Estonian startups that want to cooperate with India take advantage of its huge market
Several Estonian tech startups from industries as diverse as artificial intelligence, cyber security, defense and medicine have expressed interest in working with India and tapping into its huge market as the two countries seek to strengthen their economic partnership.
Latitude59, an influential startup and technology conference held here every year, is also interested in hosting a networking event in India next year under its auspices.
Speaking to PTI, Latitude59 CEO Liisi Org said, “I love India, I’ve been there many times and I’d love to host Latitude59 there. I don’t know where yet. There are talks going on in various tech hubs, but of course if we don’t do that, we’ll be late to the party. India is one of the biggest countries in the world if we don’t work with India smartly.”
The interest is in India because of the size of the market and the Indian delegation has been at Latitude59 for five consecutive years, she said.
“The relationship is there and we should do something now,” Ms Org told PTI on the sidelines of the Latitude59 conference held here from May 20-22.
“I would love to do Latitude59 next year in India. I think we should start small, maybe have a niche sector, we could bring our startups to investors and vice versa, because we are doing a networking event in Singapore and Cape Town. Yes, I would love to do it there next year,” she said.
More than 3,000 participants from 70 countries gathered at Latitude59 this year, and 140 speakers took to the stage.
Latitude59 welcomed more than 800 startup representatives and more than 600 investors from around the world, as well as 20 national and startup delegations.
The next major Latitude59 event in Estonia will be held on 19-21 May 2027 at Kultuurikatel in Tallinn.
During a visit by Indian journalists to Tallinn earlier this month, several Estonian tech startups expressed interest in working with India.
Ingvar Pärnamäe, CEO and co-founder of Vegvisir, presented how the next generation Mixed Reality Situation Awareness System (XRSAS) can be applicable to Indian security personnel, providing visibility and real-time decision support for armored vehicle crews, remote operators and commanders.
Priit Salumaa, CEO and co-founder of Better Medicine, has also expressed interest in entering the Indian markets with his company providing artificial intelligence support in the detection of kidney malignancies.
CybExer has expressed interest in deepening cooperation with India in the field of cyber security. She has done projects with India in the past like wrll.
Speaking to PTI, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that India is a very important partner for Estonia.
“Our scales are completely different, from 1.3 million people (Estonian population) to 1.4 billion (Indian population). India is also the largest democracy in the world. Our president (Alar Karis) was in India in February for the AI Summit. Our bilateral relations are increasing in terms of trade,” the Estonian foreign minister said.
“Whether it’s defense industry, IT or AI solutions, Estonia is the perfect place to invest. We have an E-residency program through which Indian companies and people can become residents and be part of our great startup environment.
“I see India’s economic growth and also the Indian government’s leadership in economic development, which is something that our companies are very interested in,” Mr Tsahkna said.
The minister said that there is significant potential for expanding bilateral relations.
“We see a global trend, India is increasingly playing a leading role in the region. Estonia is the gateway for Indian companies to EU markets. So both sides are interested,” he said.
India’s Ambassador to Estonia Ashish Sinha said Estonia can be India’s gateway to northern European markets once the free trade agreement with the European Union comes into force. He claimed that bilateral relations are on the rise.
Speaking to PTI, Mr Sinha said there is a strong base of existing trade that can be used as a “springboard” for further cooperation between India and Estonia when the India-EU FTA comes into effect.
The Indian Ambassador to Estonia said that the overall bilateral relationship is getting stronger and stronger.
“Digital technology, IT, artificial intelligence technology, software as a service, all these areas have great potential. Estonia is a world leader and so is India.”
“Our digital public infrastructure and our ability to implement digital innovation at population scale and Estonia’s proven ability to use the digital transformation of its citizen services both have a great capacity to learn from each other and grow,” said Mr. Sinha.
Many Estonian tech experts pointed out that India could adopt best practices from Estonia to strengthen its startup ecosystem with adjustments to suit local needs and challenges.
In 2024, Estonia became the first fully digital country in the world, with many of its initiatives, such as e-ID and the X-Road database, serving as a model for other countries.
Some well-known Estonian startups that have made a global name for themselves are the video conferencing app Skype and the food delivery and taxi platform Bolt.
Published – 31 May 2026 15:23 IST