🦄Unicorns, Exits & Funding Gaps!

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Hey VentureTaler - It’s Alex!

Welcome to our 12th VentureTale. If you only have 3 minutes and 47 seconds to read, don’t worry it’s enough!

Today we are changing things up! 😎 

After 11 startup discoveries, we are going to take a more holistic perspective into the European startup scene and more specifically in the Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) region. As the first quarter of 2025 has just ended, experts in the field have released some interesting statistics on this topic which are worth examining.

The summary we have created below is based on primary data compiled by Dealroom.co, Cogito Capital Partners, Shape Capital Partners and Vestbee.

The original report is very detailed, data-heavy and long. We have done our best to extract the key numbers and elements so you don’t need to spend a single euro to access this information.

Let’s get into it!

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) startup scene is defying the odds; growing fast, raising money and impressing stakeholders worldwide. As of Q1 2025, the regional ecosystem is valued at €243 billion, backed by 3,800+ startups and 275 scaleups. That’s a serious jump from €180 billion in 2020, even with a few “coughs” along the way (don’t you all miss rocking your trendy face masks?😁).