Are AI agents a trend among startups in CEE?
Far fewer than say so. 24% of the CEE founders who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far call their product an AI agent, up from 17% in 2025. 8% are building one, up from 3% in 2025. Most of the rest write a draft or give an answer for a person to act on, or only use the word.
The figures
| CEE applicants | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Call their product an AI agent | 17% | 24% |
| Are building an AI agent | 3% | 8% |
| All applicants | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Call their product an AI agent | 19% | 26% |
| Are building an AI agent | 4% | 8% |
In BADideas application data, about one in five CEE products called an agent is one. The agents that are real mostly sell to businesses: 92% are B2B.
What is changing
| Quarter | Call it an AI agent | Building one |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 17% | 2% |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | 4% |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | 3% |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | 6% |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | 8% |
| Q3 2026 | 26% | 11% |
More decks say agent every year. The share building one is rising too, from a much smaller base.
Across CEE
CEE founders who applied in 2025 and 2026 so far. We show each country with enough applicants; smaller countries count only in the CEE row.
| Where the founder is based | Call it an AI agent | Building one |
|---|---|---|
| All of CEE | 20% | 6% |
| Baltics | 16% | 5% |
| Latvia | 16% | 4% |
| Estonia | 20% | 6% |
| Lithuania | 12% | 5% |
| Poland | 27% | 6% |
| Ukraine | 22% | 5% |
| Romania | 37% | 9% |
| Czechia | 37% | 8% |
| Bulgaria | 23% | 0% |
Call it an AI agent: highest in Romania (37%), lowest in Lithuania (12%).
What it means for you
- Use the word agent only if your software acts on its own. It should finish a task with several steps in other systems, and a person checks the result rather than steering each step.
- If your product drafts or answers for a person, say that. It is useful, and it is easier to believe than an agent claim.
- Expect questions on reliability and cost. What happens when the agent is wrong, and what each task costs you to run.
Related questions
How many startups are building AI agents?
8% of CEE applicants in 2026 so far, and 8% across all regions, against 3% and 4% in 2025. 24% of CEE applicants use the word.
How we measured it
- On this page: An AI agent is software that completes a task with several steps and acts in other systems on its own, with a person checking the result rather than steering each step. "Call it an agent" counts decks that use the word. Whether a product is an agent is judged against that definition from what the deck describes.
- Updated: 12 October 2026.
BADideas.fund, "Are AI agents a trend among startups in CEE?", updated 12 October 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/ai-agents-startups-cee
Read next
- What are startups in CEE building right now?
- Will an AI startup stand out to CEE VCs?
- How much CEE startup funding goes to AI?
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