GapMinder VC

The CEE startup ecosystem continues to outperform expectations.

Despite receiving significantly less venture capital relative to GDP than the rest of Europe, the region consistently creates companies with strong outcomes and growing enterprise value.

👉 CEE now has more than 4,000 VC-backed startups
👉 Produced nearly 70 unicorns and $1B+ exits.
👉 Around 350 startups raise their first VC round every year.

CEE outperforms the European average.
CEE outperforms the rest of European countries.

Yet one challenge remains.

While local investors play a critical role at the pre-seed and seed stage, where they participate in around 90% of rounds, that share falls to 40% at Series A and just 10% at Series B+.
As companies scale, they increasingly rely on international capital to continue growing. At GapMinder, we believe this is one of the biggest opportunities in European venture today.

The talent is here.
The founders are here.
The outcomes are already visible.

The next challenge is ensuring more capital is available to help the region's best companies scale from breakout startups into global category leaders.

From Cluj-Napoca to the forefront of AI-powered healthcare innovation. 🧠

Synaptiq.io - a GapMinder VC portfolio company since 2021, took the stage at the launch event of Nucleo Ventures in Cluj-Napoca, showcasing how AI can support the precise delimitation of tumors and organs at risk, helping improve radiotherapy planning and patient outcomes.

The launch of Nucleo Ventures, a new €34 million investment fund created by Fortech Ventures and ADR Nord-Vest, with support from European funds, is another strong signal that Romania's startup ecosystem continues to mature and diversify.

For founders, more capital means more opportunities to build ambitious companies.

For GapMinder VC and other stakeholders, initiatives like Nucleo Ventures can become valuable pathways for identifying the next generation of promising startups.

Congrats to the teams behind Nucleo Ventures on this important milestone, and to Synaptiq.io for representing the innovation potential emerging from the region.