REPORT / Q3 2026 UPDATE / DATA TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
Hungary startup funding report
Hungarian startups raised €122m in 22 rounds in the first nine months of 2026, against €118m in 34 rounds a year earlier.
Funding data for Hungarian 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 Hungary, 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 Hungary can be set against the other nine countries.
We add a quarter every three months. If you are raising in Hungary, it shows how many rounds close, at what size, and who writes the first cheques.
Highlights
€122m in the first nine months, up 3% on a year earlier (€118m). The largest round is Zocks's €41m growth round, 34% of the total.
15 seed and later rounds this year, against 13 a year earlier, and 22 rounds in all against 34. Pre-seed is where the record of recent rounds is least complete, and its count will rise as late rounds surface.
Two venture-backed exits by September, against 2 in the same months of 2025. Buyers include Polymarket and Mobility Group.
01 / THE MARKET
The market
Capital up 3% on the same months of 2025. Rounds: 22 against 34.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.9 | 21 | 32 | 0.0 | 59 |
| 2025 | 4.1 | 19 | 27 | 73 | 122 |
| 9M 2026 | 2.4 | 24 | 13 | 82 | 122 |
Hungary raised €59m in 2024 and €122m in 2025. The largest 2025 round, Seon's €73m, was 60% of that year. 2026 has €122m 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 | 18 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 48 |
| 2025 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 45 |
| 9M 2026 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
48 rounds in 2024, 45 in 2025 and 22 so far in 2026. Some rounds are recorded months late, so the latest quarters will rise.
| Row | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | €118m | €122m | ▲ +3% |
| Rounds | 34 | 22 | ▼ -35% |
| Pre-seed rounds | 21 | 7 | ▼ -67% |
| Seed rounds | 9 | 10 | ▲ +11% |
| Series A rounds | 3 | 2 | ▼ -33% |
| Growth rounds | 1 | 3 | ▲ +200% |
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 / HUNGARY IN THE REGION
Hungary in the region
Hungary raised €13 per person in 2025, 7th of the ten countries.
The same record and rules for all ten countries, 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 59 | 122 | 122 |
| Slovakia | 195 | 112 | 55 |
| Romania | 115 | 165 | 105 |
| Ukraine | 272 | 84 | 282 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 48 | 45 | 22 |
| Slovakia | 26 | 22 | 11 |
| Romania | 63 | 45 | 30 |
| Ukraine | 68 | 89 | 50 |
In 2025, Hungary closed 45 rounds, against 22 in Slovakia, 45 in Romania and 89 in Ukraine.
03 / STAGES AND ROUND SIZES
Stages and round sizes
The typical seed round in 2025 was €1.5m.
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 | 18 | €5.9m | 28 | €4.1m | 7 | €2.4m | €0.3m | €0.3m | €0.6m |
| Seed | 26 | €21m | 13 | €19m | 10 | €24m | €1.8m | €1.5m | €2.7m |
| Series A | 2 | €32m | 3 | €27m | 2 | €13m | - | €10m | - |
| Growth | 2 | - | 1 | €73m | 3 | €82m | - | - | €21m |
Median shown where at least three rounds of the stage disclosed an amount.
Pre-seed
18 rounds in 2024, 28 in 2025 and 7 so far in 2026. The typical pre-seed round in 2025 was €0.3m.
Seed
26 rounds in 2024, 13 in 2025 and 10 so far in 2026. The typical seed round in 2025 was €1.5m.
Series A
Two rounds in 2024, 3 in 2025 and 2 so far in 2026. The typical Series A round in 2025 was €10m.
Growth
Two rounds in 2024, 1 in 2025 and 3 so far in 2026.
04 / SECTORS
Sectors
Fintech raised the most this year: €61m in three rounds.
By number of rounds since 2024, the largest sectors are AI (33), enterprise software (16) and health and bio (14). A company can sit in several sectors, so sector totals overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fintech | 15 | 95 | 61 |
| AI | 41 | 91 | 55 |
| Hardware and robotics | 1.0 | 4.0 | 36 |
| Health and bio | 0.5 | 1.4 | 26 |
| Enterprise software | 5.7 | 2.7 | 12 |
| Defence and security | 2.3 | 76 | 7.0 |
| Food and agri | 6.3 | 1.1 | 7.0 |
| Education | 22 | 0.0 | 6.1 |
Ranked by 9M 2026 capital. Sectors overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fintech | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| AI | 15 | 12 | 6 |
| Hardware and robotics | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Health and bio | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Enterprise software | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Defence and security | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Food and agri | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Education | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Same sectors, counted by number of rounds.
05 / LARGEST ROUNDS
Largest rounds
The largest round this year: Zocks, €41m.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zocks | Growth | €41m | Jan 2026 | Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| Turbine AI | Growth | €21m | Feb 2026 | Interactive Venture Partners |
| Ominimo | Growth | €20m | Jul 2026 | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| ABZ Innovation | Series A | €7.0m | Jan 2026 | Vsquared Ventures |
| Allonic | Seed | €6.5m | Feb 2026 | Visionaries |
| BOOKR Kids | Series A | €6.1m | Aug 2026 | 3TS Capital Partners |
| Kodesage | Seed | €6.0m | Jun 2026 | VentureFriends |
| Volteum | Seed | €3.3m | Aug 2026 | Movens Capital |
| Novamigra Therapeutics | Seed | €2.7m | Jan 2026 | PMK Ventures |
| Volteum | Seed | €2.5m | Jun 2026 | Movens Capital |
Rounds with a disclosed amount.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seon | Growth | €73m | Sep 2025 | Sixth Street Growth |
| Zocks | Series A | €13m | Mar 2025 | Motive Partners |
| Ominimo | Series A | €10m | Apr 2025 | Zurich Insurance Group |
| Axoflow | Seed | €6.4m | Jan 2025 | EBRD Venture Capital |
| HeatVentors | Series A | €4.0m | Sep 2025 | InnoEnergy |
| Qneiform | Seed | €3.0m | Mar 2025 | PROfounders Capital |
| Riptides | Seed | €3.0m | Apr 2025 | KAYA VC |
| Kodesage | Seed | €2.3m | Jan 2025 | PortfoLion |
| Kuube | Seed | €1.5m | Nov 2025 | Hiventures |
| Tengrai | Seed | €1.1m | May 2025 | Peter W. Szabo |
06 / STARTED IN HUNGARY, BASED ELSEWHERE
Started in Hungary, based elsewhere
Six rounds since 2024 by companies that started in Hungary and are based elsewhere. They count in the totals.
Companies that started in Hungary, or keep their main team here, but are headquartered elsewhere. They count in the totals, under Hungary. Companies that Hungarian founders built abroad, with no base here, are not included.
| Company | Based in | Amount | Month | In totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zocks | United States | €41m | Jan 2026 | Yes |
| SMOBYA | Netherlands | Undisclosed | Mar 2026 | Yes |
| Zocks | United States | €13m | Mar 2025 | Yes |
| axem | Ireland | €0.1m | Jan 2025 | Yes |
| Colossyan | United States | €20m | Feb 2024 | Yes |
| OpenMeter | United States | €2.7m | Mar 2024 | Yes |
07 / INVESTORS
Investors
STRT Holding joined the most pre-seed and seed rounds since January 2025: 15.
Most active at pre-seed and seed since January 2025: STRT Holding (15 rounds), Day One Capital (7 rounds) and OUVC (5 rounds). Investors are ranked by the rounds they joined, led or followed, over 2025 and 2026 together.
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRT Holding | Hungary | 15 | 0 |
| Day One Capital | Hungary | 7 | 2 |
| OUVC | Hungary | 5 | 4 |
| PortfoLion | Hungary | 3 | 2 |
| Techstars | United States | 3 | 1 |
| Hiventures | Hungary | 2 | 2 |
| Movens Capital | Poland | 2 | 2 |
| Óbuda Uni Venture Capital (ÓUVC) | n/a | 2 | 2 |
| Interactive Venture Partners | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Lunar Program | Hungary | 2 | 1 |
| Aidiom | Norway | 2 | 0 |
| Christian Szegedy | United States | 2 | 0 |
| Project Europe | United Kingdom | 2 | 0 |
| Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company | United Kingdom | 2 | 0 |
| WakeUp Capital | Ireland | 2 | 0 |
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightspeed Venture Partners | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| Motive Partners | n/a | 2 | 1 |
| 14Peaks Capital | n/a | 2 | 0 |
| European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | United Kingdom | 1 | 1 |
| Interactive Venture Partners | United States | 1 | 1 |
| QED Investors | n/a | 1 | 1 |
| Sixth Street Growth | United States | 1 | 1 |
| Vsquared Ventures | Germany | 1 | 1 |
| Zurich Insurance Group | Switzerland | 1 | 1 |
| 3TS Capital Partners | Austria | 1 | 0 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All rounds | 30% | 26% | 78% |
Rounds with a fund from outside CEE: 30% in 2024, 26% in 2025 and 78% in 2026 so far, of rounds where investor headquarters are known.
Share of rounds where investor headquarters are known: 37 in 2024, 38 in 2025, 18 in 9M 2026.
08 / EXITS
Exits
The most recent: Craft, bought by Polymarket, June 2026.
Eight venture-backed exits since 2024: 3 in 2024, 3 in 2025 and 2 in 2026 so far. Deal values are rarely disclosed, so we count exits instead of summing them.
| Company | Month | Type | Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craft | Jun 2026 | Acquisition | Polymarket |
| DreamJobs | May 2026 | Acquisition | Mobility Group |
| PSC | Oct 2025 | Acquisition | Barion |
| OpenMeter | Sep 2025 | Acquisition | Kong Inc. |
| Hackrate | Aug 2025 | Acquisition | Sándor Fehér |
| DreamJobs | Dec 2024 | Acquisition | Quantum Digitális Diákszövetkezet |
| Foxpost | Aug 2024 | Buyout | CVC Capital Partners |
| Omixon | May 2024 | Acquisition | Werfen |
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 Hungary, and startups that began in Hungary or keep their main team here 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 115 venture rounds (73 with a disclosed amount) at 101 companies, and 8 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.
- Hungary'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.
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