When generative AI took off last year, Baltic founders were quick to experiment, plugging language models into all kinds of projects. Ambition and talent were never the issue; what founders needed was hands-on support, capital, and the right connections to scale. That’s where the FIRSTPICK AI Accelerator comes in.
Over the next twelve weeks, hand-picked startups will work side by side with some of the region’s sharpest operators. The format is simple but intense: weekly mentor sessions, rapid iteration, and steady progress towards raising capital. By the end of summer, up to €250K in funding will be on the table, alongside warm introductions to over 100 follow-on investors.
The inaugural cohort is a mix of experienced entrepreneurs and Gen Z founders. Holo is an AI-powered content engine that creates brand-aligned social posts, ads, and emails automatically. GREÏ protects, detects and optimizes security with AI-powered control. Callsy is an eCommerce AI agent that helps recover lost sales and convert users to paying customers. Other teams remain in stealth for now, but the common thread is clear: each is solving a focused problem in a market big enough to grow into nine-figure revenue, and each has the chance to become the first name customers recall in its niche.
Asta Jaruševičienė and Marijus Andrijauskas
FIRSTPICK has teamed up with some of the strongest partners in the region. Cloudvisor, the AWS specialist that has already supported hundreds of CEE startups, stepped in first. “Cloudvisor, as an AWS Partner with a startup focus, is excited to support the Baltics’ growing AI ecosystem and help early-stage teams turn ideas into real impact,” their team noted when the collaboration went public. Google Cloud has also joined the flight deck, lining up credits, architecture reviews, and go-to-market perks for every founder.
“Baltic founders move unbelievably fast, but even the best talent needs capital, compute, and critical feedback at just the right moment,” says Marijus Andrijauskas, partner at FIRSTPICK and head of the accelerator. “This programme delivers all three in one place so teams can focus on what matters – shipping.”
The mentor bench reflects that goal. Names like Vytautas Kaziukonis from Surfshark, Tomas Rašymas from Hostinger, Aleksas Kateiva and Artūras Baravykas from Vinted, Linas Nasvytis of Stanford, and Ignas Survila of Kilo Health headline a line-up that also includes senior talent from Whatagraph, Curiosity VC, mushi.agency, and Hemes. Collectively, they have scaled products to tens of millions of users, and their insights can help founders make smarter decisions, faster.
This is a hands-on extension of what FIRSTPICK has been doing from the start: supporting early-stage startups in raising capital and scaling. What’s new is the AI focus and the ambition to help teams scale beyond local success, making it the first programme of its kind in the region. With the cohort already in full swing, expect product launches and pilot announcements long before the programme wraps up at the end of summer.
We’ll be sharing more from the programme soon, including the remaining cohort and what’s happening behind the scenes. Until then, follow along on our blog and LinkedIn. You’ll want to know these teams before everyone else does.