Week of Nov. 15: IFC Invests €15M in to Support CEE Startups, Kazakh VC Predicts Wave of Tech Exits Within Three Years

CEE REGION

IFC Invests €15M in Cogito Fund II to Support CEE Tech Startups

IFC, the World Bank’s private investment arm, is committing up to €15 million to Cogito Fund II, a €125 million venture capital fund focused on backing Series A and B technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe. The investment aims to address a funding gap for scaling startups in sectors like fintech, healthtech, and climate tech, as the CEE startup ecosystem has seen its combined enterprise value grow 2.4x in the past five years.

ESTONIA

Estonian Queue Software Firm Qminder Lands €3M to Expand U.S. Footprint

Qminder, a London-based startup that helps businesses manage customer queues through iPad check-ins and real-time analytics, secured €3 million in seed funding led by Baltic venture firm Practica Capital. The company, which counts American Express and Delta among its clients, plans to triple its U.S. customer base with a focus on healthcare and government sectors amid growing demand for digital queue management solutions.

Estonia’s Startup Wise Guys Backs Turkish Energy Management Firm in $400K Round

Turkish startup Lumian Energy raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including Estonia’s Startup Wise Guys, as it expands its AI-powered energy management platform that serves over 60 customers across 1,250 facilities. The Istanbul-based company, founded in 2023, offers real-time energy consumption tracking and analysis through an IoT platform that integrates with existing meter reading systems, eliminating the need for additional hardware installations. [Source: BalticVC]

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakh VC Predicts Wave of Tech Exits Within Three Years

Venture capitalist Murat Abdrakhmanov forecasts a surge of international deals involving Kazakh startups, spotlighting AI firm Higgsfield AI as a potential breakout success following recent U.S. investment. Speaking in an exclusive interview, the investor emphasized the importance of portfolio diversification, recommending 10-15 concurrent projects to optimize success in Kazakhstan’s emerging tech ecosystem. [Source: DigitalBusiness.kz]

Kazakhstan to Launch Two New IT Hubs as Tech Sector Grows

Kazakhstan’s IT chief Zhaslan Madiev shared plans to expand the nation’s tech infrastructure with new hubs in Zhezkazgan and Petropavlovsk by the end of the year, following the establishment of Astana Hub which has grown from 185 companies in 2019 to hosting over 1,500 startups (including 437 international firms) with 25,000 employees. The initiative comes as Astana Hub participants’ total revenue reached 1.1 trillion tenge, marking a 31-fold increase over five years. [Source: Profit.kz]

LATVIA

Estonian Founder Launches AI-Based Print Procurement Platform in Latvia’s Tech Hub

Estonian entrepreneur Sven Mitt has launched Pinted.io, an AI-driven marketplace that aims to streamline global print and packaging procurement, from his new base in Riga’s emerging startup ecosystem. The platform, currently in testing phase at Startup House Riga accelerator, leverages artificial intelligence to match businesses with printing suppliers worldwide, targeting both European and U.S. markets by year-end. [Source: Labs of Latvia]

LITHUANIA

Lithuanian AI Health Startup Ligence Secures €3M Led by Angel Syndicate

Lithuania-based Ligence has raised €3 million to expand its AI-powered cardiac ultrasound analysis software, bringing together 53 business angels and notable investors including NGL and Coinvest Capital. The medtech startup, which already serves hospitals across eight European countries and is conducting U.S. trials, will use the funding to enhance its diagnostic technology that helps cardiologists automate ultrasound analysis and improve clinical decision-making. [Source: BalticVC]

ROMANIA

Romanian Tech Accelerator Targets Regional Security Through Innovation

Romanian Tech Startups Association launches a €300,000 funding initiative to strengthen Southeast European startup ecosystem, citing urgent need for technological advancement in face of regional security challenges. The accelerator program, Startup Reaktor, will connect Eastern European tech companies with Western markets through a network of over 100 international mentors and access to key European investors. [Source: Tech Ukraine]

SLOVAKIA

Slovak Warehouse Automation Startup Brightpick Raises $12M

Bratislava-based Brightpick, which develops AI-powered robots for warehouse automation, has secured $12 million in an equity and debt funding round. The company will use the capital to expand its presence in the U.S. market, with backing from EBRD Venture Capital and business angels.

Founded in 2021 as a spin-off of Photoneo, Brightpick’s flagship Autopicker robot automates key warehouse tasks like order picking, consolidation, and dispatch directly in aisles. The company says its technology can reduce operational costs by up to 98%.

Brightpick has a team of 200 employees and serves prominent clients including Rohlik Group, Dr. Max, and The Feed. The new funding will support R&D and Brightpick’s sales and expansion efforts in the U.S.

UKRAINE

Ukrainian Drone Startup Bavovna.AI Raises $2.7M Seed Funding

Ukrainian drone navigation startup Bavovna.AI raised $2.7 million in seed funding, led by Presto Tech Horizons. The investment will enable the company to scale production globally and enhance its AI-powered technology for unmanned vehicles to operate reliably in GPS-denied and electronic warfare environments. This funding comes as Bavovna.AI becomes the first Ukrainian startup to participate in the U.S. Air Force’s MassChallenge program supporting military tech projects. [Source: Tech Ukraine]

Ukrainian Tech Community Launches Hardware Hackathon to Combat War’s Impact

A new hackathon in Lviv, backed by a ₴100,000 prize fund and AWS credits, aims to develop hardware solutions for Ukraine’s wartime challenges in robotics, energy, and medical technology. The Hardware for Recovery event, organized by IRON Lviv Tech Cluster and Civitta for November 22-24, represents Ukraine’s push to leverage its tech sector for national reconstruction efforts amid ongoing conflict. [Source: Tech Ukraine]

Defense Tech Startup Himera Raises Seed Round for Anti-Jamming Radio Systems

Ukrainian defense communications firm Himera has secured seed funding from Nezlamni Fund, marking another strategic investment in Ukraine’s growing military tech sector. The company, whose HIMERA G1 Pro communication system is already deployed across Ukraine’s defense forces, will use the investment to scale production and expand its secure radio technology that features advanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities in electronic warfare environments. [Source: Tech Ukraine]

Domestic Drone Production Hits One Million Units as Defense Tech Sector Scales

Ukraine’s defense industry has delivered one million drones to its armed forces in 2024, with 96% manufactured domestically, according to the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The government plans to boost defense technology funding to ₴54.55 billion ($1.5 billion) in 2025, supporting a rapidly expanding military tech sector that has already developed over 3,000 innovations through its Brave1 defense cluster, though the total defense budget falls significantly short of military requests. [Source: Ukraine Business News]