This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Łukasz Wejchert, Marcin Żukowski, Aniela Hejnowska and other experienced investors and entrepreneurs reflect on how Poland’s startup ecosystem has evolved over the past two decades. They discuss failed investments, success stories, mistakes made by investors and what still needs to change for more Polish companies to build global businesses.
ElevenLabs and ICEYE are on everyone’s lips. ElevenLabs has reached a valuation of USD 22bn, while ICEYE is valued at more than EUR 10bn. Both companies have Polish co-founders and, although much of their growth has taken place outside Poland, they have become symbols of the country’s technological ambitions. At least in the eyes of the Polish startup community.
The problem is that these two bright stars do not tell the whole story. Poland’s startup and venture capital (VC) ecosystem remains relatively small and, apart from a handful of companies, has limited influence in the global technology market.
“What is happening in Poland today reminds me of 2004–2005, when Skype was achieving international success. The global expansion of a single company gave a boost to technology ecosystems in both Sweden and Estonia. Spotify’s subsequent success reinforced that momentum in Sweden. These companies demonstrated the potential of local technology and attracted international capital. Domestic investors became more active, too. I believe something similar will happen here,” says Łukasz Wejchert, co-founder of technology holding company Dirlango and former longtime CEO of Polish internet portal Onet.
In the early days, money was often wasted
Nearly two decades have passed since Poland’s venture capital market began to take shape. During that time, startups and investors have learned how to work together, finance new businesses and build their value. Not every experiment was successful.
“This was before 2010. As an investor, I became interested in emerging technology companies, so I invested in the first seed fund established by the Satus group. Looking back, I can say that startup investments at the time were inefficient and the money was often wasted. Everyone was still learning how venture capital worked,” recalls Krzysztof Zdanowski, founder and CEO of Summa Linguae Technologies.
He notes that an investment in Synerise ultimately rescued the situation at Satus.
“After several years, I recovered my money with a small profit. Of course, fund management teams gradually gained experience and began making smarter investment decisions. I certainly was not discouraged from startups, and I continue to finance them,” Zdanowski adds.
“The biggest success stories were built abroad”
Many young technology companies seeking to scale rapidly had to expand beyond Poland.
“Virtually all the major Polish startup success stories that generate so much excitement in the domestic ecosystem were actually built abroad. That suggests there was, and probably still is, a problem in the Polish market that we have not fully identified,” says Marcin Żukowski, co-founder of US-based Snowflake.
Wiktor Schmidt, a business angel associated with Polish technology company Netguru, argues that the distinction between domestic and foreign businesses is becoming less relevant in the modern technology industry.
“It is a sign of the times. Today, building a large business while remaining entirely in one place is difficult. A company that wants to achieve scale must operate globally, with a distributed structure and an international team. Only part of its operations, usually the technology division, may remain in Poland, if anything does at all. That does not change the fact that we should be proud of Polish entrepreneurs and technology specialists, even when their achievements take shape abroad. They are, in part, Polish success stories too,” Schmidt says.
Investor's perspective
Poland has capital, but too little goes into innovation
There is money in Poland, but much of it remains in bank accounts and deposits. Around PLN 1.5tn is held in Polish banks. Regulations and incentives that directed some of this capital toward innovation could make a substantial difference.
It is encouraging to see work underway to open Employee Capital Plans (PPK), Poland’s workplace retirement savings scheme, to private-market investments, as well as proposals for a Qualified Investment Fund (KFI). My concern is that additional restrictions could discourage fund managers.
The ultimate ambition remains EU Inc., a proposed uniform legal structure for companies across EU member states that would make cross-border startup investment easier. But the EU still lacks sufficient unity on this issue.
“The product was not good enough”
Another obstacle may be the way investors evaluate young technology companies.
“Investors still tend to view startups through the lens of more traditional businesses. They apply return multiples associated with other asset classes and assess product development too heavily from a conventional business perspective. Perhaps they should place greater emphasis on the team and its ability to manage a startup. At the early stage, the product should be treated as a flexible concept that can evolve. A year later, it may look completely different from what investors saw in the initial pitch,” Zdanowski argues.
He cites ElevenLabs as an example. He knows of two Polish funds that decided against investing in the company because they considered its product insufficiently strong to succeed in the market.
Investor's perspective
Capital and expertise are still in short supply
Having founded a startup and developed businesses myself, I know that access to funding is a challenge, particularly in specialized fields such as AI and medical technology.
Raising capital becomes much easier when a company expands beyond Poland and approaches European or global investors. It can then attract not only more money but also additional expertise. Poland still has too little of both.
Exits will reveal how much Polish VC really earns
The performance of ve/zdanienture capital funds is the ultimate measure of the market’s health. Exits – when investors sell their stakes and realize returns – are particularly important. Poland has still seen relatively few of them.
That makes it difficult to assess the performance of Polish VC funds conclusively. According to Wiktor Schmidt, a clearer picture of funds currently making investments will only emerge several years from now.
“Today, we can realistically evaluate funds established ten years ago. Many were not particularly successful because the market was still in its infancy. We will only be able to judge the performance of funds investing today in another five to ten years. But I believe they will prove profitable,” Schmidt says.
The first generation of founders is starting to reinvest
The development of the startup market also depends on the health of the wider economy. Paweł Ossowski, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and CEO of ZARYS International, believes Poland is now in a favorable position. Companies founded in the early 1990s are expanding into international markets with growing confidence, while Polish startups are attracting the attention of an increasing number of foreign investment funds.
“It looks as though the best may still be ahead of us, provided we do not undermine our own progress with unfavorable regulations, for example,” Ossowski says.
He adds that the first wave of successful Polish startup founders has begun reinvesting its accumulated wealth in new companies. Alongside capital, these entrepreneurs bring the experience needed to assess startup opportunities.
“In the coming years, we should see more exits and a greater supply of professional, commercially minded capital,” the ZARYS International CEO concludes.
Expert's perspective
A new type of investor is entering the startup market
They are less conservative because they understand how startups operate, the conditions they need to grow and the risks involved. Importantly, they have practical experience and are willing to share it.
Alongside them is another group: owners of companies established in the 1990s and executives from sectors that may seem far removed from startups, such as industry, manufacturing and processing. For them, startups are a source of new ideas and an incentive to explore new directions for their mature businesses.
Both trends are positive. Problems arise when people unfamiliar with startup investing try to operate entirely on their own, without the knowledge needed to assess founders properly or structure the relationship between startup and investor. Such situations can easily lead to poor decisions and disappointment.
That is why venture capital funds, business angel networks and accelerators can play an important role. They offer newcomers a way into startup investing alongside people who understand the market, can assess risks and know how to build relationships with company founders.
Good to know
Connections to AIP Seed
Several people quoted in this article – Paweł Ossowski, Marcin Żukowski, Wiktor Schmidt, Aniela Hejnowska and Krzysztof Zdanowski – have served on the supervisory board of AIP Seed since June 2026. The fund invests in very early-stage startups. They were invited to join the board by Dariusz Żuk, AIP Seed’s founder and managing partner.
All are entrepreneurs and investors associated with the startup and venture capital market. As supervisory board members, they oversee the fund’s activities and support its management team. They may also invest their own capital alongside AIP Seed in selected portfolio companies.
Younger investors see risk differently
Examples of foreign investment funds, including those based in Central and Eastern Europe, show that startup investing can deliver high returns. According to Dariusz Żuk, the best investments can generate returns amounting to several dozen times the original capital.
“Of course, investing in an apartment is easier. Individual investors understand real estate better, and it does not require waiting eight years for a return, as venture capital often does,” Żuk says.
He hopes a generational shift will also benefit the sector. Marcin Żukowski shares that view, arguing that younger people approach business and risk differently.
“For my generation, founding a startup and taking risks was more difficult. People who had nothing when they were young first had to build up some wealth. Young people today start from a different position. They have better access to education and capital. They live in greater prosperity, and consequently their ambitions are greater,” Żukowski says.
Key Takeaways
- The success of ElevenLabs and ICEYE does not tell the whole story of Poland’s startup ecosystem. Both companies have Polish co-founders and are closely associated with Polish technology, although much of their growth has taken place abroad. Their achievements highlight Poland’s potential but do not fully reflect the condition of its domestic startup and venture capital market.
- Poland’s VC market still lacks growth-stage capital and experienced investors. While seed funding is relatively accessible, financing becomes more difficult as companies scale, particularly in specialized technology sectors. The limited number of exits also makes it difficult to assess the actual returns generated by many active Polish funds.
- A new generation of investors could help change the market. Successful startup founders are beginning to reinvest their wealth and expertise in new ventures, while entrepreneurs from more established industries are showing greater interest in technology companies. Investors also emphasize the need for more patient private capital and regulations that make financing innovation easier.