Representatives of 15 promising startups from Central and Eastern Europe gathered in Oradea on 30 October 2024 for Bright Labs Demo Day.
The highlight of the day was the Bright Labs 2024 pitching competition.
The top prize went to Data Sweep, which secured a place in the Go Global accelerator, launched by Arieli Capital and supported locally by Raiffeisen Bank Romania and AmCham.
This opportunity will help Data Sweep expand into international markets and connect with investors worldwide.
At Bright Labs Demo Day, the executives of the 15 startups presented projects in artificial intelligence, medtech, fintech and extended reality to an audience of more than 150 people, including investors, corporate leaders and mentors.
The event, which concluded the fourth edition of the Bright Labs Incubator programme, explored strategies for turning CEE into a world-class technology hub.
There is no “easy money”
Bright Labs Demo Day brought together startup presentations, mentoring sessions and networking opportunities.
Special guest Matei Psatta, founder of Blindspot, highlighted the challenges of scaling startups in CEE and shared perspectives on creating sustainable impact.
A central moment was the panel “Overcoming the ‘No Startups vs. No Capital’ Dilemma in CEE”, moderated by Smaranda Heroiu, with investors Mircea Ghiță and Răzvan Șuta and Cristian Otgon from the North-West Regional Development Agency.
The three panellists identified education as fundamental to long-term value creation. They emphasised curiosity and courage as essential drivers of innovation for founders, and explained that rejection and failure are part of the journey and should be seen as opportunities to learn.
Their key message was that there is no “easy money”: securing grants, EU funding and venture capital requires considerable effort.
The final discussion highlighted that building a community requires patience and commitment from everyone involved. With one of Europe’s largest concentrations of technical talent, Romania has the potential to become a major technology hub with appropriate investment.
Bright Labs Incubator supports CEE startups
Supported locally by Make IT in Oradea, Bright Labs Incubator has become a valuable platform for early-stage startups.
The programme provides up to €50,000 in funding and additional grants to help founders bring their ideas to market. This year, 14 startups were selected from 355 applicants.
Nine teams temporarily relocated to Oradea to make full use of the incubator’s resources, including workshops, mentoring and coworking spaces at Oradea Fortress.
Founders also received guidance from prominent mentors such as Timmy Ghiurău, Innovation Manager at Volvo, and Irina Scarlat, a former Uber and Revolut executive, who helped shape their strategies and refine their product visions.
Bright Labs Demo Day 2024 once again demonstrated Oradea’s potential to become a regional technology leader. Bright Labs and similar initiatives show that, with the right support, CEE startups can compete and thrive on the global stage.
About GO GLOBAL
Designed by Arieli Capital, brought to Romania by Upgrade 100 alongside How to Web, and supported locally by Raiffeisen Bank Romania and AmCham, GO GLOBAL aims to become a reference point for Romanian startups seeking to become international players.
Follow the News & Updates section to stay informed and apply here if you are a startup. To support the project as a sponsor or partner, or for any other questions, contact us by completing this form.
Read more about the official launch and other details here.