How much did CEE startups raise in 2026?

Startups in Central and Eastern Europe raised €1.72 billion from January to September 2026, up 24% from €1.39 billion a year earlier. Baltic startups raised €310 million of it, against €500 million in the same months of 2025.

The figures

In the BADideas funding report, the rise comes from five growth rounds of €100 million or more: Mews (€273 million), EnduroSat (€186 million), Preply (€136 million), Oxylabs (€118 million) and Exaforce (€114 million). Together they raised €827 million, nearly half of the year's capital. Without them, startups raised €894 million.

Pre-seed to Series A together raised €705 million, 3% more than the €684 million of a year earlier. Seed capital rose 21% on slightly fewer rounds.

What is changing

Capital swings with the timing of large rounds. The count of rounds is the steadier signal, and it has fallen every quarter of 2026 against the same quarter of 2025. Part of the drop is reporting lag: some rounds are announced months after they close, and each update adds them to the quarter they closed in. Pre-seed is the stage public data records least fully.

Across CEE

January to September of each year. Lithuania held level on one round, Oxylabs' €118 million. Estonia's capital halved. Every country, with its largest rounds, is on the page for funding by country.

What it means for you

• Do not read the total as the market for your round. Five rounds moved the total by hundreds of millions. The number of rounds at your stage, and their size, are the better guide.
• Seed money is there. Seed capital rose 21% in 2026 so far.
• Expect fewer rounds to close. The number of rounds fell at every stage, from pre-seed to growth.

Related questions

Is startup funding in CEE up or down in 2026?

Capital is up and the number of rounds is down. CEE startups raised 24% more from January to September 2026 than a year earlier, on 272 rounds against 389. Without the five rounds of €100 million or more, capital is down by about a third.

How much did Baltic startups raise in 2026?

€310 million from January to September 2026, on 69 rounds, against €500 million on 132 rounds in the same months of 2025. Lithuania raised €177 million, Estonia €121 million and Latvia €12 million.

How many startup funding rounds close in CEE each year?

The BADideas funding report counts 574 venture rounds in 2024 and 524 in 2025, and 272 from January to September 2026. These are floors: small rounds are often announced late or never.

How we measured it

• On this page: Venture rounds (angel, pre-seed, seed, Series A and later, including convertibles) of startups in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary and Bulgaria. Grants, loans, secondary sales and rounds after a listing are not counted. A startup counts where it is headquartered, or where it started if it later moved its headquarters abroad. Amounts are in euros at about 1.10 US dollars to the euro. Rounds without a disclosed amount count in the number of rounds but not in capital. 2026 runs to 30 September 2026 and is compared with the same months of 2025. This is the Q3 2026 edition. Full method: CEE startup funding report.
• Updated: 14 October 2026.

Read next

• Which CEE country raises the most VC?
• How much CEE startup funding goes to AI?
• How much do CEE startups based abroad raise?
• How many CEE startups exited in 2026?
• What goes wrong after a CEE pre-seed round?

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.

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