IT Logs

While Macedonia and the wider region have long been established as a strong source of technical talent, the culture of building software products is still in its nascent stages. However, the country is seeing new initiatives beginning to bridge that gap.

First Voyage raised $2.5 million in seed funding to scale its AI companion app, Momo Self Care, backed by a16z speedrun and SignalFire Momo combines AI personalization, gamification, and animation to help users build healthier daily habits, with over 2 million tasks already created Founder Besart Çopa positions the app as a positive alternative to emerging AI companionship trends, focused on real-world wellbeing rather than distraction Just a year after co-founding his first startup,...

The third edition of SaaStanak will take place from May 25 to 27, 2026, in Šibenik, Croatia, bringing together SaaS founders, C-level executives, and operators from across Europe and beyond. The event will be hosted at Amadria Park Šibenik and is designed specifically for people who lead teams, make strategic decisions, and are actively involved in growing software companies. Unlike broad startup conferences, SaaStanak is positioned as a highly focused gathering for practitioners.

In 2026, the crypto industry will be defined by major improvements in regulatory clarity and real‑world adoption. According to Mike Romanenko, CVO & Founder at Kyrrex, new regulations are paving the way for greater security. Technological advancements like Layer-2 networks are leading to reduced transaction costs. The industry’s focus is shifting towards compliance-by-design and cross-jurisdictional monitoring to attract institutional capital and billions of users.

Kevin Chavanne, Venture Partner at Tenity, has spent years working with early-stage startups across the Nordics and Baltics. His experience evaluating founders and opportunities in more mature ecosystems has given him a practical lens for spotting companies with the potential to scale globally. Recently, Chavanne has turned his attention to the Western Balkans, spending time in Albania and N. Macedonia, and neighboring countries, meeting founders, ecosystem builders, and local investors.

Repsense is a European dual-use data analytics company focused on information tracking and threat detection. The company has closed a €2 million seed round, including a final €1.1 million tranche. The latest investment was led by Tensor Ventures and Seed Starter, the corporate venture capital arm of Česká spořitelna bank. “Repsense technology shows how quickly deep tech is penetrating several areas at once.

The seventh and largest edition of Endeavor’s Dare2Scale program brought together 16 companies and two non-governmental organizations from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. Dare2Scale targets entrepreneurs and businesses that are ready to scale and enter their next phase of growth. The program supports participants as they prepare to expand operations and strengthen their market presence.

NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) has selected 150 companies for its 2026 cohort, marking the program’s largest intake since its launch. The focus remains on accelerating dual-use technologies across the Alliance, but this year’s group also highlights a growing number of companies emerging from Central and Eastern Europe.

A team of experts with over 15 years of experience in funding businesses has launched Aneli Capital, a fund to support early-stage startups in the Baltics, Poland, and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The €35 million fund will primarily focus on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as robotics, space, photonics, and energy startups, with the goal of helping them grow and become ready for follow-on investors.

After years of untapped talent and minimal investment, Bosnia and Herzegovina is beginning to see the first real shifts in its startup landscape, inspired by a slowly awakening investor community. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s startup scene has spent years hovering between hope and hesitation.