Born in 1965, Tammet had early access to the University of Tartu's computers through his father's work at the physics department.

[2] As a result, he eventually graduated from the university's maths department in applied mathematics, specializing in information technology.

In 2010, amid growing tensions following their failed runs in the European Parliament and local elections in 2009, Tammet along with 19 other members was thrown out of the party.

[10] Tammet is a professor at the Tallinn University of Technology and is the faculty manager of its computer science institute.

[13] In 2012, he received attention[14][15] for the creation of Sightsmap, a website which visualizes the popularity of places around the world based on data from Panoramio, Wikipedia, and Foursquare City Guide.