Estonia aims to double the number of deep tech startups by 2025

Estonia aims to double the number of deep tech startups by 2025 and increase their amount five times by 2030. The initiative is offered by the governmental organization Startup Estonia (powered by the EAS/Kredex consortium and financed by the European Regional Development Fund) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. 

The organizations presented the action plan for deep tech industry development, which will be prepared for each year until 2025. Kredex and the Ministry are planning the funding for its realization.

In 2022 Estonian deep-tech companies raised €175M, 15 deals were closed, and 13% of the total volume of venture capital investments was directed to deep technologies. According to the program, the goal is to increase the number of deals to 100 and increase the volume of investments to 30% by 2030. 

Besides, the aim is to help deep tech entrepreneurs and researchers to find their business model, and support organizations, universities, research institutions, investors, private and venture capital funds, and the public sector. 

The plan points out that it is important to work on transferring intellectual property from universities to businesses, developing flexible labor policies and a skilled workforce for the deep tech sector, establishing a coherent framework in R&D and high education systems, the so-called IOprotocol, covering intellectual property (IP).

According to Startup Estonia database, there are 119 deep tech companies in the country, with a total turnover of €130M in 2022 which paid €25,6M in labor taxes to the state. Among the most popular are robot delivery company Starship Technologies, robotics solutions provider Milrem Robotics, mobility company Comodule, LightCode Photonics (develops 3D camera technology for mobility), and health startup Nanordica Medical.