In an effort to establish itself as the new tech hub of the Baltic States, Lithuania is constructing the largest tech campus in Europe in the city of Vilnius.
In an effort to establish itself as the new tech hub of the Baltic States, Lithuania is constructing the largest tech campus in Europe in the city of Vilnius.
The campus was developed for 100 million euros ($109.6 million) by Tech Zity, a Lithuanian infrastructure project, and will cover 55,000 square metres. It will house 5,000 digital workers.
It would surpass Station F in Paris, which is currently the biggest startup campus in all of Europe, in size. The development is modelled after British renovation initiatives like the Tate Modern and Battersea Power Station.
In Vilnius’ New Town, developers from Tech Zity will renovate a number of sewing factories while preserving factory-like office floors with at least 7-meter ceiling heights. The campus is designed to entice Vilnius’ tech workers to return to work following the pandemic.
The project aims to encourage Vilnius tech workers to return to the office post-pandemic, as tech companies push for a return to the office. Lithuania’s tech ecosystem has grown significantly in the past decade, with 18,000 people now in the Lithuanian tech ecosystem.
The development project involves renovating an old, abandoned industrial space in Vilnius’ New Town, the city’s hipster district. It’s the outcome of 10 years of energetic young people starting new businesses every day. Some of them have had great success, he noted.
He continued, “Lithuanians are highly skilled, very productive, and aggressively building their own companies.
The second-largest city in the Baltic states, Vilnius, is home to a burgeoning tech sector that boasts major unicorns like cybersecurity company Nord and secondhand clothing retailer Vinted.
In Vilnius, Nord has a 300 square metre campus that is 300 metres from Tech Zity’s and 200 metres from Vinted’s headquarters. Co-living communities, dining establishments, and bars are all part of Tech Zity’s plan to create a vibrant nightlife on campus.
The mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, said in a statement on Friday that “Vilnius is maintaining a firm position within the European tech scene thanks to rapid innovations and visionary businesses like Tech Zity.”
The capital has developed into a cutting-edge tech hub that inspires bold ideas, fruitful collaborations, and solutions that are people-focused. It is bursting with innovative entrepreneurs, multinational talents, and ambitious investors.
Around 99% of the revenues of Lithuanian tech companies come from abroad, he claimed. He continued by saying that the nation’s tech scene takes inspiration from Israel, which has given rise to a number of international tech successes, including the self-driving technology company Mobileye and the navigation app Waze.
Companies like Google, Bored Panda, and Kilo Health have offices on Vilnius’ Tech Park, Tech Loft, and Tech Spa campuses, which are managed by Tech Zity.
At 55,000 square metres, the project is a massive undertaking and is anticipated to be the biggest tech startup campus in all of Europe.
Tech Zity locations have been used for filming by the American streaming service Netflix, including the docuseries “The Playlist,” which centres on Spotify founder Daniel Ek.
Tech Zity currently uses 20,000 square metres, but over time, they want to expand to 80,000 square metres, taking into account new campuses, current locations, and other projects.
Despite its recent successes, Lithuania is still a long way from becoming a significant tech hub that can compete with the likes of the United Kingdom, France, or Germany.
In 2022, the nation received 222 million euros in venture capital funding, a pitiful sum when compared to its Western European counterparts. As opposed to this, tech startups in the UK raised $30 billion, while those in France raised 13.5 billion euros.
However, local founders claim that venture capitalists have become more interested in the nation.
On the sidelines of the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, last November, Tom, CEO and co-founder of Nord Security, told CNBC that “all the top VC firms are now coming to Lithuania and talking with startups, angel investors, and anyone else.”
Accel provided the most recent funding for a Lithuanian startup named Kevin. Vineted also has Insight Partners, EQT, and many other investors.