Nearly 400 Startups Competing for Latitude59’s Grand Prize of €500,000

A total of 391 startups have applied to participate in the Latitude59 startup competition taking place this May in Tallinn, Estonia. Applications came in from every corner of the globe—startups from 47 countries applied to the competition, including teams from South America, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, and across the Nordics and Baltics.

Liisi Org, CEO of Latitude59, noted that while the number of applicants is slightly lower than last year, the overall quality remains high—a trend that reflects the broader shift in Europe’s startup landscape. “Both Baltic and European data show that fewer new startups are being founded, but the level of ambition and quality is undiminished. Investors are ready to back promising teams, and that opens up excellent opportunities for early-stage startups to grow fast and go far. I’m glad that our competition once again attracted such strong teams. Hopefully, the success stories born here will inspire the next generation of founders,” said Org.

The grand prize is a syndicated investment of up to half a million euros, offered jointly by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian business angel networks EstBAN, LatBAN, and LitBAN. The investor networks backing this year’s prize were deeply involved in reviewing and selecting the top teams. 

Roberta Rudokienė, Managing Director at LitBAN, emphasized the scale and collaborative nature of the process: “With over 300 applications, the evaluation process for Latitude59 was no small task. That’s why LitBAN, LatBAN, and EstBAN teamed up, bringing together insights from each country’s ecosystem. This collaboration was key to digging deep and fairly assessing every startup. It took time and effort, but aligning across the Baltics highlighted the strength and potential of the selected teams.”

For Emils Kragis, Managing Director at LatBAN, the results show how far the region has come: “We were impressed by the international reach of the applications and the global mindset that Baltic founders continue to demonstrate. The diversity of ideas and industries represented in the TOP32 is a testament to the region’s growing ability to think big from day one. From Defence to AI, Fintech to HR. It’s impressive to see so many teams building with global ambition. It’s definitely something that the Baltics need more of.”

The collaboration between the angel networks also revealed shared values when it comes to evaluating early-stage startups. “It was interesting to join forces with the other Baltic Business Angels Networks to evaluate the applications together,” said Karin Künnapas, Managing Director at EstBAN. “The top teams were a consensus across the BANs, so I think the key things angels are looking for are very similar in our region. I hope this pan-Baltic syndicate will lead to more joint cross-border investments for our angels.”

According to Triin Ilves, Head of Startup Relations at Latitude59, this year’s applicant pool was notably diverse. “We’ve seen a wide range of industries represented this year, with particularly strong activity in the creative sectors, AI-based solutions, and emerging verticals like defense tech and deep tech, which are gaining momentum in the Baltics.”

Startups from 47 countries applied to the competition, including teams from South America, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, and across the Nordics and Baltics. From the pool of applicants, 32 teams have now been selected to step up at the pre-finals, where they will receive training and mentorship from seasoned professionals. Under the watchful eyes of the Baltic business angels and investors, the teams will perform their best pitch to win a spot in the finals.

The top five teams will advance to the finals on May 23, held live on the main stage at Latitude59.

 
Latitude59 will take place for the 13th time from May 21–23 at Kultuurikatel in Tallinn. It is the most international and influential startup and tech conference in the Baltics and New Nordics, bringing together startups, investors, and ecosystem builders from across the globe. Last year’s event welcomed over 3,500 participants from 65 countries, including more than 900 startup founders and over 700 investors. The stages hosted 195 speakers, 40% of whom were women.