NestAI plans €10m defence AI R&D centre in Latvia

Latvia · Defence / Technology / Investment · 11 September 2026

Defence AI company NestAI is opening a research and development centre in Latvia, with a target of investing €10 million over the next few years.

The company plans to build a team of around 30 scientists and engineers. The centre will work on adaptive AI for unmanned and command systems, including systems designed to operate in contested environments where communications may be degraded.

NestAI develops NestOS, a modular operating platform for battlefield applications. In June, the company signed a letter of intent with the Finnish Ministry of Defence and the Estonian Defence Forces on cross-border AI development.

The Latvian centre therefore enters an already developing Nordic-Baltic defence technology network rather than operating as an isolated investment project.

For Latvia, the size of the investment is modest compared with major industrial projects, but the signal lies elsewhere: research and engineering work connected to defence AI is being located inside the country, close to military users and testing environments.

Source: Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, September 11, 2026.