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
Romanian-founded Digitail, a developer of AI-driven practice management software for veterinary clinics, has secured a $23 (€19.94) million Series B round, led by Five Elms Capital with participation from existing investors Atomico, Partech, Byfounders, Gradient, and others. With this new funding, Digitail plans to accelerate product development, expand its AI capabilities, and scale global operations.
Hungary’s MeOut Group has acquired EU-Startups, one of Europe’s oldest online publications covering the startup ecosystem. The deal aligns with EU-Startups’ 15-year anniversary and will allow both organizations to deepen their reach across Europe’s innovation landscape.
Neither organization has shared financial details of the transaction. Both said the EU-Startups brand, team, and editorial direction will remain unchanged.
SQ Capital, a domestic investment firm overseeing more than €130 million in assets, has invested €2.7 million through the alternative investment fund Primus in Moontop, a Croatian tech company transforming the employee-benefits landscape. Employers set a monthly budget, while employees use the app to freely select and combine benefits based on their personal preferences and needs.
Self.co, a digital health startup from Vilnius focused on helping people better understand and manage allergies and food intolerances, has secured €2.56 million through a mix of venture investment and grant funding. The funding round of €1.2 million was led by Iron Wolf Capital, with participation from Coinvest, NGL Ventures, and several angel investors. Self.co received a €1.36 million grant from Innovation Agency Lithuania.
Ukrainian defense-tech accelerator Defence Builder and Finnish VC and accelerator 17Tech Oy have formed a strategic partnership. The deal covers joint startup events, broader access to investors and defense institutions, opportunities to test technologies in real operational settings, and shared expertise to strengthen both accelerators’ development models.
EU to delay parts of AI Act
The European Commission plans to delay parts of its AI legislation under pressure from major U.S. tech companies and the Trump administration. A decision is expected on November 19.
The EU wants to stay competitive with the U.S. and China. The delay comes amid growing debate over how strictly the bloc should enforce its digital rules, as well as criticism that the AI Act is overly restrictive for a fast-moving technology.
Around the globe
SoftBank Group Corp. has sold its entire stake in Nvidia for $5.83 billion, a move announced as the Tokyo company reported stronger profits for the first half of its fiscal year. SoftBank’s financial results remain volatile as CEO Masayoshi Son pushes to diversify revenue through aggressive investments in AI-focused startups, largely carried out via the Vision Fund.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced on Thursday that it is investing in a new biotech-security startup aimed at preventing malicious groups from using AI to develop biological weapons.
The company, Red Queen Bio, has raised $15 million in seed funding with OpenAI as the lead investor. According to co-founder Hannu Rajaniemi, the company’s mission is to ensure that safeguards in the AI and biotech ecosystem advance just as quickly as the capabilities that could be misused to endanger people.
