Latvia
- Environment
- Dual-use & Defence
- Energy
Strong engineering culture and Baltic NATO member, with deep tech concentrating in environment, dual-use and defence, and energy.
Deep Tech CEE ChallengeStartups Landscape 2023–2025
267 verified deep tech companies from 750+ applications, mapped across Central and Eastern Europe.
From Sławomir Olejnik
Deep Tech in the CEE region is underrated and under the investors' radar.
Since 2023, my team and the Deep Tech CEE Challenge's jury have invited more than 5,000 startups across Central and Eastern Europe to apply. We are in direct contact with over 1,200 of them, and more than 750 have submitted a full application. We've done it the hard way, not through algorithms or third-party databases, but through direct contact with startup founders, accelerators, incubators, tech transfer offices, business angel networks, and science & technology parks across 17 countries.
From those applications we have built a database of 267 companies verified as genuinely deep tech against strict criteria, i.e., novel science, or high-tech engineering at the core, defensible IP, product-market-fit & technological risk. We are aligning with the European Innovation Council (EIC) criteria and the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge. Every edition of the Deep Tech CEE Challenge adds to this number.
In this guide, we have compiled key findings from the data we collected.
It won't tell you which specific startup to call, or give you a list of them. That's rather an invitation for a conversation with my team members or me about the Deep Tech Summit & CEE Challenge initiatives, collaboration, or attending the Deep Tech Summit 2026 in Warsaw (October, 26–27).
Moreover, it is an opportunity to get to know each other, discover your areas of interest, focus areas, and the kinds of risk you accept. What this guide will tell you is where in CEE the concentration of deep tech is highest, which sectors are accelerating, and why this region is one of the most underpriced deep tech investment opportunities in Europe and globally, today.
Sławomir Olejnik
CEO Deep Tech CEE PSA & Innovative Poland Foundation
CEE at a glance
- Startups invited to apply
- 5,000+
- Startups in active contact
- 1,200+
- Applications received
- 750+
- Deep tech companies verified
- 267
- 202379 applications
- 2024101 applications
- 202587 applications
Source: Deep Tech CEE Challenge data. Companies analysed: 267, verified as deep tech out of 750+ applications across the 2023–2025 editions.
B2B
240 selections
90% of 267
B2G
71 selections
27% of 267
B2C
54 selections
20% of 267
B2B2C
53 selections
20% of 267
Multiple selections allowed; totals exceed the 267 companies analysed.
Source: Deep Tech CEE Challenge data. Companies analysed: 267, verified as deep tech out of 750+ applications.
Roughly one in three applications met the deep tech definition — an acceptance rate of approximately 36%. The rest were solid companies, but not deep tech by our criteria: novel science or high-tech engineering at the core, defensible IP, and real technology risk.
All figures in this report describe the complete set of 267 companies verified as deep tech through the Deep Tech CEE Challenge – not a sample drawn from the wider CEE ecosystem. Country shares reflect where our own network reaches.
Investment Maturity
2023
No funding: 35.4%, Pre-seed: 29.1%, Seed: 32.9%, Series A: 2.5%
2024
No funding: 37%, Pre-seed: 44%, Seed: 15%, Series A: 4%
2025
No funding: 43.7%, Pre-seed: 39.1%, Seed: 17.2%, Series A: 0%
- No funding
- Pre-seed
- Seed
- Series A
Shown as a share of companies with a funding classification that year.
Source: CEE Challenge · Companies analysed: 79 (2023), 101 (2024), 87 (2025)
- 202379
Early (Idea–TRL 4): 21, Mid (TRL 5–7): 47, Late (TRL 8–9): 11
- 2024101
Early (Idea–TRL 4): 32, Mid (TRL 5–7): 52, Late (TRL 8–9): 17
- 202587
Early (Idea–TRL 4): 30, Mid (TRL 5–7): 43, Late (TRL 8–9): 14
- Early (Idea–TRL 4)
- Mid (TRL 5–7)
- Late (TRL 8–9)
TRL grouped into Early (Idea–TRL 4), Mid (TRL 5–7), Late (TRL 8–9).
Source: CEE Challenge · TRL self-reported by applicants
- 2023
- 2024
- 2025
Concept
1
4
1
Science / dev project
10
6
22
Seed (product dev.)
22
32
41
Early (market launch)
37
45
19
Growth (revenue)
7
14
4
Sustainable model
2
0
0
Science / development projects nearly tripled in 2025 (6→22), signalling increased academic spinout activity.
Source: CEE Challenge · Companies analysed: 79 (2023), 101 (2024), 87 (2025)
38 of 87 applicants in 2025 had no external funding – the highest no-funding share in three years. High pre-dilution concentration, typical of an early-stage market with substantial room for capital to engage.
The pipeline is concentrated at the early stage. In 2025, seed and early-stage companies accounted for 60 of 87 deep tech startups (69%), and 84% sat at TRL 7 or below.
Sectors & Technology Trends
- Digital Health & Med Devices89 applications
- Energy & Resources74 applications
- Aeronautics & Space73 applications
- Dual-use / Security & Defence72 applications
- Environment & Biodiversity70 applications
- Food & Agriculture67 applications
- Pharma & Regen. Medicine65 applications
- Industry & Machines62 applications
- Construction & Urban Tech55 applications
- Electronics & Novel Computing47 applications
- New Materials & Ind. Biotech46 applications
Source: CEE Challenge · Multiple selections allowed · Companies analysed: 267
Digital Health & Medical Devices leads the region with 89 deep tech companies. Close behind, Dual-use & Security & Defence rose from zero to a top-4 sector in just two years, a sign of how fast CEE's deep tech priorities are evolving.
- AI & Machine Learning91 applications
- Medical Device & Technology72 applications
- Sensors & IoT69 applications
- Data Analytics63 applications
- Data Storage & Data Mining63 applications
- Automation & Robotics57 applications
- Biotechnologies51 applications
- Energy Generation & Storage39 applications
- Industrial Manufacturing38 applications
- Electronics & Telecoms34 applications
- Aerospace Engineering32 applications
- Tech for Good32 applications
- Drones / UAVs30 applications
- Materials28 applications
- Transport Technologies28 applications
Source: CEE Challenge · Multiple selections allowed · Companies analysed: 267
Where the Deep Tech Is
Of the 17 countries represented in CEE Challenge, a leading group accounts for the majority of deep tech activity so far, with communities across the wider region continuing to grow.
- Latvia17 companies
- Estonia15 companies
- Hungary15 companies
- Bulgaria10 companies
- Slovakia10 companies
- Lithuania9 companies
- Ukraine8 companies
- Serbia7 companies
- Romania6 companies
- Croatia5 companies
- Czechia5 companies
Source: CEE Challenge · 2023–2025 combined · Poland shown separately
The Baltics punch above their weight. Latvia (17) and Estonia (15) outperform countries 10× their population size – driven by strong engineering cultures and NATO-aligned defence tech ecosystems.
57%
43%
Poland 153
Other CEE countries 114
Poland accounts for 57% of the 267 deep tech companies, reflecting our direct presence and network in the Polish ecosystem. The remaining 43% is spread across the other CEE countries, where strong deep tech continues to emerge.
Source: CEE Challenge · 2023–2025 combined · Companies analysed: 267 CEE-based deep tech companies
Country Profiles
Estonia
- Dual-use & Defence
- Aeronautics & Space
- Digital Health
One of Europe's most digitalised economies, with deep tech strength in dual-use and defence, aerospace, and digital health.
Hungary
- Food & Agriculture
- Digital Health
- Dual-use & Defence
Central European hub with strong university R&D, concentrating in food & agriculture, digital health, and dual-use technologies.
Bulgaria
- Environment
- Food & Agriculture
- Energy
Growing deep tech ecosystem with momentum in environment & biodiversity, food & agriculture, and energy.
Slovakia
- Energy
- Aeronautics & Space
- Food & Agriculture
Industrial economy applying deep tech across energy, aerospace, and food & agriculture.
Lithuania
- Dual-use & Defence
- Aeronautics & Space
- Digital Health
NATO-aligned hub with a strong dual-use and defence pipeline, alongside aerospace and digital health.
Ukraine
- Dual-use & Defence
- Digital Health
- Environment
Exceptional engineering talent, with strength in dual-use and defence technology, digital health, and environmental solutions.
Serbia
- Digital Health
- Pharma
- Construction
Growing startup scene anchored by strong mathematics and engineering faculties, with deep tech in digital health, pharma, and construction.
Croatia
- Electronics
- Pharma
- Construction
Pharma heritage (Pliva legacy), with emerging deep tech in electronics and construction & urban tech.
Romania
- Digital Health
- Electronics
- Industry
Fast-growing ecosystem with momentum across digital health, electronics, and industry. Watch this space.
Czechia
- Energy
- Environment
- New Materials
Research-led ecosystem with a strong university spin-off pipeline, concentrating in energy, environment, and new materials.
Use This Guide
01Corporate Innovation Leaders
- Chief Innovation Officer
- Head of Innovation
- Open Innovation Manager
- Head of Disruption
- Venture Client Manager
- Technology Scouting Manager
- Head of Corporate R&D
The problem?
You need a pipeline of deep tech startups for pilots and venture clienting, but scouting 17 countries yourself is not realistic alongside the rest of your mandate.
What this guide gives you.
A pre-filtered map of where to focus. CEE Challenge has already narrowed 750+ applications down to the 267 verified deep tech companies that fit your focus. You know which countries concentrate which sectors.
Your next action.
Use the sector + country matrix in this guide to define your scouting brief. Then bring that brief to Deep Tech Summit – the 267 companies we've pre-screened are your starting pool, not your endpoint.
02Investors
- VCs
- CVCs
- Family Offices
The problem?
You need early-stage, pre-dilution deal flow from a region your competitors have not mapped – and most of what reaches you has already been priced somewhere else.
What this guide gives you.
A verified signal. 38 of the 87 companies in the 2025 edition had zero external funding, and 84% sit at TRL 7 or below. Science and development projects rose from 6 to 22 in a single year. These companies are not yet in standard databases.
Your next action.
Use the TRL and funding stage charts as a filter: set your entry TRL and funding threshold, then cross-reference with the country and sector maps. Bring that thesis to Investor Day on 26 October, where the same room holds the CEE Challenge finalists and the LPs and co-investors backing this region. Book time with Sławomir for access to the underlying database.
03Ecosystem Stakeholders
- Accelerator
- Technology Park
- Science and Technology Park
- Startup Incubator
The problem?
You run an accelerator, technology park, or incubator, and you need to benchmark your ecosystem against the wider CEE deep tech landscape while attracting the right founders, corporates, and investors to your programs.
What this guide gives you.
A regional benchmark. You can see which sectors and countries concentrate deep tech, where your ecosystem stands, and which verticals are accelerating: data you can use to position your programs and shape your cohort strategy.
Your next action.
Compare your region against the country and sector maps to find your differentiators and gaps. Then partner with Deep Tech Summit & CEE Challenge to channel your startups into the pipeline and co-promote at the Summit. Book a quick call with Sławomir to explore it.
Want to partnerwith us
No sales pitch—just a conversation about your goals, ideas, and how we can create value together.
Whether you support the CEE Challenge, join us at Deep Tech Summit 2026 in Warsaw, or become a sponsor, the goal is the same: unlocking CEE's startup and investment potential.
Sławomir Olejnik
CEO Deep Tech CEE PSA & Innovative Poland Foundation
Authors: Sławomir Olejnik (opens in a new tab) · Artur Thielmann (opens in a new tab) · Katarzyna Hilczer (opens in a new tab) · Jakub Kopacz (opens in a new tab)
Data: CEE Challenge 2023–2025 · Companies analysed: 267 verified deep tech companies out of 750+ applications