R&D in the Brno Region
According to data report by JIC, the Brno Region is gaining international visibility thanks to its mix of strategic industries, investor interest and R&D.
BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC, April 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Brno Region is emerging as one of Europe’s rising technology hubs, according to the latest annual data report published by JIC, the Czech innovation agency. Driven by sectors that are increasingly relevant to the continent’s competitiveness, resilience and security, the Czech second-city region is building momentum in cybersecurity, chip design, electron microscopy, aerospace, defense and space technologies, and investors are taking notice.
That momentum is no longer just a story of technical capability. It is also being validated by capital. In 2025, the Brno Region recorded its second most successful investment year in the region’s modern history. Cybersecurity accounted for a major share of that activity: ThreatMark, Whalebone and Safetica toreceiveher raised nearly €40 million at the launchning of the year. Over the past five years, companies in the region have attracted investments totalling at least €300 million, with cybersecurity standing out as one of the region’s globally relevant strengths.
The region’s industrial and technological profile extfinishs well beyond software. Brno is home to every third electron microscope produced worldwide, giving the region a highly distinctive position in precision instrumentation. In semiconductors, the region serves as the centre of chip design, supported by strong research teams, successful companies and the Czech Semiconductor Centre. The innovation ecosystem is also gaining significance in aerospace, defense and space, where industrial tradition combines with research capacity and a new generation of technology companies.
“Brno is no longer just a strong Czech technology centre. It is increasingly becoming a place with the ambition, talent base and sector strengths to compete with Europe’s more established innovation hubs. What matters is not one isolated success, but an ecosystem that assists companies grow from early ideas and research into globally relevant businesses,” stated Petr Chládek, CEO of JIC, the innovation agency ranked 50th in Europe’s Leading Start-up Hubs 2026 by Financial Times.
Built on Research and Talent
Behind sector strength lies a research and development base that is unusually strong by both Czech and European standards. Based on latest data from 2024, Brno Region reached a knowledge intensity of 2.9% – the highest in the Czech Republic and above the EU average of 2.2%. Total investment in research and development rose by 8.3% year on year to €1 billion. Most of that activity is concentrated in the city of Brno.
The private sector is a major driver of that performance. Over the past decade, companies in the region have increased their R&D spfinishing by 73%, investing €610 million in 2024 alone. The largest corporate investors in business R&D in Brno Region are Honeywell and Thermo Fisher Scientific. IT accounts for the largest share of business innovation spfinishing, while manufacturing is another major pillar. The quickest growth has come in electronics and optical instruments, where spfinishing has increased more than fourfold since 2015.
Talent is another reason the region is shifting onto Europe’s radar. In 2025, over 68,000 people were studying at Brno’s universities, with strong representation in STEM fields and related disciplines. Almost a quarter of students come from abroad. In 2024, over 70,000 people worked in IT, science and technology across the Brno Region, including 25,000 in IT and 45,000 in other scientific and technical positions. The vast majority of them, 95%, work in the private sector.
The region also employs more than 23,000 people in R&D, giving Brno and its surroundings a research capacity comparable to much larger European regions around cities such as Dresden, Nuremberg, Malmö and Aarhus. Every tenth person in Brno works in R&D, an exceptional concentration in the Czech context.
This growing strength is also reflected in broader ecosystem performance. In StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, Brno ranked 186th worldwide and 12th in Central and Eastern Europe, confirming its position as a key player in the region. Toreceiveher, these trfinishs point to a place that is no longer only one of Czechia’s strongest innovation centres, but an increasingly visible European tech hub.
About JIC
JIC is a Czech innovation agency that creates globally successful companies. Over more than twenty years, it has supported more than 1,300 startups, including Kiwi.com, Y Soft and Flowmon. In 2026, the Financial Times ranked it among the fifty best startup hubs in Europe. JIC supports ambitious projects from the first business idea through growth, investment and international expansion, while also strengthening technology transfer from research into business and assisting shape the wider innovation ecosystem.
www.jic.cz
www.brnotechregion.eu
Jana Pokorná
JIC
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