge. Think of supercapacitors as the emergency responders of the electrical grid. When power surges or drops happen, they react in milliseconds—far faster than traditional batteries. CEO Taavi Madiberk calls them “a seatbelt for a grid with more and more renewables.”
As Europe adds more wind and solar power, the grid becomes more volatile. The challenges are already evident, with spring’s widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal making headlines. That’s exactly the kind of crisis Skeleton’s technology prevents. Their systems already serve as last-resort safeguards for German grid operators, plus energy giants like Siemens, GE, and Hitachi. Their mission, as Madiberk puts it, is simple: “Keep the lights on in Europe.”
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Originally published on 1 Dec
Read MoreLatvia takes first place in Investment Promotion Agency index
Latvia has been ranked nr. 1 out of 32 countries in the Investment Promotion Agency index as outlined in “The Investment Promotion Playbook 2025″ report by Reinvantage, an independent consultancy firm, for the second year in a row. The second place is taken by Estonia, with Lithuania ranked number 5.
The report by Reinvantage has assessed 32 countries across Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Central Asia. The report has been published for 8 years consecutively, and has grown from its initial 23-country cohort to the now-expanded 32 countries.
The methodology is made up of scores across five categories, each weighted according to impact:
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Originally published on 1 Dec
Read MoreThe Third Quarter of 2025 for the Estonian Startup Sector: Productivity Gains, Tax Resilience, and Deeptech Momentum
In Q3 2025, the Estonian startup sector set its vector on productivity and a continuing search for efficiency. The sector’s turnover increased by 15% to €1.173 billion, representing about 33% of the year-to-date total of €3.530 billion. This surge far outpaced the broader private sector, with the startup turnover growing more than seven times faster than the modest 2% rise seen across all enterprises combined.
Employment remained steady, rising just 1% to 15,023. Meanwhile, state and labor taxes surged by 18% and 13% respectively to €120.7 million and €110.2 million, which brought year-to-date figures to €335.5 million and €310 million, with Q3 making up roughly 36% of both totals—a clear reflection of enhanced profitability and growing wages.
Investments presented a mixed outlook, with volume declining 27% to €47.4 million against a year-to-date total of €222.2 million. However, deal count rose 27%, local participation reached 60%, and notable international exits in fintech and cybersecurity once again affirmed the sector’s global appeal.
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Originally published on 25 Nov
Read MoreIDA Hub Film accelerator teams shined on the PÖFF Industry stage
The teams of the IDA Hub Film and Multimedia Accelerator made their debut on the PÖFF Industry stage last week — and did so impressively. Presenting for the first time in front of such a large international audience, the teams demonstrated how quickly one can grow when supported by a strong mentor network, a supportive community, and the courage to voice bold ideas.
StudioStack (Vladislav Smigelski) introduced a platform that helps filmmakers and freelancers break free from spreadsheets and paperwork. Their message from the stage was simple and honest: creative people should focus on creating, not on administrative burden.
SyncHub (Alice Pia Kattago and Heidi Reial) showed how music licensing can be made as seamless as booking an Airbnb. They also highlighted a crucial trend: the more music AI produces, the greater the need for something truly unique and deeply human.
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Originally published on 25 Nov
Read MoreEstVCA 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
Read MoreClimate resilience is national security
Europe needs to stop seeing the climate and defence as mutually exclusive challenges
Read MoreFinnair flies to 12 new European destinations in summer 2026, reintroduces direct flights to Lapland from three European cities for winter 2026
CFinnair continues to grow its European network and adds a total of 12 new destinations to its offering for summer 2026 from its Helsinki hub. Routes to Alta, Catania, Florence, Kos and Valencia were announced earlier this year, and Finnair now opens to sale flights to Kuressaare in Estonia, Luxembourg, Stavanger in Norway, Thessaloniki in Greece, Tirana in Albania, Turin in Italy and Umeå in Sweden.
Finnair also responds to the demand for Lapland and starts direct flights from three European cities – Brussels, Paris, and Zurich – to Finnish Lapland in winter 2026. These direct flights complement Finnair’s broad offering of daily connections to Lapland via its Helsinki hub.
With these additions, Finnair’s network for 2026 comprises of a total of 93 European destinations, 11 Asian destinations, seven North American destinations (including Toronto, which opens in summer 2026), and two destinations in the Middle East.
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Originally published on 13 Nov
Read MoreDouble feature Baltic film in New York and London
Move over Nordic film, here comes something even more unsettling
Read MoreYaga Raises €4m to Accelerate Growth of Its Sustainable Fashion Marketplace
Our portfolio company Yaga, the fast-growing online marketplace for secondhand fashion, has raised €4m in a pre-Series A funding round. We participated in the round together with Specialist VC, H&M Group, Startup Wise Guys, and a group of angel investors.
Resale platforms are no longer niche – they’re becoming mainstream shopping destinations. The global second-hand apparel market grew by about 15% in 2024, reaching $227 billion, and is forecast to reach $367 billion by 2029*. Yaga is at the centre of this global shift.
Over recent years, Yaga has doubled in size annually, reaching a €50m+ GMV run rate. The company is now profitable and has achieved this scale with a 25-person team and just €3.2m raised prior to this round, showing the efficiency of its model alongside strong market demand. Yaga has built a particularly strong presence in South Africa, where it has become the leading online fashion resale platform. Globally, sellers have earned more than €80 million to date, and more than 6 million items have found new owners, extending their life and reducing textile waste.
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Originally published on 12 Nov
Read MoreFrom Capital to Capability: Understanding Needs and Building Trust Across the Region
On 6 November, more than 80 participants gathered at Tehnopol for a sold-out event hosted by the NATO DIANA Estonian Accelerator. The aim was to help defence and dual-use startups gain a clearer understanding of current needs in Latvia and see where their work could meaningfully contribute within the regional landscape.
The keynote was given by Rihards Miķelsons, Head of Industry Development at the Autonomous Systems Competence Centre of Latvia. He introduced the Centre’s testing environments across land, sea and urban settings, and explained how operational experience and structured trials support companies moving toward real deployment. For founders, the key takeaway was that collaboration in Latvia is practical and within reach. There are defined paths to test systems, gather feedback and understand user needs in conditions that reflect real use rather than laboratory evaluation.
Regional cooperation was discussed with a view to the near future. Estonia has been part of the NATO DIANA accelerator network since the pilot year and will launch its third cohort in 2026. Latvia and Finland will open their DIANA accelerator programmes in 2026. Bringing teams together at this stage helps establish shared understanding early and supports the development of solutions that are relevant across borders. For the Estonian accelerator, strengthening these relationships is important for continuing to broaden the ecosystem and ensure that promising technologies are able to develop into practical, deployable capability.
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Originally published on 7 Nov
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