How much did CEE startups raise in 2026?
Startups in Central and Eastern Europe raised €1.83 billion from January to September 2026, up 25% from €1.46 billion a year earlier. Baltic startups raised €326 million of it, against €506 million in the same months of 2025.
The figures
| January to September | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Capital raised, CEE | €1.46 billion | €1.83 billion |
| Venture rounds, CEE | 464 | 320 |
| Capital raised, Baltics | €506 million | €326 million |
| Venture rounds, Baltics | 140 | 71 |
In the BADideas funding report, the rise comes from five growth rounds of €100 million or more: Mews (€273 million), EnduroSat (€178 million), Preply (€136 million), Oxylabs (€118 million) and Exaforce (€114 million). Together they raised €819 million, 45% of the year's capital. Without them, startups raised €1.01 billion.
| Stage, January to September | Rounds 2025 | Rounds 2026 | Capital 2025 | Capital 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 196 | 82 | €49 million | €28 million |
| Seed | 198 | 185 | €306 million | €345 million |
| Series A | 40 | 29 | €401 million | €360 million |
| Growth | 30 | 24 | €706 million | €1.09 billion |
Pre-seed to Series A together raised €733 million, slightly less than the €756 million of a year earlier. Seed capital rose 13% on slightly fewer rounds.
What is changing
| Calendar year | Venture rounds | Capital raised |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 679 | €1.85 billion |
| 2025 | 622 | €2.01 billion |
| 2026, January to September | 320 | €1.83 billion |
| Quarter | Venture rounds | Capital raised |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 145 | €514 million |
| Q2 2025 | 151 | €535 million |
| Q3 2025 | 168 | €413 million |
| Q4 2025 | 158 | €547 million |
| Q1 2026 | 117 | €844 million |
| Q2 2026 | 106 | €500 million |
| Q3 2026 | 97 | €482 million |
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
| Where the startup counts | Rounds 2025 | Rounds 2026 | Capital 2025 | Capital 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All of CEE | 464 | 320 | €1.46 billion | €1.83 billion |
| Baltics | 140 | 71 | €506 million | €326 million |
| Lithuania | 48 | 28 | €177 million | €182 million |
| Estonia | 77 | 39 | €257 million | €133 million |
| Latvia | 15 | 4 | €73 million | €12 million |
January to September of each year. Lithuania's capital rose 3% 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 13% 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 25% more from January to September 2026 than a year earlier, on 320 rounds against 464. Without the five rounds of €100 million or more, capital is down by about 30%.
How much did Baltic startups raise in 2026?
€326 million from January to September 2026, on 71 rounds, against €506 million on 140 rounds in the same months of 2025. Lithuania raised €182 million, Estonia €133 million and Latvia €12 million.
How many startup funding rounds close in CEE each year?
The BADideas funding report counts 679 venture rounds in 2024 and 622 in 2025, and 320 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: 18 October 2026.
BADideas.fund, "How much did CEE startups raise in 2026?", updated 18 October 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/startup-funding-raised-cee
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