BalticVC

Latvian LongeVC  has invested in Canadian Proton Intelligence which develops non-invasive CKM for monitoring potassium levels in patients with kidney disease. The $6,95M round also included participation from Spanish We Venture Capital, Australian Tenmile and Trampoline Venture Partners, American SOSV and Exor Ventures, Japanese 15th Rock and others.

Estonian CybExer Technologies , which specializes in artificial intelligence solutions for training and assessment of cybersecurity and information technology teams, has received a loan of €1.5M from Estonian SEB Baltic Venture Debt.

Harju County Court has approved the restructuring plan of Estonian car rental startup Planet42 , which will allow the company to escape bankruptcy and continue its business activities. 

Lithuanian SaaS platform for banks and paytechs Torus received investment from Swedish Goose Valley Ventures.

Latvian mobile app Dosty  which simplifies dog ownership by managing daily routines, providing expert advice and support on health and behaviour issues through a chat assistant, has received investment from Azerbaijan's Caucasus Ventures.

Lithuanian greentech investment firm HeavyFinance has announced a partnership with Multitude Bank, the main subsidiary of Malta-based Multitude Group. 

Lithuanian Freya Cultivation Systems , which is developing controlled environment agriculture with its flagship Aeroframe technology, has raised €500K. The round was led by Lithuanian Coinvest Capital and BSV Ventures . Lithuanian Sofigama , Finnish Zunami Oy and business angels Paulius Vilemas and Marko Lehtovaara also participated in the deal. Coinvest Capital's investment in the company amounted to €250K.

Lithuanian Contribee , which helps entrepreneurs and companies manage their fan subscriptions or support their favorite creators and discover exclusive content, has been acquired by Lithuanian Masiva Group. The deal is an exit for Lithuanian Coinvest Capital , Estonian Startup Wise Guys and several business angels.

  Estonian SaaS workflow automation system Askel.ai has raised €380K. The round was led by Estonian Superangel . Also participating in the deal were ProcessOut co-founder Manuel Huez, Matrix partner Patrick Malatack, Veriff co-founder Janer Gorohhov, and Skype ex-CTO Ott Kaukver.

The founder of Riga-based theIntelligent VC Andrei Doktoroff has acquired an application for creating stores on Telegram Sellz . The investor plans to launch it as a startup next year with a new team. In the near future, the company will also focus on improving customer support, promoting the product, and raising an investment round.

Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has invested $100K in the Ukrainian defense startup Frontline and it participated in the €4M round of Portuguese cyber startup Ethiack . Portuguese Explorer Investments and CoreAngels also joined Ethiack's round.

Estonian construction software developer Bauhub has been acquired by a Finnish Admicom , which offers solutions for construction and real estate. The amount of the deal is €6M. As part of the agreement, Bauhub's shareholders and founders - Teet Parts, Marko Leek, and Henri Trees - will invest €900K in Admicom shares through a targeted share issue.

Estonian energy producer Sunly has raised €60M from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Mirova, Vardar, and other existing investors.

Estonian studio Dark Math Games has raised investment from Margus Linnamäe's company MM Grupp. The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but according to Gamesindustry.biz, which shared the news, it was a seven-figure sum.

Latvian Capitalia has invested in the Estonian VC  Siena Secondary Fund . The investment amount is undisclosed. The target size of Siena’s second fund is €50M.

Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has invested in Italian platform Restworld , which connects restaurants with potential employees, and Spanish indoor climbing athlete tracking startup Lizcore .

Lithuanian AI-powered reputation tracking software Repsense has raised €425K from existing investors Lithuanian Coinvest Capital , Iron Wolf Capital, BSV Ventures (ex-Baltic Sandbox Ventures), and four business angels.

Taavet+Sten, the venture investment company of Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and Teleport founder Sten Tamkivi, will change its name to Skaala . According to the team, Taavet +Sten is growing, and their plans are bigger than just a few of them, hence they have a broader name. 

Lightspace Group, an augmented reality technology developer, founded by Latvian Ilmārs Osmanis, has been acquired by Finnish defense and security technology group Summa Defence Oy . The amount of the deal was not disclosed. 

Fintech TransferGo , founded by Lithuanian entrepreneurs, will donate money to the Lithuanian fund Jaunaragiai. The amount of donation from TransferGo is not disclosed. In addition, TransferGo may provide more funding to Jaunaragiai in the future.

Lithuanian Tech Zity Vilnius has raised €37M. Tallinn-based Bigbank  invested €28M in the form of a loan. €6.1M was secured from 49 private investors, including Darius Zakaitis and Mantas Mikuckas, and €3M - from the EfTEN Special Opportunities Fund, managed by Estonian real estate fund EfTEN Capital.

Companies registered in Latvia will be able to use crypto assets to pay for their share capital, which is aligned with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The decision was made by the Latvian Parliament.  

Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has received a stake in Nigerian financial technology company Rise , which has acquired Startup Wise Guys' portfolio company Kenyan fintech Hisa. Details of the deal were not disclosed. 

Plural, co-founded by Estonian entrepreneurs Sten Tamkivi and Taavet Hinrikus, has led a $4.6M round in the Cambridge University spin-out of a developer of lithium-sulfur batteries Molyon . Cambridge-based IQ Capital, Cambridge Enterprise, UK-based Parkwalk Advisors, and angel investors also participated in the round.

Tallinn-based investment platform Grunfin is closing its operations, the platform's founder Triin Hertmann wrote on her social network. The startup plans to refund its customers their invested money in the coming weeks and will send information about the next steps by e-mail. Although 98% of the startup's portfolios showed positive returns, the team found it difficult to attract new customers at scale.

Estonian security and logistics solutions provider GSMvalve has acquired Latvian logistics software development company Intelligent Systems SIA .

Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has invested in Paris-based Klart AI , which develops AI assistants for teams. The amount of the pre-seed round and the names of the other investors were not disclosed.

Madis Lehtmets, co-founder of Estonian construction software developer Remato, will head the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association ( EstVCA ). He will take on the responsibilities of the new CEO in January 2025, which will include maintaining and strengthening the organization’s position as an advocate for the industry's interests and developing relationships with its members, legislators, and other organizations representing the industry in Estonia and abroad.

Tallinn-based Frankenburg Technologies , the defense industry company of Taavi Madiberk (founder of Estonian supercapacitor designer Skeleton Technologies), has raised €1.5M from Shellona, ​​registered in the Cayman Islands. After the deal, the company's valuation increased to €55M.

Latvian fund LongeVC  has invested in US-based Glyphic Biotechnologies , which is developing a protein sequencing platform.

Riga-based asset-backed investment platform Indemo , which means Investment Democracy, has raised €556K at a pre-money valuation of €7.5M from a mix of new and existing private investors from Ireland, Canada, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Lithuanian BSV Ventures , which changed its name from Baltic Sandbox Ventures last week, has raised $15M from NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Lithuanian ILTE fund (ex-Invega), which invested under the Accelerator 2 program, and other private investors from Europe.

We want to share a podcast, made by Google AI-pilot. It consists of a short review of the Baltic Startups Survey 2024, revealing its main ideas in plain English. If you prefer to get information informally, you should listen to it.

Venture capital firm Plural, founded by Estonian entrepreneurs Sten Tamkivi and Taavet Hinrikus, has led a €151.6 round in Munich-based aerospace startup The Exploration Company (TEC). Balderton Capital was a co-lead investor with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souverainete, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), Bayern Kapital, EQT Ventures, Red River West, Cherry Ventures, Promus Ventures, and Omnes Real Tech Fund.

Estonian startup Sera  has raised investment. The pre-seed round was led by Estonian Specialist VC with participation from a co-founder and CEO of Bolt Markus Villig and Kaspar Tiri (a co-founder of the Estonian avatar platform for creating virtual identities Ready Player Me). The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

  Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has invested in Ukrainian startup Pibox. Czech Presto Ventures and Canadian Globalive Capital also participated in the $1.2M round.

Lithuanian startup CyberUpgrade , which has developed an AI-powered solution for enterprise security, has raised €2.5M in a seed round. The round was led by the Finnish Superhero Capital, with participation from Estonian Specialist VC , Lithuanian accelerator Firstpick , and a syndicate of investors from Lithuanian angel investment network NGL. Business angels Maria S. Kalochoritis and Sergey Anikin also participated in the round.

Lithuania's Ligence , which helps improve cardiac diagnostics, has raised €3M from a syndicate of 53 business angels NGL, Lithuanian Coinvest Capital , Estonian Lemonade Stand, a business angel Rita Sakus, Poland's Simpact Ventures, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Following this investment, Coinvest increased its stake in the company to 19.67% and remains the largest investor.

Estonian customer service flow management platform Qminder has secured €3M in a seed round. The round was led by Lithuanian Practica Capital with participation from Jaan Tallinn’s Metaplanet, Latvian BADideas.fund, and angel investors from Toggl, Veriff, Pipedrive, Wise, and Twilio.

Goals and methodology of the survey The BalticVC team studied the startup ecosystem in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania for its Baltic Startup Survey. We sent questionnaires to startup founders from these countries.

Estonian accelerator and fund Startup Wise Guys has invested in Turkish AI-powered startup Lumian Energy , which provides energy management solutions.

TranferGo Lithuania will raise investment from Silicon Valley-based Hard Yaka Ventures. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The deal has been approved by the Bank of Lithuania. Hard Yaka Ventures will indirectly acquire between 10% and 20% of the shares and voting rights in the company.

Tallinn-based marketplace for refurbished electronics Ringy has raised investment from Estonian  Trind Ventures and a number of Estonian companies. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. 

Lithuanian startup Broswarm , which develops technologies for battlefield mine detection, has raised €800K from Lithuanian fund and accelerator ScaleWolf .

UPD: After the merger, the companies will have a new name Fyul, which consists of the last two letters of each company's name: "fy" and "ul".    Latvian e-commerce design platform, known for creating clothing, accessories, and home goods Printful has merged with Latvian print-on-demand marketplace Printify. The merger is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Estonian electric bicycle manufacturer Ampler Bikes has secured €300K from co-founder of Estonian unicorn Pipedrive Ragnar Sass. Kristjan Maruste, a co-founder of Kõu Mobility Group (which owns 66,9% of Ampler Bikes), made the announcement on Estonian equity funding and trading platform Funderbeam.

Estonian startup Miros , which has developed an AI-powered search tool for e-commerce, has raised €6M. The round was led by EBRD VC (the venture investment arm of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Estonian Tera Ventures with participation from the former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Budapest-based Day One Capital, and Turkish Metis Ventures.

The Lithuanian Business Angels Fund has invested €465K in three Lithuanian and one Norwegian startups. Other business angels were involved in these deals, but their names were not disclosed.

Creditors of Estonian car rental company Planet42   have received an advanced plan from parent company Inclusion and restructuring adviser Tarmo Peterson, as it was impossible to save the South African business from closure. According to Peterson, the secured creditors (foreign institutions) did not agree to change the loan terms in order to free up the capital needed to restructure Planet42. An investment of €10M-€15M was needed to save the business in South Africa.

Apple has acquired Pixelmator , a Vilnius-based developer of image-editing applications for Mac and iPad. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has exited from the US AI-powered solution Elai.io , which allows users to convert text to video. Elai.io has been acquired by the US educational video platform Panopto . Details of the deal were not disclosed. 

UPD: Estonian Change Ventures also participated in Modash’s latest funding round. Although the exact amount contributed by Change Ventures in this round remains undisclosed, the firm secured additional capital via a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to support the investment. In 2022, Change Ventures invested in Modash through its Fund II, which had typical investments ranging between €100K and €750K. Tallinn-based tool for searching influencers Modash has raised €11M in Series A. Dutch VC HenQ led the round, with participation from some existing investors. 

Lithuanian venture capital fund Orion Ventures has invested in the AI-powered Finnish market analytics solution Statzon .

Tallinn-based developer of surveillance and control solutions DefSec Intel Solutions (DefSecIntel) has secured €5M overdraft loan from Swedish banking group Swedbank. 

Lithuanian accelerator Firstpick has invested in Finfra, founded by Latvian Reinis Simanovskis and Estonian Markus Prommik. The startup, which has developed a financial solution for underbanked companies in Southeast Asia, raised $2.5M in investments from Singapore-based Cento Ventures, US-based Accion Venture Lab, South Korea's Z Venture Capital, Silicon Valley-based Hustle Fund, and the founder of Polish fintech Avafin Matiss Ansviesulis. 

Riga-based defense technology startup Origin   has secured €4M to drive the development of its drone-launched precision-guided weapon systems. 

Estonian car rental company Planet42 has presented a rescue plan that would split the company's South African and Mexican businesses to investors. In August the startup suspended  payments to its investors.

Lithuanian second-hand clothing company Vinted has raised €340M in a secondary share sale, reaching its valuation of €5Bln. The round was led by US investment firm TPG Tech Adjacencies , with participation from London-based VC Hedosophia, Edinburgh-based asset manager Baillie Gifford, New York-based VCs Invus Opportunities, FJ Labs, Manhattan Venture Partners and Moore Strategic Ventures. All of Vinted's existing institutional investors of Vinted, including EQT, Accel, Burda Principal Investments, Insight Partners, Lightspeed, Sofina, and Sprints, have remained in the company.

According to the government organization Startup Estonia, Estonian startups reached a turnover of €2.7Bln in the first nine months of 2024. This is 10% more than in the same period of 2023 when their turnover reached about €2.4Bln.

An attempt to kidnap Yolo Investments owner Tim Heath in Tallinn in July 2024 has been foiled . One of the suspects, Georgian citizen Ilgar Mamedov, was arrested in Lithuania and extradited to Estonia. The identity of the other accomplices has not been established, but it is known that they were foreign citizens. The investigation into the aborted kidnapping is ongoing.

Estonian accelerator and fund Startup Wise Guys has exited the Italian delivery management solution Deliverart . The startup’s new shareholder is the Italian company TeamSystem which develops digital business management solutions.

Lithuanian The Nter Asset Management , through its Alternative lenders and private equity fund, has acquired 80% of Lithuanian technology company Orion Leasing for €2.5M.