Early Signals: Venture in Eastern Europe Report 2025 (H1 Edition) Revealed at How to Web Conference

If you’ve been following the global startup landscape, you’ve probably noticed a shift. Increasingly, some of the world’s most ambitious and successful tech companies trace their roots back to Eastern Europe. What once felt like a region of “outsiders” looking in is now a rising powerhouse of global innovation.

Think of UiPath, born in Romania and now one of the world’s best-known automation companies. Or Wise and Bolt, both founded in Estonia and redefining industries as different as fintech and mobility. Add to that Infobip from Croatia, GitLab and Grammarly from Ukraine, Vinted from Lithuania, Payhawk from Bulgaria, and you begin to see the pattern. Eastern Europe is the new force that investors and ecosystem builders everywhere are paying attention to.

This is the story that the Venture in Eastern Europe Report has been telling for the past five years. Each edition brings data, context, and analysis on the deals shaping the region’s venture capital landscape. And this fall, the story continues with the 2025 Half-Year (H1) edition, to be launched at How to Web Conference, in Bucharest, Romania, on the first day of the conference – October 1st.

Why Eastern Europe Matters More Than Ever

Eastern Europe’s venture ecosystem has been steadily maturing. The ingredients are all there: a deep pool of engineering talent, ambitious founders, and a growing number of venture capital funds ready to back them. In recent years, we’ve seen both early-stage rounds accelerating and late-stage megadeals putting the region on the map.

But numbers alone don’t capture the momentum. What’s remarkable is the collaborative spirit across borders. From Tallinn to Sofia, founders and investors share knowledge, compare notes, and push each other to aim higher. When How to Web began expanding its research beyond Romania in 2021, the level of openness and enthusiasm from ecosystem players across 20 countries was striking. Everyone wanted to contribute to a shared vision of what Eastern Europe could become.

As Nicoleta Pirvu, Investment Data & Investor Relations Manager at How to Web, put it in last year’s foreword: “From data sharing to data cross-checking and everything in between, we felt we were one team, although we represented dozens of organizations across the region.” 

That collective mindset is what makes Eastern Europe stand out. According to recent venture benchmarks, the region has been outpacing several Western European markets in terms of deal volume growth. While Silicon Valley still dominates in absolute capital, Eastern Europe’s growth rate and talent-to-capital ratio make it one of the most efficient startup hubs in the world.

The Evolution of Venture in Eastern Europe Report

In its earliest editions, the Venture in Eastern Europe Report focused exclusively on Romanian startups. By 2021, it had already built a reputation as a reliable source of data and analysis for the local ecosystem. 

Starting in 2023, the report expanded into a regional edition, covering over 20 countries across Eastern Europe. That year marked the first comprehensive look at how the broader region was performing as a venture hub.

2024 then became the second year of the extended report, confirming the value of a regional lens. It also revealed that Eastern European founders were raising larger and later-stage rounds than many anticipated, pushing the region further into the spotlight of international investors.

Each edition has added a new layer of understanding:

• 2022 highlighted the ecosystem’s resilience in the face of global uncertainty.
• 2023 marked the beginning of the pan-regional approach and saw the rise of cybersecurity and AI as dominant verticals.
• 2024 deepened the regional scope, showing accelerating growth and a surge in later-stage deals.

Against this backdrop, the H1 2025 edition offers a fresh checkpoint. Where is momentum flowing now, and who is leading the charge?

What to expect in the H1 2025 edition

The H1 report covers the first six months of 2025, giving you early signals before the full edition arrives in Q1 2026.

Here’s what you’ll find inside, in a rich snapshot of this region in motion that balances hard data with the human stories behind it:

• Top 20 Companies Raising the Largest Deals: Which startups secured the biggest funding rounds? These companies will expand across markets and industries in the second half of the year.
• Deal Analysis with Visual Data: Charts and context show how top rounds stack up, who the major investors are, and what this means for regional growth.
• Country-by-Country Breakdown: Eastern Europe spans diverse ecosystems. The report shows which countries accelerate and which gain early traction.
• Industry Focus Areas: Where does capital flow most heavily? Fintech, AI, cybersecurity, mobility—you’ll see where investor confidence peaks and opportunities emerge.
• The People Behind the Growth: Beyond capital flows, specific founders and VCs shape the ecosystem. The report highlights the most active players in early 2025.
• Pattern Analysis: Deal series breakdowns and growth drivers reveal trends that will influence the second half of the year.

Why launch at How to Web Conference?

The timing is no coincidence. For over 15 years, How to Web Conference has been the meeting point for founders, investors, and operators who believe in the potential of Eastern Europe. Hosting the launch of the H1 report at the conference is a way of connecting the insights with the community that brings them to life.

On October 1–2 in Bucharest, more than 3,000 people will gather for two days of talks, networking, and dealmaking. Among them: LPs, VCs, angel investors, corporate innovators, and the next generation of startup founders. It’s the ideal stage to reveal the data, discuss its implications, and spark new collaborations.

On October 1st, attendees will get an exclusive first look at the H1 2025 report before the full-year edition is published in early 2026. More importantly, the launch is designed to open the floor. We want to hear directly from the people behind the deals, debate where the ecosystem is heading, and discover opportunities in real time. 

How the Venture in Eastern Europe Report Gets Built

The data comes from dozens of contributors across the region: investors, business angel groups, accelerators, and local ecosystem builders. Their willingness to share and validate information ensures the report is both accurate and representative.

That collective effort also reflects the mindset of Eastern Europe’s startup scene. Competition exists, but there’s also a shared ambition to put the region on the global map. This H1 2025 edition carries forward that spirit. 

Your Next Move

The Venture in Eastern Europe Report 2025 (H1) mirrors a region in transformation. Founders build with global ambition, investors write bigger checks, and ecosystems learn from each other at unprecedented speed.

If you want to understand where the next wave of tech leaders will come from, this report is a must-read. And if you want to meet the people making it happen, there’s only one place to be this fall: How to Web Conference, October 1–2 in Bucharest.

👉 Get your ticket now  to access the insights shaping Eastern Europe’s future first.