REPORT / Q3 2026 UPDATE / DATA TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
Estonia startup funding report
Estonian startups raised €133m in 39 rounds in the first nine months of 2026, against €257m in 77 rounds a year earlier.
Funding data for Estonian startups is scattered. Rounds are announced by companies, funds, angel networks and the press, often months after they close, and no single database has them all or has them right.
This report builds one record from all of them. We cross check startup databases against company, investor and press announcements, take out grants and loans that are reported as rounds, and add the rounds that were never fully recorded.
It covers venture rounds and exits of startups headquartered in Estonia, and of startups that started here and moved their headquarters abroad. It uses the same record and rules as our CEE startup funding report, so Estonia can be set against the other nine countries.
We add a quarter every three months. If you are raising in Estonia, it shows how many rounds close, at what size, and who writes the first cheques.
Highlights
€133m in the first nine months, down 48% on a year earlier (€257m). The largest round is Skeleton Technologies's €33m growth round, 25% of the total.
29 seed and later rounds this year, against 52 a year earlier, and 39 rounds in all against 77. Pre-seed is where the record of recent rounds is least complete, and its count will rise as late rounds surface.
Five venture-backed exits by September, against 8 in the same months of 2025. Buyers include Mynt, Pipedrive, Quantum Systems and Veriff.
01 / THE MARKET
The market
Capital down 48% on the same months of 2025. Rounds: 39 against 77.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 15 | 55 | 45 | 208 | 323 |
| 2025 | 8.9 | 90 | 55 | 199 | 353 |
| 9M 2026 | 4.7 | 46 | 47 | 35 | 133 |
Estonia raised €324m in 2024 and €353m in 2025. The largest 2025 round, Pactum's €49m, was 14% of that year. 2026 has €133m so far.
9M 2026 covers January to September 2026. The dashed line marks the same months of 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 54 | 43 | 8 | 7 | 112 |
| 2025 | 34 | 47 | 8 | 8 | 97 |
| 9M 2026 | 10 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 39 |
112 rounds in 2024, 97 in 2025 and 39 so far in 2026. Some rounds are recorded months late, so the latest quarters will rise.
| Row | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | €257m | €133m | ▼ -48% |
| Rounds | 77 | 39 | ▼ -49% |
| Pre-seed rounds | 25 | 10 | ▼ -60% |
| Seed rounds | 39 | 23 | ▼ -41% |
| Series A rounds | 7 | 3 | ▼ -57% |
| Growth rounds | 6 | 3 | ▼ -50% |
Quarter by quarter, capital swings with the timing of large rounds. The count of rounds is the steadier signal.
The latest quarter is still filling in and will rise.
02 / ESTONIA IN THE REGION
Estonia in the region
Estonia raised €258 per person in 2025, 1st of the ten countries.
The same record and rules for all ten countries, so the comparison is like for like. Capital per person divides each country's capital by its population.
| Country | €m 9M 2026 | Change | Rounds 9M 2026 | Change | € per person 2025 | € per person 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 133 | ▼ -48% | 39 | ▼ -49% | 258 | 97 |
| Lithuania | 182 | ▲ +3% | 28 | ▼ -42% | 75 | 63 |
| Czechia | 513 | ▲ +101% | 47 | ▼ -15% | 28 | 47 |
| Bulgaria | 199 | ▲ +91% | 22 | ▼ -4% | 32 | 31 |
| Hungary | 122 | ▲ +3% | 22 | ▼ -35% | 13 | 13 |
| Slovakia | 55 | ▼ -24% | 11 | ▼ -39% | 21 | 10 |
| Ukraine | 282 | ▲ +336% | 50 | ▼ -29% | 2 | 7 |
| Poland | 226 | ▼ -10% | 67 | ▼ -27% | 10 | 6 |
| Latvia | 12 | ▼ -84% | 4 | ▼ -73% | 43 | 6 |
| Romania | 105 | ▲ +14% | 30 | ▼ -6% | 9 | 6 |
Population on 1 January 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 324 | 353 | 133 |
| Latvia | 29 | 81 | 12 |
| Lithuania | 129 | 217 | 182 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 112 | 97 | 39 |
| Latvia | 36 | 25 | 4 |
| Lithuania | 73 | 68 | 28 |
In 2025, Estonia closed 97 rounds, against 25 in Latvia and 68 in Lithuania.
03 / STAGES AND ROUND SIZES
Stages and round sizes
The typical seed round in 2025 was €1.8m.
Rounds by company stage. Where one round can move a stage's total, the count and the typical round tell more than the capital.
| Row | Rounds 2024 | €m 2024 | Rounds 2025 | €m 2025 | Rounds 9M 2026 | €m 9M 2026 | Median 2024 | Median 2025 | Median 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 54 | €15m | 34 | €8.9m | 10 | €4.7m | €0.1m | €0.1m | €0.5m |
| Seed | 43 | €55m | 47 | €90m | 23 | €46m | €1.9m | €1.8m | €2.8m |
| Series A | 8 | €45m | 8 | €55m | 3 | €47m | €5.4m | €6.5m | €9.1m |
| Growth | 7 | €208m | 8 | €199m | 3 | €35m | €28m | €21m | - |
Median shown where at least three rounds of the stage disclosed an amount.
Pre-seed
54 rounds in 2024, 34 in 2025 and 10 so far in 2026. The typical pre-seed round in 2025 was €0.1m.
Seed
43 rounds in 2024, 47 in 2025 and 23 so far in 2026. The typical seed round in 2025 was €1.8m.
Series A
Eight rounds in 2024, 8 in 2025 and 3 so far in 2026. The typical Series A round in 2025 was €6.5m.
Growth
Seven rounds in 2024, 8 in 2025 and 3 so far in 2026. The typical growth round in 2025 was €21m.
04 / SECTORS
Sectors
AI raised the most this year: €84m in 15 rounds.
By number of rounds since 2024, the largest sectors are AI (80), enterprise software (54) and energy and climate (47). A company can sit in several sectors, so sector totals overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 43 | 92 | 84 |
| Defence and security | 26 | 75 | 75 |
| Mobility and logistics | 93 | 16 | 42 |
| Hardware and robotics | 91 | 43 | 41 |
| Energy and climate | 109 | 77 | 38 |
| Fintech | 47 | 44 | 21 |
| Enterprise software | 47 | 85 | 17 |
| Marketing and media | 21 | 9.7 | 4.9 |
Ranked by 9M 2026 capital. Sectors overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 31 | 34 | 15 |
| Defence and security | 11 | 18 | 7 |
| Mobility and logistics | 12 | 11 | 5 |
| Hardware and robotics | 13 | 20 | 8 |
| Energy and climate | 18 | 23 | 6 |
| Fintech | 21 | 15 | 8 |
| Enterprise software | 28 | 19 | 7 |
| Marketing and media | 15 | 6 | 2 |
Same sectors, counted by number of rounds.
05 / LARGEST ROUNDS
Largest rounds
The largest round this year: Skeleton Technologies, €33m.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skeleton Technologies | Growth | €33m | May 2026 | Axon Partners Group |
| Frankenburg Technologies | Series A | €30m | Feb 2026 | Plural |
| Mesh Wallet | Series A | €9.1m | Sep 2026 | Undisclosed |
| SkySelect | Series A | €8.2m | Mar 2026 | Rock Creek Group |
| Farsight Vision | Seed | €7.2m | Feb 2026 | Axon Enterprise |
| Creem | Seed | €5.0m | Sep 2026 | Inovo VC I |
| Softquantus | Seed | €5.0m | Jun 2026 | Softquantus |
| Second | Seed | €4.6m | Jun 2026 | Undisclosed |
| Rollo Robotics | Seed | €3.7m | Jan 2026 | FoodLabs |
| Handhold | Seed | €3.0m | Apr 2026 | Entourage |
Rounds with a disclosed amount.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pactum | Growth | €49m | Jun 2025 | Insight Partners |
| Starship Technologies | Growth | €46m | Oct 2025 | Plural |
| Blackwall | Growth | €45m | Mar 2025 | Dawn Capital |
| Lightyear | Growth | €21m | Jul 2025 | NordicNinja VC |
| Sympower | Growth | €19m | Sep 2025 | PGGM Investments |
| Katana | Growth | €15m | Oct 2025 | Cogito Capital Partners |
| Stargate Hydrogen | Series A | €11m | Mar 2025 | SmartCap |
| ULTRA | Series A | €11m | Apr 2025 | NOIA Capital |
| PowerUp Energy Technologies | Series A | €10m | Nov 2025 | ScaleWolf |
| Wayren | Series A | €7.9m | Apr 2025 | EFA Group |
06 / STARTED IN ESTONIA, BASED ELSEWHERE
Started in Estonia, based elsewhere
22 rounds since 2024 by companies that started in Estonia and are based elsewhere. They count in the totals.
Companies that started in Estonia, or keep their main team here, but are headquartered elsewhere. They count in the totals, under Estonia. Companies that Estonian founders built abroad, with no base here, are not included.
| Company | Based in | Amount | Month | In totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkySelect | United States | €8.2m | Mar 2026 | Yes |
| Pactum | United States | €49m | Jun 2025 | Yes |
| Starship Technologies | United States | €46m | Oct 2025 | Yes |
| Lightyear | United Kingdom | €21m | Jul 2025 | Yes |
| Sympower | Netherlands | €19m | Sep 2025 | Yes |
| Dragonfly AI | United Kingdom | €3.0m | Oct 2025 | Yes |
| BetterStudio | Belgium | €2.3m | Aug 2025 | Yes |
| Lutso | United States | €1.2m | Feb 2025 | Yes |
| Starship Technologies | United States | €82m | Feb 2024 | Yes |
| Pactum | United States | €18m | Jul 2024 | Yes |
| Superfluid Finance | United Kingdom | €4.6m | Feb 2024 | Yes |
| Qminder | United Kingdom | €3.0m | Nov 2024 | Yes |
| Beholder | United States | €0.9m | Mar 2024 | Yes |
| Beholder | United States | €0.6m | May 2024 | Yes |
| BoxBox | United States | €0.5m | Jun 2024 | Yes |
| eID Easy | Ireland | €0.1m | Jan 2024 | Yes |
| INZMO | Germany | Undisclosed | Oct 2024 | Yes |
| HotelSync | United States | Undisclosed | Jun 2024 | Yes |
| Decomer Technology | United States | Undisclosed | May 2024 | Yes |
| XYB | United Kingdom | Undisclosed | May 2024 | Yes |
| Monese | United Kingdom | Undisclosed | May 2024 | Yes |
| Dark Math Games | United Kingdom | Undisclosed | Dec 2024 | Yes |
07 / INVESTORS
Investors
Startup Wise Guys joined the most pre-seed and seed rounds since January 2025: 11.
Most active at pre-seed and seed since January 2025: Startup Wise Guys (11 rounds), Specialist VC (7 rounds) and 2C Ventures (4 rounds). Investors are ranked by the rounds they joined, led or followed, over 2025 and 2026 together.
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup Wise Guys | Estonia | 11 | 0 |
| Specialist VC | Estonia | 7 | 1 |
| 2C Ventures | Estonia | 4 | 3 |
| Icebreaker VC | Finland | 4 | 3 |
| Antler | Singapore | 4 | 0 |
| Markus Villig | Estonia | 4 | 0 |
| EstBAN | Estonia | 3 | 1 |
| Lemonade Stand | n/a | 3 | 1 |
| Superangel | Estonia | 3 | 1 |
| Expeditions Fund | Poland | 2 | 2 |
| MOC Capital | Malaysia | 2 | 2 |
| Nordic Science Investments | Finland | 2 | 2 |
| Soulmates Ventures | Czechia | 2 | 2 |
| AngelONE Capital | Ukraine | 2 | 1 |
| Domino Ventures | Netherlands | 2 | 1 |
| EIS | Enterprise Estonia | Estonia | 2 | 1 |
| Green Flag Ventures | United States | 2 | 1 |
| Iron Wolf Capital | Lithuania | 2 | 1 |
| Outlast Fund | Latvia | 2 | 1 |
| Practica Capital | Lithuania | 2 | 1 |
| Shilling VC | Portugal | 2 | 1 |
| Sunfish Partners | Germany | 2 | 1 |
| Superhero Capital | Finland | 2 | 1 |
| Tenity | Switzerland | 2 | 1 |
| Trind Ventures | Estonia | 2 | 1 |
| Curiosity VC | Netherlands | 2 | 0 |
| Kaspar Tiri | United States | 2 | 0 |
| Maxis | Türkiye | 2 | 0 |
| MITS Capital | Ukraine | 2 | 0 |
| Plug and Play | United States | 2 | 0 |
| Skaala | Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| SmartCap | Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| Tera Ventures | Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartCap | Estonia | 8 | 1 |
| Plural | United Kingdom | 2 | 2 |
| MetaPlanet | Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| Specialist VC | Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| 2C Ventures | Estonia | 1 | 1 |
| A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund | Spain | 1 | 1 |
| Cogito Capital Partners | Poland | 1 | 1 |
| Dawn Capital | United Kingdom | 1 | 1 |
| EFA Group | Singapore | 1 | 1 |
| Insight Partners | United States | 1 | 1 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All rounds | 72% | 75% | 76% |
Rounds with a fund from outside CEE: 72% in 2024, 75% in 2025 and 76% in 2026 so far, of rounds where investor headquarters are known.
Share of rounds where investor headquarters are known: 72 in 2024, 75 in 2025, 29 in 9M 2026.
08 / EXITS
Exits
The most recent: CostPocket (former Tsekk), bought by Mynt, September 2026.
20 venture-backed exits since 2024: 5 in 2024, 10 in 2025 and 5 in 2026 so far. Deal values are rarely disclosed, so we count exits instead of summing them.
| Company | Month | Type | Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| CostPocket (former Tsekk) | Sep 2026 | Acquisition | Mynt |
| Outfunnel | Aug 2026 | Acquisition | Pipedrive |
| SensusQ | May 2026 | Acquisition | Quantum Systems |
| Vespia | Feb 2026 | Acquisition | Veriff |
| Defendec | Jan 2026 | Acquisition | VOSKER |
| Ready Player Me | Dec 2025 | Acquisition | Netflix |
| Striga | Oct 2025 | Acquisition | Lightspark |
| HotelSync | Sep 2025 | Acquisition | Hotel Almerimar |
| Rangeforce | Sep 2025 | Acquisition | Cyberbit |
| DLT Payments | Jul 2025 | Acquisition | Fumbi |
| Ridango | Mar 2025 | Buyout | Bregal Milestone |
| Adact | Mar 2025 | Acquisition | Optimove |
| Parcelsea | Feb 2025 | Acquisition | Jetbeep |
| Fiizy | Feb 2025 | Acquisition | Clar |
| Promoty | Jan 2025 | Acquisition | Modash |
| Salto X | Dec 2024 | Acquisition | Cake Equity |
| Monese | Oct 2024 | Acquisition | Pockit |
| Wisnio | Sep 2024 | Acquisition | Assessio |
| TaxScouts | Jul 2024 | Acquisition | Taxfix |
| Klaus | Jan 2024 | Acquisition | Zendesk |
09 / METHODOLOGY
Methodology
What the report covers
Period: January 2024 to September 2026. Past years are shown in full. The current year runs to the end of the last complete quarter.
Companies: startups headquartered in Estonia, and startups that began in Estonia or keep their main team here and later moved their headquarters abroad. Every kind of startup is included: software and hardware, business and consumer.
Events: venture funding rounds, and exits (acquisitions, buyouts and stock market listings).
Sources: public sources only, namely startup databases, company, investor and angel network announcements, and the press.
Every round and exit named in the report links to its announcement. Totals, changes and charts are built from all rounds and are not linked.
This edition covers 248 venture rounds (206 with a disclosed amount) at 213 companies, and 20 exits. Next update: January 2027, adding Q4 2026.
Stages
Stages are the label the company announced or the source assigned. Where a label clearly does not fit the size of the round, such as a very large round called seed, the round is placed by its size. Where there is no label, round type and size decide.
How it is counted
- Funding rounds are equity and convertible venture rounds, including angel network rounds. Grants, loans, state support programmes, crowdlending, secondary sales and investments after a listing are not counted.
- Amounts are in euros, converted at about 1.10 US dollars to the euro. Rounds without a disclosed amount count toward the number of rounds but not toward capital.
- Companies that are not startups are left out even when they raise venture money, such as established manufacturers, service firms and lenders.
- Rounds and exits are cross-referenced against company, investor and press announcements where possible.
Limits
- Public data does not capture every round, so counts are a floor. Small angel rounds are the most likely to be missing.
- Some rounds are recorded months after they happen. Each update adds them to the month they happened in, so recent quarters, the latest above all, will rise.
- Estonia's record includes our own search of local press, investor portfolios and companies based abroad (October 2026), which added rounds the startup databases had missed.
- Where a country raises a few dozen rounds a year, one round can move a total by more than half. Read changes in capital with the largest round in mind.
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