TALLINN, Estonia (CHATNEWSTV) – Estonian startup veterans Jana Budkovskaja and David Clark will co-lead a Baltic angel investor syndicate backing the top startup from this year’s Latitude59 pitch competition, the Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) announced Wednesday.
The cross-border syndicate, expected to invest up to €500,000, includes angel investors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. EstBAN said Budkovskaja and Clark will represent the Estonian side of the deal.
“Syndicate investing is not just about capital; it’s a fine-tuned balance of a startup team’s readiness and maturity to truly leverage business angel support,” said Budkovskaja, CEO of Beamline Accelerator and a board member of EstBAN. “I believe the most groundbreaking innovations emerge at the intersection of sectors—especially when there’s a validated product-market fit.”
From the Latvian side, LatBAN named Ansis Spridzans and Girts Licis as lead investors. Lithuania’s lead will be announced soon, EstBAN said.
This marks the seventh time EstBAN is backing a Latitude59 winner. Previous investments include Fractory, Atom Mobility, Ender Turing, Adact, Vocal Image, Cino and Flowstep. Adact reported a successful exit this spring.
Clark, a fund member at EstBAN and platform partner at Tera Ventures, has been active in Estonia’s startup ecosystem since 2012, making some 20 angel investments.
“I’m excited to co-lead this year’s investment with EstBAN and Jana. We already see another strong competition among the startups who’ve made it to the Top 30,” said Clark, who previously supported the 2023 Latitude59 syndication. “After the incredible success two years ago, I’m looking forward to finding the next breakout founder.”
Latitude59 received 391 applications from 47 countries for its 2025 competition. Thirty startups were selected for the semi-finals, and five finalists will pitch at the main event on May 23.
The conference will be held May 21–23 at Kultuurikatel in Tallinn. It is considered the leading startup and tech event in the Baltics and the broader New Nordic region.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
