DeepTech Startup Network and the role of the University of Tartu in it

The Estonian state’s decision to allocate €12.6 million to launch the DeepTech Startup Network is a pioneering step. This is not merely another support measure, but a strategic investment in a new engine of Estonia’s economy – research‑empowered entrepreneurship.

In the case of research‑empowered products and services, research and data are systematically integrated into development, making solutions more reliable, rapidly scalable, evidence‑based and competitive. It is therefore essential that ideas originating in research do not remain in laboratories but move consistently into entrepreneurship.

Why does deep tech require a dedicated approach, and what is the role of the deep‑tech network?

The network is designed specifically for research-intensive – deep-tech – companies based on scientific discoveries or engineering breakthroughs and whose development is time-consuming, high-risk, and capital-intensive. A deep‑tech company differs from a conventional start‑up: it is built on years of scientific research, requires substantial development investment, and involves significant risk. For this very reason, private-sector interest in the early development of such ideas is initially limited, even though deep-tech companies have significant long-term potential.

Too often, innovation reaching the economy is thought to arise from a stroke of luck or a discovery of a lone genius tinkering in a garage. But in research-based deep-tech entrepreneurship, we cannot rely on chance. A deep-tech company is almost always preceded by at least ten years of scientific work. This means research teams, infrastructure, patience and continuity.

The role of the state is to provide a bridge between lab-born ideas and the market. The public sector absorbs the risk in the early stages, and private investors join later. Public support makes it possible to create a systematic network in which universities and science parks work together. The objective is clear: to grow 37 new internationally competitive research-intensive companies over the next four years.

Rather than creating new parallel structures, the network connects existing activities in universities, science parks and support organisations to make the transition from research to entrepreneurship more logical and continuous. The partners are the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Sparkup Tartu Science Park and the Tallinn Science and Business Park Tehnopol.

The DeepTech Startup Network helps to

• reduce fragmentation across the ecosystem and prevent information loss;

• make it easier for researchers and entrepreneurs to take their next steps;

• provide the companies with a logical and continuous support pathway across different stages of company development;

• share technological risk in the early stages where the private sector is not yet ready to engage.

The role of the University of Tartu in the network

The University of Tartu plays a central role in identifying, developing, and commercialising research-based innovation within the DeepTech Startup Network. The university is a breeding ground for knowledge-based entrepreneurship – bringing together scientific excellence, entrepreneurial competence, and the strategic management of intellectual property.

It can therefore be said that the University of Tartu’s primary role in this network is to empower researchers. Our researchers carry out world-class work, but the value of this work must also reach society and the economy. As recently as ten years ago, entrepreneurship was often regarded within universities as a secondary, marginal activity compared to research. This attitude is now changing. For example, since 2019, the University of Tartu has supported the early-stage development of research ideas through the Feasibility Fund grants, the total volume of which has by now exceeded €2 million. In 2025, a record 65 applications were submitted for this support measure. In addition, at all faculties of the university, increasing attention is being paid to the application of research in entrepreneurship. This includes developing modern precision medicine solutions and health products, as well as considering how to use local raw materials or create smart applications that improve the user experience.

The University of Tartu’s spin‑offs provide the clearest evidence that continuous research and early university support can transform lab discoveries into functioning deep-tech companies. The university’s contribution to the economy can be measured, and it increases over time. For instance, 74 spin‑off companies have emerged from the University of Tartu, of which 63 are currently active. Their combined turnover in 2024 amounted to nearly €90 million, and they employed about 1,000 people.

Events of the network