Cities across Central and Eastern Europe, from Warsaw to Tallinn to Kyiv, are fertile ground for tech startups. Early success stories such as Skype, developed in Tallinn, LogMeIn (now GoTo), founded in Budapest, and UIPath (founded in Bucharest and launched on the NYSE last year at $30bn), have helped foster a dynamic ecosystem.
Google for Startups’ Joanna Nagadowska says the region’s tech sector is being driven by a “positive flywheel” as it matures, with savvy and seasoned local talent now launching their own startups. “Central and Eastern Europe today is not an overnight success. It was built on a generation of entrepreneurs who know how to start and scale businesses.”
We’ve highlighted five key Central and Eastern Europe cities, including Kyiv. The Ukrainian capital’s tech sector has such momentum that it continues to grow, despite the Russian invasion. Warsaw remains the region’s tech hub and a number of Ukrainian startups have satellite offices in the city. Tallinn births more startups per capita than anywhere in Europe, while Vilnius has leveraged its liveability to develop a vibrant tech ecosystem. Prague has global credentials in developing cybersecurity tech, but boasts a growing and quickly diversifying startup scene.
Kyiv
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv was the rising star of the European startup scene. It was the launch site for six unicorns, from GitLab to NFT pioneer Unstoppable Domains and workflow automation star, AirSlate—the latter two went unicorn this summer.
The IT sector is still growing in Ukraine, with many startups opening satellite offices in other countries, particularly Poland. Earlier this year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the $5m Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund, providing cash awards and mentoring support.
Elai.io was one of the first beneficiaries of the Ukraine Support Fund, and was launched in Kyiv last year by Vitalii Romanchenko, Alex Uspenskyi and Aleksey Pshenichniy, all relative veterans of the Kyiv tech scene.
Leveraging advanced AI, Elai.io’s Software as a Service tool allows users to easily create videos using just text, putting words in the mouths of digital avatars. It offers a library of templates and animations, works in over 65 languages, and the avatars are based on a diverse range of real-life actors.
Romanchenko argues that despite the vitality of the startup scene in Kyiv, and the depth of talent in the city, there is need for more outside investment. “Kyiv is home to thousands of skilled engineers and IT professionals,” he says. “We have people who know how to build awesome products while working in big offshore businesses but a lot of time we lack individuals who actually start their own companies. We need help with building a stronger startup ecosystem, and getting more VCs and angels involved to support early-stage companies.”
Warsaw
Google for Startups opened its Warsaw Campus back in 2015, since then almost 100,000 startups and community members have visited. The city has also become a satellite base for Ukrainian tech firms, with Google for Startups providing workspace for firms in temporary exile. “The Google for Startups Campus in Warsaw is our hub for Central and Eastern Europe. It was built on a strong commitment to support this incredibly diverse startup ecosystem with its almost 200 million people across over a dozen countries. Especially in Poland we see an emerging number of unicorns like Allegro or Docplanner, fuelled by a solid pipeline of rising stars like Booksy, Brainly, ICEYE, Tylko or Packhelp. They are all testament to the strong momentum we see for Eastern European startups today.” says Michal Kramarz, head of Google for Startups, Central Europe.
“We strongly believe our platform will change how primary care is delivered,” says Agata Mlodawska, content lead at Polish startup Infermedica. The HealthTech startup, an alumn of the Google for Startups programme, has a mission, she adds, to “make healthcare accessible, affordable and convenient by automating primary care processes, from symptom to outcome”.