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As cities worldwide race to become smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable, Tallinn has carved out a unique niche as Europe’s premier urban testing ground. Arguably its best showcase? The Test in Tallinn initiative, which changes how cities approach innovation. Rather than waiting for solutions to mature elsewhere, Estonia’s capital invites startups and scale-ups to use the city as their laboratory.
Launched as part of Tallinn’s broader innovation strategy, Test in Tallinn transforms the traditional procurement process by creating a collaborative environment where companies can validate their technologies in real-world conditions while the city gains access to cutting-edge solutions. This initiative has already attracted over 40 projects from 15 countries, spanning everything from drone detection systems to sustainable waste management solutions. Participating companies do not need to be registered in Estonia.
What also sets Test in Tallinn apart is its comprehensive approach to urban innovation. The programme operates as a one-stop shop, providing startups with access to city infrastructure, streamlined regulatory processes, and direct collaboration with municipal departments. Companies can test their solutions for up to one year, gaining invaluable market insights while contributing to Tallinn’s smart city ambitions.
The initiative’s success stems from Estonia’s unique advantages: a digitally advanced society that embraces new technologies, a compact urban environment perfect for scalable testing, and a government structure that prioritises innovation. To learn more, Invest Estonia sat for a conversation with Mark-Emil Talivere, Innovation expert at the Tallinn Strategic Management Office.
What drove the creation of Test in Tallinn, and what problem were you trying to solve?
Mark-Emil Talivere: The core issue we identified was human potential. With only 1.3 million people in Estonia and around 450,000 in Tallinn, we simply can’t afford to waste great ideas or talent.
Test in Tallinn emerged from this understanding. It’s our way of operating with startups and scale-ups—we open our city for them to experiment and test their solutions. We act as a one-stop shop, allocating project management resources, providing consultation, and helping them scout suitable locations when they need to deploy innovative hardware.
Can you elaborate on what this “one-stop shop” approach looks like in practice? What specific services do you provide?
Rather than having companies navigate our bureaucracy alone, we handle the coordination for them. For example, with drone detection companies, instead of requiring them to contact each building administrator individually to explain their project and request permission to install sensors, we create a coordinated approach. We allocate resources like rooftop space and make it effective immediately, so companies can focus on their testing rather than administrative hurdles.
We’ve done similar work with street space allocation. When a company wanted to test automatic parcel machines—smaller community-focused versions that can hold up to five packages for neighbourhoods to share—we handled the street space permissions across multiple locations simultaneously. This eliminates the need for companies to start from scratch with each department, explaining why they’re there and why their projects matter.
Over two years of operation, you’ve worked with about 40 projects from 15 countries. What patterns have you observed in terms of which companies find the most value in your programme?
We’ve definitely refined our understanding of our ideal client profile. Initially, companies were quite random—some were just idea-stage, others were large corporations. It was like the Wild West in terms of value creation.
Now we’ve identified that we provide the most value to startup companies that are no older than five years and have secured either pre-seed or Series A funding. Having monetary resources is crucial because testing requires investment. We’ve learned that when companies come to us with little to no funding, the collaboration becomes much more challenging.
The innovation aspect is also essential—they need to be doing something differently, even if the core service exists in the market. And we’ve found particular value in working with companies that aren’t yet operating in Tallinn. Even if their product is quite mature and successful elsewhere, if Tallinn isn’t using it yet, we can provide valuable neutral testing ground experience.
What about geographic patterns? You mentioned having great experiences with companies from faraway places.
Companies that travel from distant locations tend to have stronger internal motivation—they need a compelling “why” to make such a move. We’ve had excellent experiences with South Korean companies, Argentinians, and Southern Europeans, particularly Italian and Spanish companies.
For companies from outside Europe, we offer a crucial landing spot. They want to test the European market and understand whether European clients would buy their products, or if they’d be better off investing elsewhere. We can provide this market validation relatively quickly.
For Spanish and Italian companies, our four-season climate becomes a significant advantage, especially for hardware development. Whether it’s noise sensors, bike wheel sensors, or other outdoor hardware, our environment provides comprehensive testing conditions with rain, cold, and varying weather patterns that stress-test their products effectively.
Can you share some specific success stories from companies that have completed the full testing cycle?
TrackDeep is an excellent example from our drone detection sector. They’ve successfully completed testing and are now moving toward potential procurement discussions with the city. Another drone detection company, Hextech Solutions, is just beginning their testing phase.
GScan represents a fascinating case—they work with cosmic radiation-based solutions for 3D modelling. Previously, they didn’t see any collaboration potential with the city, but through Test in Tallinn, they realised we could be a valuable customer. They needed specific product development inputs for their atomic science work, and our programme provided that crucial testing environment.
We’ve also worked with international companies that used our programme to make strategic decisions. Two South Korean companies completed their testing and concluded they wanted to establish themselves in larger European markets rather than Estonia. They’re now operating in other European cities, armed with the product development insights and experience they gained from working with us.
Hayden represents another interesting case—a company with automatic traffic violation detection technology that’s widely used in the United States but hadn’t taken off in Europe. The testing process helped them navigate complex legislative frameworks and challenge assumptions about why such technology hadn’t been implemented in European contexts.
Looking at current urban challenges, are there specific areas where you’re particularly eager to see innovation?
Textile waste management is a major priority for us right now. Any company that can help us manage textile waste more effectively is extremely welcome to join our programme.
We’re also very interested in comprehensive environmental data collection—not personal data but environmental monitoring. This includes air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, and light pollution data. We’re looking for innovative companies that can provide all-in-one solutions or help us collect multiple data points in scalable ways.
There’s also a very specific challenge we face with traffic congestion at intersections. We’re looking for innovative solutions to address drivers who block intersections because they think they can get through but can’t. This combines technological and social aspects, and while Test in Tallinn focuses on the technology side, we recognise that comprehensive solutions require process changes as well.
What do you see as Tallinn’s unique advantages as a testing ground?
Our small size is actually one of our greatest advantages. We’re technologically open as a society—not just city officials, but our broader community is eager to embrace and use new technology. This creates an ideal testing environment.
We’re also extremely accessible and communicative in ways that you simply cannot achieve in larger cities like Paris or Berlin. We’re happy to answer phones, meet with companies, and work collaboratively. This personal approach consistently surprises companies who’ve never experienced this level of direct engagement with city administration.
We have extensive public open data available, which companies have specifically mentioned as valuable for building and testing their solutions. Our four-season climate provides natural stress-testing for hardware solutions. And from a business perspective, our costs remain competitive compared to neighboring countries like Finland, Denmark, or Sweden, while providing equivalent infrastructure value.
What’s perhaps most unique is our personal approach to each company. They consistently tell us, “You really understand our problems. You really want to help us.” This mentality extends throughout our one-stop shop approach and our technological openness. It creates an environment where companies feel genuinely supported rather than just processed through a system.
Looking at the broader impact, have you been able to measure the programme’s success beyond individual company outcomes?
We’ve observed some remarkable patterns among the companies that have tested with us. Estonian companies that participated have shown significant increases in revenue, employment numbers, and tax contributions. We haven’t experienced any major failures where a company went bankrupt after testing with us.
I think this reflects the mindset of companies that choose to participate—they’re eager to learn and test, which correlates with overall business success. The companies that come to us are inherently growth-oriented and open to feedback and iteration.
How does Test in Tallinn fit into Estonia’s broader innovation ecosystem and economic development strategy?
Test in Tallinn represents a fundamental shift in how cities approach innovation. Rather than waiting for the market to develop solutions and then procuring them as cheaply as possible, we’re actively participating in the innovation process. We pick and choose the best innovations from the global market while simultaneously helping companies develop and scale.
This creates a win-win dynamic: companies get real-world testing experience and direct collaboration with city government, while we get early access to cutting-edge solutions and input into their development. Many companies transition from testing to official procurement, but even those that don’t provide valuable learning and capability building for our city.
Our quarterly committee process ensures we maintain a steady pipeline of diverse projects while keeping our resource allocation manageable. The one-year maximum commitment creates urgency and focus while preventing projects from becoming indefinite commitments.
Ultimately, Test in Tallinn embodies Estonia’s broader approach to innovation—we’re small enough to be agile, digital enough to be efficient, and open enough to attract global talent and ideas. We’re proving that cities don’t have to be passive consumers of innovation; they can be active partners in creating the solutions that will define urban futures.
