With ICT exports hitting a record €4.5B, Serbia is a regional tech powerhouse. But as government ambition and Chinese investment surge, can it overcome the hurdles of being a non-EU nation and turn raw growth into sustainable leadership?
Serbia’s technology sector is a full-blown economic force, and the numbers back it up. The country’s information and communication technology (ICT) services exports rocketed to a record €4.552 billion in 2025, marking a tenfold increase since 2012 and cementing its status as the nation’s largest net exporting industry.
This explosive growth, fuelled by a deep talent pool and strategic government backing, has propelled Serbia onto the global stage, particularly in high-performance sectors like gaming, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.
Yet, as the ecosystem matures, it faces a complex set of challenges, from navigating geopolitical rivalries to addressing the structural limitations of operating outside the European Union.
A state-fuelled push into the fourth industrial revolution
At the heart of Serbia’s digital ascent is a concerted government strategy to prioritize digitalization. Since 2017, Belgrade has invested heavily in building a formidable tech infrastructure. A cornerstone of this effort is the state-owned Data Center in Kragujevac, which houses a latest-generation Nvidia supercomputer and, as of late 2025, is set to receive a second. This push is part of a broader ambition to create the largest supercomputer cluster in Southeast Europe by 2027.
This infrastructure is the bedrock for the country’s aggressive pivot towards Artificial Intelligence. The government has adopted a new “Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence for 2025–2030,” backed by over $70 million in investment.
This focus has yielded results, with Serbia jumping 18 places to 39th globally in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index. Institutes like BioSense, focused on agritech, and the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Serbia), a collaboration with the World Economic Forum, are channeling this ambition into practical applications in biotechnology and healthcare.
The challenge, however, remains a lack of specific legal regulation for AI, creating a grey area of legal, ethical, and security questions that the private and public sectors must navigate.
Maturing markets and the search for the next big hit
The vibrancy of Serbia’s tech scene is most visible in its gaming and blockchain sectors. The country’s gaming industry generated €222 million in revenue in 2025, with domestic studios like the U.S.-owned Nordeus and 3Lateral leading a pack of over 70 companies.
But the sector is showing signs of a “calm growth” phase, mirroring global trends. While revenues are up, the number of new game releases has halved as studios pivot towards more complex, long-term projects.
The industry is also contending with a shrinking workforce, employing 300 fewer professionals in 2025 than the previous year, according to a report from the Serbian Games Association
Meanwhile, Belgrade has firmly established itself as a regional hub for Web3.
With a legal framework for digital assets in place since 2021 and its accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in 2025, the country is fostering a supportive environment for FinTech and blockchain innovation.
The ecosystem boasts 65 deep tech companies that have collectively raised over $73 million, with blockchain monitoring firm Tenderly leading the charge after a $40M Series B round.
Still, the ecosystem needs more late-stage success stories to create a ripple effect of reinvestment and mentorship.
Caught between East and West
Serbia’s strategic position has made its tech sector a stage for geopolitical competition. The United States remains its largest ICT trading partner, with giants like Oracle, Microsoft, and Rivian establishing major R&D centers.
Yet, Chinese influence is expanding rapidly. Huawei is a significant contractor for state-owned enterprises, providing cloud infrastructure for the Kragujevac Data Center and surveillance technology for “Safe City” initiatives.
Following President Xi Jinping’s 2024 visit, the two nations signed multiple agreements to deepen cooperation in digital transformation and AI.
This dynamic creates a complex operating environment.
U.S. companies often raise concerns about the transparency of public procurement processes, arguing that they can be biased or circumvented through government-to-government agreements. While Serbian technical managers often prefer U.S. technology for its quality and life-cycle costs, the political winds can blow in another direction.
For Serbian founders, this geopolitical tug-of-war is compounded by the country’s non-EU status, which complicates efforts to attract international venture capital.
Since investors prefer the regulated and familiar environments of the EU or the US, Serbian startups often have to register foreign entities to raise significant rounds.
As Serbia continues its impressive technological sprint, its greatest challenge may be building a bridge between its local ambitions and the global capital and markets it needs to truly compete.
