How much do pre-seed startups in CEE raise?
CEE founders raising pre-seed ask for about €400,000. Half ask for between €220,000 and €640,000. That is what CEE founders raising pre-seed asked for when they applied to BADideas in 2026 so far, about the same as in 2025.
The figures
| Round founders asked for, 2026 (to date) | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEE, pre-seed | €220,000 | €400,000 | €640,000 |
| CEE, seed | €450,000 | €1 million | €1.7 million |
Half of CEE founders raising pre-seed asked for between €220,000 and €640,000. Half of those raising seed asked for between €450,000 and €1.7 million, with a median of €1 million. In BADideas application data, founders from outside CEE asked for more at pre-seed: a median of €580,000. Baltic founders alone asked for a median of €360,000, with half between €200,000 and €600,000.
What is changing
| CEE founders raising pre-seed | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Median ask | €400,000 | €400,000 |
| Asking for €300,000 or less | 39% | 43% |
| Quarter | CEE founders raising pre-seed, median ask |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | €420,000 |
| Q3 2025 | €300,000 |
| Q4 2025 | €430,000 |
| Q1 2026 | €300,000 |
| Q2 2026 | €350,000 |
| Q3 2026 | €500,000 |
Single quarters swing, so read the years first. The median ask in 2026 so far is about the same as in 2025; the latest quarter, Q3 2026, came in at €500,000.
Across CEE
CEE founders raising pre-seed 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 | Median pre-seed ask |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | €400,000 |
| Baltics | €400,000 |
| Latvia | €300,000 |
| Estonia | €450,000 |
| Lithuania | €350,000 |
| Poland | €400,000 |
Median pre-seed ask: highest in Estonia (€450,000), lowest in Latvia (€300,000).
What it means for you
- €400,000 is the middle of the market. A pre-seed round between €220,000 and €640,000 will look normal to CEE investors.
- Seed is about 2.5 times pre-seed. The median seed ask is €1 million, but the ranges overlap: a quarter of founders raising seed ask for €450,000 or less.
- Work the number out from your plan. Raise what gets you to the milestones your next investor will ask for, plus a buffer, and check it sits inside the range above.
Related questions
Is €300k enough for a pre-seed round?
It is on the small side but common: 43% of CEE founders raising pre-seed in 2026 so far asked for €300,000 or less. Those rounds buy a median of 12 months of runway, against 18 for larger rounds. Whether it is enough depends on your burn and on what you need to prove before the next round.
How much bigger is a seed round than a pre-seed round?
About 2.5 times at the median: €1 million against €400,000 for CEE founders in 2026 so far.
Do founders outside CEE raise more at pre-seed?
They ask for more. Founders from outside CEE who applied to the same fund asked for a median pre-seed round of €580,000, against €400,000 for CEE founders.
How we measured it
- On this page: This is the round size founders asked for, not the amount they closed.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "How much do pre-seed startups in CEE raise?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/pre-seed-round-size-cee
Read next
- Are CEE rounds smaller than in W. Europe?
- How many CEE startups raise pre-revenue?
- Do CEE startups with revenue raise more?
- Is €60k for 8% a normal accelerator deal?
- How much runway should a CEE pre-seed buy?
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, and they start small.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. We give your company hands-on help from go-to-market operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI.