A total of 391 startups from 47 countries worldwide have applied to participate in the Latitude59 Pitch Competition 2025, taking place this May in Tallinn. The competition’s grand prize is a syndicated investment of up to €500,000, jointly offered by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian business angel networks: EstBAN, LatBAN, and LitBAN.
According to Liisi Org, CEO of Latitude59, while the number of applicants is slightly lower than last year, the quality remains high—reflecting a broader shift in Europe’s startup landscape. “Both Baltic and European data show that fewer new startups are being founded, but the level of ambition and quality is undiminished. Investors are ready to back promising teams, and that opens up excellent opportunities for early-stage startups to grow fast and go far,” said Org.
The investor networks backing this year’s prize were deeply involved in the selection process. “It was interesting to join forces with the other Baltic Business Angels Networks to evaluate the applications together,” said Karin Künnapas, Managing Director at EstBAN. Emils Kragis, Managing Director at LatBAN, noted the international reach of the applications: “We were impressed by the international reach of the applications and the global mindset that Baltic founders continue to demonstrate. The diversity of ideas and industries represented in the TOP32 is a testament to the region’s growing ability to think big from day one.”
The applicant pool was notably diverse this year, with strong representation from creative sectors, AI-based solutions, and emerging verticals like DefenceTech and DeepTech. For both of these niches, Estonia leads the region and offers a perfect testbed for all kinds of solutions, from autonomous driving to drone tech and new energy solutions. Applications came from across the globe, including South America, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, and the Nordic and Baltic regions.
From the pool of applicants, 32 teams have been selected for the pre-finals, where they will receive training and mentorship from seasoned professionals. The pre-finals will be held in Tallinn as a 2-day hybrid event (online and offline) on May 5-6. The top five teams will advance to the finals on May 23, held live on the main stage at Latitude59.
In addition to the €500,000 investment, the prize pool includes perks from Latitude59’s partners, such as co-working membership from Workland for the top 3 teams, credits from Infobip, Google Cloud, AWS, and others, and a chance to participate at the Startup World Cup in San Francisco in October 2025.
Latitude59 2025 will take place in Tallinn’s Kultuurikatel from May 21–23. It is the most international startup and tech conference in the Baltics and New Nordics, bringing together startups, investors, and ecosystem builders from around the globe.
Last year’s event gathered over 3,500 participants from 65 countries, including over 900 startup founders and over 700 investors. This year, Invest Estonia will traditionally hold a programme of events and networking opportunities to attract international investors and introduce them to the Estonian startup ecosystem.
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