VNTRS Ready to Support Outlasting Businesses in the Baltic Region

What needs to change in defence technology for the free world to protect itself? That’s the challenge Frankenburg Technologies – a newly established Estonian-Latvian air defence technology company – have set out to solve.

That very first investment cheque — the most important document every startup founder seeks, yet one that only a small portion ever receives. The statistics are unfavorable – fewer than 1% of startups survive to secure early-stage funding. But that story is beginning to change, at least in the Baltic region.

By bringing the experience from VNTRS, a Nordic-Baltic venture studio headquartered in Stockholm, Kristaps Prusis co-founded Outlast—a new VC fund based in Latvia and Sweden that now helps more Baltic-region startups reach the critical investment milestone. 

As Kristaps notes: “By being there at a very early stage, we help Latvian startups and founders across the Baltics to accelerate their growth, test their products in Sweden and the Nordics before expanding further into larger European markets or the U.S.

Pouring knowledge and capital into early-stage Baltic startups

This Latvian-Swedish VC fund, with offices in Stockholm and Riga, was founded by four professionals well-versed in the startup and investment landscape: Egita Polanska, Marija Rucevska, Mikaela Pedersen, and Kristaps Prusis, bringing experience from both sides of the Baltic Sea.

Rather than focusing on mature companies with funding already secured, Outlast Fund seeks entrepreneurs who need that initial boost to create enduring businesses. “We aim to be the first cheque in backing ambitious founders developing solutions that are built to last, with initial pre-seed tickets of up to 250,000 EUR and up to 1.5M EUR seed rounds”, adds Kristaps.

Outlast Fund recently closed its first fund at €21 million to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the region. The fund is particularly interested in supporting serial entrepreneurs with a proven track record, backing them as early as the idea stage. It also invests in first-time founders who bring distinctive insight into their chosen verticals. In every case, however, the key trait they seek is an obsessive drive to solve their customers’ most pressing problems.

Favorable legislation and strong growth potential

Kristaps’ decision to establish a VC fund in Latvia was influenced not only by his roots but also by the country’s promising startup landscape and beneficial market conditions.

Latvia has enormous potential to build a strong startup ecosystem, and its growth is already significant. One indicator is the amount invested in startups: in H1 2025, Latvia attracted €70.1 million—about 700% more than in the same period in 2024. The legislation is also very favorable for companies, with benefits such as stock option programs and the ability to complete much of the reporting digitally, highlights Kristaps.

A key factor in the successful launch of Outlast Fund was the informational and practical support provided by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) through its representative office in Sweden. The fund is also backed by ALTUM, the Latvian Development Finance Institution, which serves as an anchor limited partner (LP), along with several other investors.

More than a typical VC fund

While Outlast Fund describes itself as a generalist and industry-agnostic—a common trait in the VC ecosystem—the team’s ambition goes beyond writing initial cheques. Their goal is to ignite the entrepreneurial spark in more people across the Baltic-Nordic region.

“We have very exciting plans for several activities to encourage and enable potential founders in Latvia to start their own businesses. Many employees at larger companies have deep vertical insights from years of experience in their fields, whether as medical doctors, lawyers, or professionals in banking and finance. We want to encourage these people to take the step and build solutions for the problems they’ve identified,” concludes Kristaps.

Outlast Fund has already invested in 5 startups across the region: Handwave (LV), Convershake (LV), MIA Health (NO), Aggregate Markets (EE), and Vitala (SE). Look out for the next wave of Nordic-Baltic success stories.

A quick overview of Outlast Fund’s backed companies:

Handwave - Biometric authentication platform (LV)

Handwave is enabling users to pay, verify identity, and activate loyalty programs with a simple palm scan by eliminating the need for cards, phones, or documents.

Convershake - AI-powered SaaS for Contact Centers (LV)

Convershake is an AI knowledge orchestration layer that enables legacy contact centers to evolve into AI-native operations—without ripping and replacing existing tools.

MIA Health - Data-driven digital health companion turning heart-rate data into lifelong cardiovascular fitness (NO)

Mia Health converts raw wearable heart-rate streams into a single “Activity Quotient (AQ)” score and personalized coaching. Grounded in 40 + years of NTNU epidemiological research, the app guides midlife adults and corporate workforces to stay active, reduce lifestyle-disease risk, and lower healthcare costs.

Aggregate Markets - Next-generation marketplace for construction aggregates (EE)

Aggregate Markets digitizes the $33 billion U.S. construction-aggregate supply chain. Its e-commerce platform pairs transparent, real-time pricing with instant dispatch so homeowners, contractors, quarries, and truck fleets can transact end-to-end in one workflow—no phone calls, no spreadsheets.

Vitala - Reimbursable exercise prescriptions for chronic care management (SE)

Vitala is a digital health platform that enables physicians to prescribe, monitor, and manage Exercise as Medicine - a clinically validated and reimbursable intervention for chronic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.