For 50 years, the Polish company Melex has been creating EVs, which sell like hot cakes all over the world - long before electric vehicles became fashionable.
An Austrian company has created a GPS tracker that can be placed on the collars of cats and dogs to bring more safety to pet owners. The smart design of the product switches between satellite and WiFi connection to provide a constant location online.
In less than 30 years, the blind population of the world is expected to increase to over 100 million. dotLumen aims to provide solutions to accommodate, empower, and enable the visually impaired to live life to the fullest.
Many most critically acclaimed games were developed in 2022 by Central and Eastern European GameDev studios. What makes them unique are the ideas, the audio-visual design, the technology, and the fresh, inspiring touch.
Necessity is the mother of all inventions. And sometimes, it literally takes a mother to invent an ingenious prop that makes parenting that little bit easier and goes viral. Meet Szumisie.
Carebot is on the way to implementing AI suggestions into CXS and MMG screenings in hospitals in Czechia. Led by two young enthusiasts, it stepped in at a crucial time to account for the need for innovations in healthcare with an offer of promising conduct.
Unbeknownst to the majority of people filling the streets of Prague, there is a nuclear reactor in the center of the city. What does it do? Is it dangerous? Or is it a future of commercial use of Small Modular Reactors?
Enthusiasm for nuclear energy in Poland is not waning. In addition to the full-size Korean and American reactors, another one will be built. The National Center for Nuclear Research, with the help of Japanese specialists, will design a new experimental reactor.
An experiment in testing a fourth brake light in the front of the car, in between lights, is currently underway. The aim is to increase traffic and pedestrian safety to decrease casualties of pedestrians and drivers.
Most of the Three Seas Countries are considered to be emerging innovators by the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). Which ones are they, and what does it mean? Are there any strong innovators among us?
The Hungarian-born startup Colossyan has been developing AI-generated media production, run by AI and machine learning, in a less well-known field of innovation. Its product offers the use of clients’ avatars in video footage.
At almost 650 meters tall, the radio mast in Konstantynów was the tallest structure of its time. Although it toppled in 1991, it held the record until the completion of Burj Khalifa in 2008.
One Romanian start-up aims to charge your vehicle up to 80% in 10 minutes, making long
distance travel possible, first in Romania and then throughout the rest of Central and Eastern
Europe.
The “Romanian SUV” took over the world in the mid-90s. What followed was a success story that made a hit around the globe and put Romania on the map of the automobile world, only to disappear into thin air less than 50 years later.
Warsaw-based startup Tylko has been promoting its D2C (direct-to-consumer) model in the furniture industry. The model is supported by software that allows for a virtual fitting of the desired furniture into existing rooms and facilities.
DeepL Translator is known as a widely used online translating service web page and app. However, little is said about its background story and mysterious AI technology, as well as the key protagonist behind the success.
The 20th century: a time when everyone wanted to touch the sky, but few were thinking about the dangers. Apart from one whose work was centered around the question of, “How can one survive if things go wrong?”
Czechia is an aviation superpower. It's one of a handful of countries worldwide that can manufacture an entire airplane – from nose to tail. And Czech aviators and pilots are mighty proud of it.
Flying to Bulgaria is easy, but that is not exactly the case when it comes to flying within the country. But work is underway to add six much-needed small facilities to Bulgaria’s minuscule airport network.
2022 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the word “robot,” brought to you by famous Czech science-fiction author Karel Čapek. However, the term, actually coined by his brother, has deep historical ties to centuries of feudal economics.
The issue of atomic energy for Poland is accelerating. Three major players – reactors manufacturers - were fighting for the contract to build Poland's first power plant. The showdown between them was as if modeled on the Game of Thrones intrigues.
There’s a fierce fight brewing between three competitors vying to build the fifth nuclear reactor of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant in Czechia. Who is most likely to win?
Wherever you are flying with Czech Airlines, it will always be OK. Why? Because OK is the Czech Airlines callsign. Let us tell you the story of the fifth-oldest airline in the world.
It looks like the renaissance of nuclear technology is beginning. Countries in the Central European region are leading the way.
Polish startup Vasco Electronics has been actively improving upon its technology for the past 10 years. Its device translates conversation, text, and speech into more than 70 languages and is sold all around the world.
The architecture MasterPrize award is open for entries from architects at every stage of their careers. It is considered the second most important out of the five leading international awards in architecture. This year, Poles were among the winners.
A Slovenian-based high-tech startup has been developing a complex and self-learning driving test simulator with the aim of measuring conscious and unconscious driver behavior features to make driving safer and more inclusive.
The history of sugar is not as straightforward as a mere ingredient for sweetening your tea or cakes. At various points in history, it has been used as medicine, a spice, and even a symbol of both royalty and oppression. The invention of the sugar cube only adds to the story.
While Bulgaria hasn't exactly been the first country to come to mind when one thinks about the most fertile ground for startups, that is all about to change.
Matsuko is a Slovak startup that offers a unique experience of communicating through holograms. The application they developed creates holograms of actual persons who can communicate in a virtual space and encounter each other as if it was real.
The unique technological project of a garbage disposal ship offers a new solution to ocean pollution.
The Lithuanian medical startup Oxipit has harnessed AI and Machine Learning into radiology. By scanning and analyzing chest radiographs (CXRs), ChestEye and ChestLink, the apps detect pulmonary module signs of pneumothorax and other lung diseases.
Czech scientists are tirelessly working on creating an artificial Sun that will help Czechia, Europe, and the whole world access unlimited energy.
Doesn’t it seem that whenever you get sick, there never are any appointments available? Doctor.One, a Polish start-up, developed a unique solution to this problem. So much so that it is heavily invested in, and its future is painted in bright colors.
Next year, Czechia will celebrate 45 years since the first Czech entered space. Even though the country is not a space superpower, it has plans for a base on the Moon. And a lot more!
Born Idek Trzmiel in Łódź, Poland, Jack Tramiel was the creator of the Commodore 64, the computer that holds a Guinness World Record for being the best-selling machine of its kind.
Have you ever seen a drone? People use them for taking photos, videotaping, or just for the simple fun of flying. But how about a drone postman or drone firefighter? Just Czech inventions.
Hungarian-American startup SignAll has been intensely working for over a decade to invent the SignAll Lab tool, which translates American Sign Language (ASL) into American English.
The Hungarian startup SEON Technologies, currently based in London, has introduced an app that determines the risk of online internet profiles. The product became very popular among companies and casual users as the world went online during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the past, people were grateful if there was a qualified doctor in their town or village. These days, it is doctors who are grateful for 5-star reviews.
Computer games are much more than just a childish pleasure. In the case of Czechia, it is a 250-million-Euro industry making the country famous worldwide.
Have you ever seen a drone? People use them for taking photos, videotaping, or just for the simple fun of flying. But how about a drone postman or drone firefighter? Just Czech inventions.
A new Slovak startup, DNA ERA, generates unique insights from DNA saliva extracts. Whereas most businesses that conduct DNA analysis offer information about family history, DNA ERA looks at hereditary diseases, physical aptitudes, optimal nutrition, and other clues stored in our DNA.
If only camping trips weren’t so challenging… Latvia’s BeTriton has a solution! Their amphibious electric vehicle allows crossing terrain and water at ease and eliminates the need to pitch a tent at night.
Koffeco, a sustainably-minded science-based startup from Latvia, sees spent coffee grounds as a resource. The team transforms organic waste into new products, contributing to a circular economy.
The Czech family-run startup Ullmanna is one of few to have developed an AI machine for agriculture. The flagship product, an intra-row weeding machine called NEWMAN, removes weeds manually faster than you can even spot them.
Eponymous with both luxury supercars and the designer of the Beetle, the most renowned democratic car of the first half of the 20th century, Ferdinand Porsche is the most important Czech-Austrian contribution to automotive history.
For the past eight years, a Polish inventor, Łukasz Koźlik, has been fulfilling his dream of building a robot that he hopes will eventually become our best housework buddy.
Natural as it is now, the existence of two separate states of Czechia and Slovakia is a rather new thing in the region. Here’s how it happened.
Born in Piaski Szlacheckie, an inconspicuous village near Lublin, Poland, Antoni Patek made his name as part of the most prestigious brand in the history of watchmaking. A true trailblazer in the industry.
His ideas have been used by the world's biggest car companies. The dashing Bulgarian inventor and entrepreneur Roumen Antonov made waves in the automotive world with his avant-garde ideas and daring technical solutions.
This anti-virus service has been leading the cybersecurity market for over 21 years – and I bet you had no idea it was a Romanian company that provided it. Bitdefender was Romania’s first ever IT start-up and the world’s leader in cybersecurity. And it all started by accident.
Scientists around the world are sounding alarm bells about the dwindling number of bees. With this in mind, Latvian startup BeeSage has created a monitoring system to give beekeepers the tools and information they need to ensure their hives can thrive.
The debate about the legacy of socialist residential architecture in Bulgaria, and the need for changing it, is ongoing. Should neighborhoods’ names follow suit?
Standing on the street corner, you see a car pass next to you on the road. With a glance, you see a winged arrow logo - a clear sign of a car manufactured by Škoda, an automotive company based in Czechia, which sells cars across the globe.
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death, according to WHO (2020). Powerful Medical, a new Slovak startup, hopes to reduce these deaths by introducing an AI-based diagnostic tool that detects cardiovascular conditions and provides recommendations tailored to patients' needs.
S.A.W.E.R. is a strange, shipping container-looking device that works miracles. What is this miracle, you ask? Well, it creates water from desert air! That's pretty miraculous; what do you say? And it gets even better: it runs on solar energy!
Innovativeness is a glamourized factor that is supposed to cure all the economic problems of the countries and the world. But do all countries need to be innovative to grow their economies?
With 240 sunny days a year, Bulgaria is well-positioned to harness the full potential of solar energy. So what is missing?
It would be an understatement to say that Polish company Creotech Instruments has been moving at light speed since its founding in 2012. The company has grown from startup to space giant in a mere decade, with plans to go public on the Warsaw Stock Exchange this summer.
Thanks to a combination of the Eastern Bloc’s economic structure, effective export deals, and last but not least, great products, Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus was able to dominate the Eastern Bloc’s transportation business - and even some of the West’s, too.
Czechia is known around the world for its gorgeous landscape, tasty food, and... beer(!), but a not-quite-as-obvious fact is that Czechs have been blazing trails in science for centuries. We've picked four innovative achievements with Czech origins that deserve recognition.
The RPG game “This War of Mine” about civilian life in under-siege Sarajevo was the first videogame in the world to ever make it into school curriculum.
A NASA engineer and inventor who developed heart-monitoring equipment and originated the first-ever digital wristwatch. These are just some of the accomplishments used to describe Bulgarian inventor Petar Petroff. But, before becoming one of the twentieth century's most productive inventors, Petroff led an eventful and adventurous life that few know about.
A new exhibition in Sofia is taking a closer look at six examples of post-war architecture in Bulgaria, from a kindergarten to a planned neighborhood and an airport, with the hope of providing answers and maybe, a whole new perspective.
The video game developer, famous for its series, “The Witcher," has single-handedly turned the Polish gaming industry into a high-tech powerhouse and a global tool of cultural influence.
Energy prices are rising with no sign of stopping. Economic sanctions against Russia have closed off one of the largest sources of European energy. Now begins the debate over what to do. The answer is simple, and it comes from Czechia: Small Modular Reactors.
With grocery stores overflowing with produce from the other side of the world and “all-natural” products in plastic packaging at every turn, it’s no wonder that even the savviest consumers find it hard to make sustainable choices. Austrian startup Inoqo aims to make that a little easier.
Printify has spearheaded the quickly growing print-on-demand market, helping regular people to become merchants selling unique products while avoiding storage costs and risks associated with unsold inventory.
We all know the success stories of companies that started in garages. Průša Research's story is similar to those of other multimillion-dollar companies. From humble garage beginnings in 2012 to the second-largest 3D printer manufacturer in the world.
Thanks to massive advancements in technology, distance is becoming less and less important. In April 2021, a group of doctors from Lublin became the first in Europe to bring surgery to a realm so far only imagined in science-fiction novels.
Laser beams from a small Central Eastern European country are beginning to reach the farthest corners of the world. How did Lithuania become a giant in the laser industry, and how have their lasers become such an export hit, playing a significant in their economy?
It seemed that the European Bison was one of those extinct species that used to live also in Slovakia. However, it has recently been successfully reintroduced to the Poloniny National Park, which makes it one of few places in Europe where it lives in the wild today.
Veriff, the company founded in 2015 by the 27-year-old prodigy Kaarel Kotkas, provides technology that enables online identification through a simple selfie and is quickly taking over new markets.
Hungarian company Tresorit grabbed the world's attention in 2013 when it offered hackers a $50,000 prize to the person who could break the layers of defenses protecting their startup. After a year and a half, nobody had cracked the new end-to-end encryption service.
If grabbing a to-go cup of coffee at your local café is your daily ritual, you’re not alone. One company in Bulgaria wants to make that habit as sustainable as possible with their edible, biodegradable wafer cups.
Quantum physics is not the most intuitive of scientific disciplines. The group of people who can grasp its essence is quite elite and includes a large proportion of Polish scientists. Will Polish scientists trigger a long-awaited quantum revolution?
Croatia’s Višnjan Observatory is the most successful in the world when it comes to looking out for asteroids that could possibly crash into Earth.
While cars made in the Soviet Union were often mocked by westerners, communist Bulgaria had a hidden gem - an electric vehicle with far superior capabilities to similar projects developed at the time by Ford and Hitachi.
Can consumers and businesses in Bulgaria come together and join forces in fighting food waste? Is it possible to eat delicious food, save money, and eat with a cause? The answer to all of this is yes - because FoodoBox is making it happen.
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are the most dependent on coal-fired energy production among the countries of the European Union. How can this weakness be turned into an opportunity?
The Baltic states are building Rail Baltica - a high-speed railway that will finally connect them to the rest of the EU. It is set to be completed by 2030 and will allow travel across Baltic countries in less than four hours.
By combining lessons learned from his time in Sweden and Japan, Péter Árvai returned to Hungary and took the position as CEO of what would become one of the world’s largest visual communications software companies.
In just three years, Romanian cyber-security start-up TypingDNA took over the world and was listed by FinTechGlobal in their CyberTech100 ranking - twice. Who are they, what do they do, and how do they do it?
Creating telecommunication connections and innovative digital solutions is the key to the success of the 3 Seas Initiative (3SI) - the most important geopolitical project of our times. Latvia's rotating chairmanship of the 3SI begins in 2022. And this is a good thing.
Jaan Tallinn did not just create Kazaa and Skype; he could also save humanity from terminators.
Poland is taking steps to position Central Eastern Europe in pole position ahead of the coming competition for market shares in a new sector of the economy.
Romania’s richest man and his company, UiPath, envision a future in which every person has a virtual robot.
One of Uber’s main rivals started off modestly, but quickly turned its creator into Europe’s youngest founder of a billion-dollar company.
With the use of curved graphene, Skeleton Technologies is able to build better ultracapacitors than the world has ever seen.
Dreams of future coastal cruising along the beautiful coast of the Black Sea
The digitalization of battlefields has already become a reality. To conduct effective operations, every army needs situational awareness on both strategic and tactical levels. What if we could also monitor soldiers' medical condition in the middle of battle?
Croatian car manufacturer Rimac Automobili launched in 2009 intending to make the world’s fastest cars and has been leaving the competition in the dust ever since. The wunderkind behind the company, Mate Rimac, has no intention of slowing down now.
Cyberpunk 2077, a Triple-A class title, created by Polish company CD Project Red, has become a worldwide success with over 14 million copies sold. It’s only one of a number of titles created by companies in the 3Seas region taking the world by storm.
The number of startups-turned-unicorns from behind the former Iron Curtain is exploding.
Flying cars might seem like the stuff of dreams - or science fiction movies. However, the reality of seeing one in the skies near you is far closer that you might imagine.
The sidewalks of Tallinn bustle with people going about their daily lives. They are also full of adorable, 6-wheeled delivery robots ferrying take-out and groceries to hungry patrons. A strange sight to some, here, it's just a part of daily life.
The success of Polish eCommerce delivery provider InPost has rewritten the map for deliveries in Poland and beyond, with Automated Parcel Machines becoming the go-to choice for people who want to be able to receive packages at all times and without having to pay a fortune.
The Three Seas Initiative project will be crucial to the integration of 5G communication in the region.
In 2024, a two-year construction project for a Polish wind farm in the Baltic Sea will begin, comprising 70 turbines, which will generate over 1 GW of power. Located 22 km offshore, these new turbines will generate more power than a recently-commissioned Danish farm with 72 turbines.