When it comes to startup hubs in the Baltics, don’t stop at Estonia. Lithuania and its capital city, Vilnius, are now linked to the rise of several unicorns, including second-hand giant Vinted.
In recognition of Vinted’s role in putting its home country on the startup map, Lithuania’s first unicorn was honored with the Leader of the Year award during the Vilnius TechFusion Awards 2024.
Taking place at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius’ Old Town, the event also emphasized that behind every unicorn, there’s a community.
In Lithuania’s case, that’s a close-knit ecosystem of some 1,000 startups, employing more than 18,000 people. Held since 2019, the award ceremony is an opportunity to thank the companies that best contributed to the country’s and the city’s economic growth last year, while encouraging others to join this group and support each other.
Vinted’s special award aside, this sixth edition saw 21 nominees compete in 7 different categories, and here were the winners:
- The Newcomer of the Year award went to financial services data platform Bud Financial;
- The Money Magnet Award winner was Ovoko, which operates an e-commerce platform for used car parts that raised a €20 million Series B;
- Biotech company Biomatter was crowned the Vilnius Start-up of the Year;
- The Tech for Good Award went to Solitek, a company that provides solar energy solutions and contributes to the development of sustainability and green energy;
- Women’s healthtech startup Flo Health was named Community Hero for fostering close community ties in the Vilnius technology business ecosystem;
- Amlyze, a financial crime prevention solutions provider, won the Audience Favorite award in a public vote;
- Cybersecurity unicorn Nord Security was named Vilnius Ambassador.
Known for its flagship product NordVPN, the latter is a good example of how entrepreneurs can open new doors for their country. Just a few days ago, Nord Security founders launched a new startup, Nexos.ai, which attracted Index Ventures’ first-ever investment into Lithuania.
Unicorns Lithuania, the startup association that co-organized the awards alongside Go Vilnius and Sunrise Tech Park, is bullish that there’s more to come. In the words of its CEO, Gintarė Verbickaitė: “The sector of Lithuanian startups and the technology companies that grew out of them is growing and getting stronger.”