The total turnover of Estonian startups for the three quarters of this year increased by 64% year-on-year to 1.5 billion euros.
Estonian startups also attracted record investments – a total of 1.2 billion euros, including 40 transactions worth more than one million euros.
In 2021, the total turnover of the startup sector in Estonia amounted to 1.4 billion euros, i.e. in the nine months of this year, startups have already exceeded the last year’s result. Since at the end of the third quarter 2022, the total turnover of startups amounted to 927 million euros, there has been 64% growth year-on-year.
The managing director of Startup Estonia, Eva Peterson, said that although global markets are now suffering, Estonian startups continue to grow rapidly. “Estonia has a very good international image, and the foundation that we laid in difficult times over the years is working in our favor. Of course, the key role is also played by the experience of our startup entrepreneurs, who have repeatedly proved to investors, customers and employees that they are able to quickly adapt to changes in the conditions and turn the situation in the market in their favour, “Peterson said.
The highest turnover at the end of the third quarter of this year was posted by Bolt (775.3 million euros), Veriff (50.5 million euros), Swappie 47.6 (million euros), Comodule (27.8 million euros) and Starship Technologies (24.6 million euros). Data on turnover of startup enterprises are based on quarterly data on turnover tax provided by the Tax and Customs Board, which are based on VAT declarations. Turnover data may differ from the data provided in the annual report of the startup company, but they give the best possible overview of the current situation regarding the growth of the startup sector.
According to Startup Estonia, 1446 startup companies have been registered in Estonia at the moment, of which 418 or 29% have been operating for five years or more.
According to the data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, for the three quarters of this year, startup companies paid a total of 134 million euros (an increase of 48%) in labour taxes to the state. In the same period last year, startups paid 90.5 million euros in labour taxes to the state.
Estonian startups raised 1.2 billion euros in investments in the three quarters of this year, in a total of 61 deals. The average size of the investment was 19.3 million euros, while 40 investments were worth more than one million euros. A year ago, the volume of funding raised amounted to 870 million euros in 66 transactions, and the average size of the funding transaction was 13.2 million euros, 34 transactions amounted to more than 34 million euros.
Peterson added that Estonian and international investors believe in Estonian startups. “This is evidenced by the constant increase in the total value of transactions, as well as statistics shows that in addition to the most famous and large startups, many other Estonian startup companies are also investing in startups, ” she said.
The largest funding raised in the third quarter of 2022 was attracted by Ready Player Me (55.1 million euros), Monese (35 million euros), Lightyear (25 million euros), Klaus (12 million euros) and Jobbatical (11.6 million euros).
Startup Estonia is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.