The AI surge in Central and Eastern Europe is not a democratic renaissance of tech – it is a fast‑track to richer pockets for a handful of entrenched players while the rest of the region watches from the sidelines. In the past year no megadeals have surfaced from the region’s startup scene; the only sizeable AI‑related cash flows are the internal R&D spend of legacy giants and a smattering of modest venture rounds that barely breach the million‑euro mark. The result is a clear‑cut concentration of wealth in firms that already command factories, data lakes and deep‑pocketed investors, leaving fledgling innovators to scramble for visibility in a market that refuses to publish its own numbers.
Bosch’s Czech arm epitomises the new‑old‑economy AI champion. By the end of 2025 it pledged more than $2.7 billion in AI investment, rolling out a generative‑AI engine that mines a proprietary trove of vehicle sensor data to accelerate autonomous‑driving model training. The same platform powers a suite of agentic‑AI bots that autonomously schedule maintenance, balance production loads and shave millions of euros off downtime. A parallel effort – a low‑code multi‑agent platform slated for launch in autumn – promises to export this capability to external firms, effectively turning Bosch into a wholesale AI supplier.
Škoda Auto, another heavyweight, has moved beyond concept to a fully operational Predictive Maintenance System. Edge‑mounted diagnostic units stream real‑time fault data to a cloud‑based asset‑performance suite that flags anomalies, such as a recurrent door‑hinge failure on a specific line, and directs engineers to targeted fixes. The modular architecture keeps upgrade costs low while offering bespoke extensions for individual customers, cementing Škoda’s foothold as the AI‑enhanced backbone of the regional automotive supply chain.
On the venture side, Interactive Venture Partners emerged as the most active AI backer in Q1 2025, funding Croatian start‑ups OUTFINDO and Hypefy with €1.7 million each. Credo Ventures entered the fray with a cross‑border investment in Paris‑based Modeinspect, though the size remains undisclosed. Beyond these isolated bets, the broader European VC picture shows AI siphoning 53 % of all venture dollars in H1 2025, with sixteen mega‑rounds (> $500 million) gobbling up roughly a third of the total capital. The pattern suggests that when large AI deals do materialise in the CEE space, they will likely echo the same concentration dynamics, funnelled through a small cadre of established funds.
Policy, however, has lagged far behind the tech. Poland’s data‑privacy authority (UODO) remains a peripheral player in the newly drafted AI law, stripped of voting rights within the national AI Commission – a limitation it publicly condemned in July 2025 as a threat to effective enforcement. No AI‑specific GDPR extensions or compliance deadlines have been issued, leaving firms free to process massive data sets with scant oversight. Likewise, the Polish competition watchdog (UOKiK) and its Czech counterpart have churned out hundreds of merger decisions and antitrust rulings, yet none target the unique market‑power risks posed by generative or agentic AI. The regulatory vacuum is stark: no AI‑focused competition guidelines, no data‑privacy safeguards tailored to algorithmic processing, and no transparent reporting requirements for AI‑related financing.
The convergence of opaque capital flows, incumbent‑driven AI deployment and a regulatory blind spot creates a feedback loop that entrenches wealth at the top. Legacy manufacturers can pour internal funds into AI projects that deliver multi‑million‑euro efficiencies, while start‑ups struggle to attract the modest €1‑2 million rounds that barely keep them afloat. Without clear rules to curb data aggregation or to scrutinise AI‑enabled market dominance, dominant firms can lock‑in customers, hoard data assets and potentially engage in anti‑competitive conduct without immediate repercussion.
To prevent the AI boom from becoming a conduit for deeper inequality, policymakers must act now. Targeted data‑privacy legislation that addresses algorithmic processing, competition guidelines that recognise the systemic risks of multi‑agent systems, and mandatory disclosure of AI‑related financing would shine a light on the hidden corridors of capital. Only with transparent funding, robust oversight and a level playing field can the region harness AI’s transformative power without surrendering its economic sovereignty to a privileged few.
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