How we cee it. – October 2025 Digest
This is the monthly recap.The real action happens weekly — subscribe to How we cee it. Week 40 CEE Startups, VCs Launch ‘European Startup Embassy’ in San Francisco…
This is the monthly recap.
The real action happens weekly — subscribe to How we cee it.
Week 40
CEE Startups, VCs Launch ‘European Startup Embassy’ in San Francisco
Startups and venture capital firms from Central and Eastern Europe are launching an initiative in San Francisco aimed at helping European startups establish a foothold in the American market. The project, called the European Startup Embassy (ESE), is also intended to attract American investors to opportunities in Europe.
For now, the Embassy operates a single base in San Francisco, serving as both a coworking space and community hub. Over time, the goal is to build an active, engaged community that can pave the way for more companies from the CEE region to enter the U.S. market.
Among the founding members are Romania’s Underline Ventures, legal tech firm Sparring, Oddin.gg, Valka.AI, Keboola, and Rockaway Ventures.
The initiative is led by CEO Vladimíra Cinčurová, who previously worked at Microsoft’s Prague office, where she supported B2B startups from the CEE region in scaling globally.
The ESE frames its mission as follows: The U.S. is a critical piece of the puzzle. It’s the world’s largest market, deepest capital pool, and home to the world’s boldest bets.
European startups increasingly recognize this. Over the past five years, the share of startups establishing a U.S. presence before their Series A round has grown from 33% to 64%. For Central and Eastern Europe, the need is even more pronounced—50% of startups from the region relocate to the U.S. during their scaling phase.
But, as ESE argues, the U.S. also needs Europe—not only as a market, but as a wellspring of top-tier talent driving breakthroughs in AI, deep tech, and cybersecurity.
The ambition is to help European startups build their U.S. presence while maintaining varying levels of operations on both sides of the Atlantic.
In addition to its physical base in the Bay Area, the initiative will also launch an online platform and organize a series of high-impact events designed to connect startups with the right partners, investors, and talent.
U.S. Launches Nuclear SPRING in Warsaw
The U.S. Department of State has officially launched its SPRING initiative (Supra-Regional Nuclear Energy Interest Group) in Warsaw, signaling a stronger American push for small modular reactor (SMR) deployment across Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, Gazeta Wyborcza reports. SPRING is designed to reduce costs and streamline the implementation of U.S. nuclear technology through cross-border cooperation, including regulatory training, supply chain development, and staff education.
The Warsaw event brought together representatives from over 20 countries, with the U.S. committing to tailor support for European countries pursuing SMRs. Poland, which already has a preliminary deal with Westinghouse for three large reactors, is seen as a central player. According to the State Department’s Ann Ganzer, initiatives like SPRING aim not only to assist U.S. industry but also to give participating countries affordable access to clean and safe nuclear energy.
Electromontaj Announces First IPO of the Year on Bucharest Stock Exchange
Electromontaj, a prominent player in the energy construction and installation sector in Romania, is preparing for a listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange with an offering of up to 77 million lei (€15.15 million), valuing the company at 700 million lei (€137.7 million), according to Ziarul Financiar. Among its key projects is the €188 million renovation of the Vidraru dam, one of the largest in Romania. This marks the first public offering on the Bucharest Stock Exchange this year and one of the decade’s largest.
Week 41
New Czech PM Andrej Babiš Eyes Balanced Budget, Despite Pledges of Lower Taxes
Agriculture mogul Andrej Babiš has won the race to become Prime Minister of the Czech Republic for the second time in his life. Over the weekend, he defeated the incumbent liberal-right government of Petr Fiala with a historic result of 34.5% for his ANO party.
Babiš is expected to form a coalition government with the right-wing populist party Motoristé sobě and the far-right SPD, which called for the deportation of Ukrainian refugees during its campaign.
One of the ten richest Czechs, Babiš, currently faces a conflict of interest, as his company Agrofert is a recipient of European structural funds. He will need to resolve this issue before taking office.
The incoming government is likely to govern on the basis of generous social spending, capitalizing on the solid fiscal groundwork laid by the outgoing coalition, which is leaving behind a government budget with a 2.2% deficit, relative to the GDP.
Babiš promises lower taxes and cheaper energy, which, generally, have negative impacts on public finances. Nevertheless, ANO claims that in the long run, it will achieve a balanced budget by kick-starting economic growth and making the state more efficient. The success of this plan remains to be seen.
It is unclear what impact the new government will have on innovation and the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.
As for the biggest players in Czech business, the coming years will likely be shaped by highly pragmatic relationships with the businessman-turned-Prime Minister. Though some may be in for a rough ride.
In his victory speech, Babiš launched a sharp attack on businesspeople from the Czech arms industry—most notably on Michal Strnad, the head of Czechoslovak Group, who became the richest Czech this year.
“If someone makes 30 billion off the back of Ukraine and the war, we don’t like it. We have a different view and we’re going to deal with it,” Babiš said during a press conference.
Cheap Loans and Fiscal Fireworks in Hungary
With elections looming in 2026 and the economy barely growing, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is rolling out another round of pre-election stimulus. Starting Monday, small and medium businesses are able to tap into new subsidized loans of up to HUF 150 million (€454,000) at a fixed 3% interest rate, far below the 6.5% benchmark rate. This follows a below-market-rate mortgage scheme launched in September and signals more fiscal expansion, including hinted employment-related tax cuts. Economists warn the measures could push Hungary’s budget deficit above 5% of GDP in 2026. While the central bank sees short-term boosts to household income and consumption, analysts remain cautious about the sustainability of this stimulus-driven rebound.
Ukraine Gets Its First Fintech Unicorn
In a major milestone for Ukraine’s tech scene, Monobank, the country’s leading mobile-only bank, has officially reached a $1 billion valuation. The status was confirmed after an investment by the Ukrainian-Moldovan-American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF), marking the country’s first fintech unicorn. Built by Fintech Band, the neobank has grown to over 8 million users since its 2017 launch, offering fully digital credit, deposit, and payment services. Despite the ongoing war, Monobank’s rise highlights the strength and international appeal of Ukraine’s fintech ecosystem.
Week 42
Apple Invests in Solar and Wind Energy from CEE and Other European Farms
At a time when critics of renewables are increasingly gaining influence, Apple is doubling down on its sustainability push to support its brand.
On Tuesday, the company announced a major expansion of its clean energy initiatives across Europe, committing to buy power from new large-scale solar and wind farms currently under development in Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Romania.
Together with a newly operational solar array in Spain, the announced projects—which Apple says it played a key role in enabling—will add 650 megawatts of renewable energy capacity to electrical grids across Europe in the coming years.
In Poland, Apple has enabled Econergy’s 40-megawatt solar array, expected to come online later this year. In Romania, the company plans to source energy from Nala Renewables’ 99-megawatt wind farm in Galați County.
In Latvia, Apple has entered a corporate power purchase agreement with European Energy to procure energy from a 110-megawatt solar farm.
In Greece, Apple has signed a long-term agreement to purchase power from a 110-megawatt solar facility owned and operated by HELLENiQ Energy.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Was a Success. Now Prague Launches an Accelerator to Replicate It
In Prague, a new accelerator has launched to support the fast-growing domestic market for video game development, e15 reports. Within just a few weeks, it plans to present its first batch of projects to investors.
The initiative is on the lookout for game development talent capable of creating hits on par with Kingdom Come: Deliverance in the future. The second installment of the medieval Czech game was released earlier this year and has already sold three million copies worldwide.
Student teams participating in the program receive not only mentorship from industry professionals but also financial support and access to a network of experts. The incubator also highlights the growing importance of higher education in video game development. For instance, students from a game design course at Prague’s ČVUT, where small teams create their own games by combining programming with game and graphic design, made up five of the ten teams selected for the accelerator by a panel of experts.
Luna Robotics raises €1M to boost production of its night-vision drone tech
Lithuania’s Luna Robotics has raised €1 million to scale its LunaCam — a lightweight FPV camera system that gives drone operators clear, low-latency night-vision footage even in difficult conditions. While the funding amount isn’t massive, the technology itself is highly relevant as Europe steps up efforts to strengthen its defense-tech ecosystem. The round, led by Coinvest Capital with participation from Plug & Play and Baltic angel investors, will help the company boost its production capacity, automate parts of its manufacturing, and expand into new EU and U.S. markets. Having already tested its tech in Ukraine, Luna Robotics aims to position LunaCam as a go-to imaging solution for modern military and security applications.
Week 43
Third of Czech Startups Moved or Plan to Move Abroad
A unique survey of 222 Czech startup founders and investors has revealed that every third startup is considering moving its headquarters out of the Czech Republic. The findings were presented by representatives of the Czech Startup Association, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the investment agency CzechInvest.
The most significant barriers to the growth of Czech startups are tax burdens, bureaucracy and regulation, and challenges related to labor law.
The most frequently mentioned issue was the taxation of labor combined with high social security contributions—particularly problematic for early-stage startups. The second-largest barrier is administration and regulation, but also poor digitalization of public services, complex accounting requirements, and burdensome reporting obligations for the state.
Labor-related legislation and a lack of qualified specialists also pose a serious challenge, with 61% of respondents citing it as an issue. This includes legal uncertainty when working with freelancers, complicated and lengthy visa procedures for foreign workers, and a shortage of skilled talent outside Prague and Brno.
Access to capital is another major concern (59%), with startups pointing to a weaker VC ecosystem in the Czech Republic, a low risk appetite among local investors, and significantly lower investment levels across startup development stages compared to countries like the U.S., the UK, or Germany.
Although it needs to be said that the lack of capital, while real, especially for late-stage start-ups, is often overstated by founders.
The best-rated area in the survey was ‘Network and Ecosystem Support.’ Respondents highlighted the sharing of experience among founders, accessible mentoring, a solid IT talent pool, and strong technological foundations.
Another survey just recently revealed a similar story in neighboring Slovakia, where a quarter of the startups plan to relocate abroad within the next year.
Druid AI Launches AI Agents That Build AI Agents
Romanian startup Druid AI has unveiled a new generation of AI agents capable of designing, testing, and deploying other AI agents, Ziarul Financiar reports.
According to the company, the technology enables business users to co-create intelligent agents up to ten times faster.
Alongside the self-building agents, Druid AI has also introduced the Druid Agentic Marketplace—an ecosystem of ready-to-deploy AI agents tailored for industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare, and education.
Founded in 2018 by Liviu Drăgan, Druid AI has built an ecosystem of over 250 partners and 350 customers.
How U.S. Sanctions on Russian Oil Will Affect CEE
The United States has imposed sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies—Lukoil and Rosneft—in Washington’s toughest business measures since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions will directly affect operations at Lukoil’s refinery in Bulgaria, the largest in the Balkans, as well as the Petrotel refinery in Romania.
Lukoil also supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
Week 44
The Slovak Government’s Masterclass in Policy Failure
The Slovak government is offering the world a masterclass in how to make deeply unpopular policy decisions, squeeze businesses for every last cent, and achieve absolutely nothing in return.
Why this matters: The government has now passed its third package of fiscal consolidation measures. Yet, even this latest round won’t be enough to stop the country’s debt from rising further.
The result? Immense pressure is being placed on freelancers and businesses, who are being hit with higher taxes in an environment where growth is already hard to come by. The third wave of consolidation—set to take effect next year—will raise taxes so significantly that many small businesses are expected to go under.
At the same time, the SME sector is bleeding, the government continues to spend lavishly: bonus pensions for seniors and broad, inefficient, and expensive energy subsidies for all households.
Slovak newspaper Denník E published five charts that best illustrate how the government is failing to stabilize public finances. Here’s the key one to take away:
Slovakia’s public debt is projected to exceed 60% of GDP this year—a high number, especially for a small country like Slovakia.
More debt means higher interest payments, which in turn eat up funds that should be going toward essential investments—like schools, roads, and hospitals.
The only way the situation can stabilize is by bringing deficits below 2.5% of GDP. Prime Minister Robert Fico claims he wants to get there within two years—but he’s bluffing. Under current conditions, the best his government can hope for is a deficit of 4.6%.
Saab to Open Plant in Ukraine for Gripen Fighter Jets
Saab is ready to set up a final-assembly plant in Ukraine as part of a proposed deal for Kyiv to purchase up to 150 Gripen fighter jets, according to the Swedish defence group’s CEO.
Michael Johansson told the Financial Times that a contract of 100 to 150 jets would require doubling Saab’s current Gripen production capacity.
Expert Interview: The CEE Is Closing the Gap With the West in Space Development
Artificial intelligence has dominated the tech discourse for the past few years, but many insiders believe that another booming industry is in the background. And it may be ready to pop.
The space industry is currently in a position where it doesn’t seem like a moonshot; it could become the next big thing. And Central and Eastern Europe could play a part in it. “Our region is among the most exposed: take Poland, for instance. Large parts of the country experience constant GPS jamming or spoofing. These challenges actually make CEE an ideal testing ground for advanced defense and space tech,” says Justyna Redelkiewicz, advisor, mentor, entrepreneur, and European Union Agency for Space Program official.
If you are interested in reading more about the space business in our region, consider becoming a paid member to read the full interview. If you have never read any of our exclusive articles or interviews, you can still access your one free article.
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