The "Startup of the Day" column on AIN has been providing regular updates on the most interesting tech projects in various tech sectors from across the countries of Central and Eastern Europe since 2022. Our editorial team has analyzed this year's participants and presents insights on the startups, their biggest deals, industry types and country of origin.

In 2024, a total of 32 companies across 10 tech sectors received their features in the column. The list included startups in edtech, defense tech, aerospace, fintech, HR tech, electromobility and aerospace, marketing, analytics, as well as cleantech and healthtech. Some solutions occupied quite unique niches, such as a toy subscription service or an app for mothers, demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit and distinctive way of thinking of CEE founders.

Startups profile

  • The majority of the participating startups are in their early stages of development: 12 startups were at the pre-seed stage during their feature and 23 were at the seed stage. RedTrack and Koite Health are the only startups in their Series A (or above) stage.

  • Marketing sector got the biggest feature in our column, with 6 startups developing solutions in the niche. Cleantech startups got 4 features. Edtech and transportation industry — all have 3 startups featured, followed by fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity, defense tech with 2 startups.

  • This year’s featured startups followed the general European trend towards AI integration with nearly 30% of the companies already leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance their solutions. For example, Perciv AI, a Dutch startup with founders from Hungary and India, delivers AI-based software solutions to unlock the latent capabilities of radars even in harsh weather conditions, while Czech Lakmoos uses AI to build data models that simulate how target groups make decisions.

  • The gathered data also highlights key clusters in the cleantech sector, with companies demonstrating major movement towards green energy and carbon neutrality. The list included startups like: 

    • Gin, a Ukrainian startup revolutionizing urban transportation with its e-bike sharing solutions;  

    • Delta green, a Czech Republic-based energy tech company developing cutting-edge technologies to harness renewable energy sources; 

    • Redigo carbon, a Polish startup, provides a cloud-based sustainability platform that empowers businesses to effectively measure, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint, 

    • Esgrid, an Estonian provider of value chain sustainability management solutions.

  • Most of the featured startups managed to raise successful funding rounds this year. Among them, Latvian defense tech Origin Robotics secured the largest amount — €8,5 million in grant and venture capital, followed by Finnish Koite Health with €4 million, Evrotrust with €3.3 million, SP Tech Solutions with €3 million, and RedTrack with €2.9 million.

Country overview

In total, startups from 9 countries managed to get their place in the Startup of the Day column. The majority of startup features went to Lithuania and Ukraine, both presenting 7 startups, followed by Poland with 5 startups, Czech Republic with 4 participants, Estonia - 3, Finland - 2, and closed by Bulgaria, Latvia, and Hungary, which had 1 feature.

Lithuanian startups were one of the most prominently featured in the column, with 7 articles dedicated to them. Among these companies are:

  • Redtrack, an AI-driven automation and analytics platform for e-commerce media buyers. 

  • Joiner app, a Lithuanian app for finding, joining and hosting online and offline events.

  • Liledu, a toy subscription service offering customized toy sets that evolve with the child.

  • Whitebridge, a digital platform specializing in deep personal insights to support sales strategies.

  • Broswarm, a defense technology startup specializing in advanced mine detection technologies.

  • Axiology, a tokenized securities platform that facilitates the trading of stocks or bonds using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

  • Leya AI, a platform that revolutionizes language learning methods by providing an affordable, real-time speaking personal AI tutor.

Ukraine shares the leading place, with 7 startups featured, including: 

  • MathMaster, a math service that helps solve math problems through an auto-detection algorithm and real-time advice.

  • Gin, a startup producing hybrid e-bikes with a range of over 150-170 miles.

  • Fintellect, a financial tool for web studios, IT companies, digital agencies and other types of creative and technology businesses.

  • JobCannon, an HRtech startup that simplifies the hiring process.

  • Dataisland, a virtual AI assistant that integrates with companies' CRM systems and databases, allowing users to analyze data and generate reports for employees

  • Byne, a startup that helps companies build enterprise-grade LLM applications by providing easy output validation and on-premises AI deployment.

  • Talsec, a B2B startup that provides components for app developers (SDK) that act as security agents within mobile apps.

Poland comes third in the ranking, with 5 companies in the category, including:

  • 1.security, a SaaS product that addresses the challenges of authorization management.

  • eGabinet, a startup that provides comprehensive solutions for managing medical facilities and patient documentation, significantly facilitating the work of doctors and medical staff.

  • SP Tech Solutions, an IT system for railway companies that improves operational efficiency by optimizing transport planning, reducing costs and automating processes.

  • Redigo Сarbon, a cloud-based sustainability platform that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for effective carbon assessment and future planning.

  • Multilango, a platform that enables employers to offer foreign language learning as an employee benefit.

Other countries and their respective startups on the list comprise of Czech Republic (Meiro, Mamio, Lakmoos, Delta Green, Behavio), Estonia (Salesforge, SKYCORP, Esgrid), Finland (Koite Health, Maire), Latvia (Origin), Bulgaria (Evrotrust), and Hungary-The Netherlands (Perciv AI).

Startup of the Year of 2024

This year, our editorial team decided to use our knowledge and understanding of trends in the CEE ecosystem to select the "Startup of the Year". After a closed poll, our team is ready to announce that Ukrainian-founded startup Byne has been chosen as our Startup of the Year 2024.

Founded in 2022 as a volunteer initiative to support Ukraine's defense sector, Byne (also known as Bynesoft) emerged from a critical need for secure LLM deployment solutions. Driven by a shared commitment to national security, Borys Nadykto, Andrii Yakovyna, and Denys Budnyk established Byne to equip Ukrainian forces with cutting-edge AI capabilities by providing simple output verification and on-premise AI deployment.

The startup is officially registered in the United Kingdom and is operating on the United States market. However, the majority of its team is located in Ukraine. In April 2024, Byne raised $325,000 in its first funding round led by one of the well-known British venture funds.

We want to thank all the incredible startups that participated in our column throughout the year. If you would like to introduce your project, you can fill in the questionnaire and we will make sure to consider the feature in 2025. Stay tuned to discover more ambitious startups and read their stories on AIN!