Porto & Lisbon, Portugal · Accelerator Bright Pixel (formerly Sonae IM) is the technology investment arm of Portugal's Sonae Group, operating as a corporate venture studio from Porto and Lisbon. Founded as Sonae IM and rebranded in 2020, Bright Pixel invests EUR 1-5M at Series A and B in cybersecurity, retail tech, telecom, and fintech companies across Europe and Israel. The firm manages over EUR 200M and has backed companies including Outsystems, Feedzai, and S21sec. Bright Pixel provides portfolio companies with strategic access to Sonae's retail and telecom operations for piloting and commercial partnerships.
Bratislava, Slovakia · Startup CloudTalk is next-generation call center software built for modern customer support and sales teams. The platform integrates deeply with tools like Salesforce and HubSpot and layers AI-driven analytics on top of every conversation to improve agent performance and sentiment tracking. By 2026, CloudTalk has raised a significant Series B and serves global ecommerce and tech support teams, making it one of Slovakia’s most visible SaaS exports.
Berlin & Krakow, Germany · Incubator Founded 2012. Deutsche Telekom's tech incubator focused on 5G, IoT, and AI with campuses in Berlin and Krakow. Support: corporate seed funding, infrastructure access, expert mentoring, and co-creation pilots with Telekom. Notable alumni include IoT ventures integrated into Deutsche Telekom. Scope: International.
Vodnjan, Croatia · Startup Infobip is a Croatian communications infrastructure company that became one of Europe's most significant API businesses by connecting enterprises to global mobile and messaging networks. Its platform lets companies send and orchestrate customer interactions across SMS, voice, email, WhatsApp, and other channels through a unified developer and enterprise interface. The company's strategic advantage comes from its direct relationships with telecom operators and its focus on delivery reliability, compliance, and reach at global scale. That makes Infobip a foundational layer for authentication flows, service alerts, customer support, and transactional communication used by digital businesses around the world. In ecosystem terms, it is important not only because of its size, but because it offers a different European success model: a deeply technical, infrastructure-heavy company built far from the continent's biggest venture hubs. It is a strong addition to the directory because it broadens the map of European startup success beyond SaaS and marketplaces into telecom-grade platform infrastructure.
Bratislava, Slovakia · Startup Matsuko builds real-time holographic communication, enabling lifelike 3D telepresence using only a smartphone camera. The technology captures and transmits volumetric video without requiring VR headsets for capture, making it a practical “Skype for holograms.” By 2026, Matsuko has partnered with major telecoms such as Deutsche Telekom and Orange to demonstrate 5G use cases and positions itself as a leader in next-gen communication.
Warsaw, Poland · Startup Microamp is a Warsaw-based deep-tech company developing resilient 5G mmWave wireless solutions. Its Any-G mmWave AI-RAN platform is a fully reconfigurable, software-defined system that adapts across evolving 3GPP standards, frequency bands, network modes and 6G features. The company, led by co-founder and CEO Dawid Kuchta, positions itself as one of the first to commercialise 5G mmWave networks.
Warsaw, Poland · Accelerator Corporate accelerator by Orange Polska (est. 2015) focused on 5G, IoT, AI, and customer experience. Provides proof-of-concept projects, telecom mentorship, and access to Orange's global Fab network in 18 countries. Scope: National with global reach.
Zadar, Croatia · Event Infobip's developer and product conference on the Adriatic coast, combining technical talks on messaging APIs, CPaaS, and cloud communications with a startup pitch competition and seaside networking. 2,000+ attendees from across Europe. Tickets from EUR 100. The Split setting and summer timing make it one of Europe's most appealing dev conferences for combining work and warm weather.
Madrid, Spain · Accelerator Founded 2011. Telefonica's open innovation hub connecting startups to telecom, IoT, and cybersecurity opportunities; typically invests around EUR 150K for equity and provides partnerships. Supports 500+ startups across 10 countries; notable alum Carto. Scope: International.
Paris, France · Angel Investor Xavier Niel is one of Europe's most influential tech billionaires and prolific angel investors. As the founder of Free (Iliad Group), France's disruptive telecom operator, Niel built a fortune that he has systematically reinvested into the startup ecosystem. Through Kima Ventures (listed separately as VC), he backs roughly 100 startups per year, but Niel also makes substantial personal angel investments in strategic companies. He founded Station F, the world's largest startup campus in Paris, and created 42, a tuition-free coding school with campuses worldwide. His personal angel portfolio spans hundreds of companies across fintech, AI, deep tech, and consumer internet, making him arguably the single most important individual supporter of the French tech ecosystem.