Lithuanian startup Eddy Travels was announced the winner of Lithuanian startup conference ‘Startup Fair. Change 2019’ on May 31, according to the press release by Startup Lithuania.
Its entry incorporates an AI chatbot which checks around 38 different websites to plan a journey. The startup became operational in November 2018 and has already attracted more than 6,500 users; they are currently headquartered in Canada.
“We are going to improve language processing in the future, and also integrate new travel services and partners. We are also planning to look for investments, especially in Canada and the US, which would help us expand even further,” says Adomas Baltagalvis, co-founder of Eddy Travels.
Dear Dear, a Lithuanian startup focusing on obtaining custom-made glasses online, came second in the competition.
The Ukrainian startup Solar Gaps finished third with their project of developing smart solar blinds that generate energy.
The entries were evaluated by an international jury of investors, representatives of accelerators and other experts of the startup ecosystem.
According to Roberta Rudokienė, the head of ecosystem development at Startup Lithuania, 118 companies from 25 countries applied to participate in the startup competition.
“Forty-four startups with the greatest potential were selected for the competition,” within the fields of “fintech, life sciences, cyber security, cloud computing, and agriculture”.
“To develop their activities, many startups used artificial intelligence, machine learning, or blockchains,” says Rudokienė.
An increasing number of investors “from new markets are showing interest in Lithuania,” says Rudokienė, with “investors from 11 countries” participating this year.
Startup Lithuania, an agency under Lithuania’s Ministry of Economy and Innovation, has been organizing the yearly ‘Startup Fair. Change’ in Vilnius since 2013.
