In 2022, a study predicted that by 2030 there could already be five “unicorns” in Latvia – companies valued at one billion USD. Three years on, we still have only one, but – in order to move closer to this goal, members of the Latvian Business Angel Network have jointly invested 500 thousand euros in the Latvia-registered venture capital funds Buildit VC and Outlast Fund.
It is possible that this – quite a significant amount of funding for Latvia – reached the funds due to conclusions drawn in the expert discussion “Can unicorns be raised on farms?” held this spring. One of them: for successful startups to develop in Latvia, including those whose market value would reach one billion USD, funding must be more accessible.
“This is an important step in the development of Latvia’s startup ecosystem. The Latvian Business Angel Network (LatBAN) believes that angel investors should not stand aside; we must actively shape an environment in which we invest ourselves. With the 500,000-euro investment in the Buildit and Outlast funds, we are not only placing our trust in two teams we value highly, but also investing in the next generation of Latvian innovation. We often talk about the gap between angels and venture capital funds; this is an opportunity to narrow that gap. We believe in co‑financing, shared exchange of experience, and shared responsibility. Strong ecosystems are built on aligned interests. And alignment emerges when everyone has something to lose,” says Ģirts Līcis, Chairman of the Board of LatBAN and angel investor.
Admittedly, compared with the total funding attracted by Latvian startups just this year, this half‑million may not seem like a substantial amount to some. In this year’s largest fundraising rounds, startups have attracted 69.45 million euros, with by far the largest share – 62 million, or 89.3% – going in June to the Latvian wind‑energy robotics startup Aerones.
As the global wind‑energy industry continues to grow, it is not out of the question that Aerones itself could become Latvia’s second “unicorn”. In 2024, the company received a 4‑million‑euro grant from the European Innovation Fund, and in 2023 it managed to attract 30 million USD in investment.
The second most successful company in terms of fundraising this year was Trace.Space, an artificial intelligence‑enhanced requirements management platform for engineers developing industrial products. It has attracted four million USD, and the Outlast Fund – which received part of LatBAN’s 500 thousand – also participated in this investment round.
The third most successful – the nano‑coating startup Naco Technologies – raised 2.5 million euros at the beginning of the year.
Thanks to Aerones, this is already the third most successful year for startups in the past seven years, and it may yet become the second most successful. For now, that is 2022, when Latvian startups raised 84.8 million euros. 2021 will most likely remain unsurpassed, when startups attracted 259.4 million euros. Almost half of that in 2021 was raised by Printful – which, by becoming the first and so far only Latvian “unicorn”, and later merging with Printify, became Fyul.
There are currently 13 “unicorns” in the Baltics, ten of which are in Estonia. This is also reflected in the investments attracted by startups. In just the last two years, Estonian startups have raised 449 million euros (Latvia over the last six years – 443.7 million euros). Experts assess that this phenomenon is linked to Estonia’s first unicorn, Skype, which gave rise to new, ambitious experts and companies. Almost every fast‑growing Estonian startup employs someone with experience at Skype.
In Lithuania too, which has two “unicorns”, funding is considerably more accessible for startups. In 2024 they raised 128 million euros, and in the first six months of this year alone already 167.7 million euros.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the fundraising success of our neighbours’ startups is linked not so much to the availability of money and the number of startups, but to the number of determined people, the suitability of ideas for monetisation, and the skills of startups. Estonia currently has more than 1,400 startups, Lithuania 1,000, and Latvia 626.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/500-tukstosi-jauna-latvijas-vienradza-meklejumiem/
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