Engineering mindset
Lithuania has a rich and complex history in which its people had to flex their ingenuity to survive and stay independent. So it should come as no surprise that Lithuanians have such an appetite for solving complex problems. That’s why Lithuania is one of the birthplaces of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and the home of some of the world’s most powerful scientific lasers. It’s also home to six unicorns and one of the most progressive banking regulators in Europe, as well as a proving ground for defence innovation and next-generation space technology.
Solving problems for millions
Lithuanian talents have a knack for targeting the real pain points that affect millions across the world, whether it’s ensuring cybersecurity, boosting the circular economy or delivering digital-first banking solutions. The country’s innovators and entrepreneurs build solutions that break with convention rather than offering minor tweaks. That’s why reaching the striking tally of six unicorns for a nation of under three million people was achievable.
Vinted, the second-hand fashion marketplace, blazed the trail as Lithuania’s first unicorn, soon followed by cybersecurity leader Nord Security and online classifieds operator Baltic Classifieds Group. More recently, data infrastructure platform Oxylabs reached unicorn status, alongside cloud optimisation firm Cast AI and health-tech app Flo – companies born from, or built on, Lithuanian talent. Together they show how a country this size keeps turning an engineering mindset into businesses the world relies on.
Ecosystems built side by side
Community is king in Lithuania. With large businesses, small startups, suppliers, researchers and educational institutions working side by side, the country built robust business ecosystems in fintech, life sciences, e-commerce, lasers and, most recently, spacetech and defence.
Starting with fintech, Lithuania used innovation-friendly regulation and ambitious talent to create the biggest hub in the EU by number of licensed fintech companies. It also leveraged decades of scientific research and expertise in fields like CRISPR gene editing to help establish and grow a life sciences centre that now includes such global names as Thermo Fisher Scientific. The latest sectors to flourish are spacetech and defence, the latter boosted by high defence spending, urgent regional security needs and strong tax incentives for high-tech companies.
A global leader in laser technology
Lithuania is a global leader in laser technology. Its lasers have found their way into everything from satellites and spacecraft to nuclear waste disposal and cancer research. And the list of global names that have integrated them into their products reads like a who’s who of innovators and industry leaders: NASA, CERN, IBM, Hitachi, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Today, the sector boasts around 50 companies, most of them so specialised that they rarely compete with each other or with rivals on the global stage. Together, they hold more than 50% of the global market for scientific ultrashort-pulse lasers. Lithuanian lasers are also a staple of academic research: 95 of the world’s top 100 universities use Lithuanian lasers and laser systems.