REPORT / Q3 2026 UPDATE / DATA TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
North Macedonia startup funding report
North Macedonian startups closed two rounds in the first nine months of 2026, none with a disclosed amount, against two rounds and €0.3m a year earlier.
Funding data for North Macedonian 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 North Macedonia, 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 North Macedonia can be set against the ten countries it covers.
We add a quarter every three months. If you are raising in North Macedonia, it shows how many rounds close, at what size, and who writes the first cheques.
Highlights
Two rounds in the first nine months, none with a disclosed amount, against €0.3m a year earlier.
0 seed and later rounds this year, against 0 a year earlier, and 2 rounds in all against 2. Pre-seed is where the record of recent rounds is least complete, and its count will rise as late rounds surface.
No venture-backed exits by September, against none in the same months of 2025.
01 / THE MARKET
The market
Capital down 100% on the same months of 2025. Rounds: 2 against 2.
SHOW DATA
| Row | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A | Growth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.6 | 6.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.9 |
| 2025 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| 9M 2026 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
North Macedonia raised €6.9m in 2024 and €0.3m in 2025. The largest 2025 round, hylosense's €0.3m, was 100% of that year. 2026 has €0 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9M 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
5 rounds in 2024, 2 in 2025 and 2 so far in 2026. Some rounds are recorded months late, so the latest quarters will rise.
| Row | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | €0.3m | €0.0m | - |
| Rounds | 2 | 2 | flat |
| Pre-seed rounds | 2 | 2 | flat |
| Seed rounds | 0 | 0 | - |
| Series A rounds | 0 | 0 | - |
| Growth rounds | 0 | 0 | - |
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 / NORTH MACEDONIA IN THE REGION
North Macedonia in the region
North Macedonia raised €0 per person in 2025, 11th of the 11 countries compared here.
The same record and rules for North Macedonia 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 |
| 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 |
| North Macedonia | 0 | - | 2 | flat | 0 | 0 |
Population on 1 January 2025.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 81 | 206 | 199 |
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 33 | 28 | 22 |
In 2025, North Macedonia closed 2 rounds, against 28 in Bulgaria.
03 / STAGES AND ROUND SIZES
Stages and round sizes
Round counts by stage, and the typical round where enough amounts are disclosed.
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 | €0.6m | 2 | €0.3m | 2 | - | €0.1m | - | - |
| Seed | 1 | €6.3m | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Series A | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Growth | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - |
Median shown where at least three rounds of the stage disclosed an amount.
Pre-seed
Four rounds in 2024, 2 in 2025 and 2 so far in 2026.
Seed
One round in 2024, 0 in 2025 and 0 so far in 2026.
Series A
No rounds in 2024, 0 in 2025 and 0 so far in 2026.
Growth
No rounds in 2024, 0 in 2025 and 0 so far in 2026.
04 / SECTORS
Sectors
By number of rounds since 2024, the largest sectors are AI (3), enterprise software (3) and fintech (1). A company can sit in several sectors, so sector totals overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Fintech | 6.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Energy and climate | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Enterprise software | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Mobility and logistics | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Marketing and media | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Education | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Ranked by 9M 2026 capital. Sectors overlap.
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Fintech | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Energy and climate | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Enterprise software | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Mobility and logistics | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marketing and media | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Education | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Same sectors, counted by number of rounds.
05 / LARGEST ROUNDS
Largest rounds
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|
Rounds with a disclosed amount.
| Company | Stage | Amount | Month | Lead or first investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hylosense | Pre-seed | €0.3m | Jan 2025 | South Central Ventures |
06 / STARTED IN NORTH MACEDONIA, BASED ELSEWHERE
Started in North Macedonia, based elsewhere
Companies that started in North Macedonia, or keep their main team here, but are headquartered elsewhere. They count in the totals, under North Macedonia. Companies that North Macedonian founders built abroad, with no base here, are not included.
None on record since 2024.
07 / INVESTORS
Investors
Zephyr Angels joined the most pre-seed and seed rounds since January 2025: 3.
Most active at pre-seed and seed since January 2025: Zephyr Angels (3 rounds), Plug and Play (1 rounds) and South Central Ventures (1 rounds). Investors are ranked by the rounds they joined, led or followed, over 2025 and 2026 together.
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zephyr Angels | North Macedonia | 3 | 2 |
| Plug and Play | United States | 1 | 1 |
| South Central Ventures | Slovenia | 1 | 1 |
| Investor | Based in | Rounds | Led |
|---|
SHOW DATA
| Row | 2024 | 2025 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All rounds | 50% | 0% | 100% |
Rounds with a fund from outside CEE: 50% in 2024, 0% in 2025 and 100% in 2026 so far, of rounds where investor headquarters are known.
Share of rounds where investor headquarters are known: 2 in 2024, 1 in 2025, 1 in 9M 2026.
08 / EXITS
Exits
No venture-backed exit on record since 2024.
No venture-backed exits since 2024: 0 in 2024, 0 in 2025 and 0 in 2026 so far. Deal values are rarely disclosed, so we count exits instead of summing them.
None on record since 2024.
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 North Macedonia, 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 9 venture rounds (6 with a disclosed amount) at 9 companies, and 0 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.
- North Macedonia'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.
- North Macedonia's record was built in October 2026 from the investors active in North Macedonian startups, their portfolios and posts, and the 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.
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: BADIDEAS.FUND.
Raising pre-seed or seed in North Macedonia
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