“The Lithuanian startup ecosystem is one of the fastest growing in the region. Last year, Lithuanian startups raised investment of a total of EUR 272 million, which helps develop innovative solutions, create high value-added jobs and thus contribute to the economic growth of the country. The annual Startup Fair event, which has already become a tradition, reflects the potential of the Lithuanian startup ecosystem and at the same time contributes to its growth by opening up new opportunities of raising investment and international cooperation for our country’s innovators,” says Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation. 

According to the organisers, the participants of the Pitch Battle competition will not only be able to pitch their ideas to a wide international audience and raise investment to grow their business, but also win special prizes established by the partners of the event, which will also contribute to the development of startups.  

“This is a really great opportunity for innovators to get a significant impetus for the implementation of their ideas. The Startup Fair event attracts more and more attention from investors and an increasingly greater number of participants every year, while at the same time opening up more opportunities for startups,” says Karolina Urbonaitė, Head of Startup Lithuania of the Innovation Agency. 

The Lithuanian Business Angel Network LitBAN, the early-stage investment fund Coinvest Capital and Baltic Sandbox Ventures, a fund investing in early-stage deep tech, dual-use and life sciences solutions, are planning to invest in one or several startups selected during the Pitch Battle competition. The total investment amount can be as high as EUR 3 million, depending on the specific needs of the selected startups, the stage, the innovativeness of the product or service being developed and other parameters.  

“The Lithuanian Business Angel Network is constantly looking for startups in which our members could and would like to invest. We believe that during the Startup Fair we will see new, promising startups pitching on the stage and perhaps our members will choose not just one, but several startups to which they will offer investments. Therefore, I invite startups to apply for the competition and do their best when pitching in order to attract the interest of investors,” says Roberta Rudokienė, Managing Director at LitBAN.  

In addition to the opportunity to raise investment, other valuable prizes await Pitch Battle participants. For example, selected finalists will be invited to participate in the accelerator implemented by Startup Lithuania together with the global innovation platform Plug and Play, with the opportunity to receive up to EUR 150 000 in funding and to further accelerate in the GOAL programme at the Silicon Valley.  

The Estonian startup Vocal Image won the Pitch Battle competition last year; it is developing an AI-based app to help improve vocal skills for public speaking and personal development. 

This year, the annual Startup Fair, organised by Startup Lithuania, is expected to attract a record number of guests, with more than 2 000 planned to attend the event. In addition to pitching to investors in the Pitch Battle competition, the startup event will also feature networking opportunities, business and investor meetings, engaging presentations and discussions from over 60 participants from the international startup ecosystem. 

Startup Fair. Pulse 2024, which includes a Pitch Battle competition, will take place on 3 October at Paupys Market in Vilnius. The Pitch Battle space, which will be located at Cinema Pasaka, is sponsored by Vilnius TechFusion, a platform for the high-tech sector curated by Vilnius Business and Tourism Development Agency Go Vilnius. 

More information on the event website: www.startupfair.lt.