The ScaleupFest 2025

Key Highlights

Investor Networking

What makes The ScaleupFest unique is not only the agenda but the audience it gathers. Investors at the event are not just observers – they are actively looking for CEE opportunities, whether as VCs with dry powder, private equity firms pursuing buy-and-build strategies, or strategic investors and corporates scouting acquisition targets.  

That is why before the main program began, the event hosted an invite-only Investors-Founders Networking Breakfast, bringing together a curated group of investors and founders exploring potential investment or exit options. The closed-door format encouraged direct, high-value conversations between CEE companies considering future funding or M&A transactions.  

AI, Hype or Horizon?

The opening session of The ScaleupFest tackled one of the hottest questions in today’s tech landscape: is AI the next long-term growth engine or just another bubble?  

Our founding partner, Lenard Horgos shared data showing that while global startup funding slowed, AI investment grew more than 50% year-on-year, now accounting for over a quarter of all deals. Yet, a third of US venture capital already flows into just a handful of mega AI companies backed by big tech, raising concerns about market concentration.  

Panellists – Enis Hulli (General Partner at e2vc), Petya Balogh (Super Angel and Mentor, STRT Holding Nyrt.) and Marius Istrate (Venture Partner / Chairman of the Board at 3VC / TechAngels Romania, ex-C-level leader at UiPath) – agreed that most current AI deals are capability-driven: large corporations buying startups mainly for technology and talent. They warned founders not to rely on hype or inflated valuations, but to build defensible, differentiated products with solid economics. And the takeaway: AI is everywhere, but only those solving real problems with scalable, sustainable models will endure once the hype fades.

M&A sessions: When CEE Champions Do the Roll-Up Game and Buy First, Build Faster

M&A and exit topics came up in nearly every panel, serving as a common thread that tied together several of the event’s sessions.

Dedicated M&A sessions showed how CEE scaleups can use acquisitions to accelerate growth and expand regionally. Founders from Munch (Kirill Perepelica) and WHC Group (Peter Berta) shared first-hand experiences of merging with or acquiring peers to strengthen their market position, while investors and Western European advisors explained how smaller regional players can apply the buy-and-build model successfully.  

Jan Pörschmann, Founder of Global Tech Mergers (a premier worldwide network of tech-focused M&A boutiques) and Managing Partner of atares GmbH, a tech-focused German advisory firm, highlighted that M&A is no longer the privilege of large Western corporations, CEE companies can also lead consolidation and become regional champions. They warned, however, that integration is rarely easy: deals succeed or fail on people and culture, not spreadsheets. The right team fit, and shared values matter more than aggressive synergy targets, and founders should expect integration to take longer and cost more than planned.

Gábor Bürchner - GB & Partners Investment Management (Managing Director) and Zsolt Mihály - Portfolion Capital Partners (Partner) noted that private equity funds actively support such strategies in CEE, viewing them as faster, lower-risk paths to scale. Their message concluded that operational readiness, realistic expectations and strong leadership, acquisitions can save years of growth time and CEE founders are increasingly the ones driving these deals, not just being targets of them.

Looking Ahead

As the CEE ecosystem matures, the questions become sharper, the opportunities larger, and the competition fiercer. The ScaleupFest is where those questions are debated, where opportunities are shared, and where the next chapter of CEE’s growth stories begins. The ScaleupFest will remain the go-to event for ambitious scaleups, where later-stage challenges meet real solutions. Whether you’re aiming to become a regional champion, seeking the right investor to fuel your next phase of growth, exploring bold, out-of-the-box ideas, or preparing for a successful exit, this is where it all comes together.

Absolvo will continue to champion this mission, curate connections, facilitate capital flows and support the companies and investors shaping the region’s future.

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