The report highlights 2025 as a year of consolidation rather than expansion. While total investment volume remained broadly stable compared to the previous year, the number of transactions decreased, reflecting a wider European trend in which larger pools of capital are concentrated in fewer companies. Average round sizes increased, particularly at early stages, with pre-seed rounds growing by 45% and seed rounds by 43% year-over-year.
The main constraint on the region’s potential is not the quality of founders or technical talent, but the limited depth of capital infrastructure and access to growth-stage financing. The key findings of the Venture in Eastern Europe 2025 Report will also be presented at an exclusive event in London on February 25th, putting the Eastern European ecosystem on the international stage of venture capital.
"2025 confirmed what we've been saying for years: Eastern Europe builds world-class companies. ElevenLabs, EnduroSat, and Spotawheel raised some of the region's largest rounds in 2025, competing on a global stage and attracting serious international capital. What the ecosystem is still developing is the infrastructure to scale more companies like them. The gap is real, but so is the momentum: early-stage investment surged, and investors are paying closer attention than ever. 2026 is about turning that attention into the follow-on capital the region deserves, and we're just getting started."
Top-performing Eastern European ecosystems
Polish startups were the strongest performers in 2025, attracting more than 20% of all venture capital invested across Eastern Europe. Turkey, Greece, Estonia, and the Czech Republic followed, although each recorded lower funding volumes compared to 2024.
Together, the top five countries generated over 60% of total investment activity, while the top ten accounted for nearly 90% of all capital attracted in the region. The three largest investments of 2025 were Spotawheel from Greece (€300m Series C, including debt), Tachyum from Slovakia (€190m Series C), and ElevenLabs from Poland (€169.7m Series C).
Top ecosystems across emerging and slower-growth markets
Beyond Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia also recorded growth in invested capital, with Ukraine and Slovakia also recording increased deal activity. Ukraine led this group of high-growth markets, with an investment volume of €163 million. At the opposite end, Turkey leads the list of countries with the most significant declines in investment volume in 2025, followed by Lithuania, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Romania.
In these markets, reduced funding levels are directly correlated with a drop in transactions, and there are no outliers that would raise significant rounds of capital. The sectors attracting the highest percentage of capital in 2025 were Enterprise Software (€720m), Fintech (€522m), Space (€350m), Automotive (€311.2m), Healthcare (€223m), and Security (€204m).
Verticals on the rise: defence, industrial, and space
Among emerging verticals, with at least €50 million invested, are Healthcare, Engineering and manufacturing equipment, Gaming, Energy, and Defence, showing a growing investor confidence in new opportunities across these segments.
As in previous years, the majority of capital has been invested in later-stage companies, showing the region’s ability to build long-term businesses. Early-stage funding (pre-seed, seed, and Series A) accounted for 43% of total invested capital, while later-stage rounds (Series B-F) accounted for 57%.
The full report is available at: https://www.howtoweb.co/venture-in-eastern-europe-report-2025/
About the report
Venture in Eastern Europe Report is an annual research publication by How to Web that analyzes venture capital activity across Eastern Europe. It examines capital flows, stage distribution, sector dynamics, and cross-border investment patterns to provide a clear picture of how the regional ecosystem is evolving.
The report is built on structured data and market analysis, offering investors, founders, LPs, corporates, and policymakers a reliable reference point for understanding the region’s investment landscape. Its purpose is to translate raw funding data into actionable insight about market maturity, capital concentration, and emerging structural shifts.
