Biggest tech startup hub in Baltics and Nordics opens in Vilnius
Vilnius Tech Park, the region’s biggest hub for tech startups, opened for business today.
Boasting more than 9,000 square meters of prime office space in renovated 19th century buildings, all set in the historic parkland of Sapiegos stately home, Vilnius Tech Park is now one of the most stylish working environments on offer in the Baltics.
Currently, around 90 per cent of the offices are occupied by a range of startups, venture capital funds and creative entrepreneurs. Vilnius Tech Park also features a conference centre, cafe, community garden and pub. Plus it’s home to the Teo Omnitel HUB, a co-working space aiming to become a focal point for tech and design talent. Despite the fact the park only officially opens today, more than 40 companies have already made it their home.
Aside from inspiring working space, the park also offers startups access to an exclusive network of business partners, all available on site to provide bespoke support. Services offered include accounting, human resources, and legal support, plus there are accelerators, incubators and even a coding school all resident in the park.
While many of the companies are local startups, 20% of the office space is reserved for talent taking its first steps in Vilnius. In this way, the park hopes to attract more budding companies to the city. With its vibrant ecosystem, deep talent pool and great quality of life, more and more companies are choosing to make Vilnius their home. And, through special relocation packages and even free working spaces for teams setting up in Lithuania, Vilnius Tech Park aims to encourage even more talent to flood into the city.
Another unique feature of the park is the design. While still retaining their historical character, its 19th century buildings have been transformed into vibrant working spaces in just over a year. Designed by local architects A2SM and carried out by Baltic Engineers, the renovation has fused the best of old and new. Original ceilings and walls combine with contemporary lighting solutions in rooms filled with the latest gadgets. For the renovation Vilnius Tech Park also collaborated with local craftsmen who used materials they found in the park to craft the interiors of the buildings. This approach means both that the buildings’ history lives on, and that the entrepreneurs who now occupy them find themselves in inspiring surroundings where good ideas will grow into great ones.
As the Managing Director of Vilnius Tech Park, Darius Zakaitis, puts it, even though it attracted hundreds of eminent guests from across region, the park’s official opening is only the beginning. “The goal of Vilnius Tech Park is to attract and empower tech talent from Lithuania and the wider region,” he says. “So, we’re proactively working on both local and international partnerships. These partnerships are with corporations, venture capital funds and similar hubs throughout the region. Many fruitful partnerships have already been established, yet today’s roundtable discussion shows that there’s still a lot more to do on the corporate and policy levels. Representing this startup community, we’re ready to provide the leadership needed to develop the Baltic’s vibrant startup ecosystem into a sustainably growing community,” he concluded.
