Startup Lithuania

Yesterday we had a fascinating day at Startup Meetup Vilnius, hosted in collaboration with Unicorns Lithuania and Vilnius TechFusion! During the fireside chat, moderated by Darius Šoparas, CEO of Invoice123, Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Vinted, captivated the audience with inspiring insights about Vinted’s consistent efforts from day one. We were thrilled to welcome Thomas and hear firsthand about his incredible journey and expertise! 🎓 Cheers to our bold startups for pitching their ideas: Better Market, #HavlicekEncoders, #Glowmanic, Hoopoz,  #SistersHome, #Smarti, #Snatch, #Xrental. Congratulations to the Open Mic public’s favorite #Smarti! Special thanks to Tech Zity and all our amazing partners for making this meetup a success. 🤝

Congratulations to BSV Ventures! 👏 We‘re excited to share that one of Startup Fair's partner investment funds, BSV Ventures, has successfully closed a €15 Million Fund 💶 , backed by Strategic LPs, including the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and ILTE. The fund is dedicated to empowering early-stage innovators from the Baltics and EU, enabling them to build and scale their businesses internationally by leveraging breakthrough technologies. Since the fund’s initial close, BSV Ventures has already supported over 30 projects across the Baltics, Finland, and as far as France, all aligned with its mission to back founders working on critical and strategic scientific and technological domains—from mechatronics and biotech to functional genomics, the future of computing, space technologies, AI, and beyond. Wishing you continued success!

Meet Colin Brown – an expert in the Edu Challenger program! 🚀 Colin is an entrepreneur and investor with experience building companies in 17 countries. His journey began as an Olympic rowing coach, where he developed a passion for high performance, which he now channels into helping startups reach $100M ARR through his company, Capability Brown. From organising the London 2012 Games to advising the World Bank on essential AI and skills initiatives across MENA and Africa, Colin brings expertise to the Edu Challenger program. His dedication to helping founders grow and create impact-driven companies is a true asset to our participants. 🌍

The Lithuanian startup ecosystem is shining bright at Slush 2024 in Helsinki! What an incredible experience to be part of the Lithuanian startup family here in the bustling innovation hub of Helsinki! At our booth, we’re spotlighting the game-changing ideas, bold ventures, and global connections that make Lithuania the rising star of the startup world. Meet the startups proudly representing our Lithuanian ecosystem: Softloans Axiology #Tingit Fideum Group Agenic fruttberry Strato Create walk15.app Codigi MELP #ANA CTO2B isLucid Stuart Energy Green 100 Pickitoo LastMile INNOSENSUS Perfection42 And more We’re thrilled to see our startups seizing these unique opportunities to participate in impactful tech events like #Slush2024 Stop by our booth tomorrow to discover why our ecosystem is worth the deep dive - let’s connect, collaborate, and create the future together!

📢 Exciting News! Lithuania has climbed six spots to rank 22nd in the 2024 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, overtaking Estonia in global digital competitiveness and becoming the highest-ranking Baltic country. Kotryna Tamoševičiene, head of the Research and Analysis Unit at Inovacijų agentūra, emphasized Lithuania’s rapid progress, especially in the Readiness for the Future category and highlighted that business agility and a high tolerance for business risk as main contributors to this achievement. Lithuania excelled in several key areas: ✅ 10th in government cybersecurity capacity ✅ 17th in readiness to tackle future challenges ✅ 21st for the quality of digital public services ✅ 23rd in knowledge ✅ 28th in technology This marks a remarkable step forward for Lithuania in the global digital landscape! Explore the full rankings and details here 🔗 https://bit.ly/3Zdxks1

Meet Will Cardwell – an expert in the Edu Challenger program! Will is one of those professionals who will share valuable insights and experience, helping your business grow throughout the Edu Challenger accelerator. He is a partner at the venture capital funds Courage Ventures Funds and Open Circle Capital. Will also serves as a Professor of Practice at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and lectures at Aalto University and the HELBUS Helsinki School of Business. 💼 Joining our program as a mentor, Will is here to help participants achieve their goals and strengthen their business development skills. 📈

Are you heading to Slush? We've got one more opportunity for you at the event! Startup Lithuania and walk15.app are celebrating SLUSH 2024 with a global walking challenge! Let’s come together to collect 1 million steps — and win an Apple Watch every day! 👣 How to participate? 1. JOIN us on the Walk15 app for Walk for SLUSH 2024. 2. WALK for your country. 3. WIN an Apple Watch every day at 15:00! It’s important to know: Whether you take one step or 10,000, every move counts towards the 1 million goal — and you could still be the lucky winner! A lucky participant will win an Apple Watch every day on the 20th and 21st of November. The winner will be announced live at the Co-create Lithuania stand (Booth E6) every day at 15:00. Keep an eye on the #Walk15app notifications! 🔔 P.S. You must be at SLUSH to claim your prize. Make sure to swing by the booth at 15:00 and wave if your name is called! 👋 Visit us at the Lithuania Co-create booth (E6), meet our Startup Lithuania team and discover the vibrant Lithuanian startup ecosystem! Click here to join the challenge: https://lnkd.in/eTkSP_i3 Let’s make every step count in Helsinki!

This was the unforgettable Startup Lithuania Accelerator powered by Plug and Play Tech Center - Batch 2 EXPO Day! 🚀 We brought together VCs, angel investors, and corporations to celebrate the achievements of the startups in our second batch. The energy in the room was incredible, with inspiring pitches and invaluable insights from top ecosystem players. Highlights of the day: 🔸 Opening remarks by Karolina Urbonaitė, Head of Startup Lithuania, and Povilas Žinys, Director of Plug and Play Tech Center Lithuania, set the tone with their vision and encouragement for our startups. 🔸 A dynamic panel discussion, “Putting Lithuanian Startups in the Spotlight: An International Investor’s Viewpoint,” moderated by Carolin Wais, with panelists Luana David, Philipp Werner, Maximilian Bräuninger, and Bob Rode. Their global perspective shed light on why Lithuania’s startup ecosystem is one to watch. 🔸 Startup Pitching Competition: Congratulations to the top 3 winners: Elnora AI, Vespia, #Scalier and the People’s Choice Award winner: Traxlo! They took home amazing prizes: 🔸 Co-working space at ROCKIT Vilnius 🔸 Legal consultations by Motieka & Audzevičius 🔸 Tickets to Web Summit 🔸 Fast-track to the next Startup Fair pitch battle by Startup Lithuania A keynote from Laurynas Mačiulis, Space Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Astrolight, inspired us all with insights from the cutting- edge world of aerospace. We closed the day with an exhibition and networking space, where connections sparked, and ideas flowed. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this event’s success – our partners, startups, and community, including our pitch competition jury: Milda Milaknytė, Oliver Strastin, and Oli Harris. Together, we are putting Lithuania’s innovation on the map. 🗺️

🖖 Guess who's featured by the Plug and Play Tech Center at the #SiliconValleySummit? Congrats AQ22, Catherine Kurt, David Mataciunas!

We’re halfway through the GOAL Program journey! Two outstanding Lithuanian startups, AQ22 and Biohifas, were selected from Batch 1 of the Startup Lithuania accelerator, powered by Plug and Play Tech Center, to participate in the GOAL Program in Silicon Valley. They’re now learning from the best in the heart of innovation! The Plug and Play GOAL Program is a 6-week immersion into the Silicon Valley ecosystem, designed to help early-stage tech startups with business development, fundraising, and strategic growth. So far: 🌏 AQ22 attended over 15 VC and founder events, expanded their network with some of the most prominent industry leaders and talked with more than 10 US-based prospects. 🌱 Biohifas has refined their business strategy with mentor guidance, networked with other founders, visited Stanford University, and met with Lithuanian officials. Next up, they’ll join the Plug and Play Silicon Valley November Summit 2024 - a unique platform for exposure and building strategic partnerships. Stay tuned for more updates on this incredible journey!