Estonia’s next startup wave is taking shape
Estonia has spent the past decade building a reputation that far exceeds its size: a digital-first state with e-government services, the e-Residency programme, and global breakout companies such as Skype and Wise. Now, a new generation of founders is emerging—many launching between 2023 and 2026—targeting everything from energy markets and grid reliability to defence systems, robotics, and blockchain infrastructure.
The momentum is visible in the breadth of problems these startups are tackling and in the funding they have attracted. Several are already operating across multiple European markets, reflecting a familiar Estonian pattern: build locally, scale internationally, and lean on a strong engineering culture shaped by the country’s digital public infrastructure.
Below are 10 Estonian startups that illustrate where the ecosystem is heading in 2026 and beyond.
1) BetterPic: AI headshots without the studio
Founded in Tallinn in 2023, BetterPic is positioning itself at the intersection of consumer AI and professional identity. The company’s platform generates studio-style headshots from a handful of selfies, offering more than 150 visual styles and delivering photorealistic 4K images in under an hour.
Beyond speed, the company is leaning into privacy as a differentiator. It says user images are encrypted, not used for AI training, and deleted after delivery. With €2.1 million raised to date, BetterPic is expanding its combination of automated generation and optional AI and human editing tools for fine-tuning elements such as clothing, backgrounds, and facial details.
2) Frankenburg Technologies: defence systems built for speed and scale
Established in 2024 and headquartered in Tallinn, Frankenburg Technologies is developing air defence and missile systems designed to be manufactured faster and at larger scale than conventional solutions. The company is targeting national defence and critical infrastructure protection—an area seeing renewed urgency across Europe.
Its approach combines missile system design with an AI-based situational awareness and targeting platform aimed at improving detection and response. Operating across several European countries, the company has raised €5.5 million to support product development and expand engineering and production capabilities.
3) Grid Raven: boosting transmission capacity with software
Power grids are under pressure as renewables scale and electrification accelerates. Founded in 2023, Tallinn-based Grid Raven offers a software-only Dynamic Line Rating solution that helps grid operators increase transmission capacity without installing additional hardware.
By analysing weather conditions and line behaviour in real time, the platform aims to unlock additional capacity on existing infrastructure while maintaining safety margins. The company highlights high-resolution wind forecasting that accounts for local landscape features and provides probabilistic confidence levels for operations. With €6.3 million raised to date, Grid Raven is scaling deployments across European and international networks.
4) MarkeDroid: virtual power plants for decentralised energy
Also founded in Tallinn in 2023, MarkeDroid is building an AI-powered energy management platform to optimise how electricity is produced, stored, and traded across residential, commercial, and industrial sites. The system connects assets such as solar panels and batteries to a cloud-based virtual power plant, using forecasts and consumption data to decide when to buy, sell, or store energy.
The pitch is increasingly relevant in markets experiencing volatile pricing and episodes of negative power prices. Active in more than 12 European countries, MarkeDroid has raised €920,000 to date to expand technology, partnerships, and geographic reach.
5) Raiku: transaction coordination for Solana
Launched in 2024, Raiku is a Web3 infrastructure company focused on improving transaction predictability on the Solana blockchain. Its tools aim to address congestion and uncertainty by enabling guaranteed block inclusion and low-latency execution—capabilities that can matter for higher-stakes applications such as financial markets and gaming.
Raiku works with Solana’s validator set, allowing developers to reserve blockspace or secure execution at specific times rather than relying on best-effort processing. The company has raised about €11.5 million, with funding led by Pantera Capital, to expand its validator coordination network and continue developing its infrastructure stack.
6) Rollo Robotics: autonomous security patrols
Founded in 2025 in Tallinn, Rollo Robotics is developing autonomous robots for security operations where continuous monitoring is required. Its flagship product is designed to patrol predefined routes 24/7 using HD video, object detection, and motion sensing.
The robot is positioned for industrial facilities, transport hubs, healthcare environments, and critical infrastructure. Beyond video monitoring, it can detect hazardous gases, recognise licence plates, and support two-way audio, returning to a charging station automatically. Rollo Robotics has raised €3.7 million to date to support pilot deployments and ongoing development of navigation and sensing.
7) Salesforge: outbound sales across email and LinkedIn
Tallinn-based Salesforge, founded in 2023, is targeting a crowded sales-tech market with a platform that unifies outbound outreach across email and LinkedIn. The company says it helps teams run multi-channel campaigns at scale without stitching together multiple tools or relying on seat-based pricing models.
Key features include deliverability-focused email infrastructure tools, centralised inbox management, and optional AI automation for prospecting and follow-ups. With €427,000 raised so far, Salesforge is continuing product development and expanding internationally.
8) Soldera: streamlining renewable compliance paperwork
Founded in 2023 and based in Tartu, Soldera is building infrastructure for a fast-growing compliance need: managing Energy Attribute Certificates tied to renewable electricity consumption. The platform provides corporates with a single interface to access multiple national registries, simplifying reporting, compliance, and certificate cancellation across jurisdictions.
Soldera also aggregates renewable producers to enable direct procurement and automated documentation, reducing reliance on intermediaries. The company says it works with hundreds of corporates and thousands of production sites across Europe, and it has raised €4.7 million to expand automation and international coverage.
9) TELECTACTICA: communications for unmanned and mission-critical systems
Founded in 2023 in Tallinn, TELECTACTICA is developing advanced communication systems for unmanned, autonomous, and mission-critical platforms. While details in the available information are limited, the company’s focus aligns with a broader European push toward resilient communications for drones, robotics, and defence-adjacent applications.
In 2026, investors and governments are increasingly looking at the “connectivity layer” of autonomy—secure links, low-latency control, and robust operation in contested or remote environments. TELECTACTICA is one to monitor as that demand grows.
10) A broader signal: Estonia’s strengths are converging
Collectively, these startups highlight a convergence of Estonian strengths: software excellence, a willingness to commercialise deep tech, and a bias toward export markets. Energy and grid technologies (Grid Raven, MarkeDroid, Soldera) reflect Europe’s urgent infrastructure transition, while defence and security innovation (Frankenburg Technologies, Rollo Robotics, TELECTACTICA) mirrors geopolitical realities.
Meanwhile, developer-first platforms and automation tools (Raiku, Salesforge, BetterPic) underscore how quickly Estonia’s startup ecosystem can translate technical capability into products aimed at global markets. If the past is any guide, a handful of these names could become the next set of Estonian companies to scale well beyond the Baltics.
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