Poland Dominates, While Croatia Sees a Significant Drop in Startup Investments

For the startup scene in Eastern Europe, 2025 was a year of stabilization and adjustment, as the total amount of investments remained at similar levels to 2024, but investors became more selective. According to the report ‘Venture in Eastern Europe’ by the How to Web platform, the success of countries in raising capital relies on several ‘winner’ companies that emerge each year.

Although one-third of the European population lives in the Eastern European region, it still attracts only 5.5 percent of the total European venture capital, amounting to 3.6 billion euros through 1,034 transactions out of a total of 65 billion euros invested in Europe in 2025, indicating a huge untapped potential, but also serious infrastructural barriers.

Additionally, the authors of the report believe that the lack of entrepreneurial experience, limited access to capital, and geopolitical challenges in recent years have constrained the potential of Eastern Europe.

Top 10 Countries Attracted 90 Percent of Capital

Nevertheless, the absolute winner of the region in 2025 is Poland, whose startups attracted more than 20 percent of the total capital in Eastern Europe, or nearly 800 million euros.

With a growth of 70 percent compared to the previous year, Poland has solidified its position as a regional leader, primarily thanks to large investment rounds in companies Eleven Labs and ICEYE.

Moreover, the top five countries (Poland, Turkey, Greece, Estonia, and the Czech Republic) accounted for over 60 percent of the total value of all investments, while the top 10 countries (in addition to the first five, these include Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Hungary) attracted more than 90 percent of fresh capital in the region.

In Croatia, the Value of Investments Has Fallen

On the other hand, Croatia is among the countries whose startup ecosystems are slowing down. Despite a slight increase in the number of transactions compared to 2024 (from 11 to 14), the total value of investments in Croatia has fallen by as much as 43 percent, from 39 million euros in 2024 to just 22.1 million euros in 2025.

Compared to its neighbors and competitors, Croatia currently ranks at the lower end of the scale, behind countries like Romania (103.2 million euros) and Hungary (149.9 million euros), and even Slovakia (229.1 million euros).

On the overall ranking by the value of raised capital, Croatia has dropped from last year’s 12th to 14th place out of 22 observed markets. The lack of large rounds (so-called outliers) and a focus on lower-value transactions are the main reasons why Croatia remained in the shadow of other Eastern European markets in 2025.

Dominance of Turkey, Greece, and Estonia

While Croatia records one of the largest declines in invested capital in the region, countries like Ukraine and Bulgaria are experiencing strong growth. Despite the wartime circumstances, the Ukrainian startup ecosystem has shown incredible resilience with a growth of 285 percent, primarily thanks to the defense technology sector, while Bulgaria recorded the second-largest growth of 180 percent.

Although it remains second in total transaction value at 527.4 million euros, Turkey has experienced the largest nominal decline, attracting nearly 485 million euros less than the previous year. Nevertheless, Turkey dominates in the number of transactions, with as many as 315 in 2025.

Greece and Estonia are traditionally at the top of Eastern European countries by the value of investments in startups, with 445 and 319 million euros, respectively, although both countries are experiencing a slight decline compared to 2024.

Opportunities in AI Infrastructure and Robotics

Last year demonstrated that technical expertise in Eastern Europe is unquestionable, but the entire region is still hindered by access to capital for later-stage growth (growth-stage financing). As for Croatia, it seems that the past year has been a year of cooling, so the domestic startup ecosystem must find ways to attract larger rounds of investment and foreign investors in the upcoming period.

However, not everything is so bleak, as the recovery of early-stage investments and new propulsive sectors such as AI infrastructure and robotics may allow Croatian founders to be optimistic and seek their next opportunities precisely in these areas.