BalticVC

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

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.

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.

Estonian 2C Ventures has invested in Finnish cleantech startup TheStorage , which develops energy storage technology for industrial heat generation. Finnish Superhero Capital also participated in the €1M round.

Estonian Trind Ventures has invested in Finnish genetic testing company Evogenom . Several business angels also participated in the deal.

Estonian streaming platform Fairmus   raised  in a seed round of €120K this year and in the summer acquired Estonian music digital distribution platform Distrus . 

London-based fintech Monese , founded by Estonian entrepreneur Norris Koppel, has merged with UK-based company Pockit . The deal will see Monese's minority shareholder, Estonian Tera Ventures , take a stake in Pockit. In addition, Pockit and London-based VC Puma Growth Partners will invest £15M in the integration of the two fintech companies. Further financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Estonian information technology company Uptime has acquired a majority stake in Madrid-based software developer Unatec . Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Estonian logistics startup Waybiller has raised €500K. The round was led by existing investors Finnish Gorilla Capital and Tallinn-based Ambient Sound Investments.  Waybiller’s own employees Omar Purik and Külli Kerem, and also business angels Urmo Lehtsalu and Egert Palmiste, Estonian software company Thorgate, and Vestman Grupp (focuses on forest, agriculture, and mineral resources management) participated in the round.

Estonian car rental company Planet42 is selling off its South African car rental fleet to repay debts to institutional investors. In addition, Planet42 co-founders Eerik Oja and Marten Orgna have resigned from the board of directors under pressure from the investors.

Estonian accelerator and fund Startup Wise Guys has become the lead investor in the €440K seed round of Italian startup Vado , which has developed an automated delivery solution. Milan-based VC Angels4Impact also participated in the deal. €394K was raised in equity from private investors and €50K in a loan from Italian bank Banca Sella.

Plural, co-founded by Estonian entrepreneurs Sten Tamkivi and Taavet Hinrikus, has invested in LLM technology developer Oriole Networks . Other investors in this £17,5M Series A were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Plural partner Ian Hogarth has been appointed a director of the company.

Former Deputy Minister of Digital Development of Estonia Lukas Ilves will advise the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, working in a team led by Mykhailo Fedorov (Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine). In his new position, Ilves will focus on artificial intelligence and continue to contribute to Ukraine's digital transformation. In his previous position, Ilves worked with Ukrainian colleagues for the past two years. The new advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation served as Estonia's Deputy Minister of Digital Development from January 2022 to February 2024. He was responsible for IT in the public sector, the development of the digital state, cybersecurity, and communications. After that, he continued to work in the ministry as an advisor to the Сhancellor. Until 2022, Ilves worked as the head of strategy and research at the Estonian cybersecurity company Guardtime...

Jaan Tallinn’s fund Metaplanet has invested in healthtech startup Luminate Medical . The lead investor in the $15M Series A was US-based Artis Ventures. San-Fransisco-based SciFounders and Austin-based 8VC also participated in the deal.

The Estonian government has decided to double a €50M defense industry fund to €100M by 2025, backing a proposal by Minister of Economy and Industry Erkki Keldo. The first investments are planned for early 2025. 

Tallinn-based fintech Mifundo   has raised €1.2M from lead investor Estonian Tera Ventures with participation from existing investor Estonian Opus11 VC and business angels, including entrepreneurs Mihkel Karu and Sergey Anikin.

Jaan Tallinn's fund Metaplanet  has invested in US-based electric aircraft manufacturer Pyka . San-Francisco-based Obvious Ventures led the $40M round B. American Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, and Y Combinator also participated in the deal.