The data paints a clear picture: startups founded by women consistently outperform their peers. Numerous studies support this, but one of the most comprehensive, the Kauffman Fellows Research Center analysis of more than 20,000 startups founded since 2000, shows that startups with female founders or other diverse characteristics exit faster (6.9 years vs. 7.4 years), deliver stronger portfolio-level performance (30% better financial outcomes), and raise more follow-on capital (once diverse teams secure a seed round, they tend to attract more capital over time).
Yet despite this, startups founded by female (co-)founders continue to receive less capital than those led by men. According to the Female Innovation Index 2024, women-founded startups in Europe raised €5.76B across 1,305 deals, 12% of all VC capital, a share unchanged from 2023.
The Baltic region mirrors this imbalance. In 2025*, female-founded and co-founded startups secured 20 out of 124 funding rounds, representing 16% of all deals. But by capital raised, these teams attracted €34M out of €575M, just 5.9% of the region’s total funding. This is a decrease from €41.5M out of €491M (8.45%) in 2024 and €83M out of €733M (11.3%) in 2023.
| Year | Total VC Funding (€) | Funding to Female-Founded Startups (€) | % Share of Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | €575M* | €34M* | 5.9% |
| 2024 | €491M | €41.5M | 8.45% |
| 2023 | €733M | €83M | 11.3% |
*Data collected up to October 2025, including non-public rounds that have closed but are not yet announced.
While the aggregate funding share has declined, the depth and quality of the companies founded by women in the Baltics continue to rise. According to the Female Innovation Index 2025, female-founded teams are increasingly building in deep tech, health tech, energy, and AI categories, which male-led teams have traditionally dominated, and delivering strong traction across global markets.
“Female-founded teams raised almost 6% of all Baltic VC capital in 2025. That may not sound radical, but it’s a start. What’s even more encouraging is the type of companies we’re seeing, not just in wellness or fashiontech, but deeptech, fintech, and AI. It shows that the talent has always existed, what’s changed is the visibility, ambition, and access that are finally giving it a seat at the table.” says Andra Bagdonaitė, Partner at FIRSTPICK.
Below is a closer look at the female-(co-)founded teams that raised funding in 2025.
Spotlight on Baltic Female-(Co-)Founder Startups (2025)
Here’s a curated list of female-founder-led ventures in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia that secured funding in 2025:
Samphire Neuroscience
Founders: Emilė Radytė, Alex Cook
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2021
Funding raised: €5M (seed)
Samphire Neuroscience develops Nettle, a CE-certified neurotechnology wearable designed to reduce emotional and physical symptoms associated with menstrual health. Using tDCS stimulation, the device helps users manage PMDD and other cycle-related conditions. After selling out twice during pre-launch, Nettle has become one of the most commercially promising women’s health neurotech products in Europe.
Cino
Founders: Lina Saleh, Elena Churilova
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €3.5M (seed)
Cino enables seamless shared payments through a virtual card that splits costs at the moment of purchase. By connecting directly to users’ bank accounts, Cino eliminates reimbursement workflows and makes group spending intuitive and immediate.
Lifeyear
Founders: Siim Saare, Dr. Eleanor Wicks, Timo Mitt
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2022
Funding raised: €2.8M (seed)
Lifeyear develops a remote patient monitoring platform focused on cardiovascular care. The solution integrates clinical workflows, home sensors, and personalised treatment plans to support long-term cardiac health and reduce hospital readmissions.
Jälle Technologies
Founders: Kerli Liivand, Martin Jantson, Reio Praats, Erki Ani, Ivar Kruusenberg
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €2M (pre-seed)
Jälle Technologies builds advanced recycling systems that extract metals and convert waste graphite from used lithium-ion batteries into graphene-like materials. The company supports Europe’s shift toward a circular battery materials ecosystem.
VUGENE
Founders: Gražina Mykolaitytė, Juozas Gordevičius
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2021
Funding raised: €1M (seed)
VUGENE is developing a service-as-software platform that transforms complex multi-omics datasets into actionable biological insights. This empowers researchers and biotech companies to accelerate discovery and understand biological systems with greater clarity.
GaltTec
Founders: Laura Elise Arvisto, Glen Kelp, Tanel Tätte
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2022
Funding raised: €1M (pre-seed)
GaltTec develops microtubular solid oxide fuel cells (MT-SOFCs) that deliver high energy density, fast startup times, and durability, suitable for drones, IoT devices, and off-grid power systems.
Esgrid
Founders: Oksana Tolmatshova, Katrin Isotamm, Ott Ilves, Jevgeni Bogatõrjov
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €900K (pre-seed)
Esgrid develops ESG-focused supply chain management tools tailored to mid-market companies. Its modular platform helps SMEs reduce compliance costs, manage supplier ESG data and share sustainability insights across their value chains.
Better Medicine
Founders: Helena Ije, Dmytro Fishman, Priit Salumaa, Martin Reim, Bohdan Petryshak, Sergei Gussev
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2020
Funding raised: €1M (pre-seed) (+ €2.5M EIC grant)
Better Medicine creates AI-powered diagnostic tools for radiology, starting with kidney cancer detection. Its models help radiologists improve accuracy and accelerate clinical decision-making.
SafePAS
Founders: Evelin Halling, Jekaterina Mazina, Jelena Gorbatsova
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2021
Funding raised: €700K (pre-seed)
SafePAS develops Drug Hunter, a handheld rapid drug detection device capable of quantitative on-site analysis. The system aims to modernise drug testing with real-time, portable, highly accurate diagnostics.
GREÏ
Founders: Giedrė Rajuncė, Saulius Tvarijonas
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €650K (pre-seed)
GREI develops an AI-powered operational intelligence system for large industrial and retail sites. Its computer vision platform detects risks, inefficiencies, and safety issues in real time.
Supernaut
Founders: Dr. Olga Maslova, Mantas Konstantinavičius
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2024
Funding raised: €530K (pre-seed)
Supernaut is an AI-native engineering assistant that automatically investigates, documents, and resolves software bugs. Integrated with Jira and GitHub, it helps teams reduce technical debt and speed up development.
BrachyDOSE
Founders: Neringa Šeperienė, Rimas Šeperys
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2024
Funding raised: €554K (pre-seed)
BrachyDOSE develops a real-time radiation dose measurement system for cancer radiotherapy. A disposable flexible sensor captures the delivered dose during treatment, which is later analysed with machine-learning software to detect mismatches and reduce complications.
Psylink
Founders: Laura Martinkutė Korsakova, Evaldas Čiplys
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2020
Funding raised: €500K (pre-seed)
Psylink engineers yeast cells to produce psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin and DMT, offering a scalable, consistent alternative to extraction and chemical synthesis for research into treatment-resistant mental health disorders.
Joiner
Founders: Jūratė Plungytė, Eduard Titov
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €500K (pre-seed)
Joiner is a fast-growing social app that connects people through real-life shared activities. With 40,000+ downloads and 1,500 daily active users, it is one of the fastest-scaling consumer apps in the region.
Commody
Founders: Gerda Oškeliūnė, Vilius Oškeliūnas, Martynas Pranaitis, Vytautas Zabulis, Gintautas Ščerbavičius, Vitoldas Milius
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2023
Funding raised: €500K (pre-seed)
Commody is Europe’s first collectible car co-ownership platform, enabling fractional investment in rare historical cars, opening an asset class previously accessible only to wealthy collectors.
ENGYcell
Founders: Egija Gailuma, Kristiāns Karlsons, Kristaps Vasiļjevs
HQ: Latvia
Founded: 2024
Funding raised: €450K (pre-seed + grant)
ENGYcell builds AI-powered energy storage and trading software, enabling companies to optimise electricity use, lower costs, and participate in grid-balancing markets.
Migrevention
Founders: Katrina Laks, Triinu Niiberg Pikksoot, and Karl Kais
HQ: Estonia
Founded: 2020
Funding raised: €275K (pre-seed)
Migrevention builds digital therapeutics for migraine prevention and chronic pain management. The company combines clinical expertise with behavioural interventions via an app designed for personalised care.
Strato Create
Founders: Beatričė Laurinkutė Kijevičienė, Jokūbas Vaišvila
HQ: Lithuania
Founded: 2018
Funding raised: €197.4K (pre-seed)
Strato Create automates home design, blueprint generation, and cost estimation for architects, builders, and prefab manufacturers through a cloud platform, streamlining construction workflows.
👉 FIRSTPICK invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. If you’re currently fundraising or about to start, check out our website or apply here.