103 supported tech companies, €26.7 million raised, and new target markets – Tehnopol Business Development 2025 recap

The new year is already underway and new programmes are about to launch, but before we move into 2026 at full speed, it’s a good moment to look back: what did Tehnopol’s 2025 look like in supporting the growth of technology companies, and what impact did it have on companies’ development?

In 2025, Tehnopol provided business services to 103 tech companies. As in every year, the focus was on opening foreign markets, developing new products and services, and raising the capital needed for growth. The past year was best characterised by companies’ desire and need to maintain their position in existing markets, increase profitability, and open new export markets. Several companies launching new export activities found it more purposeful to expand beyond Europe – with a focus on Southeast Asia, Japan, the USA, Canada and South American markets.

The year in numbers: mentors, trainings and new markets

Tehnopol supported companies in focus verticals including health, digital, AI and dual-use technologies. Alongside the companies, 170 specialist mentors contributed a total of approximately 1,000 hours. During the year, nearly 90 different trainings or seminars took place, and the work of Tehnopol’s mentors and experts focused primarily on opening export markets, followed by product development and raising capital.

As a result, in 2025, 25 companies in the portfolio opened at least one new target market – the most popular target markets were the USA, Germany, Brazil and Japan.

Export projects: an easier route to more distant markets

In 2025, Tehnopol launched and led five different export-oriented projects aimed at helping companies enter more distant markets with greater confidence. Target markets included, among others, Brazil, the USA, Canada, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, Japan, and several European markets. In total, Tehnopol invested close to half a million euros during the year to unlock companies’ export potential.

Piloting and prototype testing with cities

As an important direction, Tehnopol supported the development and testing of prototypes. In cooperation with the cities of Tallinn and Pärnu, several companies were able to launch pilot projects to test their products in the urban environment. In total, Tehnopol and the cities invested approximately €200,000 in carrying out these tests.

Health tech: innovation in wellbeing services and cooperation across Estonia

In 2025, the health tech focus was on improving the quality of wellbeing services in Estonia. In cooperation with partners from the Ministry of Social Affairs, an innovation programme for wellbeing technologies was launched, enabling companies to test and bring new wellbeing services and products to market in Estonia, working together with local governments and other public sector organisations. Over two years, more than €1 million will be invested in pilot projects.

In addition, Tehnopol led a nationwide cooperation agreement between organisations shaping Estonia’s health technology landscape. In September, a cooperation memorandum was signed under which Estonia’s health and welfare system will be improved through new technologies. The memorandum was signed, among others, by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, Metrosert, and others.

Product development and closer cooperation with universities

In 2025, companies applied for a record amount of funding for product development activities from both European Union and Estonian measures. During the year, approximately €10 million was invested in research and development activities, which from Tehnopol’s perspective meant closer cooperation with universities and bridging companies’ development needs with universities’ capabilities.

EDIH AIRE continued

Tehnopol participates in the EDIH AIRE consortium, and in 2025 the European Union and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications extended EDIH AIRE’s mandate to support the digitalisation of industrial and manufacturing companies and the adoption of AI for another four years. This means Tehnopol will continue to focus on digitalisation and AI implementation in industrial and manufacturing companies, advising on raising capital, and supporting the development of companies’ own products.

Capital companies needed for growth

Last year, portfolio companies raised a total of €26.7 million in capital, of which €10 million was public funding for development activities. Overall, the year’s focus was clearly balanced: defending existing markets and increasing profitability went hand in hand with opening new markets, product development, and raising growth capital.

Looking ahead to 2026: more markets, more deep tech and defence industry

In 2026, we are planning major changes primarily in two directions. First, we will expand the selection of target markets and launch several programmes for entering new markets, including pre-consultations, business missions, and support from advisors located on the ground in the target market. Companies will have greater opportunities than before to explore markets in Brazil, the USA and Southeast Asia.

Second, the focus on defence industry and deep tech companies will increase. We will launch a development programme for deep tech companies to accelerate the rapid growth of Estonia’s research-intensive businesses. We also plan international cooperation projects for companies in the defence and dual-use vertical to support piloting of services and products and international sales.

By sector, work will continue with health, AI, digital, and dual-use and deep tech companies. In health tech, the focus is on creating piloting opportunities and launching paid pilot projects; in AI, we will support companies that can use AI to create new business models and scalable proprietary products; in dual-use, support will expand beyond startups to include companies in the growth stage; and in deep tech, we are ready to launch a nationwide cooperation programme to help new deep tech companies reach export markets through grant funding and investments.

If we summarise 2025 in a single sentence, then from the perspective of Tehnopol’s business services it was a year in which the portfolio became substantively stronger: more support for entering export markets, clearer piloting opportunities, closer cooperation with R&D partners, and very concrete results both in raising capital and opening new target markets.