VENTURE IN EASTERN EUROPE
2024 REPORT
Table of content
- Foreword
- Welcome
- Acknowledgements
- PARTNERS
- 2024—A Brave New Eastern Europe
- Key Findings—Eastern European Venture Deals
- Top 20 Companies Raising the Largest Venture Deals in Eastern Europe in 2024
- A Plethora of Builders from Eastern Europe
- Deep Dive — Romanian Venture Deals
- Conclusions
- Dataset—Sourcing & Labelling
- Access the Dataset
- ABOUT
- THE DATA
We are strong believers in Eastern Europe’s capacity to step on the world stage of startups and venture capital and respectfully earn its position as a solid powerhouse of global-scale technology businesses. The growing significance of Eastern Europe has been consistently demonstrated by the emergence of startups with Eastern European roots that have evolved into some of the world’s most successful companies. Some companies are household names, such as Estonia-born Skype, Wise, Pipedrive, Bolt, and more. However, many other great companies emerged from countries across the Eastern European region. They stepped on the global stage, such as Poland-born Docplanner, Booksy, Romania-born UiPath, Bitdefender, Hungary-born Prezi, SEON, Czechia-born Productboard, Avast, Ukraine-born GitLab, Grammarly, Bulgaria-born Telerik, Payhawk, AMPECO, Latvia-born Lokalise, Printful, Lithuania-born Vinted, MailerLite, Croatia-born Infobip, Fonoa and many more that followed.
“The excitement and collaborative mindset of our peers across the region when we reached out to them to set the groundwork for this report edition stoked us. From data sharing to data cross-checking and everything in between, we felt we were one team, although we represented dozens of such organizations across the region. We thank them for trusting and committing to this project to represent the Eastern European venture industry. Traits like these exemplify the hidden potential of every Eastern European country, empowering its builders to play a crucial role in the rapidly unfolding battle between the Western and Eastern worlds. And thus Eastern Europe and specifically Eastern European tech might rise after all; we trust this region, and we exist to support its builders in creating A Brave New Eastern Europe.” Nicoleta Pirvu, Investment Data & Investor Relations Manager at How to Web and Alexandru Agatinei, Co-Founder & CEO of How to Web
Startups from or with roots in the following 20 out of the 22 Eastern European countries that we tracked and raised venture deals in 2024 (in alphabetical order) dominate the region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The only 2 countries left in the Eastern European block for which we could not find significant data in relation to the venture deals are Kosovo and Montenegro.
“It is time to recognize that by working together with great focus, we Eastern Europeans are greater than the sum of our parts.
When Central and Eastern Europe Rises, Europe Benefits!
Global innovation is shifting, and nowhere is this transformation more pronounced than in our region—Central and Eastern Europe. Long viewed as an emerging market, the region has evolved into a formidable force, balancing capital efficiency with an unmatched depth of engineering and technological talent. As economic paradigms reset, CEE’s startups—and especially scaleups—are not merely adapting; they are defining the next phase of technological advancement, including AI.
What distinguishes CEE is not just the talent or ingenuity of its individual countries, but the collective strength of the region. The nations that make up the region have historically operated in silos, yet they are bound by common challenges and a shared ambition to compete on the world stage.
It is time to recognize that by working together with great focus, we are greater than the sum of our parts.
The Power of (CEE) Collaboration in a Fragmented World
The geopolitical realities of our region have long forced CEE to be reactive rather than proactive.
Caught between larger powers, we have often been defined by external influences rather than our own narrative. But today, our own startups, investors, and operators have an opportunity to change that dynamic. The more we collaborate across borders, the stronger our economies become, the more resilient our innovation ecosystems grow, and the more influence we command on the global stage.
Events like How to Web—the driving force behind this report—and Shift, Infobip’s premier developer conference, are instrumental platforms in accelerating this collaboration.
These gatherings are not just networking events; they are strategic nodes in the region’s evolution, fostering the exchanges of ideas, talent, and capital.
From Humility to Proven Ambition
CEE’s biggest challenge is no longer talent or capital—it is aspiration. Our region has been a quiet contributor to some of the most groundbreaking technological advancements of the past decade. Companies like UiPath, Infobip, Bolt, and ElevenLabs have demonstrated that success is not bound by geography, yet we still hesitate to fully embrace our own potential.
If we do not champion our own capabilities, who will? The mindset shift from modesty to ambition is not just desirable—it is essential. The numbers speak for themselves: 1,286 venture deals in 2024 totaling €3.89 billion in funding. Investors are paying attention, and it is up to us to ensure they continue to do so.
A Stronger CEE Means a Stronger Europe
Europe is in the midst of redefining its role in global innovation, and CEE is central to that effort. The world’s next tech leaders will emerge not just from Silicon Valley, but from regions that combine agility with deep technical expertise. CEE is uniquely positioned to be a key driver of this resurgence.
At Infobip, we recognize that building an ecosystem requires more than just capital—it demands long-term investment in knowledge, networks, and infrastructure. Through Infobip Startup Tribe, our accelerator program now in its 3rd year, and technology conference Infobip Shift, we are committed to fostering an environment where the best minds in CEE can thrive without needing to relocate.
For investors, the opportunity is clear: the region offers a confluence of talent, capital efficiency, and ambition unmatched by other regions. For founders, the mandate is even clearer: this is the moment to step forward, build with confidence, and claim our place in the global innovation landscape. Because when Central and Eastern Europe rises, all of Europe benefits.
— Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer, Infobip
We invite you to enjoy reading this new edition of the report—now reaching its 5th edition. Get your insights through the findings and draw a signal of your own by spreading the news to your network. The rules and principles for filtering and labeling the data are detailed at the end of the report, along with a link to the transactions list (2023-2024 for Eastern Europe and 2017-2024 for Romania). Let us know if you find anything that should be updated.
Welcome to Venture in Eastern Europe 2024 Report presented by How to Web & Infobip
Venture in Eastern Europe is How to Web’s endeavor to support the investment community focused on Eastern Europe through Venture in Eastern Europe Report and Venture in Eastern Europe Event (taking place before the How to Web Conference), both described in detail below.
About Venture in Eastern Europe: The annual flagship event
The Venture in Eastern Europe event, formerly known as Venture in CEE, has been an integral part of the How to Web Conference, focused on creating the proper context for European VCs to connect, share industry knowledge, and develop an in-depth vision for investing in the region.
With its upcoming edition taking place on September 30 (day 0 of the How to Web Conference) in Bucharest, Venture in Eastern Europe is a cornerstone event for the investment community. It brings together LPs, public and private sector investors, fund managers, and industry professionals across Europe. Beyond being a deal flow platform, it fosters unparalleled networking opportunities and knowledge exchange.
About Venture in Eastern Europe: The Report
Started in 2021 as an extensive analysis of the venture deals involving Romanian startups, the report expanded to showcase the region’s dynamic of the venture deals raised yearly by tech startups, from early-stage pre-seed and seed rounds to late-stage series rounds. The analysis of Romanian venture deals was also our inception with performing thorough analyses of the venture market, and you can thus find reports covering its evolution with historical data going back to 2017.
This is the 5th edition of the report’s lifetime and the 2nd edition when we’re expanding the dataset to the whole Eastern European region, striving to surface the deals behind the entire region and draw insights on how the industry in this part of Europe is shaped and is finding its edge, making it one of the world’s startup powerhouses. Startups from or with roots in Eastern Europe contribute to this prominent position.
For more than 15 years, we’ve been well acquainted with the regional ecosystem and investment landscape, and thus we could benefit from the invaluable contribution added to the public data, a layer of data coming from operators in the region—from business angel groups to programs and communities to VCs and all in between. All of them are mentioned within the acknowledgments section at the beginning of this report, under the data providers line. We thank them all again for making this possible.
Presented by
Strategic partner
In partnership with
With the support of
Media partners
Data Visualization Partner
Data Partners
Co-Authors
Nicoleta Pirvu (Investment Data & Investor Relations Manager at How to Web), Alexandru Agatinei (Co-Founder & CEO How to Web)
Contributors
Contributors Bogdan Iordache (General Partner Underline Ventures), Carmen Dibus (CEO BCR Seed Starter Romania), Nicoleta Cherciu (Managing Partner Cherciu&Co)
Type in your details to get access to the full report:
Extensive analysis of venture capital deals in Eastern Europe: the good, the bad, and the future-forward ▶️
*By downloading this report, you acknowledge and agree that your personal data, including your name, company, and email address, may be shared with our event partner for the purpose of providing relevant follow-up communications and insights related to the report, on the lawful basis of legitimate interest, as per Art. 6 (f) of GDPR and Recital 47.
THANK YOU! ENJOY READING THE REPORT BELOW!
ABOUT
How to Web: we are HTW – How to Web Conference, Launch Romania, AmpliFY ONG, Builders House
Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation is at the foundation of everything we do. And in 2025, as in every year, all that’s best in Eastern Europe in terms of startups and technology gets ready to gather at the How to Web Conference in Bucharest, Romania.
Save the dates and see you this year in Bucharest as follows:
- September 30
- Venture in Eastern Europe, the flagship event dedicated to investors—business angels, VCs, CVCs, and LPs
- Tech Transfer in Eastern Europe, the flagship event dedicated to researchers, spin-off founders, and deeptech investors
- Impact in Eastern Europe, the flagship event dedicated to impact founders, support programs’ representatives, and impact investors
- October 1-2 >>> How to Web Conference 2025
Started as one of the most influential Eastern European startup conferences, How to Web has championed the regional tech entrepreneurship and innovation scene and has accelerated the adoption of the startup culture through leading events, programs, and knowledge. Every year, through our initiatives such as the How to Web Conference, Launch, HTW Institute, and more, we help thousands of founders and operators to create better startups, products, and teams, with the support of some of the leading tech companies, experts, and investors. For more than a decade already at How to Web, we’ve been organizing the How to Web Conference, Eastern Europe’s leading startup & innovation conference. The How to Web Conference is a gathering of more than 3,000 startup builders, business leaders, and innovation explorers who relentlessly network and gather knowledge during the conference days.
Find out more at howtoweb.co
In addition, we’re building Launch Romania, a founder-centric community as the place where Romania’s next generation of groundbreakers and talent in technology grows.
Find out more at launch.ro
We’re also building AmpliFY ONG, a community dedicated to NGO founders and their teams and where Romania’s next generation of changemakers grows.
Find out more at amplifyong.ro
And we recently started Builders House, a small Bucharest hub turned into the place for great builders, groundbreakers, and changemakers.
Find out more at bit.ly/buildershousebucharest
Infobip
Infobip is the leading platform for conversational customer experiences. Infobip is using its expertise to partner with businesses and push the possibilities of communication.
One Communication Platform
Infobip consolidates various communication channels into a single, seamless, and powerful platform. Whether it’s voice, SMS, email, push notifications, live chat, in-app messaging, or social media, we provide a unified solution that simplifies and enhances the way businesses connect with their customers.
Billions of Conversations
Every day, across the globe, countless interactions take place through our platform. These billions of conversations are not just about volume; they represent the meaningful engagements and connections that businesses create with their customers, driving satisfaction, loyalty, and growth.
Engineers, co-creators and disruptors.
We are humble engineers led by our philosophy of learning by doing and fueled by our passion for technology. We value creativity, persistence, and innovation.
Find out more at infobip.com
Underline Ventures
Launched in 2022, Underline Ventures has finalized the raise of its first fund, reaching a total of $20M. The fund’s capital has been raised mostly from tech founders and operators, along with other business leaders and international fund-of-funds. It plans to double down its efforts to further develop an impactful platform for its portfolio companies. They’re building a portfolio of 20+ early-stage startups founded by Eastern European founders, investing an average investment ticket of $500K. So far, the fund has finalized 7 investments in Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and the broader Eastern European diaspora, ranging from big data & AI and cybersecurity to e-commerce infrastructure, and we are actively investing.
They are focused on supporting exceptional founders to build solutions for hard problems that can scale globally. For Underline Ventures, founders come first, and they are industry agnostic, but they’re paying extra attention to enterprise automation, AI, cyber security, industrial tech, defense, and climate-related startups.
At this moment, Underline Ventures invested founders can benefit from recruitment services (with the help of Ioana Patran, ex-Microsoft), communication management (with the help of Adriana Spulber, ex-How to Web & Pago), growth advisory (with the help of Vlad Ionescu, ex-UiPath), financial planning and fundraising (with the help of Mihai Faur, UiPath) and integrated marketing strategy (with the help of Ioana Serban, ex-FintechOS), along with Bogdan Iordache’s help on venture strategy and fundraising.
Founders and operators from companies like UiPath, Telerik, Bitdefender, and more are also advising the portfolio startups regularly, whenever the startup’s need arises.
Find out more at underline.vc
BCR Seed Starter Romania
BCR Seed Starter is the first Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) fund initiated by a bank in Romania. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Banca Comercială Română, BCR Seed Starter is dedicated to fostering innovation and growth within the technology startup community.
Their focus extends primarily to startups based in Romania and across Central and Eastern Europe, offering financial support as well as a wealth of knowledge and resources at a regional level.
BCR Seed Starter targets investing in approximately 10 startups over the next five years with an average ticket of €500K. Depending on market dynamics, the attractiveness of potential targets, and investment performance, the strategy may be revised, including increasing available funds.
It will fund mainly technology startups focused on enabling banking services, as we want to unlock strategic and technological returns for our main business, but we are open to the entire ecosystem of tech startups in Romania. Because tech entrepreneurship is a source of growth and diversification in the Romanian economy. BCR Seed Starter ensures access to the entire Erste Group ecosystem, offering not just financing via equity contributions but also strategic partnerships. This amplifies the impact on startups, especially in the early stages, and allows them to collaborate directly with BCR and Erste Group, benefiting from our trust, expertise, network, and growth opportunities.
Find out more at seedstarter.ro
The Data
We collected most of the deals made public by sourcing from Crunchbase and media outlets. We then added to the public data a layer of data coming from operators in the region—from business angel groups to programs and communities to VCs and all in between. All of them are mentioned within the acknowledgments section at the beginning of this report, under the data providers line. We thank them all again for making this possible.
There are no perfect reports, and there is no perfect set of data. Please assume an accuracy level between 90% and 95% on the numbers presented. Our data verification and validation process is a process of human intelligence, complemented by input from How to Web’s network.
In terms of positioning our report’s data, it’s also important to note that we combined several data collection and verification methods, including:
- aggregating public information about investment rounds
- data from trusted contributors such as angels, VCs, startups, accelerators, relevant organizations and institutions, and other noteworthy reports, etc.
- third-party sources for data points such as Crunchbase and LinkedIn profiles, etc.
- informed assumptions
Here is how you should look at the data and stats and what the main criteria for keeping a startup on our final list of transactions are. The data was selected and labeled based on the following set of rules:
💸We tracked only equity investments of companies with either Eastern European headquarters, Eastern European founding teams (or strong representation of Eastern Europeans in the founding teams), or strong ties to the Eastern European market. We did not include in the final list of transactions grants, loans, convertible notes, buyouts, etc. We didn’t include deals that are committed but not signed yet or still in progress (on crowdfunding platforms, for example). We did add bridge rounds, but we tagged those as “follow-on.”.
💸 We have eliminated all equity investments that do not hold public value. Their number is small, and while it affects the totals, it does not affect them significantly.
💸 Investments with no specified investors were also not included, as many of those are grants, service payments, or other similar financing instruments and not equity investments.
💸 Grants, undisclosed VC and angel rounds from private and institutional sources, or money committed but not wired can add more capital. We didn’t add these to the final analysis in order to keep the total volume accurate, but we did keep a raw version of all this data in the datasets to which you’ll find a link at the end of the report.
💸 The list of transactions does not include investments in foreign startups with Eastern European founders. However, we did make a couple of exceptions. We list all transactions in EUR or convert them into EUR if they originated in a different currency.
💸 Transactions up to €300K were tagged as pre-seed rounds, all transactions between €300K and €3M were tagged as seed rounds, and everything above €3M was tagged as a Series A round. Exceptionally, some transactions above €300K were tagged as pre-seed based on the timing of the round and conversations with the founders about the objectives for the round. Additionally, we classified investments smaller than €3M as Series A rounds due to the companies’ expansion into the regional market. Using this classification, some companies have raised multiple pre-seed and seed rounds if the total capital raised was not over €200K, respectively €3M.
💸 Splitting capital between investors in a transaction was made using the simple rule that the lead investor contributes 80% of the capital, while the co-investor has 20% of the capital. Although this is not an exact approximation, it is certainly within a reasonable range. We also made a split attribution of capital volume by local capital exclusively/international exclusively or mixed.
Do let us know if you find anything that should be updated.