WFM at @Wise. Language buff with a passion for infrastructure, urbanism and human rights. Foodie at heart and occasional purveyor of quality shitposts.
Tallinn, Estonia
Joined July 2011
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โญ Alex Luik ๐ช๐ช๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ retweeted
Tallinn. Last day of October. Photo by Michael Huang. UNESCO world hertitage site. ๐ช๐ช๐ช๐บ
Apparently no damage done as theyโve caught it pretty fast
Hackers raised freezer temperature at Estonian supermarket chain to +50ยฐC
#Estonia
news.err.ee/1610183296/hackeโฆ
The next addition to the Fahle project in Tallinn at Sossimรคe 9. Architectural competition was won by AB Panda with the work โOrigamiโ.
Actually, not one but two unicorns this month!
Estonia has gained two new unicorns in October: Blackwall and Skeleton Technologies.
Both companies reached valuations exceeding $1 billion following investment announcements, but their businesses are quite different.
Blackwall founded in Tallinn in 2019 by Nikita Rozenberg and Denis Prochko, develops #cybersecurity and web traffic management solutions. On 20 October, the company announced a $100 million Series C investment round led by AVP, bringing its valuation to $2.2 billion, approximately four times its valuation at the previous funding round in 2025.
Interestingly, the original business idea came from a much smaller problem: one of the founders operated a recipe website that struggled with malicious bot traffic.
Today, Blackwalls technology protects millions of websites through hosting providers, helping distinguish legitimate users and AI agents from malicious automated traffic.
Skeleton Technologies, founded in #Estonia in 2009, develops high-power energy storage systems based on supercapacitor technology. On 14 October, Skeleton announced a strategic investment led by Siemens, bringing its valuation above $1 billion after 17 years of development.
The investment is particularly interesting because of the companys growing involvement in AI infrastructure. AI data centers experience rapid fluctuations in electricity demand, and Skeletons technology helps manage these power peaks and stabilize supply. As part of the agreement, Siemens will integrate Skeletons technology into its data-center infrastructure portfolio and receive exclusive rights to market these products in that sector.
The investment will also support Skeletons manufacturing expansion in the United States and research and development activities in Silicon Valley.
For a country of approximately 1.4 million people, two billion-dollar technology companies reaching these milestones within one week is quite a notable development. Estonia has gained two new unicorns in October: Blackwall and Skeleton Technologies.
Both companies reached valuations exceeding $1 billion following investment announcements, but their businesses are quite different.
Blackwall founded in Tallinn in 2019 by Nikita Rozenberg and Denis Prochko, develops cybersecurity and web traffic management solutions. On 20 October, the company announced a $100 million Series C investment round led by AVP, bringing its valuation to $2.2 billion, approximately four times its valuation at the previous funding round in 2025.
Interestingly, the original business idea came from a much smaller problem: one of the founders operated a recipe website that struggled with malicious bot traffic.
Today, Blackwalls technology protects millions of websites through hosting providers, helping distinguish legitimate users and AI agents from malicious automated traffic.
Skeleton Technologies, founded in Estonia in 2009, develops high-power energy storage systems based on supercapacitor technology. On 14 October, Skeleton announced a strategic investment led by Siemens, bringing its valuation above $1 billion after 17 years of development.
The investment is particularly interesting because of the companys growing involvement in AI infrastructure. AI data centers experience rapid fluctuations in electricity demand, and Skeletons technology helps manage these power peaks and stabilize supply. As part of the agreement, Siemens will integrate Skeletons technology into its data-center infrastructure portfolio and receive exclusive rights to market these products in that sector.
The investment will also support Skeletons manufacturing expansion in the United States and research and development activities in Silicon Valley.
For a country of approximately 1.4 million people, two billion-dollar technology companies reaching these milestones within one week is quite a notable development.
New ๐ช๐ช unicorn @skel_tech
Estoniaโs 11th unicorn is officially Skeleton Technologies. ๐ช๐ช But if you count Starship Technologies, the real number is 12.
With 12 billion-dollar startups for a population of 1.3 million, Estonia is an absolute outlierโcompeting only with Israel and Singapore for the world's highest unicorn density!
bloomberg.com/news/articles/โฆ
โญ Alex Luik ๐ช๐ช๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ retweeted
A warm welcome to Riga Castle, Madam President @YlleMadise! Happy your first visit is Latvia.
Latvia and Estonia are best friends, allies and neighbours, and we share a lot. Looking forward to working closely with you to advance bilateral, regional and European cooperation๐ฑ๐ป๐ค๐ช๐ช
Estonia has a new president, รlle Madise.
Today I took my oath of office before @Riigikogu, with a deep sense of responsibility & humbleness. Together, we shape Estoniaโs future. Thank you for your kind wishes, and thank you, President @AlarKaris.
โญ Alex Luik ๐ช๐ช๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ retweeted
Estonian AI decacorn Jaan Tallinn
Estonia has produced quite a few successful technology entrepreneurs, but Jaan Tallinn is in a category of his own.
Most people know him as one of the co-founders of Skype, which changed the way people communicate globally. But what he has done since Skype is perhaps even more interesting.
Jaan was an early investor in DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014, and in Anthropic, where he led the $124 million Series A investment round in 2021. His investment portfolio also includes @spacexai @SpaceX , @ouraring and several other companies working on technologies that are shaping the next decades.
According to Estonia's 2026 rich list, his estimated net worth has reached โฌ10.3 billion, making him the wealthiest Estonian by a considerable margin.
But there is another side to his work that deserves at least as much attention.
Jaan has spent nearly two decades supporting research into existential risks, particularly those associated with artificial intelligence. He co-founded the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge and the Future of Life Institute, long before AI safety became a mainstream discussion.
And this is not limited to advocating for responsible technology. In 2024 alone, he distributed $51 million in philanthropic grants, supporting AI safety research and other efforts to reduce global catastrophic risks. Through his Survival and Flourishing Fund, he has supported hundreds of projects worldwide.
His philanthropic work has also received international recognition. In 2026, TIME included Jaan Tallinn in its TIME100 Philanthropy list, recognising some of the world's most influential philanthropists.
What I find particularly interesting is the consistency of his approach. He invests in some of the most ambitious technology companies in the world while simultaneously funding research into the risks that technological progress might bring.
From building Skype to investing in DeepMind and @AnthropicAI , and now being one of the world's significant private funders of AI safety research, Jaan has managed to stay relevant and have more and mroe significant voice back by impact through several generations.
Not bad for someone who started programming computer games in #Estonia in the 1980s. Not bad for country which also through systematic approach to digitalization, startups and innovation continues to support birth of successs stories.
A good reminder that Estonias, or any countrys, contribution to global technology goes well beyond the companies founded within its borders.
CBD getting a little bit better bit by bit. The old terrible Kaubamaja hopefully soon to be demolished and replaced with a new one.
AERIS has won the PORTO FRANCO Interior Architecture competition held this summer. Recently, Porto Franco has hired a construction manager tasked with finishing the central building that has been standing unfinished for a couple years. Indicative of restarting construction soon.
โญ Alex Luik ๐ช๐ช๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ retweeted
Happening now in Seoul: Estonian slackliner Jaan Roose is crossing a 160-metre line strung 120 metres above Sejong-daero, between the Koreana hotel and the Dong-A Media Center, in sight of Gwanghwamun and Gyeongbokgung Palace.
