Lithuanian startups hitting their stride in 2021

The Baltics are a notoriously entrepreneurial region, and Lithuania is hitting its stride in 2021. As the year comes to a close, in partnership with Startup Lithuania, Practica Capital and Ellex, we’ve taken a look at a record year for Lithuanian startups, and the underlying growth drivers.

Report - The Lithuanian startup ecosystem – 2021

Record funding and valuations

Baltic startups have now created a collective €46B in value, up 3.9x in the last five years. Similarly investment for Baltic startups is at an all-time-high, with €1.8B in investment in 2021, up 3.8x year on year.

Of this total, Lithuanian startups are worth a collective €7.1B, led by the country’s first unicorn – Vinted. Lithuanian startup investment is also at an all time high of €428M in 2021, up 2.2x on the previous peak in 2018.

International attention fuelling growth

Foreign investors are driving record funding in Lithuania, with many top tier global funds entering or doubling down in the Lithuanian startup ecosystem.

In 2021, only 14% of the VC funding in Lithuanian startups came from Baltics investors. 45% came from the rest of Europe and 37% from the US.

An entrepreneurial region

The Baltics have cultivated a reputation for entrepreneurialism and startup friendly government and regulatory terms. The Baltics are responsible for more than a quarter of all unicorns to come out of Central and Eastern Europe. Pound for pound they punch well above their weight. Estonia has raised the most VC funding per capita of any country in Europe. Lithuania in 9th. Within CEE Lithuania ranks 5th.

Now home to its own unicorn, with international investors flowing into the region, and investment back at an all-time high, Lithuanian startups may only just be hitting their stride.

Report - The Lithuanian startup ecosystem – 2021