Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!
Estonia is internationally known as an outstanding place for doing innovative business. Our excellent environment for digital start-ups has produced ten unicorns and we do hope to continue on this track. We aim to have 25 unicorns by 2025. I hope that Clevon will be one of them.
Estonia is a small country with approximately the same size as Switzerland, but with a very small population of only 1.3 million. The technology sector is making us bigger. I am sincerely happy to see that Clevon is among the companies that are introducing the success story of Estonian technology sector to the whole world.
Clevon is not a so-called average start-up. Its roots are in a small town Viljandi far away from the capital and the international airport. Clevon and Cleveron have proven that business can enhance the local society and innovation does not have to come from capitals and business hubs only.
Estonia has played only a small role in the European auto industry. However, by combining the knowledge from academia with agile thinking of the business sector, Estonian companies are now leading the way in the new mobility sector.
Clevon builds self-driving electric delivery vehicles, which can travel on public roads, reduce costs for companies and on top of that are environmentally benign. I am sure that these solutions are at least part of if not the future of transport. That kind of solutions will transform transport for a better and more efficient future. This future is very close as you are already transporting goods in Europe and the company is looking for new partners here in the US.
We established the world’s first nationwide AI/robot law in Estonia. As a result, Starship Technologies has operated level 4 autonomous delivery robots in public streets of Estonia for over 4 years and they have now by far taken the lead in that industry. Clevon is close next with larger vehicles and slightly different business model.
It might come surprising, but Estonia is home to an entire galaxy of innovative autonomous-vehicle companies. We are considered a nationwide testbed with a highly innovative and open society and are open to experimenting and testing what companies have to offer.
Without any doubt the start-up and digital sector has been among the fastest growing areas of the Estonian economy and I believe that it is now time to bring the innovation that was born in the digital sector to the rest of the economy and the rest of the world. Clevon is a good example of this. By combining the technology with business and entrepreneurship you have managed to create something that will transform the whole mobility sector and hopefully will help to build a better world.
I wish you a lot of success!
