2024 Case Study: Turing College—A Standout Investment by Iron Wolf Capital
About Iron Wolf Capital
Iron Wolf Capital is the Baltic Deep Tech and AI Fund. In the past 5 years, the fund has supported 22 companies across the Baltics and the diaspora, and verticals ranging from robotics and photonics to pharma, AI-focused EdTech, and climatetech. One of their standout investments is Turing College, also backed by Y-Combinator.
Investing in the Future of Education
Founded by Lukas Kaminskis, Tomas Moska, and Benas Sidlauskas, Turing College is future-proofing adult learning by making it career—and skills-oriented. Iron Wolf Capital first invested in Turing College in 2021 and continued to support its growth with follow-on investments in 2024. The team has gone from strength to strength lately, demonstrating ambition, exceptional execution, and a bold vision for the future.
Highlights from 2024:
- Ranked #2 on Sifted’s list of the fastest-growing startups in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and #17 across Europe.
- Awarded a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to develop transformative AI solutions for adult education.
- Ran pilot programs in Africa and is expanding in the UK and Germany.
- Launched an AI Engineering course geared towards rising AI entrepreneurs helping them build cutting-edge and ethical AI applications.
Drivers Behind the Investment
Investing at early stages often requires making decisions based on minimal information about traction or revenue. At this stage, startups are typically still searching for their product-market fit, and pivots are often part of the journey. One constant, however, is the team—and, most importantly, the founders.
Iron Wolf Capital places bets on exceptional founders who exhibit drive, global ambition, clarity of vision, and the resilience to overcome challenges while staying motivated. These qualities make all the difference in navigating the unpredictable path of building something transformative. The Turing College trio exhibited these qualities, and it shows.
Ecosystem Outlook
New funds, especially early-stage ones, are emerging in the Baltics and Poland. Our region certainly benefits from increased collaboration among ecosystem players, particularly in the deep tech sector. However, there remains a critical gap in growth-stage funding for deep tech companies across various fields, especially dual-use technologies, space tech, MedTech, and others. Iron Wolf Capital is optimistic that 2025 will bring new incentives, including more engagement from pension funds to fuel the venture activities.
Venture capital is still a relatively young asset class in the Baltics—barely two decades old—and the industry continues to learn and evolve. Prioritizing strategic exits and professionalizing platform activities will help strengthen the ecosystem further.
2025 Outlook for Iron Wolf Capital
Iron Wolf Capital is thrilled to launch its new fund soon and continue actively investing. In the Baltics, fascinating developments are in the works across fintech, biotech, space tech (particularly downstream applications), and dual-use. Significant infrastructural transformations are underway in energy and cloud/data infrastructure, and we have only scratched the surface of the AI-catalyzed shifts affecting life as we know it. Iron Wolf Capital looks ahead to supporting frontier tech and transformation, along with championing new initiatives focused on founder support, including in fields of ESG and board leadership, as well as fronting ecosystem growth, together with the Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, including continued engagements with the pension funds.
