News
eAgronom Receives State Funding to Build AI Data Collection System for Farmers
Tallinn-based agtech startup eAgronom has received state funding to build an AI system that helps farmers handle their reporting obligations with less paperwork. Instead of filling out forms manually, farmers would have their field data collected and submitted automatically. eAgronom already works with over 3,000 farmers across 14 countries and is steadily building toward a single platform where farmers can manage everything from operations to carbon credits.
Bolt Partners with NVIDIA to Develop Self-Driving Cars for Europe
Announced at NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 conference, Bolt has teamed up with NVIDIA to build the AI stack behind its self-driving car ambitions. The pitch is simple: Bolt has years of real-world driving data from operating in 850+ cities across Europe, and NVIDIA has the AI training tools and in-car hardware to turn that into a working autonomous system tailored to European roads. NVIDIA essentially provides the brain; Bolt provides the roads. The long-term goal is 100,000 self-driving cars on the Bolt platform by 2035.
Milrem Robotics Partners with Poland’s Largest Defence Company
Milrem Robotics, the Estonian company behind some of Europe’s most advanced military robots, has signed a partnership with PGZ, Poland’s biggest state-owned defence group. On a practical level, the two will work together to develop and eventually produce technology jointly: Milrem’s autonomous ground vehicles get integrated into PGZ’s existing hardware ecosystem, and both sides benefit from shared R&D and future production contracts. Poland is currently one of the fastest-scaling defence markets in Europe, so getting a foot in the door now is strategically smart for Milrem.
UK Army Awards ~£6M Contract to Tallinn-based Threod Systems
Threod Systems, an Estonian company that builds drone hardware, has landed a roughly £5.9 million contract with the British Army. The deal is for their launcher system called Cata, which works essentially like a powerful compressed-air catapult that can fling drones of different sizes into the air. The British Army has picked it as its standard launcher across several programmes, which is the kind of platform deal that tends to grow over time. Threod ran a full year of field trials before the contract was signed. For context: Estonia’s defence tech sector has grown nearly 350% since 2021, and deals like this are a big reason why.
Rantelon to Supply Counter-Drone Tech to Polish Military
Estonian firm Rantelon builds systems that detect and take down hostile drones, and they’re now selling to the Polish military. The company has supplied similar technology to Ukraine throughout the war and has been adding more European customers since. Poland is one of the most active buyers in this space right now, so the timing tracks. It’s another data point in a consistent pattern: small Estonian defence tech firms winning serious contracts across NATO.
OIXIO Grew More Than 50% in Two Years as Companies Invest in IT Services
Estonian IT services company OIXIO has grown by more than 50% over the past two years, with revenues exceeding €42 million in 2024. The company employs 300+ people across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany, and recently expanded into the German-speaking market. The growth comes down to companies spending more on IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital tools. It’s a trend that’s been accelerating across the Baltics as both regulation and AI adoption push businesses to modernise their systems.
Estonia Makes Defence Business Lab a Permanent Programme
Estonia’s Ministry of Defence, together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, has turned the Defence Business Lab into a permanent pre-accelerator for defence startups. The programme is built around one specific goal: helping Estonian companies get through the door at major international funding competitions like NATO DIANA and the European Defence Fund, which are significant but notoriously hard to crack for early-stage teams.
The pilot in 2024 already showed solid results. Of 10 companies selected from 50 applicants, one made it into NATO DIANA, three won Defence Ministry development grants, and one secured its first investment. For context on how big the opportunity is: in the 2024 European Defence Fund round, consortia with Estonian participation took home roughly €365M, around a third of the total fund.
The programme is run jointly by Tehnopol and Sparkup Tartu Science Park. If you’re building something in the defence or dual-use space, this is worth looking into.
Cyber
Meta Removes End-to-End Encryption from Instagram DMs from May 8
Meta has announced it will shut down encrypted messaging on Instagram on May 8, 2026. The feature was available as an opt-in since 2023, but Meta says not enough people used it. Once it’s gone, Meta will technically be able to read the content of your Instagram DMs again, which matters for ad targeting and law enforcement access. If you have encrypted conversations you want to keep, you can export them through the app before the deadline. For private chats going forward, WhatsApp (encrypted by default) or Signal are the obvious alternatives.
RIA Calls on Public Sector to Adopt IPv6
RIA has put out a call for Estonian government institutions to finally switch to IPv6, the newer version of the protocol that assigns addresses to devices on the internet. The problem: while Estonia’s national network infrastructure has supported IPv6 for years, most public e-services are still running on the older IPv4. Private companies and telecom providers have been much faster to make the move. RIA’s argument is straightforward. IPv4 addresses are running out globally, and staying on the old system makes it harder to build reliable, scalable digital services in the future.
Upcoming Events
EstBAN Deep Tech Pitch Event — TRINITI, Tallinn
April 1
EstBAN’s pitch evening focused on deep tech startups, co-organised with Triniti. The event opens with a panel on investing in university spinoffs, followed by pitches from CogniFlow, Urban Farm, and Cornea Sense. Networking with food and drinks rounds it off.
Link-Up: Networking Night — TalTech Student House, Tallinn
April 2
A casual networking evening from Startup Garage at TalTech, designed to make meeting new people feel low-pressure and actually enjoyable. Expect icebreakers, a guest speaker on networking and startup life, guided networking rounds, and snacks.
Estonian Unmanned Aviation Ecosystem Networking — Palo Alto Club, Tallinn
April 9
Tartu Science Park is bringing 26 drone companies from Estonia, Sweden, and Finland to Tallinn for an evening of pitches and networking with the Estonian aviation cluster, investors, and others interested in unmanned aviation. Part of the IAS Business Academy Central Baltic programme.
Enginaator 2026 — TalTech, Tallinn
April 17–20
Estonia’s largest engineering competition for 18–24 year olds, where teams of four compete over four days for a share of a ~€3,000 prize pool and a guaranteed place at TalTech.
MarineHäkk — TalTech, Tallinn
May 8
A hackathon focused on maritime, marine tech, and blue economy innovation, combining hands-on hacking with workshops and startup-focused meetups.
Future of Wood 2026 — TSENTER, Väimela
May 8–10
A 3-day makeathon where students, designers, IT people, and wood industry experts team up to build prototypes for smarter and more sustainable use of wood. Think physical products, digital tools, circular economy solutions. Hosted at TSENTER, a wood and furniture competence centre with professional workshops and machinery on-site. Food included; bring your own sleeping bag for accommodation.
Health Tech Day 2026 — Erinevate Tubade Klubi, Tallinn
May 20
An official Latitude59 side event for health tech startups, investors, and healthcare stakeholders. The programme includes a keynote on startup needs vs investor expectations, startup pitches, international spotlights, an investor reverse pitch session, and a rooftop party to close out the evening. Organised by Health Founders Estonia.
Latitude59 2026 — Kultuurikatel, Tallinn
May 21–22
Estonia’s flagship startup and tech conference, connecting founders, investors, and tech leaders from around the world for talks, startup pitches, and networking.
Ecosystem Study Trip for e-Residents and Global Founders — Tallinn
May 21
A free one-day programme organised by the e-Residency team and Estonia’s Startup Visa, aimed at e-resident founders and international entrepreneurs curious about building through Estonia. Includes accelerator overviews, founder stories, a visit to a high-growth startup, and open networking. Travel and accommodation are on you.
HIPTHER Baltics: Tallinn Summit
June 2
A one-day summit connecting policy leaders, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators to discuss digital-first governance, data infrastructure, and trust frameworks, using Estonia’s e-government track record as the backdrop.
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