REPORT / Q3 2026 UPDATE / DATA TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
Croatia startup funding report
Croatian startups raised €138m in 14 rounds in the first nine months of 2026, against €23m in 13 rounds a year earlier.
Funding data for Croatian startups is scattered. Rounds are announced by companies, funds, angel networks and the press, often months after they close, and no single database has them all or has them right.
This report builds one record from all of them. We cross check startup databases against company, investor and press announcements, take out grants and loans that are reported as rounds, and add the rounds that were never fully recorded.
It covers venture rounds and exits of startups headquartered in Croatia, and of startups that started here and moved their headquarters abroad. It uses the same record and rules as our CEE startup funding report, so Croatia can be set against the ten countries it covers.
We add a quarter every three months. If you are raising in Croatia, it shows how many rounds close, at what size, and who writes the first cheques.
Highlights
€138m in the first nine months, up 499% on a year earlier (€23m). The largest round is Fonoa's €100m growth round, 73% of the total.
10 seed and later rounds this year, against 11 a year earlier, and 14 rounds in all against 13. Pre-seed is where the record of recent rounds is least complete, and its count will rise as late rounds surface.
One venture-backed exit by September, against none in the same months of 2025. Buyers include HCLSoftware (HCLTech).
01 / THE MARKET
The market
Capital up 499% on the same months of 2025. Rounds: 14 against 13.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.7 | 18 | 209 | 20 | 249 |
| 2025 | 0.9 | 26 | 7.9 | 0.0 | 35 |
| 9M 2026 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 33 | 100 | 138 |
Croatia raised €249m in 2024 and €35m in 2025. The largest 2025 round, GlycanAge's €7.9m, was 22% of that year. 2026 has €138m so far.
9M 2026 covers January to September 2026. The dashed line marks the same months of 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| 2025 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 9M 2026 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
16 rounds in 2024, 17 in 2025 and 14 so far in 2026. Some rounds are recorded months late, so the latest quarters will rise.
| Row | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | €23m | €138m | ▲ +499% |
| Rounds | 13 | 14 | ▲ +8% |
| Pre-seed rounds | 2 | 4 | ▲ +100% |
| Seed rounds | 11 | 4 | ▼ -64% |
| Series A rounds | 0 | 4 | New |
| Growth rounds | 0 | 2 | New |
Quarter by quarter, capital swings with the timing of large rounds. The count of rounds is the steadier signal.
The latest quarter is still filling in and will rise.
02 / CROATIA IN THE REGION
Croatia in the region
Croatia raised €9 per person in 2025, 9th of the 11 countries compared here.
The same record and rules for Croatia and the ten countries of our CEE report, so the comparison is like for like. Capital per person divides each country's capital by its population.
| Country | €m 9M 2026 | Change | Rounds 9M 2026 | Change | € per person 2025 | € per person 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 133 | ▼ -48% | 39 | ▼ -49% | 258 | 97 |
| Lithuania | 182 | ▲ +3% | 28 | ▼ -42% | 75 | 63 |
| Czechia | 513 | ▲ +101% | 47 | ▼ -15% | 28 | 47 |
| Croatia | 138 | ▲ +499% | 14 | ▲ +8% | 9 | 36 |
| Bulgaria | 199 | ▲ +91% | 22 | ▼ -4% | 32 | 31 |
| Hungary | 122 | ▲ +3% | 22 | ▼ -35% | 13 | 13 |
| Slovakia | 55 | ▼ -24% | 11 | ▼ -39% | 21 | 10 |
| Ukraine | 282 | ▲ +336% | 50 | ▼ -29% | 2 | 7 |
| Poland | 226 | ▼ -10% | 67 | ▼ -27% | 10 | 6 |
| Latvia | 12 | ▼ -84% | 4 | ▼ -73% | 43 | 6 |
| Romania | 105 | ▲ +14% | 30 | ▼ -6% | 9 | 6 |
Population on 1 January 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 249 | 35 | 138 |
| Hungary | 59 | 122 | 122 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 16 | 17 | 14 |
| Hungary | 48 | 45 | 22 |
In 2025, Croatia closed 17 rounds, against 45 in Hungary.
03 / STAGES AND ROUND SIZES
Stages and round sizes
The typical seed round in 2025 was €2.1m.
Rounds by company stage. Where one round can move a stage's total, the count and the typical round tell more than the capital.
| Row | Rounds 2024 | €m 2024 | Rounds 2025 | €m 2025 | Rounds 9M 2026 | €m 9M 2026 | Median 2024 | Median 2025 | Median 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 4 | €1.7m | 2 | €0.9m | 4 | €1.3m | €0.6m | - | €0.3m |
| Seed | 7 | €18m | 14 | €26m | 4 | €3.6m | €2.9m | €2.1m | €1.2m |
| Series A | 3 | €209m | 1 | €7.9m | 4 | €33m | €100m | - | €6.8m |
| Growth | 2 | €20m | 0 | - | 2 | €100m | - | - | - |
Median shown where at least three rounds of the stage disclosed an amount.
Pre-seed
Four rounds in 2024, 2 in 2025 and 4 so far in 2026.
Seed
Seven rounds in 2024, 14 in 2025 and 4 so far in 2026. The typical seed round in 2025 was €2.1m.
Series A
Three rounds in 2024, 1 in 2025 and 4 so far in 2026.
Growth
Two rounds in 2024, 0 in 2025 and 2 so far in 2026.
04 / SECTORS
Sectors
AI raised the most this year: €114m in seven rounds.
By number of rounds since 2024, the largest sectors are AI (20), marketing and media (8) and health and bio (8). A company can sit in several sectors, so sector totals overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 125 | 12 | 114 |
| Fintech | 1.3 | 3.0 | 100 |
| Hardware and robotics | 9.9 | 3.6 | 14 |
| Marketing and media | 29 | 4.5 | 13 |
| Defence and security | 6.5 | 6.4 | 13 |
| Enterprise software | 1.5 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| Energy and climate | 100 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| Food and agri | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Ranked by 9M 2026 capital. Sectors overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Fintech | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Hardware and robotics | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Marketing and media | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Defence and security | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Enterprise software | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Energy and climate | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Food and agri | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Same sectors, counted by number of rounds.
05 / LARGEST ROUNDS
Largest rounds
The largest round this year: Fonoa, €100m.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fonoa | Growth | €100m | May 2026 | Undisclosed |
| Orqa | Series A | €13m | Mar 2026 | Expedition Ventures |
| Fasal Bio | Series A | €7.0m | Apr 2026 | BlackPeak Capital |
| Farseer | Series A | €6.5m | Feb 2026 | AYMO Ventures |
| Hypefy | Series A | €6.5m | Jun 2026 | AYMO Ventures |
| InsiderCX | Seed | €1.5m | Jan 2026 | GapMinder Venture Partners |
| Genesis Space Flight Laboratories | Seed | €1.2m | Jul 2026 | GapMinder Venture Partners |
| Shoutem | Seed | €0.9m | Jul 2026 | Ethos |
| Crumbs | Pre-seed | €0.6m | May 2026 | AYMO Ventures |
| PromptWise | Pre-seed | €0.4m | Mar 2026 | Damir Sabol |
Rounds with a disclosed amount.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GlycanAge | Series A | €7.9m | Dec 2025 | Fifth Quarter Ventures |
| SplxAI | Seed | €6.4m | Mar 2025 | LAUNCHub Ventures |
| Wasp | Seed | €3.4m | Apr 2025 | HV Capital |
| Aestus | Seed | €3.0m | Sep 2025 | SQ Capital |
| Jurlina Coenergy | Seed | €2.7m | May 2025 | Undisclosed |
| Lebesgue | Seed | €2.7m | Jan 2025 | Interactive Venture Partners |
| Moontop | Seed | €2.7m | Nov 2025 | SQ Capital |
| Hypefy | Seed | €1.6m | Jan 2025 | Interactive Venture Partners |
| GlycanAge | Seed | €1.4m | Nov 2025 | Undisclosed |
| ANIQ | Seed | €1.1m | Apr 2025 | Kristijan Škarica |
06 / STARTED IN CROATIA, BASED ELSEWHERE
Started in Croatia, based elsewhere
Five rounds since 2024 by companies that started in Croatia and are based elsewhere. They count in the totals.
Companies that started in Croatia, or keep their main team here, but are headquartered elsewhere. They count in the totals, under Croatia. Companies that Croatian founders built abroad, with no base here, are not included.
07 / INVESTORS
Investors
GapMinder Venture Partners joined the most pre-seed and seed rounds since January 2025: 4.
Most active at pre-seed and seed since January 2025: GapMinder Venture Partners (4 rounds), Fil Rouge Capital (4 rounds) and Damir Sabol (3 rounds). Investors are ranked by the rounds they joined, led or followed, over 2025 and 2026 together.
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| GapMinder Venture Partners | Netherlands | 4 | 3 |
| Fil Rouge Capital | Luxembourg | 4 | 2 |
| Damir Sabol | Croatia | 3 | 0 |
| Interactive Venture Partners | United States | 2 | 2 |
| SQ Capital | Croatia | 2 | 2 |
| Silicon Gardens | Slovenia | 2 | 1 |
| Mihovil Barančić | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| Vesna VC | Croatia | 2 | 0 |
| AYMO Ventures | Croatia | 1 | 1 |
| Croatian Business Angels Network | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| AYMO Ventures | Croatia | 3 | 2 |
| BlackPeak Capital | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| Expedition Ventures | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| Fifth Quarter Ventures | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| BrightCap Ventures | Bulgaria | 1 | 0 |
| Euroventures | Hungary | 1 | 0 |
| Expedition | n/a | 1 | 0 |
| Fil Rouge Capital | Luxembourg | 1 | 0 |
| Guinness Ventures | United Kingdom | 1 | 0 |
| Impetus Capital | Bulgaria | 1 | 0 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All rounds | 56% | 44% | 67% |
Rounds with a fund from outside CEE: 56% in 2024, 44% in 2025 and 67% in 2026 so far, of rounds where investor headquarters are known.
Share of rounds where investor headquarters are known: 9 in 2024, 9 in 2025, 9 in 9M 2026.
08 / EXITS
Exits
The most recent: Robotiq.ai, bought by HCLSoftware (HCLTech), September 2026.
Two venture-backed exits since 2024: 0 in 2024, 1 in 2025 and 1 in 2026 so far. Deal values are rarely disclosed, so we count exits instead of summing them.
| Company | Month | Type | Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotiq.ai | Sep 2026 | Acquisition | HCLSoftware (HCLTech) |
| SplxAI | Nov 2025 | Acquisition | Zscaler |
09 / METHODOLOGY
Methodology
What the report covers
Period: January 2024 to September 2026. Past years are shown in full. The current year runs to the end of the last complete quarter.
Companies: startups headquartered in Croatia, and startups that began there or keep their main team there and later moved their headquarters abroad. Every kind of startup is included: software and hardware, business and consumer.
Events: venture funding rounds, and exits (acquisitions, buyouts and stock market listings).
Sources: public sources only, namely startup databases, company, investor and angel network announcements, and the press.
Every round and exit named in the report links to its announcement. Totals, changes and charts are built from all rounds and are not linked.
This edition covers 47 venture rounds (41 with a disclosed amount) at 39 companies, and 2 exits. Next update: January 2027, adding Q4 2026.
Stages
Stages are the label the company announced or the source assigned. Where a label clearly does not fit the size of the round, such as a very large round called seed, the round is placed by its size. Where there is no label, round type and size decide.
How it is counted
- Funding rounds are equity and convertible venture rounds, including angel network rounds. Grants, loans, state support programmes, crowdlending, secondary sales and investments after a listing are not counted.
- Amounts are in euros, converted at about 1.10 US dollars to the euro. Rounds without a disclosed amount count toward the number of rounds but not toward capital.
- Companies that are not startups are left out even when they raise venture money, such as established manufacturers, service firms and lenders.
- Rounds and exits are cross-referenced against company, investor and press announcements where possible.
Limits
- Public data does not capture every round, so counts are a floor. Small angel rounds are the most likely to be missing.
- Some rounds are recorded months after they happen. Each update adds them to the month they happened in, so recent quarters, the latest above all, will rise.
- Croatia's record includes our own search of local press, investor portfolios and companies based abroad (October 2026), which added rounds the startup databases had missed.
- Where a country raises a few dozen rounds a year, one round can move a total by more than half. Read changes in capital with the largest round in mind.
- Croatia's record was built in October 2026 from the investors active in Croatian startups, their portfolios and the Croatian press. It holds most of the disclosed capital, but small rounds that were never announced are missing more often than in the ten countries of our CEE report.
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