Startups in Romania attracted total investments of EUR 103 million in 2025 in 40 transactions, according to the "Venture in Eastern Europe 2025 Report" released by How to Web, the only annual study dedicated to the analysis of venture capital investments in Eastern Europe.
The total volume of investments is approximately 20% lower than in 2024, showing a period of recalibration of the pace of investment in the local ecosystem.
The largest investment rounds in Romania in 2025 were attracted by: Druid AI: EUR 24.7 million (Series C), a startup specialising in Enterprise Software; Digitail: EUR 20 million (Series B), a software platform dedicated to the veterinary industry; Bible Chat: EUR 13.4 million (Series A), an AI application dedicated to the Christian community.
Of the total capital raised, EUR 55 million were directed to early-stage rounds, and 48 million euros to later-stage rounds. The average value of a seed round was EUR 1.5 million, while pre-seed rounds averaged EUR 526,000.
"The startup ecosystem in Romania has grown in recent years in terms of the number of founders, ambition and capital available for early-stage. Druid AI, Digitail and Bible Chat attracted significant rounds in 2025, addressing very well-defined global problems, exactly the pattern that attracts significant international capital. The 2025 capital graduation indicator, at only 28%, shows that the wave of investments made between 2020 and 2024 has not yet turned into subsequent rounds that signal a real maturation of the market, which shows that the financing came before the consolidation of the necessary support infrastructure," according to Alexandru Agatinei, CEO How to Web, quoted in the presentation of the report.
Regionally, Eastern Europe attracted EUR 3.6 billion in 2025 in1,034 transactions, representing 5.5% of total venture capital investments in Europe, despite the fact that the region concentrates about a third of the continent's population.
The report shows that 2025 was a year of recalibration, rather than growth. While the total volume of investments remained relatively stable, the number of transactions decreased, amid a European trend in which higher volumes of capital are concentrated in fewer companies.
Poland was the best performing market in 2025, attracting more than 20% of the capital invested in Eastern Europe. Turkey, Greece, Estonia and the Czech Republic round up the ranking, although all four recorded lower volumes as against the previous year. The top five markets accounted for more than 60% of total investments, and the top ten accounted for nearly 90 percent.
On the other hand, taking into account the volume of investments, Turkey recorded one of the largest decreases in volume, followed by Lithuania, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Romania, markets where capital shrinkage is directly correlated with a decrease in the number of transactions.
In 2025, the most capital was directed to the Enterprise Software sector, which totalled EUR 720 million, followed by Fintech (EUR 522 million), Space (EUR 350 million), Automotive (EUR 311.2 million), Healthcare (EUR 223 million) and Security (EUR 204 million). At the same time, verticals such as Defence, Industrial and Space are managing to attract more and more interest from investors.
Venture in Eastern Europe Report is an annual study conducted by How to Web, which analyses the venture capital business in Eastern Europe. Venture in Eastern Europe 2025 Report is conducted by How to Web, in partnership with Underline Ventures.
How to Web is a leading conference dedicated to startups and technology in Eastern Europe, with a history of over 15 years in accelerating the development of the regional ecosystem.
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