- Engaged Investments Conference 2026 brings CEE’s investors, founders and innovation leaders together in Prague
- The Conference will examine growth capital, ecosystem maturity, and Europe’s technological resilience
- Speakers will explore VC, AI, defence, infrastructure and strategic technology opportunities
- The programme will feature startup pitches, investor meetings and cross-border networking opportunities
The seventh edition of the Engaged Investments Conference will examine the maturing Central European startup ecosystem, European resilience, and the capital needed to scale strategic technologies. CEE’s startup ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, but the region continues to face challenges around growth capital, scaling companies locally, and turning strong research and technical capabilities into global businesses. These issues will take centre stage at the seventh edition of Prague’s Engaged Investments Conference, bringing investors, founders and innovation leaders together in Prague on October 21–22nd, 2026.
Organized by Czech investment fund DEPO Ventures together with J&T Ventures, the conference will take place at the National House Vinohrady and is designed as a platform for cross-border investment and collaboration. The organizers expect up to 500 active investors and ambitious founders, primarily from CEE and the Baltics, with more than 40 speakers and a programme focused on the region’s accelerating maturity and Europe’s resilience.
From Startup Growth to European Resilience
The value of the CEE startup ecosystem more than doubled between 2019 and 2023, reaching approximately EUR 213B, according to the conference organizers. At the same time, the region has seen growth in the number of venture capital funds, local investors and available talent, while larger-scale growth capital and the ability to retain companies in the region remain ongoing challenges.
This year’s Engaged Investments Conference’s programme will examine these issues alongside a broader question: what will it take for Europe to become more resilient and technologically independent? The conference will highlight discussions around the maturity of CEE’s VC ecosystem, European and US venture capital performance, defence resilience, supply-chain reshoring, strategic AI and infrastructure.
As DEPO Ventures partner and Engaged Investments founder Petr Šíma points out, the region has moved beyond its former position on the European startup periphery, but still needs stronger links between research, companies, and capital. The Conference will use these gaps as a starting point for discussions about how investors, founders, and institutions can support the next stage of CEE ecosystem development.
Connecting Transatlantic and European Capital
Engaged Investments will bring perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic to Prague, with speakers examining differences between the US and European venture capital markets and the opportunities available to Central European companies. Marcel Müller-Marbach, Senior Regional Representative at the European Investment Fund, will open the conference with a comparison of US and European VC market performance.
Ben Kolada, Managing Director and Head of US Tech Investment Banking at ICON Corporate Finance, will bring experience from the US market and focus on building companies with exit value, including opportunities beyond the United States. His experience also includes the acquisition of Brno-based ROI Hunter by a US buyer, providing an illustrative example of a Central European technology company connecting with international capital.
The European venture capital perspective will include Jakob Stein of Creandum, whose portfolio includes such companies as Spotify, Bolt, Klarna, and Lovable, alongside Christian Noske of NGP Capital, which manages USD 6B and focuses on Series A and Series B companies across North America and Europe. Martin Olczyk, an early-stage investor and former Techstars Managing Director, will meanwhile share his experience of building startup ecosystems across different markets.
Defence, AI, and Strategic Technologies
The changing European security and technology environment will be another major theme at this year’s Conference. Engaged’s programme will explore how venture capital can contribute to European defence resilience, whether Europe can build its own defence champions, and how investors can approach strategic technologies and critical infrastructure.
AI will form a distinctive part of this discussion, with a dedicated theme examining strategic AI, sovereignty and infrastructure, and how Europe can use AI to strengthen resilience, security, and technological independence. The programme will also consider the implications of reshoring European supply chains and the role venture capital can play in supporting more resilient industrial ecosystems.
The Conference’s regional perspective will extend beyond Central Europe, with Vuk Lau of Slovenian VC fund Silicon Gardens bringing experience from the Balkans and more than two decades of work in SaaS and entrepreneurship. Other speakers listed by the organizers include:
- Erin Hallock, Partner at NATO Innovation Fund
- Teodor Georgiev, CEO at The Recursive
- Sandra Golbreich, General Partner at BSV Ventures
- Jan Nalbert, Investment Director at Warsaw Equity Group
- Kyle A. Park, Managing Director at Harvest Management Partners, LLC
- Lt. Mykyta Puz, Defence Industry Liaison Officer at the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”
- Miloš Sochor, Managing Partner at JIC Ventures
- and more
A Platform for Investment and Dealflow
Investment and networking remain central to the Engaged Investments format, with the organizers describing the event as being built by active investors and designed around meaningful interactions and investment opportunities. The conference will feature dedicated networking areas, a matchmaking app and pre-arranged 1:1 meetings connecting investors, founders and ecosystem partners.
The second day will also put emerging companies in the spotlight through the Engaged Startup Showcase. Selected Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A founders, including companies working in defence, space, and fintech, will have three minutes to pitch their businesses to investors with relevant sector and stage expertise.
Alongside the main programme, dedicated side tracks will provide deeper discussions around fintech, defence, and other strategic areas, while a series of breakfasts, dinners, and smaller gatherings will extend the conference beyond the main stage. The current programme includes more than 10 side events, including investor and LP gatherings, an investor breakfast roundtable, and an LP/GP matchmaking breakfast.
Strengthening the CEE Startup Ecosystem
The Conference is supported by organizations working across investment, technology and startup development in Central and Eastern Europe, including ICON, Warsaw Equity Group, JIC, and CzechInvest. The partners bring perspectives spanning cross-border transactions, technology and industrial investment, deep-tech commercialization and startup support.
For DEPO Ventures, the event is part of a broader effort to strengthen the region’s investor and startup ecosystem. The investment firm focuses on early-stage companies across CEE, with its current fund targeting strategic and deep-tech technologies in areas including fintech, defence and space, while the firm has made more than 60 investments since 2019.
With the CEE venture capital market continuing to mature, Engaged Investments 2026 aims to put the region’s next stage of development alongside wider questions about Europe’s technological and economic resilience. The conference will take place on October 21–22nd at the National House Vinohrady in Prague, bringing investors, founders, and technology leaders together around capital, strategic technologies and cross-border opportunities.
In a Nutshell:
- Where: National House Vinohrady, Prague, the Czech Republic
- When: October 21–22nd, 2026
- Tickets are available here, use promo code ITKEY20MED for 20% off
- More information here
Kostiantyn is a freelance writer from Crimea but based in Lviv. He loves writing about IT and high tech because those topics are always upbeat and he’s an inherent optimist!
