Venture capital in Q1 2025 is marked by contrasts: on one hand, Europe is facing slowed fundraising cycles and cautious LPs amidst ongoing liquidity concerns. On the other, global venture markets are seeing a rebound—especially in billion-dollar exits and late-stage funding rounds.
AI remains the central narrative, but the focus is shifting: from broad foundational models to niche, sector-specific applications that deliver tangible ROI. Meanwhile, fintech, digital health, and retail tech are experiencing renewed investor attention.
Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, new tariffs, and geopolitical tensions, many investors still see Europe as a strategic bet—especially in defense, cybersecurity, and deeptech. These sectors are becoming focal points in an increasingly volatile world.
It’s in this fast-moving, data-hungry environment that The Recursive is proud to announce a new partnership with Dealigence, the intelligence platform powering real-time visibility into private markets.
Together, we’re on a mission to deliver deeper insights and sharper visibility into the CEE startup ecosystem—powered by real-time data and journalistic rigor.
A strategic match for a fast-changing market
Dealigence was built for the modern enterprise asset class, whether venture-backed or bootstrapped. With a lean founding team of 3, bringing together deep experience in fintech, AI, and venture creation, the company has quickly become trusted by over 40+ top-tier investors and acquirers.
While most platforms rely on outdated funding data and generic info, Dealigence takes a different approach.
“Most platforms provide stale, public data like funding rounds and company tags,” says Adam Lazovski, CEO and Co-Founder of Dealigence. “We go deeper—tracking signals like headcount trends, product adoption, recurring revenue growth, even unannounced rounds. It’s all about how a startup is performing now, not six months ago.”
With proprietary data pipelines and AI-driven analysis, the platform tracks live performance signals across thousands of private companies —reducing noise and enabling smarter sourcing, monitoring, and due diligence.
The Recursive, meanwhile, brings insiders’ knowledge, and a story-driven approach to covering the CEE tech and startup ecosystem. With in-depth reporting and access to founders and operators across the region, we’ve become a go-to voice for what’s happening on the ground.
“There’s huge untapped potential in the CEE region,” Adam continues. “By combining Dealigence’s real-time intelligence with The Recursive’s ecosystem knowledge and storytelling, we can unlock new levels of visibility and impact.”
What to expect?
This partnership will bring real-time, actionable insights straight to the screens of startup investors, acquirers, but also founders and ecosystem builders who want to stay ahead of the curve. Here’s a glimpse of what’s coming in the next few months:
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- Spotlights on Fast-Growing CEE Startups – Quarterly (and half-year) mappings of startups seeing the fastest growth.
- Who’s Hiring in CEE? – A monthly job intelligence newsletter segment listing open positions in CEE startups and scaleups.
- Defense & CyberSec Industry Report – Dealigence will be The Recursive’s main tool for researching the most promising startups and investors in these critical verticals.
- Ecosystem Benchmarks – From funding trends to investor activity and sector growth.
As Dealigence continues to be trusted by over 40+ top-tier investors and acquirers—and, per their report, boasts 0% churn, 130% NRR, and profitability just one year after launch—we’re proud to bring their edge to the CEE region.
The Recursive + Dealigence: where stories meet signals. Stay tuned!
