How many founding teams raising in CEE have a technical founder?
Three in four teams have one. 74% of the CEE founding teams who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far included a technical founder, about the same as in 2025. Both kinds of team asked for the same median round, €500,000.
The figures
| CEE applicants, 2026 (to date) | With a technical founder | Without |
|---|---|---|
| Share of teams | 74% | 26% |
| Round asked, median | €500,000 | €500,000 |
| AI at the core of the product | 63% | 42% |
In BADideas application data, teams with a technical founder are far more often AI-first: 63% put AI at the core of the product, against 42% of teams without one.
What is changing
| Quarter | CEE applicants with a technical founder |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 75% |
| Q3 2025 | 71% |
| Q4 2025 | 78% |
| Q1 2026 | 71% |
| Q2 2026 | 74% |
| Q3 2026 | 77% |
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 | Technical founder on the team |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | 75% |
| Baltics | 71% |
| Latvia | 63% |
| Estonia | 80% |
| Lithuania | 70% |
| Poland | 74% |
| Ukraine | 83% |
| Romania | 87% |
| Czechia | 76% |
| Bulgaria | 56% |
Technical founder on the team: highest in Romania (87%), lowest in Bulgaria (56%).
What it means for you
- You are expected to have one. Most teams do; without one, show who builds the product, on what terms, and who owns the code.
- Technical does not have to mean CTO on day one. A committed senior engineer with equity reads very differently from an agency.
- Show who owns the code. If an outside team built the product, say who holds the rights and how the work moves in-house after the round.
Also answers
How many startups raising in CEE have no technical founder?
26% of CEE founding teams in 2026 so far. The share has barely moved in six quarters.
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 technical founder is one the founders describe as building the product: engineering, data or research. This is what teams state about themselves.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "How many founding teams raising in CEE have a technical founder?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/technical-cofounder-cee
Read next
- What backgrounds do founders raising in CEE have?
- How common are solo founders raising in CEE, and how do they pitch?
- How much revenue do you need to raise a seed round in CEE?
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