The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region is having a moment in startup innovation. The region is home to a booming €243 billion ecosystem that is growing faster than Western Europe. Now, CEE’s most ambitious startups are taking big steps by moving their headquarters overseas. Many of them are on their way to the US and the UK for better prospects. Phoenix’s “great migration” begs us to consider whether the rapidly growing region has what it takes to keep more of its home-grown talent and capital.

While the exodus presents challenges, it underscores the strategic decisions startups make to secure funding and scale globally. Other (t)inner companies are taking the harder but more rewarding route, prioritizing profits and long-term success in the area over quick, uprooting expansion. Today, the CEE startup scene is a double-edged sword, riddled with major outward migration but bolstered by highly successful movement within.

The Funding Gap and the Lure of the West

Nearly half of the most promising CEE startups are moving their headquarters to other countries. In particular, 56% are headed to the US, with 24% going to the UK. The drive for venture capital (VC) and growth equity is driving this trend. In fact, 80% of the region’s 57 unicorns have received this support at one time or another.

The full data shows a lopsided investment focusing heavily on fast-growing, later-stage companies. In 2024, CEE companies raised €2.3 billion in VC funding, including €442 million in Q1 2025. Vestbee reported that 74% of VC capital by 2024 was funneled into Series B–C and later stages. As Anastasija Plotnikova, COO at Fideum, tells us, this is the direction of travel.

Vestbee tracked how 74% of VC capital in 2024 flowed into Series B–C and beyond, and it confirms what we see every day at Fideum: investors crave growth-ready businesses. - Anastasija Plotnikova

This bias towards later-stage funding means that many early-stage startups are unable to access the capital required to develop and scale their operations. As Laurențiu-Victor Bălașa warns, this imbalance can negatively impact the long-term health and growth of the ecosystem.

We’re seeing too much capital funnelled into later-stage ventures at the expense of early-stage startups—a pattern that, in my opinion, can stunt long-term ecosystem growth. - Laurențiu-Victor Bălașa

Attila Kecsmar of SeedBlink contends that the obsession with late-stage funding breaks the organic cadence of the startup lifecycle. If we don’t properly fund the early stage ventures, we will find ourselves with a dearth of late stage companies to invest in.

This heavy concentration on late-stage funding breaks the natural rhythm of the startup lifecycle. - Attila Kecsmar

Of course, there will be a shortage of late-stage companies to invest in if capital for early-stage ventures continues to dry up. - Attila Kecsmar

Innovation doesn’t flourish in environments where everyone is chasing safe bets. - Attila Kecsmar

Capital is needed to test, fail, and carry the risk of bold, unproven ideas. - Attila Kecsmar

As Artem Potekhin notes, startups are often in hot pursuit of their next round. They do this either because investors require a footprint in certain places or they want improved tax climate elsewhere.

Startups follow the money — either because investors ask them to set up in their jurisdiction, or because tax conditions are simply more favourable elsewhere. - Artem Potekhin

Staying Local: Success Stories from Within

So without denying the attractions of Western funding, not all CEE companies are even pursuing a path of scaling up and going abroad. Estonia’s Bolt and Poland’s Booksy are just two companies examples focusing on profitable, sustainable growth — a welcome shift after the region’s earlier heady days.

Many scaleups in the region grow faster and reach $1 billion valuations through bootstrapping, highlighting strong financial discipline and capital efficiency. These ambitious companies prove it can be done, that it is possible to have greater success than moving to the US or UK.

Bobby Voicu reminds us that CEE is Europe’s “innovation lab,” where global ambition gets created out of scarcity. This resilience and resourcefulness are what will help them create new, innovative business models and sustainable growth strategies.

CEE is an "innovation lab of Europe," where global ambition is forged from limited resources. - Bobby Voicu

The Future of CEE's Startup Ecosystem

Looking toward the future, a pair of prominent experts say the CEE startup scene will continue to grow and develop. Delia Necula points out that the distinction between legal headquarters and operational footprint is crucial, as companies often retain their core operations in CEE even after relocating their headquarters. Taken together, that means that the region gets to keep reaping talent innovation spurred by those amazing companies.

This "great migration" has resulted in approximately €50 billion in enterprise value leaving the region.

Delia Necula points out that the distinction between legal headquarters and operational footprint is crucial, as companies often retain their core operations in CEE.

Necula estimates that Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic will continue leading in volume by 2030. On the flip side, smaller and more agile ecosystems such as Lithuania and Bulgaria are poised to attract more attention. This indicates a broadening of the startup ecosystem across the region’s metro areas.

And in the coming years, we’ll see early-stage as well as late-stage funding represented, Tomáš Kabeláč reminds us. This change reflects the continuing maturation of a more balanced investment landscape. Adam Ďurica notes a paradox: more early-stage innovation will occur, but late-stage funding will continue to dominate in terms of investment volume.

Roman Eloshvili regarding investor appetites in hot sectors, particularly those that have clear high-growth potential such as fintech and AI. This indicates that CEE startups in these fields are likely to have an easier time securing funding.

We are seeing growing investor appetites in sectors with high potential, like fintech and AI. - Roman Eloshvili

Dorin Boerescu argues that CEE has the talent and the capital, but early-stage money is still hiding behind ‘mature bets.’ He would like to see countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states in the vanguard. Ideologically, he thinks these firms will be willing to fund earlier-stage startups.

CEE has the talent and the capital, but early-stage money is still hiding behind ‘mature bets.’ - Dorin Boerescu

That’s short-sighted, but I think countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic states will lead the way in investing in earlier-stage startups, and the rest will follow. - Dorin Boerescu

Truth is, we don’t need more capital — we need braver capital. - Dorin Boerescu