Get a ticket to Latitude59 2026! >

SINCE 2012

GET TICKETS
TALLINN: MAY 20-22, 2026

Startups from Estonia, Finland, Lithuania and Ukraine Reach the Finals of Latitude59’s Pitch Competition

PRESS RELEASE

Startups from Estonia, Finland, Lithuania and Ukraine will take the stage next week at Latitude59, the flagship startup and tech conference of the Baltics and Nordics, held in Tallinn, Estonia. Seven finalists will compete for an investment of nearly half a million euros.

This year’s finalists were chosen from a record 465 applicants, marking the highest number of participants in the history of the Latitude59 pitch competition. 
 
The seven finalists are:

Callsy AI (LT) — AI workforce agents that automate revenue, activation, and support
FleetFox (EST) — one-stop shop for fleet managers across Europe
Getpin (EST) — helping local businesses get chosen in AI-driven discovery
FPV Battleground (UA) — tactical FPV simulator for military drone pilots
DogBase (EST) — AI platform for working-dog team training and performance
Granarium (FIN) — renewable supercapacitors for grid-scale power stabilization
Backoffice (LT) — workforce management that actually works for restaurants

According to Krista Meinarde, Latitude59’s Head of Startup and Investor Relations, this year’s finalists stand out for their diversity. “The teams that have made it to the finals are working across remarkably different fields, which makes the final competition on Latitude59’s main stage especially exciting,” said Meinarde.

The Latitude59 pitch competition is the largest in the Nordic and Baltic region and has grown over the years into an important launchpad for startups. 
 
This year’s main prize is an investment of nearly €500,000. The Estonian Business Angels Network EstBAN will contribute €200,000 to the prize fund, while the Latvian Business Angels Network LatBAN will add €100,000. The Finnish Business Angels Network FiBAN will join the syndicate, representing Nordic investors. Lithuania-based venture capital fund FIRSTPICK VC will put forward an investment of €150,000. 
 
One of the lead investors of the startup competition, EstBAN board member and BSV Ventures partner Jana Budkovskaja, said that today’s early-stage startups clearly reflect global trends – strong concepts are emerging in defence and security, energy, and workforce optimisation.
 
“Reviewing the applications sometimes feels like reading science fiction, except these stories come with business models, and AI agents and drones are already part of our everyday reality. Alongside rapid technological advancement, we’re also seeing compelling ideas focused on health and wellbeing. Going through the pitch applications has been incredibly exciting, and the finalists represent truly strong teams. I encourage everyone to come and watch them pitch at Latitude59,” Budkovskaja commented.
 

Emils Kragis, Managing Director at LatBAN said that evaluating this year’s applications was genuinely difficult, and that’s a good sign. “New technology is enabling solutions we wouldn’t have imagined a few years ago. But what excited me most was seeing how many of these teams are built around founders who have already been in the trenches. Experience matters,” he said.

The top seven startups will pitch in the finals on May 22, held live on the Bold stage at Latitude59 2026. The grand prize is aa investment of up to half a million euros, and the prize pool also includes awards from Latitude59’s partners, including TalentHub, SEB, Knowzilla, Widen Legal, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.

Latitude59 2026 will take place on 20–22 May in Tallinn at Kultuurikatel. This year, Latitude59 has chosen The Global Village Experiment as its main theme, testing the hypothesis that the most valuable connections happen when ecosystems collide. In 2026, the ambition is to bring founders and ecosystem builders from around the world to Estonia, positioning Tallinn as a gateway to the New Nordics. Organisers expect participants from more than 70 countries.

About Latitude59

This year marks the 14th edition of Latitude59 in Tallinn. Over the past decade, Latitude59 has grown into the most international and influential technology event in the Baltics and the New Nordics, extending its reach to Asia and Africa. Last year, alongside the flagship event in Tallinn, Latitude59 hosted a two-day conference in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Side events were also held in Singapore, and for the first time, two events took place in South Africa. Latitude59 returns to Tallinn this May with a new ambition to build bridges between the New Nordics and startup ecosystems in Africa and Asia, while putting the balance between humanity and technology centre stage.

About Estonia

Estonia has the highest concentration of unicorns in Europe, with 865 startups per million people. A global leader in digital innovation, Estonia continues to set the standard for thriving tech ecosystems.

More To Explore