The development by Lithuanian infrastructure firm Tech Zity was inspired by British renovation projects such as the Battersea Power Station and the Tate Modern.
tech zity
Lithuania is building Europe’s largest gigantic tech campus in its capital, Vilnius, as it seeks to become the new tech hub of the Baltics.
Built by Lithuanian infrastructure project Tech Zity, the €100 million ($109.6 million) development will cover an area of 55,000 square meters and will house 5,000 digital workers. The company made the announcement on Friday.
That would make it bigger than Station F in Paris, which is currently the largest startup campus in all of Europe.
The development draws inspiration from British renovation projects such as the Battersea Power Station and the Tate Modern Art Gallery.
Tech Zity’s developers will renovate a number of garment factories on a disused industrial site in Vilnius New Town, maintaining factory-like office floors with ceiling heights of over seven meters.
The campus aims to encourage Vilnius’ tech workers to return to their offices after the pandemic.
tech zity
The project aims to encourage Vilnius tech workers to return to their offices after the pandemic. Tech companies are increasingly asking their employees to return to the office after the pandemic-era trend of working from home.
Growing Lithuanian Tech Scene
Tech Zity founder Darius Zakaitis told CNBC that Lithuania’s tech ecosystem has grown dramatically over the past decade.
“When I started 30 years ago, there were 200 people in the Lithuanian tech ecosystem,” Zakaitis said. “Now it’s 18,000.”
The development project will restore an old disused industrial space in Vilnius’ new town, known as the hipster city.
tech zity
“This is the result of 10 years of active young people launching new companies every day, some of which have been very successful,” he said.
“Lithuanians are highly productive, result-oriented, highly skilled and very proactive in building their companies,” he added.
Vilnius, the second-largest city in the Baltics, is home to a burgeoning tech industry, including leading unicorns such as vintage clothing retailer Vinted and cybersecurity firm Nord.
Nord has its own campus of 300 square meters in Vilnius, about 300 meters from Tech Zity, and Vinted’s headquarters is about 200 meters away.
Tech Zity’s new campus will include co-living spaces, restaurants and bars, as well as cultural and educational facilities.
Tech Zity hopes to foster a vibrant nightlife and other social opportunities on campus that incorporates co-living spaces, restaurants and bars.
tech zity
Vilnius Mayor Vardas Venkunskas said in a statement on Friday: “Vilnius maintains a strong position within the European tech scene thanks to rapid innovation and visionary businesses like Tech Zity.” Stated.
“Filled with innovative entrepreneurs, multinational talent, and ambitious investors, the capital has grown into a modern technology hub that inspires bold ideas, successful collaborations, and human-centered solutions. bottom.”
Lithuanian tech companies earn about 99% of their revenue abroad, he said. He added that the country’s tech scene is modeled after Israel, which has produced a number of global tech successes such as self-driving technology company Mobileye and mapping app Waze.
Tech Zity manages three tech campuses in Vilnius, including Tech Park, Tech Loft and Tech Spa, which are home to companies such as Google, Bored Panda and Kilo Health.
The project is a large undertaking, covering an area of 55,000 square meters and expected to be the largest technology startup campus in all of Europe.
tech zity
US streaming platform Netflix has used Tech Zity locations for filming, including the documentary series The Playlist, which focuses on Spotify founder Daniel Ek.
Tech Zity, currently on 20,000 sqm, will eventually reach 80,000 sqm after taking into account new campuses, existing locations and other projects.
still a long way to go
Despite its recent success, Lithuania is far from being a major tech hub to rival the likes of the UK, France and Germany.
The country has attracted €222 million in venture capital funding in 2022, which pales in comparison to the Western European country. By contrast, UK tech startups raised $30 billion and their French peers raised €13.5 billion.
But the country is attracting more interest from venture capitalists, according to local founders.
Nord Security co-founder and CEO Tom said on the sidelines of the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, that “all the top VC firms are coming to Lithuania, and we’re looking at startups and We’re talking to all kinds of people, including angel investors,” he told CNBC. , last November.
“The last round of funding for a Lithuanian startup named Kevin was from Accel.Vineted includes Insight Partners, EQT, Accel and many others.”
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