Trustpilot, considered one of Denmark’s most promising startups, is establishing a product development division in Vilnius. In the next two years, the company, which operates one of the world’s largest online review communities, plans to build a team of approximately 40 software system engineers in the Lithuanian capital. Initially, this team will be responsible for the infrastructure of big data and authentication systems that the Trustpilot platform is based on.
According to Trustpilot’s Senior VP of Engineering, Ole Dallerup, the opportunity to both support and tap into the talent on offer in Lithuania’s vibrant IT ecosystem played a key role in the company’s decision. “We chose Lithuania for a multitude of reasons,” explains Mr. Dallerup. “First, we know that there is a pool of highly qualified software engineers here, and the universities are prepared to constantly improve their training. Secondly, it is particularly important for us that we can be an important player in the country’s information technology ecosystem, not just benefitting from its advantages, but also sharing our valuable experiences with others. Thirdly, the assistance of Invest Lithuania contributed significantly to our decision.”
Trustpilot develops and operates an online review platform that collects and analyses customer reviews on a multitude of products and services. The platform uses big data analytics and artificial intelligence to turn a huge flow of customer feedback into helpful insights. These insights are used by companies – to help them improve their offerings to customers – and by customers – to help them shop smarter online.
Currently, the Trustpilot platform contains almost 29 million testimonials related to around 165,000 different companies. This makes it the largest e-commerce rating platform in the world.
For Lithuania’s Economy Minister, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, the way Trustpilot operates can provide useful lessons for Lithuania in terms of developing a sustainable innovation ecosystem. “While half of the staff in the company’s Copenhagen office are Danish, the other half are specialists from a range of other countries,” the Minister points out. “This international talent is one of the distinctive features of a sustainable innovation ecosystem. That is why Lithuania should further liberalise its migration procedures, seeking to attract a greater number of progressive companies that create exceptional products for the global market. Decisions made by both the Ministry of Economy and the Government in relation to migration will help ensure that our tech and innovation ecosystem will be heading in the right direction,” Mr Sinkevičius states.
“The decision of Trustpilot, which is considered to be one of the most viable companies in Denmark, to establish a product development division in Lithuania is not a coincidence,” states Gediminas Koryzna, Director of the Business Development Department at the foreign investment promotion agency, Invest Lithuania. “Unity, another world-renowned Danish startup, has had a team in Lithuania developing its platform for a number of years. Adform, which develops innovative advertising technologies, is also operating here successfully. So, a cluster of progressive and innovative Danish companies is being built in Vilnius, and we see bright prospects for it to grow further,” says Mr Koryzna.
At present, Trustpilot employs more than 500 people in its 6 international offices, located in Copenhagen, New York, Denver, London, Melbourne, and Berlin.
Founded in 2007, Trustpilot has already attracted €124 million in investment from risk capital funds and private investors, and continues on the ambitious growth journey to become a global market leader with a trusted and recognized brand.