NestAI, a European AI lab for defence, is expanding to Estonia to build adaptive AI capability alongside the forces and industry shaping NATO's Eastern Flank. Estonia is part of NestAI's broader expansion across the Nordic and Baltic region, following its entry into Sweden in August and Latvia in September. NestAI has had an initial team in the country for more than a year, and a cooperation with the Estonian Defence Forces that was announced with a Letter of Intent in June 2026. The company will now formalise that presence by opening an office in Tallinn and growing the local team to more than 25 engineers and specialists during 2027.

NestAI develops NestOS, the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. Its open, modular and interoperable architecture allows AI to continuously learn from operational data and adapt as conditions change. Forces running it can keep their AI adapting after deployment, in conditions where communications are degraded and the operating picture changes faster than conventional software release cycles allow.

In June 2026, NestAI signed a Letter of Intent with the Finnish Ministry of Defence and the Estonian Defence Forces to advance joint AI development across borders, establishing a framework with a structured path to include additional allied partners. The cooperation focuses on the research and development of adaptive and learning AI, command and control support solutions, and autonomous and unmanned systems. The focus is on solutions that can operate seamlessly across the systems of different nations and allies, relying on open and modular architectures that enable system development and integration without dependence on a single vendor.

"Estonia’s objective is clear: new technologies must translate into real military capability faster. To achieve that, we need a strong defence technology ecosystem, close cooperation between companies and the state, and access to international expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Bringing this expertise together with Estonia’s operational experience and digital strengths helps us develop solutions that strengthen our defence and can be put to practical use by our forces," says Minister of Defence Martin Herem.

"The soon to be established R&D centre is a way of keeping the right talent in Estonia. We have world-class engineers and data scientists, but retaining them requires world-class challenges. NestAI's presence gives Estonian talent the opportunity to develop sovereign AI for battlefield operations right here at home, working directly alongside our forces. That combination of purpose and proximity is what builds lasting defence capability," says Dr Ivo Peets, Commander of the Force Transformation Command.

For NestAI, Estonia is the right place to build because operational need, technical talent, and political will are all present in one country. A country with a long record of adopting technology early in both government and defence, it published a national defence artificial intelligence strategy in March 2025, spends 5.4 percent of GDP on defence this year, and has grown a defence technology sector whose turnover has increased roughly sevenfold in four years.

Working alongside Estonian forces, industry and research institutions, NestAI aims to make adaptive AI part of how the region is defended. Peter Sarlin, NestAI Founder and Executive Chairman, announces the expansion at the Estonian Defence Industry Symposium in Tallinn on 22 September 2026.

"Strengthening Europe's borders is urgent, and it is not work that can be done at a distance. Ukraine has shown how quickly operational requirements change. AI that cannot keep learning after it is deployed will not hold, and building that capability means building it with the forces and companies who face those conditions," says Peter Sarlin, Founder and Executive Chairman of NestAI.

About NestAI

NestAI is a European AI lab for defence that delivers the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. Through NestOS, the company enables adaptive intelligence for unmanned and command systems, AI that continuously learns from operational data and adapts to changing conditions. NestOS is an open, modular and interoperable platform that enables multi-vendor integration without vendor lock-in and preserves long-term European control over critical AI capabilities.

Founded in 2025 by Peter Sarlin, who previously founded Silo AI, acquired by AMD in 2024 in the largest AI acquisition in European history, NestAI has raised €100M from Nokia and Tesi and grown to a team of more than 200 engineers and scientists. The company works with the Finnish Defence Forces and other European defence forces as well as leading industry partners including Saab and Patria.