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Estonian unicorns: the full list of 10 companies (2026)

All 10 Estonian unicorns counted by Startup Estonia, from Skype and Wise to Veriff and Glia: founders, unicorn year, status today and per-capita figures.

As of October 2026, Estonia has 10 unicorns by the official count of Startup Estonia, the government's startup programme: Skype, Playtech, Wise, Bolt, Pipedrive, Zego, ID.me, Gelato, Veriff and Glia. The count includes companies founded by Estonians, headquartered in Estonia or running a large share of their R&D there, so several of them are based abroad, in cities such as London and New York. Glia, added in 2022, is the most recent name on the official list. With 1,360,745 residents at the start of 2026, that is about 7.3 unicorns per million people.

The ten names come from Startup Estonia's "Why Estonia" page. The founding and unicorn years below follow Startup Estonia's own list from April 2021, updated in April 2022, unless another source is named.

All 10 Estonian unicorns at a glance

  1. Skype: founded 2003, unicorn 2005
  2. Playtech: founded 1999, unicorn 2007
  3. Wise: founded 2010, unicorn 2015
  4. Bolt: founded 2013, unicorn 2018
  5. Pipedrive: founded 2010, unicorn 2020
  6. Zego: founded 2016, unicorn 2021
  7. ID.me: founded 2010, unicorn 2021
  8. Gelato: founded 2006, unicorn 2021
  9. Veriff: founded 2015, unicorn 2022
  10. Glia: founded 2012, unicorn 2022

Glia's years come from the company and Brand Estonia's unicorn list, which dates its unicorn valuation to March 2022.

What counts as an Estonian unicorn

In April 2021 Startup Estonia, the Estonian Founders Society and Invest in Estonia agreed a shared definition. An Estonian-founded unicorn is a company that builds an innovative, repeatable business model with global growth potential and has a valuation of at least $1 billion confirmed by a major international news outlet. It must also meet at least one of three conditions:

  • at least one founder was an Estonian citizen when the company was founded;
  • the company is or has been headquartered in Estonia;
  • the company has or has had a significant part of its R&D in Estonia.

The "is or has been" wording matters. A company stays on the list after it is sold, listed or shut down, which is why Skype is still counted. Startup Estonia said at the time that Zego and ID.me had no physical offices in Estonia and qualified through their Estonian co-founders.

The ten companies, one by one

1. Skype

Niklas Zennström from Sweden and Janus Friis from Denmark founded Skype in 2003; the software was built by Estonian engineers including Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn. In September 2005 eBay agreed to buy it for $2.6 billion. Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion and retired it on 5 May 2025 in favour of Teams.

2. Playtech

Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi founded the gambling software company in Tartu in 1999. Startup Estonia dates its unicorn status to 2007. Playtech is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker PTEC.

3. Wise

Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus started the money transfer service as TransferWise; it was renamed Wise in 2021. Startup Estonia dates its unicorn status to 2015, when a $58 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz valued it at close to $1 billion. Wise listed directly in London in July 2021, and Startup Estonia called it the ecosystem's first official decacorn. As of October 2026 its primary listing is on Nasdaq under the ticker WSE, after a move completed in May 2026, with a secondary listing in London.

4. Bolt

Markus Villig started the ride-hailing company in Tallinn in 2013; it traded as Taxify before renaming itself Bolt in 2019, and Martin Villig is a co-founder. A May 2018 funding round with Daimler among the investors gave it unicorn status. In January 2022 Bolt raised €628 million at a €7.4 billion valuation, led by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity. It is private and still headquartered in Tallinn.

5. Pipedrive

Timo Rein, Urmas Purde, Ragnar Sass, Martin Henk and Martin Tajur founded the sales CRM in Tallinn in 2010. In November 2020 Vista Equity Partners agreed to take a majority stake in a deal that valued Pipedrive at about $1.5 billion. It remains private, with Vista as majority owner.

6. Zego

Estonian Sten Saar co-founded Zego, a London-based motor insurer that started out covering gig-economy drivers and riders, in 2016. In March 2021 Zego raised $150 million led by DST Global at a $1.1 billion valuation; Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus was among its existing backers. Zego is private.

7. ID.me

ID.me began in 2010 as TroopSwap, a business aimed at the US military community, and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Brand Estonia names Tanel Suurhans as its Estonian co-founder and CTO. In March 2021 it raised $100 million led by Viking Global Investors at a $1.5 billion valuation. The company is private and has supplied identity verification to US government agencies, including the IRS and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

8. Gelato

Gelato is a Norwegian print-on-demand platform that routes orders to production partners close to the buyer. Bloomberg reported in August 2021 that its valuation had passed $1 billion in a round joined by Goldman Sachs. Startup Estonia lists it among the 2021 unicorns founded by Estonians, and Brand Estonia says co-founder Mike Arbuzov is from Estonia and that Gelato has a company registered there.

9. Veriff

Kaarel Kotkas founded the identity verification company in Tallinn in 2015. In January 2022 Veriff raised a $100 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation, co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon. It is private; the TopTech 2026 ranking estimated its value at €1.811 billion, third among Estonian tech companies.

10. Glia

Dan Michaeli, Carlos Paniagua and Justin DiPietro founded Glia in New York in 2012. It sells digital customer service software, with a focus on financial services companies. When it passed $1 billion in March 2022, it had offices in Tallinn and Tartu as well as New York. Glia is private.

Where each company stands in October 2026

  • Listed: Wise (Nasdaq, with a secondary listing in London) and Playtech (London).
  • Acquired and closed: Skype (eBay in 2005, Microsoft in 2011, retired in 2025).
  • Private, majority-owned by an investment firm: Pipedrive (Vista Equity Partners).
  • Private and venture-backed: Bolt, Zego, ID.me, Gelato, Veriff and Glia.

The official list records when a company first reached $1 billion. It is not a live valuation tracker, and a company's value today can be higher or lower than at the moment it joined.

Blackwall: a possible eleventh unicorn

In late September 2026 the TopTech 2026 ranking, compiled by M&A adviser Prudentia Tallinn and Siena Secondary Fund, put cybersecurity company Blackwall at €1.033 billion, up 368% in a year. Tech.eu called it Estonia's newest unicorn. Invest in Estonia points out that this is TopTech's own estimate rather than the price of a new funding round. The ranking's co-author told Tech.eu that the figure applies a revenue multiple based on comparable cybersecurity companies.

Blackwall was founded in Estonia as BotGuard and raised a €45 million Series B led by Dawn Capital in 2025. As of October 2026 Startup Estonia still gives the total as 10. TopTech uses its own method and counts five currently operating Estonian unicorns, so its figures do not match Startup Estonia's historical list.

How many unicorns per capita does Estonia have?

Statistics Estonia put the population at 1,360,745 on 1 January 2026. Ten unicorns for that population works out to about 7.3 per million people, by our calculation. Startup Estonia's homepage says Estonia ranked first in Europe per capita for startups, unicorns and VC investment in 2025.

Other figures circulate because the methods differ:

  • An e-Residency article from June 2026 gives 7.14 per million and ranks Estonia second in the world, behind Liechtenstein, using CB Insights and World Population Review data.
  • Atomico's State of European Tech 2022, quoted by Startup Estonia, counted 3.8 unicorns created per million inhabitants, using its own method.
  • Invest in Estonia has quoted 7.7 per million, which matches a population of about 1.3 million.

The wider Estonian startup sector

Startup Estonia's report on the third quarter of 2025 counted 1,556 startups, 1,324 of them economically active, and 15,023 people employed in the sector according to tax board data. Bolt had the highest turnover in Estonia that quarter, followed by Pipedrive and Wise.

For more on companies and people from the region, see our startups and founders sections. Founders from outside the EU can compare Estonia's scheme in our guide to startup visas in Europe, and Tallinn's Latitude59 conference is listed in our 2026–27 conference calendar.

Frequently asked questions

How many unicorns does Estonia have?

As of October 2026, Startup Estonia counts 10: Skype, Playtech, Wise, Bolt, Pipedrive, Zego, ID.me, Gelato, Veriff and Glia. Cybersecurity company Blackwall was estimated at €1.033 billion in a September 2026 ranking but has not been added to the official count.

What was Estonia's first unicorn?

Skype. It was founded in 2003 with software built by Estonian engineers and reached unicorn status in 2005, the year eBay agreed to buy it for $2.6 billion.

Why are Zego and ID.me counted as Estonian unicorns?

Under the 2021 definition, it is enough that one founder was an Estonian citizen when the company was founded. Startup Estonia said Zego and ID.me had no physical offices in Estonia but qualified through their Estonian co-founders.

What is the newest Estonian unicorn?

On the official list it is Glia, which passed a $1 billion valuation in March 2022. Blackwall was reported as a new unicorn in September 2026, based on a ranking estimate rather than a funding round.

Is Estonia first in the world for unicorns per capita?

Startup Estonia says Estonia ranked first in Europe per capita in 2025. Globally, a June 2026 e-Residency article places it second behind Liechtenstein, at 7.14 unicorns per million people.