In a Nutshell
- Sofia-based coworking space Puzl CowOrKing is expanding in the CEE region, with the opening of a new location in Budapest. The new space will be up and running later this year.
- Their aim is to enhance the connection across the IT community.
- The new location is partly backed by undisclosed Hungarian investors.
Get the Details
Puzl CowOrKing, founded by Thibaut Taittinger in 2015, is specifically designed to host IT professionals such as Viber, Netpeak, FinDep, but also other ecosystem players, including Founder Institute and BVCA (Bulgarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association).
Puzl’s approach relies on transforming old industrial buildings into shared offices. According to their data, Puzl is able to save up to 50% Embodied Carbon Emissions during the renovations, representing the equivalent of 20 years of Operational CO2 Emissions.
It took Puzl 3 years to plan and renovate the building into a new hub for the Budapest IT community. It is located in the ex-Goldberger Textile Factory, which was founded in 1784. The factory complex was one of the drivers of the Hungarian economy in the 20th century.
The new location will host over 800 IT professionals from the Budapest startup ecosystem. The place will also boast an event space where, like in Sofia, they will support IT events and meetups. With the current expansion, they aim to strengthen the bond between tech communities across the CEE region.
The Bigger Picture
Hungary’s startup and tech sector is expanding, with the country ranking between 32nd and 36th out of 39 European economies in the Global Innovation Index.
In recent years some of the fastest-growing international tech companies such as Cloudera, Transferwise or BlackRock opened large development hubs in Hungary to utilize the STEM talent pool of Hungary.
In Their Own Words
“We feel that within each city the IT and startup communities are tightly knit and know each other. But as soon as you leave the borders of your country, these communities are fragmented”, said Thibaut Taittinger, the CEO of Puzl CowOrKing.
We are on a mission to build the homes of the local IT communities across CEE to then create virtual bridges for our members to connect, communicate, and collaborate. Budapest is our true first step toward our mission and it’s exciting,” he added.
Zsofi Toth, the co-founder of the Budapest hub shared more for The Recursive: “I am looking forward to supporting the Budapest ecosystem and to welcoming a versatile mix of IT members to populate the Budapest IT hub; developers, freelancers, startups, scaleups and established IT companies, investors, etc. The model for building IT-only coworkings remains the same and can host companies from 1 to 200 team members.”
