A total of 391 startups from 47 countries around the world have applied to participate in the Latitude59 Pitch Competition 2025, taking place this May in Tallinn. 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.

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 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. The pre-finalists make up a solid regional showcase, but the competition also saw growing interest from far beyond Europe. Applications came in from every corner of the globe—including a notable rise from East African countries, reflecting the momentum built by last year’s Latitude59 Kenya Edition and our commitment to growing a truly global village.

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 pre-finals will be held in Tallinn as a 2-day hybrid event (online and offline).

We invite you all to follow their rise (or fall) of the pre-finalists, in Tallinn in person and online:

• DAY 1 – Monday, 5 May – startups from defense, deep tech, and AI will present their solutions. Register here.
• DAY 2 – Tuesday, 6 May – startups from SaaS, health tech, and creative will present their solutions. Register here.

The The top five teams will advance to the finals on May 23, held live on the main stage at Latitude59. Make sure to get a Latitude59 ticket to watch the finals in person! In addition to the syndicate by the Baltic business angels, the prize pool also includes perks, opportunities and awards from Latitude59’s partners such as a co-working membership from Workland for the top 3 teams; credits from Infobip, Google Cloud, AWS, Widen Legal and others; and a chance to participate at the Startup World Cup (arranged by Pegasus Ventures and SWC) held in October 2025 in San Francisco, USA.

Latitude59 2025 takes place in Tallinn’s Kultuurikatel from May 21–23. 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 around the globe. Last year’s event gathered over 3,500 participants from 65 countries, including more than 900 startup founders and over 700 investors. The 2024 stages hosted 195 speakers, 40% of whom were women.