At Hellen’s Rock Founder Retreat, two operators argued that the fastest path to AI value isn’t replacing people. It’s removing friction, one workflow at a time.
Central and Eastern Europe has top-tier tech talent and infrastructure, yet cross-border scaling remains a hurdle. Here is how 28DIGITAL is stepping in with targeted funding, corporate pairings, and tech transfer to convert regional research into global ventures.
As investors become increasingly selective, the Czech Republic's next growth wave may come from deep tech. Jan Lukačevič argues that while the country has no shortage of scientific talent, turning research into globally competitive startups requires stronger commercial skills.
Ukrainian defense tech investment platform Resist.UA has launched Resist 2.0, a new European fund targeting up to €50 million to connect international investors with Ukraine's rapidly growing defense and dual-use technology sector.
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 look at the latest news in funding, startup milestones, and emerging trends tied to the region’s innovation potential.
Coinbase and Kalshi are moving AI from customer support to the core trading floor. But as regulators circle, can we trust algorithms with real capital?
Superseding our biology is the key challenge that humanity faces. Sumon Sadhu maps out the next 30 years, from living through AGI to a future where medicine is a program you write and nature’s defaults become our decisions.
The Prague-based investment platform's latest investments come as pension savings begin to play a larger role in financing Europe's next generation of technology companies.
Bulgarian VC firm Vitosha Ventures has announced the first 10 investments from its €34 million Fund II, which plans to back close to 80 Bulgarian startups by 2030.
This article tracks the history of Gulf Investors backing some of the most defining deep tech companies coming out of Central and Eastern Europe in the past 5 years. These scaleups operate cargo drones, robotaxi ecosystems, voice AI, hypercar manufacturing, clean energy, and longevity biotech.
As founders from across Eurasia gathered in Tbilisi for 500 Global Eurasia's Demo Day, the conversation extended beyond fundraising. Founders shared how working across fragmented markets, established industries, and complex business environments has influenced their approach to building startups.
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 look at the latest news in funding, startup milestones, and emerging trends tied to the region’s innovation potential.
Three guests, three very different jobs, one thing in common: they're all in their twenties and already taking on a level of responsibility that usually comes later in a career.
In this episode of The Recursive Roundtable, we talk with Viktoriya Markileva (Head of Space Services at EnduroSat), Georgi Nichev (Marketing Specialist at Helios Marine, Co-Founder of Scylla), and Maria Nikolova (Strategic Partnerships Development Manager at BESCO) about what it's actually like to be trusted with real responsibility this early — what makes someone trust you with it, how they handle it, and whether a career needs to follow a clear path at all.
In this episode, we explore:
🟣 How Gen Zs think about failure, 🟣 what hustle culture looks like from the inside, 🟣 what progress actually means to them, 🟣 and whether they'd be willing to wait years for the next step in their career.
💡 This conversation is essential for entrepreneurs looking to hire young talent, and for any Gen Z professionals wondering if they are ready to take the leap into a leadership role.
In this episode of The Recursive Podcast, we sit down with Rakuten Viber CEO Ofir Eyal to discuss how the company is evolving beyond messaging through its partnership with OpenAI, the rise of AI-powered communication, and the long-term vision behind building a "super app."
The conversation explores how the company approaches privacy and responsible AI adoption, and why Europe has yet to embrace the super app model seen across Asia.
Ofir also reflects on his own journey from product manager to CEO, the leadership lessons he learned while navigating one of Viber's most challenging periods after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
In this episode:
☑️ Why Viber partnered with OpenAI ☑️ The future of AI inside messaging apps ☑️ Can Europe build a successful super app? ☑️ Privacy, security, and responsible AI adoption ☑️ How Viber makes money beyond messaging ☑️ Leadership lessons from scaling a global platform ☑️ Rebuilding after losing 40% of the business overnight
🎙️ Subscribe to The Recursive Podcast for conversations with the founders, investors, and technology leaders shaping the future of innovation across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.
AI can generate logos, colors, taglines, and entire visual identities in seconds. But can it build a brand people actually remember?
In this episode of The Recursive Roundtable, we explore one of the biggest questions facing founders, marketers, and designers today: what does branding look like in the age of AI?
Joining us are three branding experts with decades of experience building companies across technology, consumer products, and global markets:
The episode is hosted by Etien Yovchev, Co-founder and CGO, The Recursive.
☑️ Why the strongest brands shape identity, not just recognition ☑️ How design, typography, and marketing create emotional connection ☑️ Why AI-generated brands often struggle to build authenticity ☑️ What happens to local brands in a world shaped by global AI models ☑️ How founders can preserve cultural identity while building for global markets ☑️ Whether AI can truly understand local language, heritage, and aesthetics ☑️ What remains of a brand when customers discover products through AI assistants
Whether you're building a startup, launching a product, working in marketing, or simply curious about how AI is changing creative work, this conversation offers practical insights into what still requires human judgment, and why great brands are built through relationships, not prompts.
