Which regulations do startups in CEE build around?
GDPR first, and the EU AI Act is rising fast. 28% of the CEE founders who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far named a regulation in their pitch deck. Among them, 37% named GDPR and 22% the EU AI Act, up from 15% in 2025.
The figures
| Rule or standard named, CEE applicants who name any | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| GDPR | 35% | 37% |
| EU AI Act | 15% | 22% |
| DORA | 2% | 10% |
| NIS2 | 5% | 9% |
| ISO 27001 | 6% | 7% |
| MDR (medical devices) | 3% | 5% |
In BADideas application data, regulation is increasingly part of the pitch: 28% of CEE applicants name at least one, up from 21% in 2025.
What is changing
Newer EU rules (the AI Act, DORA for financial services, NIS2 for cybersecurity) appear more often each year, as their deadlines come closer.
Across CEE
CEE founders who applied in 2025 and 2026 so far, and each country with enough applicants to show. Countries with fewer applicants are still counted in the CEE row.
| Where the founder is based | Names a regulation |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | 25% |
| Baltics | 22% |
| Latvia | 30% |
| Estonia | 21% |
| Lithuania | 14% |
| Poland | 33% |
| Ukraine | 22% |
| Romania | 30% |
| Czechia | 42% |
| Bulgaria | 19% |
Names a regulation: highest in Czechia (42%), lowest in Lithuania (14%).
What it means for you
- Name the rules that shape your market. If regulation creates demand for your product, say which rule and by when.
- Show you are ready for the ones that apply to you. Data protection and, for AI products, the AI Act are what investors ask about first.
- Do not list regulations for decoration. One rule explained beats five logos.
Also answers
Do investors in CEE care about the EU AI Act?
Founders increasingly think so: 22% of CEE founders who named a regulation in 2026 so far named the EU AI Act, against 15% in 2025.
How we measured it
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas, enriched with publicly available information where applicable.
- Limits: these are CEE only and early-stage companies.
- On this page: A regulation counts when the founder names it in the deck; similar names are grouped (for example ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 27001). Founders who build around a rule without naming it are not counted.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "Which regulations do startups in CEE build around?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/regulations-in-pitch-deck-cee
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