Where Startup Money Comes From in Latvia

Money for a Latvian startup comes from five places: state grants, a state loan, angel investors, venture funds, and the EU. This page puts each at the stage it fits, with the terms from its own source, and sets them beside what the rounds we track show startups actually raise.

Programme budgets and intake windows change often. Every figure here is dated in the ledger at the end of the page and rechecked when its source changes, and nothing here is advice on whether to take the money.

Where Can a Latvian Startup Get Funding?

From state grants through LIAA, a state loan through Altum, angel investors such as LatBAN, venture capital funds, many of them backed by Altum, and the EU's EIC Accelerator. Grants and loans suit the idea and prototype stage, angels and pre-seed funds the first product, and larger funds and the EIC growth.

How Much Do Latvian Startups Raise at Each Stage?

Less than the headlines suggest. Across the 80 equity rounds we have tracked since 2019, the median pre-seed round was EUR 465,000, the median seed round EUR 1.32M, and the median Series A EUR 25.86M. In 2025, Latvian startups raised EUR 72.6M across 14 rounds.

The medians rest on 16 pre-seed, 23 seed, and 5 Series A rounds, so read them as a guide rather than a price list. A handful of large rounds carry most of the money, and the funding round tracker lists every round, its source, and who invested.

What Grants Can a Latvian Startup Get From LIAA?

Three suit an early startup: innovation vouchers, which pay an approved outside provider up to EUR 25,000 for development work, a grant of up to EUR 150,000 for commercialising research, and business incubation, which covers 70% of eligible costs and adds mentoring and space.

All three are open to companies registered in Latvia, and all three are de minimis aid, which caps the state aid one company may take over three years. That cap is the reason to read them together rather than one at a time: winning a voucher spends headroom you may want for an incubation grant.

The conditions, the intake windows, what is left in each budget, and what gets an application turned down are in the public funding guide, which carries each programme in full. The Startup Law's payroll relief and salary grant are a separate route again, in the Startup Law guide.

What Loans Does Altum Offer Startups?

A start-up loan of up to EUR 250,000 for companies registered no more than seven years ago, at a fixed rate, with a founder able to apply before the company exists. It is the right money for a business with a path to revenue and the wrong money for one facing years of development first.

A loan has to be repaid whether or not the product works, which is the whole of the difference between it and a grant. Like LIAA's grants, it is de minimis aid and spends the same headroom. The rate, the terms, the guarantee products that sit alongside it, and what Altum asks for are in the public funding guide.

How Do Angel Investors Work in Latvia?

Angels put in the first outside money, usually as a syndicate, for a minority stake and a say in how the company grows. Most Latvian angel activity runs through LatBAN, the Latvian Business Angel Network, and Estonian angels from EstBAN appear in Latvian rounds often enough to be worth approaching.

The three most active investors in the rounds we track are Change Ventures, LatBAN, and BADideas.fund. An angel round is frequently the evidence a fund asks for later, which is the argument for doing one even when the money could come from elsewhere. The investor directory has LatBAN's size and the individual angels and syndicates worth a pitch.

Which Venture Capital Funds Invest in Latvian Startups?

Mostly early-stage local funds, with regional and international funds joining the larger rounds. A good deal of the local money is state money invested through fund managers, which changes nothing about who decides: the manager still makes the call, on the fund's terms, and pitches to it like any other fund.

The investor directory profiles the funds and angel networks a founder is most likely to pitch, with stage, cheque size, and how many Latvian rounds each has appeared in. The funding round tracker shows which investor backed which round, and what was raised.

Can a Latvian Startup Get EU Funding?

Yes, through the EIC Accelerator, if the company is building an innovation with the potential to create new markets. Grants run below EUR 2.5 million and can be paired with an equity investment, but the application is long, competitive, assessed in stages, and worth costing in founder time before starting.

LIAA will support the cost of preparing applications to European Commission programmes such as Horizon Europe, which lowers the price of trying. The EIC guide has the budget, the equity terms, the stage-by-stage odds, and the alternatives for deep tech.

How Does Latvia Compare With Estonia and Lithuania for Startup Funding?

Latvia raises far less per person. In 2025, startup funding came to about EUR 41 per resident in Latvia, against EUR 82 in Lithuania and EUR 214 in Estonia, on the Baltic Startup Funding Report's figures, so a founder here competes for a smaller local pool.

Latvia versus Estonia versus Lithuania compares the three countries on company law and tax as well.

Which Funding Should a Latvian Startup Pursue First?

The cheapest money that fits the stage. Use grants and incubation while building, a loan once revenue is in sight, angels when you need outside money and advice, and funds once growth is proven. Each step up costs more of the company, so move up only when the stage below runs out.

1. Idea or prototype. Business incubation, an innovation voucher, and, for research-based technology, the science-intensive startup grant. No equity changes hands.
2. Revenue in sight. An Altum start-up loan, if the business can repay it.
3. A product and early customers. Angels and pre-seed funds, at a median round of EUR 465,000 in the rounds we track.
4. Growth you can show. Seed funds, at a median of EUR 1.32M, and then Series A.
5. Deep tech that needs scale. The EIC Accelerator, which pairs a grant with equity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Source of Startup Funding in Latvia?

It depends on the stage. LIAA grants and incubation suit the idea stage, an Altum loan suits a company close to revenue, and angels and venture funds suit a startup with a product and early customers.

How Much Can a Startup Borrow From Altum?

Up to EUR 250,000 as a start-up loan, at a fixed rate, for a company registered no more than seven years ago. The public funding guide has the current rate and the terms.

Are There Angel Investors in Latvia?

Yes. Most of them invest through LatBAN, the Latvian Business Angel Network, and Estonian angels from EstBAN appear in Latvian rounds too. The investor directory has LatBAN's size and the syndicates worth approaching.

How Big Is a Typical Seed Round in Latvia?

The median seed round in the rounds we track was EUR 1.32M, across 23 rounds, and the median pre-seed round was EUR 465,000.

Can a Foreign Founder Get Startup Funding in Latvia?

Private investors fund companies wherever the founder comes from, but LIAA's programmes are for companies registered in Latvia. The company registration guide covers setting one up from abroad.

Does the EIC Accelerator Fund Latvian Startups?

Yes. It is open to start-ups and SMEs across the EU, with grants below EUR 2.5 million that can be paired with equity. The EIC guide has the budget, the equity terms, and the odds.

Sources

• LIAA, on innovation vouchers, support for science-intensive startups, and business incubation.
• Altum, on the start-up loan and its venture capital investments.
• LatBAN, for its membership and investment totals.
• The European Innovation Council's 2026 work programme, for the EIC Accelerator.
• The funding round tracker, our own record of Latvian equity rounds, for what startups raise and the Baltic comparison.

This page maps where money comes from. Whether a particular round, grant, or loan is right for your company is a decision for you and the people advising you.