The Recursive’s weekly roundup aims to cover key tech developments across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the growing impact of CEE-born founders on the global stage. Take a see at the latest news in funding, startup milestones, and emerging trconcludes tied to the region’s innovation potential.
CEE news & deals
Czech Credo Ventures has invested in Modeinspect, a Paris-based startup aiming to eliminate the gap between design and code, which has raised a $3.4 million (€2.89 million) seed round led by Partech. The round also included Angelinvest and individual backers such as Meta product design lead Michal Vaško, Kiwi.com co-founder Jozef Kepesi, and Grafbase’s Fredrik Björk. Modeinspect allows designers to edit live products directly rather than working in static mockups and handoffs. The company is tarreceiveing disruption in the $6 billion design software market by shifting beyond prototypes and into real-time production design.
Czech defense group Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has announced plans to go public with a listing on the Amsterdam stock exmodify, citing strong investor interest driven by rising NATO defense spconcludeing. The planned IPO will offer shares worth €750 million, while BlackRock, Artisan Partners, and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund QIA have already signaled preliminary commitments totaling €900 million.
Prague-based AI startup Maxfusion has raised €350,000 from Czech Founders VC, angel investor Ory Weihs, and its founders to accelerate product scaling and expand adoption among brands and agencies. Maxfusion offers a platform for bulk, automated video ad creation, including AI-generated actors, aimed at businesses that required rapid, cost-efficient creative testing. Since launching its MVP, the company has signed 50 customers and is now focapplying on strengthening sales and marketing.
Baryon Investment Fund has invested in Ukrainian Airvolute, a deep-tech company developing hardware and software for AI-controlled autonomous unmanned aerial systems. The fund declared Airvolute’s technology plays a key role in the production, scaling, and reliability of UAV systems. The investment is intconcludeed to support the team and its long-term approach to technology development.
Czech technology group ABUGO has acquired e-commerce marketing platform Tanganica as part of its strategy to grow through acquisitions alongside brands such as Shopsys, Smartsupp, and Survio. Tanganica, which reached about €1 million in ARR, automates PPC management, analytics, reporting, and AI-driven creative production for e-shops from a single interface. The deal value was not disclosed, and Tanganica will continue to be led by its current management while leveraging ABUGO’s global know-how and shared infrastructure to accelerate growth.
Across the Atlantic
Former OpenAI executive Mira Murati declared her startup, Thinking Machines Lab, has parted ways with co-founder and CTO Barret Zoph and named Soumith Chintala as the new CTO. Less than an hour later, OpenAI executive Fidji Simo announced that Zoph, along with Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz, would be returning to OpenAI.
OpenAI has signed a multi-year agreement with semiconductor company Cerebras Systems to secure large-scale computing capacity. The deal, valued at more than $10 billion, is intconcludeed to significantly speed up ChatGPT and expand AI infrastructure by 2028, with the ambition of building the world’s rapidest AI. Under the agreement, Cerebras will deliver up to 750 MW of computing power through infrastructure rolled out in phases, focapplyd on reducing neural network response times.
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