As we wrapped up 2024, it’s clear Romania’s startup scene had another eventful year, with 26 startups reporting funding rounds. This includes teams fully based in Romania and those with Romanian founders and partial teams, like FilmChain, MixRift, and Dexory.
In terms of numbers, startups raised €67.8M in the first half of the year, with funding jumping 31.6% in the second half to €94.8M. Outstanding rounds of the year were those of FintechOS (€55M Series B+) in H1 and Dexory (€77.6M Series B) in H2.
Altogether, Romanian startups announced €162.6M in funding during 2024.
In this article, we’ll break down the H2 2024’s funding activity and share key details about the rounds.
Did we miss something? Let us know at [email protected].
1. .lumen
Latest round: €4M (H2 2024) + €5M
Stage: N/A
Total funding: €25M
Investors: Venture to Future Fund, EIC, Catalyst Romania, Tigrim Capital, SeedBlink
Founder: Cornel Amariei
Vertical: Health, Assistive Technology
About: .lumen is a research startup that develops AI-powered glasses for the blind, utilizing Pedestrian Autonomous Driving (PAD AI) technology to replicate guide dog functionalities.
2. OgreAI
Latest round: €3M
Stage: Late Seed
Total funding: €5.6M
Investors: VERBUND X Ventures, Early Game Ventures, MMC VC Fund, Soulmates Ventures, and Sofia Angels Ventures
Founders: Matei Stratan, Mihai Cucuringu, Paul Musca
Vertical: EnergyTech
About: Ogre AI is a data science startup that engages in artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for the utility industry.
3. ADAPTA Robotics
Latest round: €2M
Stage: Pre-Seed
Total funding: €2M
Investors: Catalyst Romania, WIT Angels Club
Founders: Cristian Dobre, Diana Baicu and Mihai Craciunescu
Vertical: Robotics
About: ADAPTA Robotic provides state-of-the-art solutions across various industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, medical, manufacturing, R&D, electronics refurbishment, wearables, and gaming.
4. Parol
Latest round: €1.2M
Stage: Seed
Total funding: €1.7M
Investors: Gapminder VC, The Mavers
Founders: Claudiu Pândaru, Alex Livadaru, Alex Tepeș, Valentin Ichim
Vertical: HealthTech
About: Dexory captures real-time insights of warehouse operations using fully autonomous robots and Artificial Intelligence.
5. CogniSync
Latest round: €1M
Stage: Pre-Seed
Total funding: €1M
Investor: Early Game Ventures
Founders: Alexandru Vesa, Luca Mateescu
Vertical: SaaS, AI
About: CogniSync develops a tool to optimize workflows for scaling teams by surfacing best practices, identifying compliance gaps, and securely leveraging enterprise-owned data.
6. Fagura
Latest round: €1M
Stage: Seed
Total funding: €2.4
Investors: uVentures and Mozaic Ventures
Founder: Tudor Darie
Vertical: FinTech
About: Fagura is developing a marketplace based on P2P lending technology, where people look for loans at a lower interest rate than the financial market and meet with investors.
7. Youni
Latest round: €960k
Stage: Seed
Total funding: €2.2M
Investors: Soulmates Ventures, Early Game Ventures
Founders: Andrei Nicolae, Eugenie Daniel Posdarascu
Vertical: EdTech
About: University matchmaking and application process for students-to-be.
8. DesignVerse (rebranded from FigVision)
Latest round: €820k
Stage: Pre-seed
Total funding: €820k
Investors: Underline Ventures, Startup Wise Guys şi GapMinder VC (How To Web 2024 Award), V7 Capital, Gapminder, angel investors
Founders: Andrei Manolache, Robert Dragutoiu
Vertical: SaaS
About: AI-powered tool envisioned to shorten the design workflow for freelancers and professional design teams.
9. FieldOS
Latest round: €500k
Stage: Seed
Total funding: €500k
Investor: BCR Seed Starter
Founders: Cristi Dragomir, Ionut Gavrilescu
Vertical: B2B SaaS
About: FieldOS is a software company that develops asset operations management software.
10. The Cat Health Company
Latest round: €500k
Stage: Pre-Seed
Total funding: €500k
Investor: Early Game Ventures
Founders: Alex Voda, Alex Bacita
Vertical: DeepTech
About: Develops aging and longevity solutions for felines.
Other deals signed in H2 2024
BeeFast
Latest round: €430k
Stage: Angel
Total funding: €430k
Investor: Lucian Despoiu
Founders: Cristian Grozea, Andrei-Costin Curelea, Marian Ionescu, Claudia Stroe
Vertical: Logistics
About: Develops a solution for instant delivery.
QuickLegal
Latest round: €368k
Stage: Grant
Total funding: €368
Investor: EIT Digital
Founders: Luminița Bușuricu, Iulia Caizer, Bianca Florea
Vertical: LegalTech
About: Builds an automated invoice recovery solution based on artificial intelligence.
Rounds raised by Romanian diaspora founders
Dexory
Latest round: €77.6M
Stage: Series B
Total funding: €114M
Investors: DTCP, Latitude Ventures, Wave-X, Bootstrap Europe, Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic and angels investors
Founders: Adrian Negoita, Andrei Danescu, Oana Jinga
Vertical: Robotics
About: Dexory captures real-time insights of warehouse operations using fully autonomous robots and Artificial Intelligence.
MixRift
Latest round: €1.5M
Stage: Pre-Seed
Total funding: €1.5M
Investors: Underline Ventures, Outsized Ventures, SOSV
Founders: Bobby Voicu, David Pripas, Andrei Vaduva
Vertical: Mixed Reality & Gaming
About: MixRift is a gaming company that specializes in designing and developing interactive and mixed-reality gaming experiences.
