Latvia’s startup ecosystem is flourishing, with a young, dynamic and diverse ecosystem on the rise. The Baltic nation may be small, but when it comes to startups it sure is mighty. The country blends both a small, close-knit community and the perks of an international network, creating a unique and supportive environment for startup growth.
The capital, Riga, is a beautiful cobbled city which is increasingly gaining the attention of outside visitors and investors. It’s now home to TechChill, one of the biggest startup events in northern Europe and its startup scene is soaring.
Supported by various stakeholders, including the government, private investors, and academia, the Latvian ecosystem boasts over 500 registered startups, modern co-working spaces, and an enthusiasm for innovation. In 2022, about €92 million was raised by Latvian startups, with dominant tech verticals being SaaS, fintech and deeptech.
Here, we highlight 10 early-stage startups that we think are going to have an exciting future, bolstering Latvia as a global startup nation in the years to come. All of these startups are founded post-2019 and have caught our attention for being particularly unique and innovative.
Roibox: Riga-based Roibox is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that specializes in utilizing location data. Their primary service involves conducting geo-diagnostics on marketing funnels, identifying discrepancies, and resolving them to improve advertising campaign performance by up to 30%. Additionally, Oibox helps save marketing teams time by streamlining the process. The platform’s Grid Technology™ serves as the foundation for its capabilities, using first-party data, campaign data, and socio-economic data to hold up to 100,000 data points per square kilometre. Founded in 2020 it has raised a total funding amount of €3 million.
Acure.io: Riga-based Acure is an AIOps incident control and automation platform that boasts simplicity and powerful capabilities. It operates as a cloud-based solution, featuring a flexible and open architecture. The software provides users with efficient tools to locate the root cause of issues based on topology, time, and context. Additionally, Acure offers visualizations of business impacts and can aggregate and process data from any system in a single location. The platform enables users to run automation from one system, making it a cost-effective and time-saving solution for the performance monitoring of any application. Founded in 2019 it has been able to collect $1.5 million in funding.
Ligalio: Riga-based Ligalio has created a privacy policy generator that is both user-friendly and affordable. Developed by professionals, this tool is tailored to suit the needs of any business, enabling them to meet GDPR regulations and other third-party requirements quickly. By simplifying the process of creating privacy policies for website and app owners, Ligalio helps businesses save valuable time and resources, while delivering a customized policy. Founded in 2021 it has secured a total of €5 million in funding.
Textok: Riga-based Textok is a forthcoming SaaS tool that incorporates both DAM and CommTech features. Its primary target audience comprises businesses and agencies that wish to optimize their content creation workflows and eliminate inconsistencies in communication. The concept behind Textok draws on the personal writing experience of its creators, as well as insights from fellow copywriters and hundreds of companies they have worked with in the past. By leveraging best practices in text production and campaign planning, Textok aims to provide a comprehensive solution that meets the specific needs of its clients. Founded in 2021 it has raised €7 million in funding.
Naco: Riga-based Naco Technologies offers an alternative to expensive noble materials in hydrogen production. They provide specialized nano-coatings and new materials to improve hydrogen system performance and significantly reduce costs. Their solutions are secure and ready for industrialization, allowing for immediate production scaling without material or competition constraints. Founded in 2020 it has raised a total of €1.5 million in funding.
Bookla: Bookla is a marketplace that simplifies the process of finding, scheduling, and managing appointments across different sectors such as beauty, sports, hobbies, activities, and more. Whether it’s a fitness class or a beauty treatment, Bookla wants to make it easy to discover and book services nearby. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Riga, it is aiming to become the go-to platform for anyone seeking convenient and efficient scheduling.
Meredot: Riga-based Meredot offers efficient wireless charging technology for electronics, as well as a sustainable solution for wirelessly charging mobility. Their next-generation electric fueling stations for e-scooters help maximize benefits and resolve issues in cities’ micro-mobility infrastructure. The mobility transition is well underway in Europe, but solutions like Meredot are desperately needed to make the transition as seamless, efficient and accessible as possible. Founded in 2019 it has raised $403. k since its inception.
Biorefic: Ventspils-based Biorefic is a decentralized biorefinery that up-cycles agricultural residues and energy crops to produce carbon-negative prebiotic food, nutraceuticals, animal feed, growing media, and green hydrogen from 2021. They aim to create globally scalable circular bio-economies while offsetting 10 million tons of CO2e by 2030. Biorefic’s technology empowers rural circular bio-economy hubs and boosts farm animal efficiency while improving health and immunity through their ultimate gut microbiome enhancing ingredient, xylooligosaccharide prebiotic, and algal Omega-3 fatty acids.
Drafter AI:Riga-based Drafter AI makes it easy for product teams to integrate Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning features into their products quickly. They offer data source integration, custom ML model training, no-code UI workflows, and outcome testing. Founded in 2020, Drafter AI aims to be a one-stop-shop for most AI/ML tasks without requiring ML engineers.
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