The Digital Serbia Initiative has just unveiled the premier cohort for its anticipated Soonicorn program — an equity-free scaling initiative designed to propel high-growth regional startups toward an elusive half-billion-dollar valuation.
Following a rigorous evaluation of top-tier applicants, only three standout teams from Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia secured a spot in the intensive six-month accelerator. Chosen for their explosive market results and global scalability, these selected innovators are already disrupting traditional industries. The regional ecosystem is watching closely, so read further to find out which founders are in, and who is backing them.
Inside the Soonicorn program
Over the six-month program, mentors will work closely with the three startups developing solutions for specialist exam preparation, financial planning, and the automation of quotes for interior and exterior design projects.
With strong traction, operations across multiple international markets, growing user bases, and backing from VC funds and angel investors, Prepia, Farseer and SaleSqueze demonstrate the region's ability to produce companies that can compete on a global scale. The teams will receive 40 hours of mentoring, during which they will tackle key challenges and gain deeper insights into scaling their businesses internationally.
The ultimate goal is for them to "double their revenues and secure significant levels of investment over the next year," said Tanja Kuzman, Executive Director of the Digital Serbia Initiative.
Three startups, one half-billion ambition
Prepia is an educational platform that uses AI to help users prepare for professional and certification exams across education, healthcare, and IT. The platform supports more than 100 exams, from the SAT and GMAT to medical and legal qualifications, in a market with over 300 identified exam categories.
Founded in Belgrade in 2024 by Viktor Pešić and Ivan Jurišić, the startup raised a €1.5 million seed round in June 2025, led by Polish VC fund Inovo.vc, with participation from Slovenia's Silicon Gardens. The company had reached €1.2 million in annual recurring revenue just nine months after launch when the investment was announced. According to the program's announcement, Prepia now serves more than one million users worldwide.
Zagreb-based Farseer is developing a financial planning and analytics (FP&A) platform that uses AI to replace Excel spreadsheets and legacy tools for enterprise finance teams. Founded in 2020 by Matija Nakić, Zrinko Dolić, Luka Mijatović, and Matej Trbara, the company has raised around €7.5 million to date: a €1.4 million seed round in 2023 led by US fund Apertu Capital, followed by a €6.07 million Series A in February 2026 led by AYMO Ventures, with participation from existing investors SQ Capital and Apertu Capital, alongside customers, partners, and employees.
Farseer has built the largest client base in the Adria region, including companies such as Podravka, Končar, Hrvatski Telekom, A1, Dukat, and Violeta, and plans to use the new funding to expand across Europe and Norh America.
SaleSqueze is a Slovenian startup developing a 3D configuration and quote automation (CPQ) platform for manufacturers selling complex, customizable products, from pergolas and garage doors to industrial equipment. Customers can configure products in a real-time 3D environment and receive quotes automatically.
The startup raised a €1.4 million seed round in June 2024, led by Romania's Underline Ventures, with participation from Robin Capital, Fortech Investments, and angel investors including Xenia Muntean, Christoph Zoeller, and Björn W. Schäfer. Its platform is now used by more than 160 companies across over 30 markets, including the US, Australia, and New Zealand.
More than acceleration program
The program stands out for its specifically designed format and mentors who have already achieved global success.
Among the mentors are: Branko Milutinović, founder of Nordeus, which was acquired by Take-Two; Damir Sabol, founder of Photomath, which was acquired by Google; Mirko Novaković, founder of Dash0, which became a unicorn, and Instana, which was sold to IBM for USD 500 million; Ravish Agrawal, marketing leader at the unicorn Gamma; Sarah Finegan, Partner at the VC fund Antler; Verena De Smedt-Zuegner, Partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners; and many other experienced founders, operators and investors.
Beyond supporting the three selected teams, Soonicorn aims to strengthen the wider startup ecosystem. As part of the program, each founder and key employee commits to spending at least 100 hours over the following 12 months mentoring other startups, helping share knowledge and experience across the community.
The startups will be publicly presented at an event in Belgrade this autumn. Until then, they will work closely with their mentors as they continue pursuing ambitious growth targets.
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