Romania has dropped four positions in the global Startup Ecosystem 2025 report by StartupBlink. It is now ranked 48th worldwide, and has lost ground in Eastern Europe, where it dropped from 8th to 9th place, after Ukraine advanced one position and Greece two positions, surpassing Romania globally.
However, Romania is now 16th in the global AI top and first in the Balkans.
At the same time, Bucharest remains in the top 10 cities in Eastern Europe, although it has dropped 7 positions globally, reaching 116th place. When it comes to AI, the city is still a center of excellence, ranking 28th worldwide.
Cluj-Napoca, another major tech hub, climbed 5 positions to 385th globally, being included in the top 100 for web development. It also also gained recognition as an emerging smart city and IT cluster.
Romania currently has six cities in the global top 1,000 startup ecosystems: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Oradea, Iași, and Brașov. Each of these has dynamic startup centers offering talent at affordable costs, according to the report.
The global visibility of Romanian startups gained momentum with the success of UiPath, a software company that develops robotic process automation programs. Other startups such as Elrond (MultiversX) have gained notoriety, some aided by public sector initiatives like Start-Up Nation and Startup Plus.
However, as the report points out, more structured legislative efforts are needed to create a globally competitive investment climate. Improving entrepreneurial education, especially in secondary schools and through dedicated programs, would also strengthen the ecosystem. Access to pre-seed capital is still limited, although government-supported programs, such as those linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) aim to strengthen the private capital landscape.
Other programs like the FIX Cluj incubator, ROStartup, and MakeITOradea are also promising, addressing an EU-wide problem regarding talent retention.
“With strong internet connectivity, a growing network of incubators and accelerators, and a determined entrepreneurial base, Romania is poised to reach new exciting milestones in the near future,” the ranking states.
(Photo source: Nukoonrat | Dreamstime.com)
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