On Wednesday, May 20th, The Recursive gathered a range of innovative players from the ecosystem of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the weXelerate coworking space in Vienna for the second iteration of its CEE Forum. The event was part of ViennaUP 2026 and had the goal of bringing together startup founders, investors and representatives of corporations both from CEE and German-speaking Europe.
The focus of the event, which consisted of several high-profile keynotes and panel discussions, was how innovations from the CEE region can gain more recognition in Western Europe. Around 600 attendees were present at weXelerate. Compared to the event’s debut in 2025, where about 450 people attended, this signifies a substantial increase. Attendees included, among others, six country delegations.
The event’s host, The Recursive, is an independent community-born online media company focused on the emerging tech and startup ecosystems in CEE. Teodor Antonio Georgiev, CEO of The Recursive, outlined the vision behind the event on Wednesday. He also spoke about his own background as an innovator from the CEE region.
“When I was younger, I lived in Bulgaria. After studying in Munich and in Vienna, I tried my hand at being an innovator in Western Europe, where I encountered a lot of challenges. With the feeling that Western Europe in a sense failed me, I ended up going back to Bulgaria. Now, with The Recursive, it is my goal to gather people from all over CEE to find out how the region reacts to innovation”, Georgiev said at the CEE Forum.
In the past, Teodor Antonio Georgiev has experienced a lot of frustration with how innovation from CEE is often perceived in Western Europe. “Many times, I have heard people say that only talents come from the East, not proven innovation or successful companies. That is simply not true. CEE countries are a fertile ground for innovation. Our goal at The Recursive is to demonstrate this and show, especially to Western investors, that the region is worthy of their attention”, the CEO explained.
In this iteration of the CEE Forum, participants from countries across the region were present. Delegations from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia were there, the latter two represented for the first time this year. The Recursive already has big plans for its CEE Forum in 2027. “I hope that next year, we will be able to gather people from all countries of the CEE region”, Georgiev said.
At the event, the participants had the chance to share know-how and firsthand experience. Key topics for any modern innovation ecosystem made the agenda: investments, growth, tech transfer, international expansion, as well as essential current technologies such as AI.
After the opening remarks by Teodor Antonio Georgiev as well as weXelerate CEO Awi Lifshitz, representatives of all six CEE-delegations spoke about their respective country’s innovation ecosystem. The main question for all of them was: What can the CEE region do to raise its standing in the European ecosystem?
An especially strong answer came from Robert Somogyi of the Hungarian Innovation Agency: “All of CEE must come together to create a critical mass of innovative companies. If that happens, we can no longer be ignored.” The other delegation representatives also put an emphasis on international cooperation while highlighting their own national accomplishments.
The panels and keynotes that followed covered a wide array of pertinent topics. These included humanoid robotics, tech transfer between regions, scaling and go-to-market strategies, the implementation of AI solutions as well as Austria and Vienna as gateways to the German-speaking market. The day concluded with Pitch & Match, connecting startups and investors.
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