Lithuanian Startups Attract €83.6 Million in Investments in First Half-Year

VILNIUS: Lithuanian startups have successfully attracted 83.6 million euros in investments during the first half of the year, demonstrating a strong capacity to secure substantial funding from international sources. However, the number of financing deals has not seen a corresponding increase, indicating a trend towards larger, fewer investments.

"The half-year results show that Lithuanian teams are capable of attracting multi-million euro investments from international funds," said Gintarė Verbickaitė, head of Unicorns Lithuania. "The number of such companies in the future depends on how many young teams attract initial capital and reach later growth stages. Local venture capital funds and business angels play a crucial role here, as they are the first to assume the greatest investment risk."

Artificial intelligence (AI) startups emerged as a significant sector, with "Whitebridge.ai," "Kopa AI," "Outcraft AI," and "Superpal" collectively raising 7.05 million euros, accounting for 8.4% of the total investments. Practica Capital noted that AI has substantially reduced initial product development costs, encouraging more individuals to launch startups. However, this has also led to an increase in easily replicable products.

The largest single investment in the first half of the year, amounting to 40 million euros, went to defense technology company "Onodrim Industries." The second-largest investment, 20 million euros, was secured by "Saltz," a digital marketplace for food products. "Some of these products grow into profitable small businesses, but their growth potential does not necessarily meet the expectations of venture capital funds," noted Donatas Keras, a partner at Practica Capital.

Keras also highlighted a positive qualitative shift: "We are seeing a positive qualitative change in the market: young teams are increasingly undertaking the development of specialized AI models, AI infrastructure, or integrating AI with physical devices. Such solutions are harder to copy, thus they have a greater chance of attracting local and international investors."

Other early-stage investments included "Superpal" raising 500,000 euros for its team collaboration platform, "Backoffice" securing 150,000 euros for its restaurant and hotel management platform, and "Vedliai" receiving 100,000 euros to enhance digital and AI competencies for teachers. Unicorns Lithuania data indicates that Lithuania has averaged 32–40 startup funding deals annually over the past four years. In the first half of 2026, 13 companies attracted investments, compared to 15 a year prior. Active venture capital funds included Coinvest Capital, FIRSTPICK, Practica Capital, and Iron Wolf Capital, while business angels participated in over 70% of announced deals. International funds like Founders Fund, General Catalyst, and Lakestar were involved in larger funding rounds.

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Dalis tokių produktų išauga į pelningus nedidelius verslus, tačiau jų augimo potencialas nebūtinai atitinka rizikos kapitalo fondų lūkesčius. Per pastarąjį pusmetį matome ir teigiamą kokybinį pokytį: jaunos komandos vis dažniau imasi kurti specializuotus DI modelius, DI infrastruktūrą arba DI jungia su fiziniais įrenginiais. Tokius sprendimus sunkiau nukopijuoti, tod todėl jie turi daugiau galimybių sudominti vietos ir tarptautinius investuotojus