A new government scheme is forcing the country’s top universities and technology parks to collaborate as emphasis moves to commercialising science
Estonia’s minister of economic affairs and industry, Erkki Keldo, announces the new DeepTech Start-up Network at the Thinking In Billions conference in January 2026. Credit: Merilyn Sepp / Thinking in Billions
A new government scheme in Estonia is ensuring that the country’s top universities and science parks, which have in the past often worked in silos, come together to support the growth of new deep-tech companies.
The DeepTech Start-up Network, launched by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications this January, has an initial budget of €12.6 million and the goal of building 37 internationally competitive deep-tech companies over four years. The hope is that the companies can attract a further €38 million in capital, with €29 million coming from private investment.
The initiative brings together the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), and the Estonian University of Life Sciences with Sparkup Tartu Science Park and Technopol in Tallinn.
Estonia’s innovation community sees the initiative as important for two main reasons. The…
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