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Following the startup successes of the last decade, Estonia is keeping up with the future trends and is building one of Europe’s most promising deep technology ecosystems.
According to Startup Estonia’s latest Deep Tech Startup Ecosystem Report, by the end of 2024 the country housed 165 deep tech startups, which are defined as “companies built on advanced scientific research and breakthrough technologies”.
While this represents just 10% of the country’s total startup sector, they pack an outsized economic punch. They generated €325M in revenue (a 19% increase from 2023) and paid €112M in taxes, employing 3,395 people across the country. And perhaps most telling: while deep tech companies account for only 8% of startup sector revenue, they contribute 16% of all startup tax payments.
HealthTech leading the charge
The sector breakdown reveals what ideas take charge in the innovation sphere. Health technology dominates with 23% of all DeepTech companies, followed by energy (16%) and quickly growing defence/security technologies (13%).
Artificial intelligence applications lead the technology stack at 18%, though the report notes that AI is rapidly becoming “conventional technology” rather than deep tech. The tech frontier never stops moving.
Ahead of it, Estonia has set an audacious goal: 500 deep tech startups by 2030, which would require tripling the current numbers in the next five years. To accelerate this, a few things are on the list for improvements: more laboratories are needed outside universities, plus an increase in early-stage funding and a reduction in regulatory complexity.
The government, through Startup Estonia, is building a comprehensive support system. In 2024, this included:
- €2.36M invested in health technology ecosystem development through Health Founders Estonia
- International missions to major deep tech conferences like Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Paris
- Regular community meetups bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, and support organisations
- Collaboration programs between universities and industry
European context
Estonia’s ambitions align with broader European ideas. The continent invested €15B in DeepTech in 2024, and while that’s down 28% from 2021’s peak, it represents a smaller decline than in other tech sectors. Europe houses 6 of the world’s top 20 universities and 9 of the top 25 research institutions, which gives an impressively strong foundation for DeepTech innovation.
But despite all the opportunities, there’s one more factor — time. Per McKinsey, DeepTech companies reach unicorn status in an average of 6 years, compared to 5.5 years for conventional startups. Estonia, as a startup leader of Europe, is also on the verge of getting its first DeepTech unicorns.
To create more of these success stories, the country is doubling down on ecosystem building. Plans include expanding entrepreneurship programs across all universities, launching intensive business development courses, and creating a regulatory sandbox for testing breakthrough technologies in complex regulatory environments.
The complete report on Estonia’s DeepTech ecosystem is available here.
