# Central and Eastern Europe

Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months
Pro
News
May 27, 2026
Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months
The high turnover comes after the firm rebranded and spun off from Earlybird Venture Capital in 2024
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Meet the 10 fastest-growing DACH & CEE fintechs
Pro
Fastest-growing startups
May 27, 2025
Meet the 10 fastest-growing DACH & CEE fintechs
Sifted’s latest ranking reveals the big revenue growers across 25 European countries
Hessa Alabbas
In the black: DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing and profitable companies
Pro
Fastest-growing startups
May 23, 2025
In the black: DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing and profitable companies
27 of the DACH and CEE region’s 100 fastest-growing startups by revenue growth are also profitable
Becca Lipman
The investors backing DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing startups
Pro
Most active investors
May 15, 2025
The investors backing DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing startups
The 10 biggest backers of the region’s fastest-growing companies
Hessa Alabbas
Hard pivot: Ukraine’s tech workers face the ultimate test
Analysis
November 4, 2024
Hard pivot: Ukraine’s tech workers face the ultimate test
Russian threat has forced defence tech up the agenda in Europe
Éanna Kelly and Zosia Wanat
In eastern Europe, success keeps breeding success
Analysis
November 1, 2024
In eastern Europe, success keeps breeding success
Skype set in motion a flywheel that has kept spinning in the region
Zosia Wanat and Éanna Kelly
Central eastern Europe’s most active early-stage VCs
Analysis
July 9, 2024
Central eastern Europe’s most active early-stage VCs
Bulgaria is home to the most active VCs in the region
Zosia Wanat
OTB Ventures has closed its $185m fund with NATO Innovation Fund as an LP
News
March 21, 2024
OTB Ventures has closed its $185m fund with NATO Innovation Fund as an LP
It is the largest fund raised in central eastern Europe to date
Zosia Wanat
Defence tech is all the rage but investors have their guard up
Analysis
March 6, 2024
Defence tech is all the rage but investors have their guard up
Top-down funding schemes are still not enough for LPs to overcome their ethical concerns
Cristina Gallardo
13 deeptech communities you need to know, according to VCs
Pro
Analysis
March 4, 2024
13 deeptech communities you need to know, according to VCs
A list of Europe’s top communities for deeptech and university spinouts
Sophie Rowe
Poland’s SMOK has closed its $25m second fund for CEE startups
News
January 30, 2024
Poland’s SMOK has closed its $25m second fund for CEE startups
The VC has already invested in 12 startups from the region from the new fund and plans up to 20 new deals
Zosia Wanat
Why the Poles are building AI giants abroad, not at home
Analysis
January 26, 2024
Why the Poles are building AI giants abroad, not at home
CEE countries are known for their IT talent but are struggling to become AI hotspots in their own right
Zosia Wanat
Latin America is a huge market for startups, but there’s one big catch
Analysis
January 15, 2024
Latin America is a huge market for startups, but there’s one big catch
Eastern European founders are jumping the Atlantic, joining Iberian startups in the adventure
Cristina Gallardo
CEE startups in 2023: the funding drought and the turn towards profitability
Analysis
December 29, 2023
CEE startups in 2023: the funding drought and the turn towards profitability
CEE founders have struggled to fundraise in 2023 and VCs are cautious, but there have been several impressive rounds in the region
Zosia Wanat
Which startups could be CEE’s next unicorn?
Analysis
December 26, 2023
Which startups could be CEE’s next unicorn?
Six startups are in the running to pass the $1bn valuation threshold
Sadia Nowshin
What’s behind CEE startups’ American dream
Analysis
November 3, 2023
What’s behind CEE startups’ American dream
CEE startups are more likely to move their headquarters to the US than their western peers
Zosia Wanat
‘Europe’s Elon Musk’ joins seed round for fitness startup — Bosnia's largest ever
News
August 3, 2023
‘Europe’s Elon Musk’ joins seed round for fitness startup — Bosnia's largest ever
The Balkans are still a very nascent tech scene — but the founder of Croat unicorn Rimac has placed a fresh bet on the ecosystem
Zosia Wanat
10 CEE startups to watch, according to investors
Analysis
July 27, 2023
10 CEE startups to watch, according to investors
Investors share the startups that could be the next stars of central and eastern Europe's tech scene
Sadia Nowshin
Why the World Bank Group’s investment arm is bullish about CEE — and wants others to follow suit
Interview
July 20, 2023
Why the World Bank Group’s investment arm is bullish about CEE — and wants others to follow suit
The International Finance Corporation has a remit to create jobs in all parts of the world. One of its directors tells Sifted why he thinks doing so in CEE will be easy
Zosia Wanat
Meet Radix, a new Polish VC for CEE deeptech startups and spinouts
News
July 4, 2023
Meet Radix, a new Polish VC for CEE deeptech startups and spinouts
CEE is short on deeptech funding compared to other parts of Europe — but this might be the start of a change
Zosia Wanat
CEE-focused ffVC is raising a €60m fund from an under-tapped market — Japanese LPs
News
June 1, 2023
CEE-focused ffVC is raising a €60m fund from an under-tapped market — Japanese LPs
It's very rare for European VCs to be backed by Japanese investors — but ffVC wants to build bridges between continents
Zosia Wanat
CEE VCs are getting ready for a 'tsunami' of local startups to start scaling
Analysis
May 22, 2023
CEE VCs are getting ready for a 'tsunami' of local startups to start scaling
Local VCs are raising their largest ever funds to help grow CEE companies — and offer an alternative to "tourist" VCs
Zosia Wanat
How SEE’s dev shops went from making the world’s software to selling their own
Analysis
February 28, 2023
How SEE’s dev shops went from making the world’s software to selling their own
Huge companies used to outsource engineering to southeastern Europe. Now the region's dev shops are becoming software giants of their own
Josipa Majic
Former McKinsey boss joins a VC to raise one of CEE’s largest growth funds
News
February 27, 2023
Former McKinsey boss joins a VC to raise one of CEE’s largest growth funds
Orbit Capital raises over €200m to back 12-14 scaleups from central and eastern Europe
Zosia Wanat

# Central and Eastern Europe

Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months

Meet the 10 fastest-growing DACH & CEE fintechs

In the black: DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing and profitable companies

The investors backing DACH & CEE’s fastest-growing startups

Hard pivot: Ukraine’s tech workers face the ultimate test

In eastern Europe, success keeps breeding success

Central eastern Europe’s most active early-stage VCs

OTB Ventures has closed its $185m fund with NATO Innovation Fund as an LP

Defence tech is all the rage but investors have their guard up

13 deeptech communities you need to know, according to VCs

Poland’s SMOK has closed its $25m second fund for CEE startups

Why the Poles are building AI giants abroad, not at home

Latin America is a huge market for startups, but there’s one big catch

CEE startups in 2023: the funding drought and the turn towards profitability

Which startups could be CEE’s next unicorn?

What’s behind CEE startups’ American dream

‘Europe’s Elon Musk’ joins seed round for fitness startup — Bosnia's largest ever

10 CEE startups to watch, according to investors

Why the World Bank Group’s investment arm is bullish about CEE — and wants others to follow suit

Meet Radix, a new Polish VC for CEE deeptech startups and spinouts

CEE-focused ffVC is raising a €60m fund from an under-tapped market — Japanese LPs

CEE VCs are getting ready for a 'tsunami' of local startups to start scaling

How SEE’s dev shops went from making the world’s software to selling their own

Former McKinsey boss joins a VC to raise one of CEE’s largest growth funds