Estonian technology companies are creating solutions that make our lives and work environments more convenient, efficient, and sustainable. To help start-ups get on their feet and to help scale-ups make bold leaps forward, a large team of top-level experts contributes their experience and knowledge.

If you’re passionate about technological solutions, eager to contribute to company success stories, and willing to share your experiences and insights, join the Tehnopol and Startup Incubator mentor pool. Submit your application here by November 30, 2024.

Some mentoring consultations are supported by the European Union’s structural funds through programs such as Interreg Central Baltic, Interreg Baltic Sea Region, I3 Project Grants, and Horizon Europe (projects include Ready2Scale, SCALE-ABLE, BSI_4Women, INGOs, Bridging4Growth, Zebra ScaleUp, Health3-2-1, FINESTJAP, EDIH, DigiLung, EUDIS, BSR Go-abroad), as well as through existing projects (NATO DIANA, ESA BIC Estonia, Film and Multimedia Accelerator, AI Development Program) and future projects. You can read more about these projects here.

We’ll sign a mentorship agreement for a one-year period (01.01.2025-31.12.2025).

If you have any questions, Kätlin-Carolin Noormägi and Laura Pukk are here to help.

AI enthusiasts gathered in Tehnopol Science and Business Park on the 5th of September to learn about the groundbreaking European Union’s AI Act and its correlations with cybersecurity aspects. Product owners, security officers, business owners and all related specialists were brought together within the official side event of the New Nordics AI week.  

Valuable input was provided by top specialists, such as Vattan PS (Lead Organizer of the New Nordics AI Week & Founder of Founderly), Toomas Seppel (Partner and Attorney at Law at Hedman Law Firm), and Sandhra-Mirella Valdma (Cybernetica). The event was moderated by Otto Mättas, AI Mentor at Tehnopol and AI Startup Founder.  

Enhancing the development of AI in Estonia 

The event was introduced by Vattan PS who shared his insights from the New Nordics AI Week as the lead organizer. He gave an overview of the reason why the event series started, stating that regarding AI, nothing remarkable has yet happened in Estonia. “Businesses and startups are getting excited”, he stated, hence bringing together the New Nordic countries. He emphasized that it is important to learn and take full control in the development of AI solutions. “Are you being served or are you creating the services – that’s a choice for you to make”, he concluded.  

Consider the risks of your solution from the start 

Toomas Seppel gave an overview of the EU AI Act and the changes in product development that it brings along with the European-level implementation. Seppel described the Act as a self-guidance tool, foremost developers and product owners need to analyze their solution’s risk in an early phase and make sure that they are compliant with the rules, in order for the market to accept the solution. He also emphasized that the EU AI Act is mainly a consumer-protection act, keeping the balance between consumers and technology.  

Be careful, yet proactive 

As the AI field has boomed over the last decade, almost everybody has the possibility to use AI nowadays. “AI has the possibility to transform industries, drive innovation, improve efficiency and enhance customer engagement”, Sandhra-Mirella Valdma described. She added that most AI solutions are used in customer service. To give an understanding why cyber security is such an important aspect of AI, Valdma presented an example from an AI legal chatbot from New York, which ended up giving small companies malicious legal advice and guided them towards breaking the law. 

She gave an overview of different risk categories of cybersecurity: AI specific, regulatory, and information security. While a lot of solutions use AI models developed by a third party, this opens up possibilities for users of maleficent intent to manipulate the service structures, such as giving false input, uploading malware and more, causing a significant amount of damage to the company. “The best option is to train the model yourself, and having the necessary data in-house – that is the ideal approach”, Valdma emphasized and encouraged to start early, think through all the steps, monitor continuously and collaborate with all the team members related to the AI solution.  

We still need human beings 

The event culminated with a Q&A discussion with the presenters. The panellists discussed a variety of topics – who and how should become the AI officers, how is AI usage being disclosed to clients, what are the future implications for commercial AI use and so forth. The participants concluded that humans are still indeed necessary, for overseeing these new technologies and how these are implemented.  

This event was organised by the AI Development Programme, a cooperation between Tehnopol and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, with the aim of helping Estonian companies adopt AI solutions. This initiative aims to boost their competitiveness and ensure the sustainability of the Estonian economy in the future. 

The fifth annual Tallinnovation innovation competition awarded top honors this year to projects including cargo bikes, a solar panel visualization solution for the city’s digital twin, and a data exchange platform for urban infrastructure development.

This year’s innovation competition received 22 applications. Out of these, seven companies were selected for rapid presentations. The jury decided to support the testing of three solutions in urban space with a total of 55,000 euros.

The winners are VOK Bikes’ full-service model for cargo bikes (25,000 euros), Digilogistika Keskus’ data exchange platform for urban infrastructure development (20,000 euros), Rexplorer’s solar panel visualization solution for Tallinn’s Digital Twin (10,000 euros). Other finalists who presented their solutions included Tarkvõrk, Traffest, GPO, and Spinnistart.

According to Tallinn’s Deputy Mayor and chair of the evaluation committee, Margot Roose, the diversity of the projects was particularly pleasing. “These three projects that were ultimately selected are truly forward-looking. Each of the chosen projects has the potential to contribute to creating a cleaner environment and a more technologically advanced city. We hope that as a result of the pilot projects, we will soon see broader adoption of these solutions,” said Roose.

The Tallinnovation competition, organized in collaboration with the city and the Tehnopol Science and Business Park, is now in its fifth year. With this year’s round, the competition has supported companies with a total of 355,000 euros.

According to Tehnopol CEO Agnes Roos, the works submitted to the competition reflected the innovation needs in the city’s key areas. “At Tehnopol, we work in the midst of innovation daily and take it for granted that solutions must be sustainable, convenient, and efficient. Organizing the competition at the city’s request gives companies a unique opportunity to test solutions on a larger scale, specifically in the urban environment of Tallinn, accelerating the arrival of innovation to businesses and city residents. The winning projects included exciting digital solutions, efficient data exchange, and the development of an environmentally friendly cargo transport service model,” said Roos. She added that organizing the innovation fund aligns with Tehnopol’s goal of supporting world-changing innovation and technology entrepreneurship.

The goal of the Tallinnovation innovation competition is to make city services and the environment more convenient for both residents and visitors. The competition supports collaboration between the city and technology companies and the use of innovative smart city hardware and software products in Tallinn.

Similar innovation competitions have been organized with Kohtla-Järve and Pärnu. This year, Tehnopol plans to launch an innovation competition in Pärnu and is in negotiations with other towns. More information can be found on the website innovatsioonifond.tehnopol.ee.