Baltic investors: Europe must aim for tech companies worth €100 billion
At the Baltic VCA Summit in Haapsalu, investors warned that fragmented markets and limited growth capital could push Europe's most promising tech firms to look elsewhere. They said Europe needs companies valued at €100 billion or more.
Europe's most promising technology companies may be forced to look abroad if market fragmentation and a shortage of growth capital are not addressed, leading Baltic investors have warned. They spoke at the Baltic VCA Summit in Haapsalu in late August.
Sten Tamkivi of Plural and Rainer Sternfeld of NordicNinja said geopolitical tensions are reshaping capital flows just as Europe seeks greater technological independence in defence, energy, space and other strategic industries.
The single market challenge
Taavi Veskimägi of Sentris Capital and 2C Ventures, who moderated the panel, said a stronger single market is crucial for Baltic firms that want to scale. He noted that national industrial policies and protectionism are splintering the market, and that a genuine single market has never emerged in sectors such as defence. At the same time, efforts to bring supply chains back to Europe could open opportunities for the Baltic states.
Access to capital
Tamkivi said one measure of a startup ecosystem's maturity is how far founders must travel to raise money. A company seeking €50 million could probably still find a lead investor in Europe, but one needing €200 million would most likely have to turn to the US. A decade ago Chinese investors would also have been an option, he said, but geopolitics has ended that.
He argued that with Europe's GDP at around €20 trillion, the continent needs companies worth €100 billion to €200 billion or more. He pointed to ASML, Spotify and Revolut as examples of what is needed.
Sternfeld urged greater ambition: thinking small produces small results, and every entrepreneur should think like a world champion.
The summit took place on 27 and 28 August. First held in 2018, it is the largest annual gathering of the Baltic private equity and venture capital sector. It was organised by the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, whose members manage more than €3 billion in assets.
