The Recursive’s weekly roundup aims to cover key tech developments across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the growing impact of CEE-born founders on the global stage. Take a look at the latest news in funding, startup milestones, and emerging trends tied to the region’s innovation potential.
This week’s roundup covers a little bit from everything, but unfortunately not that many investments. From AI and fintech to biotech and retail, just a few companies are announcing fresh developments while many founders and investors prepare for a busy season ahead.
Creem, the Estonian fintech startup redefining financial infrastructure for AI-native teams, has raised a €1.8M pre-seed round led by Practica Capital, with participation from Antler and prominent angel investors.
Brno-based investment fund Purple Ventures has invested €640K in the Czech startup Buylo, which offers advanced RFID solutions for modern retail. The funds will support further development, continued international expansion, and the hiring of technical and sales staff. Buylo’s goal is to prove that brick-and-mortar stores can be just as efficient as online ones.
Slovenian VC fund Silicon Gardens has invested in ClozerAI, a startup developing a real-time AI sales assistant that helps salespeople during calls by guiding them through scripts, managing objections, and providing instant responses. Founded by Ljubljana-based entrepreneur Jure Sotošek, who has prior experience in building and launching successful products, ClozerAI raised $500K in this pre-seed round.
BioEridan, a Serbian biotechnology startup, has announced that it has secured a strategic investment from the TS Ventures Fund, run by Davor Sakac. This investment represents a significant step forward for the company, but also a historic moment – Jelena Milovanovic, founder and CEO of BioEridan, became the first female founder to sign a contract with this fund. The amount was not disclosed.
Bulgarian software company INDEAVR, founded in 2005 and specializing in digital and cloud solutions for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, energy, and industrial engineering, has been fully acquired by U.S.-based Marlabs in a strategic deal whose financial terms remain undisclosed. INDEAVR, which employs over 200 people in Sofia and maintains a satellite office in Geneva, will continue to operate with local management while integrating processes and resources into Marlabs’ global structure. CEO Valcho Tsvetkov emphasized that the move ensures greater scale, access to global markets, and enhanced capacity for innovation, particularly in areas like AI, automation, and digital engineering. For Marlabs—headquartered in New Jersey with 2,000 employees worldwide—this acquisition marks its third in recent years as part of a strategy to expand internationally and strengthen its portfolio.
Events and programs of note
From September 8–14, 2025, Split will host one of Europe’s most important educational events in the field of artificial intelligence – the Mediterranean Machine Learning Summer School (M2L). This year, M2L brings together more than 300 carefully selected participants—young researchers, PhD candidates, students, and engineers, representing 63 nationalities from 56 countries. The interest was overwhelming: from almost 1,700 applications, only 18% of candidates were accepted, reaffirming M2L’s status as one of Europe’s most selective and respected AI summer schools.
On September 4th, from 6:00 PM, Azuma Beach in Romania will bring together new startup teams. At CO-FOUND ME event, five founders with validated or in-progress ideas have just 7 minutes each to convey the essence of their vision. This is followed by quick questions from the audience (5 minutes/pitch), designed to challenge and clarify their idea. But the real magic is created at the matchmaking tables where participants talk face-to-face with the founders who have captured their interest, and the evening will end with a networking session. Those interested must fill out a registration form.
Banjo Communications, UK PR agency specialising in tech and innovation, recently announced the launch of its Go-to-Market UK Accelerator Series. The program offers 50 international scaleups, and 10 UK startups, free go-to-market UK training and mentorship designed to help them explore and understand how to enter and grow in the market.
