Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania may be among the smallest countries in Europe, but they’ve consistently punched above their weight when it comes to startup creation.
While Estonia has played host to companies like Skype, mobility giant Bolt, and autonomous delivery startup Starship Technologies, second-hand marketplace Vinted is the brightest star to have emerged from Lithuania’s nascent startup scene.
Using data from PitchBook and testimonials from investors, here are six of the most active family offices in the Baltics:
Skaala (previously Taavet+Sten), Estonia
In 2021, early Skype employees Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi joined forces to launch Taavet+Sten, an investment platform rooted in a mission to create meaningful, lasting impact.
A year later, the pair cofounded VC firm Plural with three other partners, and the company quickly became their main vehicle for venture capital investments.
Taavet+Sten changed its name to Skaala in late 2024, having evolved into an independent investment company which now invests across various asset classes and impact-driven projects. Skaala is led by four partners: Hinrikus, Tamkivi, Kristina Siimar (CEO), and Martin Tälli (Legal Counsel). Taavet and Sten primarily focus on Plural.
Deals in the Baltics: 9
Total investments: 26
Active portfolio companies: 22
Ambient Sound Investments (ASI), Estonia
ASI was established in 2003 by four founding engineers of Skype, including Jaan Tallinn (also a founding engineer of Kazaa), Priit Kasesalu (also key in the founding of Kazaa) and Ahti Heinla (also co-founder and CTO of Starship).
Originally created to hold a minority stake in Skype, the investment company sold those shares to eBay in 2005.
Today, ASI operates as a family office, with a team made up of the founders and additional employees. ASI invests not only in the region but also across Europe, the US, and Asia.
Deals in the Baltics: 27
Total investments: 50
Active portfolio companies: 10
Server Partners, Estonia
Founded in 2016, Server Partners is a family office based in Tallinn, Estonia. It was set up with the aim of investing the family capital of Sergei Verbitski, an Estonian native who has since moved to Silicon Valley.
According to the firm’s website, Server Partners has dabbled in various industries, owning a restaurant, organising nightclub events, managing a popular online radio station, and hosting one of the biggest quest games in Europe in a former Soviet prison. The firm later moved into tech, with involvement in a gaming company, an advertising platform and crypto ventures. Today it focuses on supporting space technologies, the metaverse and social projects.
Deals in the Baltics: 5
Total investments: 8
Active portfolio companies: 6
Zenith Family Office, Estonia
Zenith Family Office is a multi-family office based in Tallinn, Estonia. Established in 2011, it operates as an independent wealth management company. Its assets are managed by the executive team.
Founded by Hannes Pihl and Anton Gans, Zenith operates as a diversified asset management firm.
Deals in the Baltics: 4
Active portfolio companies: 4
Willgrow, Lithuania
Founded in 2016, Willgrow is a first-generation family office based in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was launched by Mindaugas Raila, founder of the truck company Girteka (one of Europe’s largest transport firms), and Edvardas Liachovičius, who joined Girteka early in 1997.
Willgrow was born out of a long-nurtured idea to drive value creation by investing surplus capital globally across multiple asset classes and industries. It invests in private equity, venture capital, and directly in tech companies.
Deals in the Baltics: 4
Active portfolio companies: 3
Krokodilli Kapital, Estonia
Founded by former Skype employee Mihkel Karu in 2021, Krokodilli Kapital is a family office based in Tallinn, Estonia. The firm backs early-stage startups in fintech, proptech, clean energy, and healthtech.
Deals in the Baltics: 2
Active portfolio companies: 2
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/six-family-offices-to-watch-in-the-baltics/
