Funding Frenzy: This Startup Just Raised $100M—Will You Miss Out on the Next Big Thing?

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is increasingly making its mark on the global tech scene, with emerging startups and innovative solutions capturing the attention of investors worldwide. The latest developments highlight a growing ecosystem bolstered by significant funding rounds and the unique capabilities of CEE-born founders.

Duvo.ai, a promising player in the realm of artificial intelligence, has recently raised €12.86 million in seed funding to enhance its AI-native automation platform. This platform enables retail teams to streamline operations across various systems, both legacy and modern. The funding round was spearheaded by Index Ventures and included contributions from Credo Ventures, Northzone, and Puzzle Ventures, alongside angel investors such as Roy Reznik (co-founder of Wiz), David Singleton (former CTO of Stripe), Ajay Kavan (longtime Amazon veteran), and Kieran Flanagan (former CMO of Zapier).

Another notable Ukrainian startup, EVE, which builds the first Inbox Revenue Engine tailored for B2B small businesses, has secured €2.06 million in a pre-seed investment round. This funding attracted a diverse array of investors, including DOMiNO Ventures, Firsthand Ventures, a16z’s Scout Fund, and Acquisition.com Ventures, as well as participation from the co-founders of Slack and Hugging Face and the former CEO of Oura.

In the realm of defense technology, Sky Spy, also founded in Ukraine, has developed compact SIGINT systems designed for congested and contested environments. The company successfully raised an oversubscribed €1.37 million in a pre-seed round to launch production and expand its team. Their pioneering product, Agent 001, has already been validated in frontline applications, effectively detecting and geolocating hostile emitters such as UAS control stations and jammers—an essential capability revealed by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Croatian firm Infinum is extending its reach into the United Kingdom and Western Europe, following its acquisition of the Dutch creative agency Your Majesty earlier this year. Infinum is now closing the year with the acquisition of British AMR CyberSecurity, further solidifying its competitive position in the tech landscape.

Recognizing the importance of cloud solutions, Bulgarian-founded Tiger Technology has been named a winner of the 2025 CEE AWS Regional Partner Award. This accolade underscores the company's pivotal role in driving innovation and delivering cloud solutions throughout Central and Eastern Europe, with evaluations conducted by the analyst firm Canalys.

In a striking development, OpenAI has reached an agreement to acquire Polish startup neptune.ai, a sophisticated metrics dashboard that tracks experiments and monitors training for advanced AI models. This acquisition will integrate Neptune’s experiment-tracking system deep into OpenAI’s training infrastructure, enabling researchers to compare numerous runs and identify issues in real-time. The incorporation of Neptune's expertise into OpenAI's framework marks a significant convergence of talent and technology in the AI research community.

Additionally, eNOugh, a London-based safety technology startup co-founded by Bulgarian and Bosnian entrepreneurs, has successfully raised $2.7 million (€2.32 million) in pre-seed funding. This investment will aid in bringing their innovative AI-powered wearable safety device, the eNO badge, to market. The funding round was led by A*Ventures, co-founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Hartz, an early investor in Airbnb and Pinterest, and also saw participation from Comma Capital, Karman Ventures, and Intuition VC, along with several angel investors.

As CEE startups continue to secure impressive funding and innovate across diverse sectors, their influence on the global tech landscape is becoming increasingly significant. With a mix of strategic investments, unique solutions, and the resilience of founders navigating a challenging environment, the region is poised to contribute valuable advancements to various industries worldwide.