What valuation do CEE founders ask for?
Founders ask for about €3.2 million pre-money at pre-seed and €5 million at seed. These are the medians for CEE founders who stated a valuation when they applied to BADideas in 2025 and 2026 so far. Half of those raising pre-seed asked for between €1.8 million and €5 million.
The figures
| Pre-money valuation asked, CEE, 2025 to 2026 (to date) | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | €1.8 million | €3.2 million | €5 million |
| Seed | €2.2 million | €5 million | €8.5 million |
In BADideas application data, about one in five founders who state a pre-seed valuation ask for €6 million or more. A valuation that high needs traction or a team that sets you apart.
What is changing
| CEE founders raising pre-seed | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Median pre-money asked | €4 million | €2.8 million |
Few founders state a valuation, so the figures pool 2025 and 2026 and are not shown by quarter.
What it means for you
- Start from the median, then argue for more. A valuation near €3.2 million needs little defence; one at €6 million needs evidence.
- Say what justifies it. Revenue, growth or a founder who has built before are what investors accept as reasons.
- Remember it is an ask. These are what founders asked for, not what they closed.
- Compare with companies at the same stage. A valuation with revenue behind it is not comparable to one without.
Related questions
What is a typical seed valuation in CEE?
A median pre-money of €5 million among CEE founders raising seed who stated one.
How much does the valuation rise between pre-seed and seed?
About 1.6 times at the median pre-money, from €3.2 million to €5 million, while the median round grows from €400,000 to €1 million. The round grows faster than the valuation, so founders sell a larger share of the company at seed.
Is a €6M pre-money normal at pre-seed?
It is at the top end: 20% of CEE founders raising pre-seed who stated a valuation asked for €6 million or more.
Did pre-seed valuations in CEE change in 2026?
The median ask was €4 million in 2025 and €2.8 million in 2026 so far. Few founders state a valuation, so treat the change with caution.
How we measured it
- On this page: The valuation is the pre-money the founder asked for. Few founders state a valuation, so the figures pool two years and are not broken down by country.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "What valuation do CEE founders ask for?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/pre-seed-valuation-cee
Read next
- Is my CEE pre-seed valuation cap normal?
- How many CEE startups raise pre-revenue?
- How much equity do CEE founders sell?
- Local company or Delaware for CEE startups?
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.