Estonian startups last year attracted €270 million worth of investments, according to the national Startup Estonia database.
The largest investment, €240 million, was attracted by U.K.-based money transfer company TransferWise, while ultracapacitor-based energy storage device producer Skeleton Technologies received €15 million and recruitment platform Jobbatical €3.5 million, Startup Estonia said.
According to Andrei Hrustaljov, startup lecturer at Mainor Business School, Estonian startups are entering a mature phase. “They are expanding and hiring new people,” he noted. “Labour expenses paid by startups grew by one third in one year to €36 million.”
Last year, Taxify topped the list of job creators, growing by 136 people, while Transfer-Wise hired 98, Pipedrive 61, Starship 29 and Cleveron 28 new people.
According to Startup Estonia, several important transactions were conducted in connection with Estonian startups as well — Teleport, PlanetOS and ZeroTurnaround all found new owners.
ERR News