In the first quarter of 2023, Lithuanian startups paid EUR 82 million in taxes, which was 40% up on the previous year and EUR 0.5 M more than the preceding quarter, as reported by the Lithuanian Startups Association Unicorns Lithuania. The growth in the number of employees, however, has practically come to a halt over the last six months.
Despite the prevailing trend of layoffs in major tech companies worldwide, the number of local talents employed in Lithuanian startups has remained stable, with approximately 17.3 thousand employees. Notably, larger startups have been expanding their workforce, while smaller ones – downsizing, leading to a mixed pattern in employment trends, as highlighted by Inga Langaitė, CEO of Unicorns Lithuania.
For instance, some startups saw an increase in employee numbers during the first quarter of the year, including Vinted (+72), Nord Security (+75), and Kilo Health (+81).
In terms of salaries, the average earnings for talent working in startups in the first quarter of 2023 were EUR 3.7 thousand before taxes, marking a 16% increase of EUR 500 compared to the previous year. Taking into account year-end bonuses, the average salary in Lithuanian startups in Q4 2022 reached EUR 4.2 thousand.
Among the highest paying startups in Q1 2023 were:
1. Game Insight – EUR 12.15 thousand (+20% up on Q1 2022)
2. Tesonet Accelerator – EUR 7.66 thousand (-15% down on Q1 2022)
3. Paysolut – EUR 7.42 thousand (+49% up on Q1 2022)
4. Planner 5D – EUR 7.33 thousand (+4% up on Q1 2022)
5. “Cast AI – EUR 6.87 thousand (+14% up on Q1 2022)
‘While startups have shifted their focus towards economic sustainability and are reviewing processes to increase efficiency and profitability, there is no indication of mass redundancies threatening the Lithuanian startup ecosystem. In fact, the number of employees has grown by 12% or 1.8 thousand compared to the previous year,’ says Langaitė.
Among the startups that paid the most taxes in Q1 202 were:
1. Wargaming – EUR 8.34 M
2. Nord Security – EUR 5.39 M
3. KiloHealth – EUR 3.86 M
4. Vinted – EUR 3.65 M
5. Bored Panda – EUR 2.22 M
Currently, Lithuania has 853 actively operating startups, according to Unicorns Lithuania.
