Dealroom – Central and Eastern European Startups, 2024

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) startup ecosystem is thriving, with approximately 1,000 startups across 110+ cities raising €2.1B in 2023. The combined enterprise value of CEE startups has grown significantly in the past 5 years, reaching €213B in 2023, with startups in Climate Tech and AI sectors seeing a rise in funding. VC-backed startups and scaleups have added €21B in value over the past five years, with 7,000 of the 26,000 startups in the region currently backed by VCs. However, access to capital remains a challenge for many, with 50% of VC investments concentrated in Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland. AI startups have attracted 15% of total CEE VC investment in the last 5 years, while Climate Tech raised 20%. In Q1 2024, 45% of CEE VC investments went to AI startups, and 26% to Climate Tech startups. The region's 50+ unicorns hold 60% of the combined enterprise value, with Poland, Ukraine, and Estonia contributing 50% of the total value. Croatia, Lithuania, and Latvia have shown the highest relative growth in enterprise value over the past five years.