VIEW SPEECH SUMMARY
- Companies must have an enterprise value above $100 million (this year threshold is $170 million).
- Must have a strong presence in the CE region or be funded from the region.
- Must be a digital company.
- Exclusions include companies that have relocated headquarters externally or operate mostly outside CE (e.g., 11 Labs moved to New York).
Company Categorization
- Companies are organized in categories: Digital Phoenix (>$100B), Digital Dragons ($250M - $1B), Unicorns, and six sectors including cybersecurity, e-commerce and fintech.
- Both private and publicly listed companies are included.
Key Findings
- Largest group: 50 Digital Dragons, doubling since 2021.
- Total market capitalization of top 100 tech companies is $170B (+10% since last report) but below the 2021 peak.
- E-commerce is the largest sector by market cap ($40B), followed by Software as a Service (SaaS) with 31 companies and 63% growth in count.
- Four countries (Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Czechia) hold nearly 80% of the total market cap.
- Poland leads with 39 companies; Estonia notable for very high capitalization and company count per capita, partly due to favorable business environment and ease of remote operations.
- Only Poland and Czechia have balanced ecosystems with a broad range of companies rather than dominance by a few large players.
Venture Capital and Private Equity Pulse
- Private equity faces challenges with lower multiples and fewer exits than in 2021.
- Venture capital remains active with 82 major exits last year, exceeding 2021 despite reduced investment volumes due to geopolitical tensions.
- Total VC investment has dropped from €6-7B in 2021 to €2.25B currently.
- CE region's VC activity growth over 8 years outpaces Nordics and German-speaking Europe, though starting from a smaller base.
Additional Insights
- Serbia and Croatia showed significant percentage growth but from very small bases.
- Sponsors thanked: Arthur DeLittle, Baker McKenzie, private equity associations and funds.
Actionable Items / Tasks
- The official ranking and full report will be published tomorrow on digitalpoland.org.
- For questions or further information about the ranking methodology or companies, contact via LinkedIn or email.
- The presenter is available until 5 PM in Gdańsk for direct discussion.
Digital Champions CEE 2025
13:05 - 13:25, 28th of May (Wednesday) 2025 / GROWTH STAGE
The 4th edition of the Digital Champions CEE report, prepared by the Digital Poland Foundation, offers a comprehensive analysis of the 100 largest technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This presentation will explore key findings from the report, highlighting the region's growing significance in the global tech landscape. Drawing on extensive data, the report showcases the financial performance, innovation capacity, and market influence of these industry leaders, providing a snapshot of the CEE tech ecosystem in 2025. Attendees will gain insights into latest trends. This session will appeal to policymakers, investors, and tech enthusiasts eager to understand the dynamics propelling CEE's digital economy forward and its role in driving Europe’s technological transformation.