Baltic startups faced a slight funding gap in H2 of 2024

In 2024, funding for startups in the Baltic countries decreased. However, the situation stabilized somewhat in the second half of the year. This is the conclusion reached by Change Ventures and FIRSTPICK in a new report on startup funding in the Baltic States for the second half of 2024. 

According to their data, 70 funding rounds were closed during this period. This is only 5 rounds less than in the first half of 2024 and 12 rounds less than in the second half of 2023. The average round size was €400K, with a startup valuation of €3.85M.

In 2024, many pre-seed stage startups attracted investment with little or no revenue or only around €10K in revenue.

In the second half of 2024, the number of seed rounds decreased slightly and the volume of investment was higher. Activity at the Series A and growth stages remained stable. However, the volume of growth stage funding was the lowest since 2019 due to investor caution.

Estonia was the leader in terms of the number of Series A rounds and growth rounds. However, Lithuania and Latvia overtook it in terms of average pre-seed funding rounds. In addition, startups in these countries are valued almost 30% more expensive than in Estonia.

Also according to the report, the second half of 2024 was dominated by larger rounds, mostly attracted by startups in artificial intelligence and fintech. In addition, more and more companies operating without raising funding are seeking funds at later stages.

Change Ventures is an Estonian pre-seed/seed stage venture capital fund, that backs startups founded by Baltic entrepreneurs. It has invested in over 30 startups. The fund was established by entrepreneurs Andris K. Berzins, Rait Ojasaar, and Yrjö Ojasaar in Tallinn in 2017. In May, it launched a €20M Fund III to double down on pre-seed investing in startups founded by Baltic entrepreneurs. The initial ticket size of the fund is between €100K to €500K.

An ex-Lithuanian team of Estonian accelerator StartupWiseGuys established venture capital firm Firstpick. Lithuanian fund aims to support 45 startups over the coming three years. The volume of the fund is €20M. The initial ticket starts at €50-€200K. The Partners of Firstpick are Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė, Marijus Andrijauskas, Andra Bagdonaite.