According to a recently published ranking of Estonia’s most valuable technology companies, the Estonian-founded and London-based money transfer company Wise tops the list with a valuation of €12.5 billion.
The annual TopTech ranking, compiled by Prudentia Tallinn – a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm – together with Siena Secondary Fund, which specialises in secondary market investments in technology companies, places Bolt second (€8.9 billion) and Pipedrive third (€2.2 billion).
Indrek Uudeküll, a partner at Prudentia, noted that Wise and Bolt remain firmly at the top, though there have been shifts further down the table.
“The total value of Estonia’s 30 most valuable tech companies has soared to €27.7 billion – a huge 35.2% increase in just two years. By sector, the strongest year-on-year growth has been in defence technology (106%), fintech (97%) and B2B SaaS (48%). The sharpest falls in book value have been in entertainment and gaming (-94%), mobility (-59%) and crypto (-49%),” Prudentia said in a statement.
“This year’s biggest gainers are Blackwall (formerly Botguard) (+295%), Threod (+257%) and Pactum (+222%), whose global ambitions have helped put Estonia firmly on the map,” it added.
A small market, a big network
The ranking highlights Pactum, an AI start-up specialising in autonomous commercial negotiations, as a trendsetter in Estonia’s tech sector. Pactum also received this year’s TopTech special award for its internationally successful AI-driven contracting solutions.
According to Rando Rannus, a partner at Siena Secondary Fund and one of the co-authors of TopTech, Estonia’s tech industry may be a small market, but it is an expansive network.
“Through the e-residency and start-up visa programmes, foreign founders have injected fresh momentum into our ecosystem – through investment, mentoring and recruitment, often across borders. Their global connections turn our tiny country’s limitations into a competitive advantage, helping our start-ups to scale worldwide.”
The TopTech ranking is based on a comparative assessment of company valuations at a specific point in time. Eligible firms are fast-growing technology companies with at least one Estonian founder, or which are registered and headquartered in Estonia, or which employ at least 20% of their workforce in the country. The assessment draws on publicly available data and information provided by the companies themselves.
