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.
CEE deals
PolyModels Hub, with a Greek co-founder, has announced a €7.8 million ($9 million) Series A funding round led by Molten Ventures, with participation from Marathon Venture Capital. It will be spent on geographical expansion, product development, and scaling the platform across additional functions in the drug development lifecycle.
Czech Freya, a company that automates call-center customer interactions using human-like voice AI agents, has raised €3 million in a new funding round. Investors included DOMiNO Ventures, Y Combinator, Formosa Capital, Rebel Fund, BD Partners, N1 Tech, 212 VC, BLAST, Eight Capital, and Maiora Rebel Ventures.
Every Health, a startup developing Europe’s first virtual clinic focused on LGBTQ+ communities and sexual health, has raised €1.1 million seed round. The round was led by Czech Founders VC, with participation from Atlantic Labs, N1 Ventures, Ultra Ventures, Taimi, and others.
Ukrainian startup MyChatBot has secured €431,666 in seed funding from the SMRK venture fund, founded by Alexander Kosovan. This marks the fund’s 24th investment, SMRK managing partner Andriy Dovzhenko told AIN. Since its launch, the firm has deployed a total of $21 million.
Other updates
Keen Venture Partners announced the successful first close of its European defense and security technology fund. The fund has secured over €150 million, making it the largest defense-tech venture capital fund in Europe. Keen is now fully operational and actively investing in startups and scale-ups developing defense and security technologies across European NATO member states, reported the fund.
Vendep Capital has secured €80 million for its new Fund IV, fully meeting its target size. The Espoo-based venture capital firm, which specializes in B2B SaaS across the Nordics and Baltics, focuses on early-stage companies from pre-seed through Series A — particularly those building AI-powered products.
Ukraine and NVIDIA are launching a joint project to build sovereign AI capabilities and expand the country’s state AI infrastructure, First Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced. The initiative builds on AI Factory, Ukraine’s existing state AI platform powered by NVIDIA technology, and aims to boost technological independence and strengthen data security, which the government views as critical for national security.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava hosted the official opening of the Slovak Chips Competence Centre, an ambitious initiative set to revolutionize the Slovak semiconductor industry. In an era where chips determine the future of industry, defence, healthcare, and mobility, the establishment of such a centre represents a strategic step forward for Slovakia.
