From NATO DIANA to future founders: Tehnopol makes an impact at Estonia's Latitude59

Estonia's largest startup conference, Latitude59, recently wrapped up in Tallinn, attracting an international crowd with its blend of innovative ideas and inspiring discussions. IASP member Tehnopol and its Startup Incubator played a significant role throughout the event, showcasing their startups and contributing key insights.

The conference kicked off with the NATO DIANA Estonia accelerator demo day. This highly praised event provided an excellent platform for the DIANA cohort companies to introduce themselves and establish valuable connections. The demo day saw attendance from international defense sector investors, representatives of armed forces and defense ministries, and other industry experts, including nearly 30 members of the NATO DIANA Board of Directors from across the alliance, all keen to explore the presented solutions.

Tehnopol's influence was also strongly felt through its Startup Incubator companies. Kulg, SoFutu, Raal, KontorVA, and KindelAI delivered their pitches, receiving encouragement from Kätlin-Carolin Noormägi, Community Manager at the Startup Incubator. Anne-Liisa Elbrecht, Head of the Tehnopol Startup Incubator, further contributed to the discussions, participating in a panel on the vital role and importance of founders in today's business landscape.

The conference programme also featured innovative formats like simultaneous roundtable discussions. Olga Kurdovskaja, Program Manager of the Film and Multimedia Accelerator at the Startup Incubator, and Kristi Jõeäär, Head of Marketing and Communications at Tehnopol, notably co-led a discussion exploring why the film industry might be the next major opportunity for startups, a topic that quickly drew a full table of interested participants.

Later, startups participating in the Tehnopol-involved Zebra ScaleUp project—Antscape, Contractok, KontorVA, Kratt Services, Marleq, Renster Online, KindelAI, Tuntu, and Bondauttaja—took the spotlight on the pitching stage, introduced by Maarit Jalakas from Tehnopol. Additionally, at the Tehnopol booth, visitors enjoyed a unique experience: having their portraits drawn by an AI-guided robot hand, thanks to a solution provided by Photobooth Estonia.

Latitude59 once again affirmed the creativity, collaborative spirit, and forward-thinking vision within Estonia's startup community, with Tehnopol playing a central role in its success.