Estonian Startup Awards

🚀 "Today we also celebrate the success of the Estonian tech sector because guess what - for the past six years, tech sector in Estonia has been the only growing sector in economy. [..] Despite the size of a mosquito, we've been treated as a tiger or an elephant among global tech leaders! [..] So you should be very proud of yourself," - Kaidi Ruusalepp, President of the Estonian Founders Society in 2022-2023. Each year, the #EstonianStartupAwards sums up the latest trends and challenges of the sector, and celebrates the most outstanding founders! While the winners are found based on the vote of the jury, the public also has a chance to influence the results: by adding nominees! ⏰ The deadline for this year's nomination round is 13.12! Let us know who stood our for you and deserves the recognition of the community! *** *Find the link to the rest of the gala & the presidents' panel in the comments below! Kaidi Ruusalepp Allan Martinson Swedbank Estonia City of Tallinn LIFT99 Estonian Founders Society

🎉 Prototron Autumn Round is Over! 🎉 In last week's finals, four top teams walked away with a total of €75,000! But before that, all the ideas that joined the program went through two months of intensive training, gaining the essential knowledge and skills to bring their business ideas to life. A huge thank you to all the amazing partners, experts and mentors who shared their time, knowledge, and guidance to help us identify the strongest teams - Triin Preem, Eero Treumann, Caroline Aruoja, Anne-Liisa Elbrecht, Agnes Roos, Maret Kivirand, Farid Khasiyev 🚀, Crystella Sokk, Karin Künnapas, Raul Kirsimäe, Liis Laanesaar, Mari-Liis Kikas, Astrid Maldre, Kaspar Roost, Ergo Metsla, Barbara Agasild, Rasmus Kalep, Kristo Reinsalu, Erik Puura, Indrek Kaldoja, Jana Bogmatser, Toomas Seppel, Andres Kivi, Vladislav Linko, Alex Luik, Kristi Jõeäär, Liine Jänes, Annika Ljaš Eilat, Martin Hanson, Andrei Nikonov, Heigo Mõlder, Reelika Ein, Tarmo Härmaorg, Taavi Kõiv, Tauri Tuubel, Pekka Laakso, Harald Lepisk, Klaar.me, Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN), CR14, Ten Twelve OÜ. Your support is invaluable. 💡🙏 The winners are: 🏆 Expand – €35,000 An automated brain monitoring solution for intensive care units that uses machine learning and software to analyze EEG recordings, helping doctors make critical decisions. 🏆 Laflow – €20,000 A portable device based on biomedical engineering that allows mothers to enjoy stress- and pain-free breastfeeding, solving common issues like mastitis and blocked ducts. 🏆 MastSmart – €10,000 A smart flag-raising system for families who value patriotism and smart home solutions. Perfectly integrates into your smart home ecosystem. 🏆 ChargeIQ – €10,000 A charging dock for micro-mobility devices like e-scooters and smart gadgets, designed for property owners. Creates new revenue streams while meeting growing demand. To further support the winners' growth journey, all winning teams received a €1500 Hedman Law Firm voucher, ensuring a strong legal foundation for their future success. A big thank you to our invaluable founders: Tehnopol, TalTech University, and wedbank Estonia for making this competition possible and fostering innovation in our community! We have so much to be proud of! These ideas are making the world smarter, simpler, and greener. Prototron continues to fuel innovation and soon we're gonna share information about our next round!

🧑🎨🇪🇪 Should we tear down the walls between #art schools and #tech institutes? Read how Estonian Minister of Culture debated the future of #innovation at Slush 2024.

Estonian Startup Awards has never had as many as 11 categories! But it's also been a turbulent year. Those who survive through the crisis years are the next generation of unicorn founders. So we see fundraising action, exciting moves and interesting newcomers in vectors like FinTech, DefenceTech, GreenTech, Hardwarea and SaaS! PS. Congrats to Martin Sokk and Wander Rutgers for taking Lightyear to the next level on the UK market! 🙌 #EstonanStartupAwards

✨ÄIO is the Food Innovation award winner at Baltic Sustainability Awards!🔴 Thank you so much!🏆 This is a super strong reminder to our founders Nemailla Bonturi, Petri-Jaan Lahtvee and the whole #teamÄIO that all the... ✔️endless list of tasks ✔️drawbacks and experiment fails ✔️24/7 shifts and extra hours ✔️new cooperation's ✔️amazing colleagues ✔️bureaucracy ✔️supportive atmosphere ...we go through every day does have a meaning and in the end it all brings a change to more sustainable world!🪩 We are so-so-so happy and super motivated to keep on working!🔴 Huge congratulations also to 2C Ventures for receiving the award - Investment of the Year - #ÄIO! We are on the way together with our supporters and investors SmartCap, 2C Ventures, Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures!

🚀 Big things are happening in Estonia’s tech scene! Over the past nine months, our startups have been thriving—new investments are flowing in, and exciting acquisitions are sparking change. Despite a slight dip in employment, our ecosystem continues to grow and innovate. By the end of Q3 2024, around 14,267 people were building their careers in Estonian startups, generating an impressive €2.7 billion in revenue—a 10% increase from last year! Noteworthy investments included €90 million for Starship Technologies and €42 million for Stargate Hydrogen, showcasing the incredible potential within our ecosystem. Even as the global economy faces challenges, Estonian startups are proving their resilience and making a real impact through job creation and innovation. As we head into the last quarter of the year, we’re excited to see what’s next! 🚀 🔗 Read the full overview: https://lnkd.in/dzQnAMHt #Estonia #TechInnovation #Startups #Investment #Ecosystem #Growth #Entrepreneurship #TechTrends #Q32024 #StartupEstonia

🌍 The Global Founders in Estonia Meetup is back, and this time it’s all about building your startup in Estonia! 🚀 ✨ Who Should Attend? This event is tailor-made for: ✔️ Global early-stage and experienced founders ✔️ Entrepreneurs and startup team members ✔️ Startup Visa holders ✔️ Anyone passionate about Estonia’s vibrant startup community 📝 What’s on the Agenda? ✔️ Why Are Foreign Founders Important? by Mirjam Kert (Startup Estonia) ✔️ Introduction to Emerge Estonia by Liisa Jõerüüt (Tenity) ✔️ Founders’ Journey to Estonia: Interview with Nikhita Bhagwat, Co-Founder of Trashify Tech, moderated by Jana Budkovskaja (Beamline Accelerator). 🧭 When and where? ⏳ The event will take place at Palo Alto Club, Telliskivi 57, Tallinn, on Wednesday, November 27, starting at 17:00. Once we’ve emerged you into our ecosystem, we’ll wrap up with some fun, drinks and mingling! Few tickets left! Register now to secure your spot. 👉 https://lnkd.in/d_ujFjdz Let’s connect, learn, and grow—see you there! #Networking #Innovation #GlobalFoundersMeetup #StartupEstonia #EmergeEstoniaProgramme #Entrepreneurship

🏆🇪🇪 #Estonia ranks 1st in government #cybersecurity and 2nd in #eGovernment services globally, says new IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking.

“The 🇺🇦 war has totally redefined warfare and the defense industry's future. It's by far the fastest-developing technological war in human history.” - Ragnar Sass After last year's startup awards, we found that the Estonian DefenceTech sector has the potential to grow 100x bigger. The applications save lives and the development is rushed ahead by life-or-death urgency. Each time another edition of Estonian Defence Tech meetups takes place, we strengthen our connections with likeminded individuals who share the mission. The disccusions pull visibility on the vector's funding needs. Active startups can break through with disruption, faster. Earlier this year, the meetup gathered over 300 people from 12 different countries, including 30+ investors. We've seen bootcamps, conferences, hackthons and more dedicated to the cause. All this activity boosts the growth of the DefenceTech sector! So it only makes sense that #DefenceTech has been included as one of the categories at Estonian Startup Awards 2024! Find the nomination link in the comments below! #estonianfoundersociety Swedbank Estonia City of Tallinn Estonian Founders Society

Estonia leads the world in #VC funding relative to GDP. Here's how a country of 1.3M people became Europe's most impressive #tech hub, according to Atomico's State of European Tech report.