2014 record year for Lithuanian startups

A survey conducted by Enterprise Lithuania which included 52 startups indicated that 2014 was a record year for entrepreneurs developing innovative products in Lithuania.

These startups attracted EUR 46 million in investments last year; with a total of 405 employees, they created more than 130 new jobs over the course of the year. The startups paid over EUR 2 million in taxes to the state budget in 2014. In 2013, EUR 34 million was invested in startups, they had over 200 employees and paid nearly EUR 0.5 million in taxes.

Enterprise Lithuania awarded glass statues to the teams that rocked the startup community last year.

Plague was recognized for the best Start of the Year. Established at the end of last year, this social network attracted 50,000 users in three weeks and has appeared in various media sources around the world more than 200 times in the last few months.

Toyze is a customized 3D game figure printing platform which was launched six months ago. Toyze users have already created more than a million 3D models, making this startup the obvious choice for the Breakthrough of the Year award.

Kaunas University of Technology was recognized as the year’s Academic startup community. In 2014, this educational institution demonstrated exceptional enthusiasm in rallying students, researchers and entrepreneurs towards a common goal – development of the Lithuanian startup ecosystem.

The Hardware Solution of the Year award went to Integrated Optics. After launching activities a couple of years ago, this startup has earned global recognition for its lasers, which, though extremely powerful, are very small and are therefore suitable for a broad range of applications. Integrated Optics also attracted EUR 1.2 million in investments last year.

The Investment of the Year award went to the Vinted team, which secured a EUR 20 million investment from Insight Venture Partners. In total, this startup has attracted EUR 25 million in investments so far.

The Practica Capital venture capital fund was named Investor of the Year. Last year, this fund made 15 investments in Lithuanian startups for a total of over EUR 6.5 million.

The statue for Partnership of the Year was awarded to three institutions: the IMI.VC, Startup Highway and Invest Lithuania. This collaboration between the private and public sectors was recognized for development of the game industry and attracting foreign game developers to Lithuania.