Estonia has a two-decade track record of successful innovations and investments thanks to its smart people and a unique environment that enables the accelerated development and commercialisation of IP.
Smart people with entrepreneurial spirit and determination. | |
World class IT skills across a range of disciplines and sectors. | |
Startup ecosystem creates pipeline and accelerates best opportunities to global scale. | |
Investor friendly mentality and business environment. | |
Track record of successful IP development, commercialisation and exit. |
Estonia has a two-decade track record of successful innovations and investments which have delivered outstanding returns for founders, VC/PE, and Corporate investors.
Estonia’s journey began in the 1990s when Estonian engineers developed and scaled Skype using ingenuity and determination. The subsequent exit of Skype provided invaluable experience, capital, and policy stimulus to create one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Numerous Estonian early-stage companies including Wise, Skeleton Technologies, Adcash, and Pipedrive have secured venture capital and private equity from global investors. Corporate venturing such as Daimler AG’s investment in Starship Technologies and Didi Chuxing’s and Daimler AG‘s in Bolt also grows. Exits including Planet OS, Zeroturnaround, GrabCAD, and Teleport provide proof of concept.
What drives Estonia’s success? Smart people with world-class IT skills and Europe’s best entrepreneurial and competitive performance. A pro-business environment with digital infrastructure ideal for innovation and testing. Our compact domestic market makes us open to global ideas, growth, and investment.
Estonian Founders Society helps to boost the local startup community, strengthen direct relationships between founders, meet face to face in a social setting, share experiences and empower new young founders. The role has evolved from purely networking organization to a wider representation of startups in Estonia and beyond.
Further success can be expected thanks to a strong pipeline of growth companies; high innovation in areas such as IT, industry, consumer, agriculture, financial services, and active government support. From Seed to Series E, across a range of sectors and deal sizes, Estonia offers investment opportunities supported by a trustworthy environment and solid track record.
Risk capital success stories in Estonia include:
Funding
Starship Technologies – Daimler AG, Wise (Series E) – various, Skeleton – First Floor Capital, Jobbatical – Mistletoe, Zeroturnaround – Bain, Pipedrive – various
Exits
Grabcad – Stratasys, Planet OS – Intertrust Technologies, Zeroturnaround – Rogue Wave Software, Teleport – Move Guides, Fitsme – Rakuten.
These websites can be useful when interested in Risk capital investments in Estonia:
You are also welcome to send us a request for personal e-consulting to obtain more specific information.
Estonia is not only a pioneering digital society, which has found convincing answers to the challenges of digitalization, but it also is a very green country. There is a strong societal and political will to utilize the capabilities and ecosystems. These have been developed to tackle the challenges of decarbonization of the economy and to become once again a leading player – in CleanTech and GreenTech.
Estonia is a cashless society with over 99% of financial transactions occurring digitally. Electronic ID and Blockchain are widely used in FinTech applications. 80+ FinTechs ranging from innovative startups such as Wise to Blockchain leader Guardtime make Estonia a global centre of excellence for FinTech.
Estonia has a sizeable Advanced Industrial sector and world-class IT expertise in areas including high tech systems, control technologies and cyber security. Supported by a collaborative ecosystem well suited to research and development, Estonia is emerging as a centre of excellence in industrial automation.
Estonia developed X-Road, its proprietary decentralised, distributed system in 2001 and has utilised Blockchain since 2008. World-class technical skills supported by practical experience implementing public and permissioned Blockchain’s place Estonia at the forefront of the emerging Blockchain economy.
Patient records in Estonia are digitised and secured by the Blockchain, providing a single immutable data source for healthcare professionals. With a unique digital platform and collaborative ecosystem, Estonia is positioned to lead on preventative medicine, patient self-treatment and industry efficiency.
What is it like to run a business in Estonia? How to benefit from the e-solutions and the efficiency of our business culture? What are the opportunities in specific sectors? Who to partner up with?
The Estonian Investment Agency’s team is happy to help you via its complimentary e-Consulting service, organize online or offline follow-up events such as virtual investment visits and guide you through the fairly simple process of investing in Estonia.