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 takeaway: CEE’s founders aren’t just thinking big — they’re thinking diverse. Whether it’s AI in the back office, predictive analytics in warehouses, or manufacturing in orbit, the region’s startups are tackling inefficiencies that stretch from spreadsheets to space stations.
Turning spreadsheets into AI sidekicks
Brno-based Symfio just wrapped up its second pre-seed round, pocketing €210,000 from JIC Ventures and seasoned finance-sector angels. Their goal? To fast-track the integration of an AI “Financial Office” into their planning platform, making corporate finance a little less Excel-heavy and a lot more insightful. Expect more marketing, brand-building, and some strategic hiring as they scale.
Triple crown of Silicon Valley VCs
If Symfio’s news feels substantial, Rillet took things to another orbit — metaphorically speaking. In just ten weeks, this financial operations platform went from a Sequoia round to a $70M boost from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and ICONIQ Growth. Founded by a team that includes Greek technical architect Stelios Modis, Rillet has pulled in over $100M in under a year.
Private equity’s Polish comeback
Spire Capital Partners, the first entirely new Polish private equity fund launched in over ten years, has successfully closed fundraising for its debut vehicle at €90 million. The fund secured commitments from a blend of institutional and private backers, including the European Investment Fund (EIF), the Polish Development Fund (PFR), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and a range of Polish family offices and individual investors.
Less guesswork in big asset ops
Lithuania’s GREÏ, founded just last year by Saulius Tvarijonas and Giedrė Rajuncė, scored €650K in pre-seed funding from FIRSTPICK. Their AI-powered operational analytics tool is built for asset-heavy industries — warehouses, factories, retail chains — helping eliminate blind spots and false alarms so managers can act before things break (and budgets follow).
Building big in zero-g
Warsaw’s Orbital Matter closed a €1M seed round led by Romania’s Early Game Ventures to solve one of space tech’s biggest inefficiencies: only 1% of a rocket’s mass is payload. Their answer is in-orbit 3D printing, enabling larger structures like space station modules or lunar habitats without hauling them fully built from Earth. Think “IKEA, but in microgravity.”
From treats delivery to defense drones
Dynamic Aerospace Systems has rebranded to BrooQLy Inc. after acquiring Greek-founded social networking and food ordering platform Brooqly. This week they signed a $15M shareholding agreement with U.S. Platinum Point Capital LLC to speed up unmanned aircraft development for the defense industry. It’s an unusual pivot, from sending treat gifts to autonomous logistics, but it shows how tech expertise can travel far… sometimes literally.
Retail giant’s VC push
The Danish Salling Group (owner of Netto in Poland) has launched Salling Seeds, a ~€67M VC fund aimed at startups and scale-ups shaping the future of trade. Recruitment is open — presumably for founders with ideas that make retail smarter, leaner, or more delightful for customers.
AI that spots trouble early
Estonian-based MedTech startup Better Medicine has raised €1M pre-seed, led by Soulmates Ventures with Specialist VC, UT Ventures, and angels participating. Their BMVision platform slots into radiologists’ workflows, detecting and measuring oncological findings — starting with kidney lesions. The cash will fund a European rollout and further AI-powered improvements.
If you’re curious how these numbers fit into the bigger picture, The Recursive has mapped the largest CEE funding rounds for H1 2025 — a useful pulse check on the region’s deal flow and standout startups. Disclaimer: As for years now, we are not including Baltics in that scope, but as TR expands the coverage, the end of 2025 will mark the first for that as well.
