Estonia recognized as best AI startup ecosystem in EU

TALLINN - StartupBlink, which analyzes the potential of countries around the world for establishing and developing successful startups, named Estonia the best ecosystem in the European Union for developing artificial intelligence (AI) startups.

Estonia, which won an award at the Startup Ecosystem Awards for the second year in a row, surpassed Germany, which came in second place, by 15 percent. Among the EU countries, France also made it into the top three, followed by Switzerland, Romania and Norway. In a comparison of countries around the world, Estonia's AI startup ecosystem ranks sixth. The leader of the global ranking is still the United States, with Israel in second place and the United Kingdom in third place.

Head of Startup Estonia, Vaido Mikheim, said that the recognition strengthens the international reputation of the Estonian startup ecosystem.

"Estonia is a country with a small population, but we have truly created a strong and cohesive startup ecosystem that fosters the development of world-class innovation and contributes to Estonia's technological development. At the same time, we must take into account that the small size of our country unfortunately also means a talent shortage and intense competition for qualified labor, so our ongoing significant challenge is to ensure the influx of talent essential for the development of technologies," Mikheim said.

The Startup Ecosystem Awards recognize local startup ecosystems every year. In the case of Estonia, the awards highlighted Estonia's strong position on the EU innovation landscape.

The assessment also took into account Estonia's significant development in the field of AI and the number of influential startups operating here. The assessment also highlighted the increased funding and new jobs created in the field of AI, as well as the availability of a qualified workforce. The success of the Estonian AI ecosystem is also due to strong government support, flexible local regulations, and advanced digital infrastructure.

The Startup Ecosystem Awards winners are determined based on StartupBlink's algorithm, which evaluates more than 40 parameters across 11 industries and 91 sub-sectors. The startup ecosystem evaluation methodology is based on quantitative and objective data, and the algorithm takes into account local achievements, parameter-level success, annual growth and industry-specific indicators.

The ranking of the world's startup ecosystems was compiled by StartupBlink in collaboration with the IBM for Startups program. The data comes from major data platforms such as Crunchbase and Semrush.

Startup Estonia is a national program for the development of the Estonian startup ecosystem, boosting the emergence of startups and their success as international stories. The Startup Estonia program is implemented by the Business and Innovation Agency. The Startup Estonia program is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.