Startups in Vilnius: ecosystem, companies and strengths
The Baltic fintech surprise: the Bank of Lithuania transformed Vilnius into a key regulatory hub, and Vinted became Europe's leading fashion unicorn.
Why Vilnius matters in the European startup ecosystem
Vilnius is Lithuania's main startup hub, a country that has undergone a remarkable transformation thanks to a combination of a favourable fintech licensing system (the Bank of Lithuania issues EMI licences in record time), high-level engineering talent trained at technical universities, and the ecosystem built around the success of Vinted โ Europe's largest second-hand clothing marketplace with over 85 million users. Vilnius also benefited from the Brexit fallout, which pushed many fintechs to seek EU licensing alternatives to British ones.
Why it works
- Concentration of critical mass in a single city
- Strong role models
- Good mix of public and private venture
Historical growth
Vilnius is one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in Eastern Europe. It has concentrated almost all Lithuanian critical mass in the capital, building a very visible ecosystem for the country's size.
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CAST AI
Cloud optimization platform using AI to reduce infrastructure costs and right-size cloud spending for enterpri
InSoil
Lithuanian climate finance company financing agricultural SMEs transitioning to regenerative practices and car
Kopa.ai
Kopa.ai builds AI agents that help e-commerce teams delegate operational and analytical decisions.
Nexos.ai
Spanish AI startup providing intelligent automation and NLP solutions for enterprise business processes
Saltz
Lithuanian B2B food marketplace connecting European producers and retailers with integrated logistics and full
Vinted
Vinted is Europe's secondhand fashion marketplace founded in Vilnius in 2008: free C2C seller model generating
Strengths of Vilnius
- Very high national concentration
- Very strong in cybersecurity and marketplaces
- Competitive cost with good talent quality
- The seed market has improved greatly thanks to local funds and public co-investment. Series A and growth are more credible than before, but large rounds remain mostly international.
- Domestic demand is limited, so startups target foreign markets early. The local context remains very favourable for cyber, fintech and infrastructure software.
Weaknesses and limitations
- Small local market
- Very city-centric ecosystem
- Growth capital still often foreign
Key startups in Vilnius
Unicorns
Notable scaleups
CAST AI
Cloud optimization platform using AI to reduce infrastructure costs and right-size cloud spending for enterprises.
CGTrader
CGTrader is a Lithuanian online marketplace for 3D models (founded in 2011). It offers over 800,000 3D models and serves 2 million users. It raised about $9.5M in a Series B round in 2021 to expand the platform for designers and virtual reality and 3D graphics developers.
CarVertical
carVertical is a Lithuanian tech platform, founded in 2017, that provides detailed vehicle history reports. It aggregates data (inspections, insurance, police, etc.) from over 1,000 international databases. It has analyzed over 12 million cars and generated โฌ54M in revenue in 2024. It raised โฌ16 million in 2018.
InSoil
InSoil channels institutional capital to European farmers adopting sustainable practices, combining credit, agronomy and soil-carbon measurement.
Kopa.ai
Agentic AI platform for e-commerce merchants, designed to manage campaigns, inventory, storefronts and operational performance.
Nexos.ai
Spanish AI startup providing intelligent automation and NLP solutions for enterprise business processes.
Nord Security
Lithuanian cybersecurity company offering VPN, password management and digital privacy solutions protecting millions of users globally.
PVcase
PVcase is a Lithuanian solar project software platform, founded around 2018. It automates the design of photovoltaic plants (site analysis, module layout, yield estimation), speeding up development timelines. It has over 1,500 clients in 75 countries and supports the design of over 4 TW of solar projects per year (funding undisclosed).
Saltz
Lithuanian B2B food marketplace connecting European producers and retailers with integrated logistics and full regulatory compliance.
TransferGo
TransferGo is a fintech founded in 2012, based in London, specialized in international money transfers. With over 8 million customers served, the platform lets people send money abroad quickly and at low rates. It has raised $86M in total funding (about โฌ80M).
Vinted
Vinted is Europe's secondhand fashion marketplace founded in Vilnius in 2008: free C2C seller model generating revenue from buyer commissions, shipping, and premium services. 26 active markets, โฌ813M revenue in 2024, โฌ5B valuation.
VCs, accelerators and key players
Hubs & campuses
Public support
Key sectors in Vilnius
What we can learn
- Geographic concentration can accelerate ecosystem formation
- Cybersecurity and marketplaces can become identity verticals for a mid-size city