Business Forum • 15 November, 2024 at 3:26 PM
Romanian companies Questo, Steepsoft AI and Ascendia are among the fastest growing technology start-ups in the region, being included in the main category of the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking. Questo, which created a platform that allows real-world exploration of tourist attractions with the help of games created based on information related to the history and culture of each destination, ranked 13th, with a growth rate of 1,955% between 2020 and 2023.
Steepsoft AI, which ranks 32nd, with a growth rate of 1,008% over the past four years, develops custom artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that optimize performance and accuracy in various activities, such as predictive analytics or natural language processing. Ascendia, which had an increase of 822% between 2020 and 2023, which places it on the 45th place in the ranking, creates e-learning solutions for various fields - education, employee training, healthcare, entertainment - that can be used in both private and public sectors.
Also, the Romanian start-ups Finqware, Plant an App and Kinderpedia were included in the "Companies to Watch" category, which brings together the companies with the fastest development between 2021 and 2023, but which still do not meet the criteria to enter the main category of the Fast 50. Finqware, which ranks 6th, with a growth rate of 856%, provides solutions for automating cash management, accounting and reconciling companies' financial operations.
Plant an App, with a growth of 252% between 2021 and 2023, which places it on the 19th place in this category, creates applications with the help of artificial intelligence, such as Bazinga AI, a no-code platform that allows creating functional proofs of concept (POC) based on AI, with the help of which companies can quickly validate the profitability and feasibility of an investment in AI. Kinderpedia, which is on the 24th place, with an increase of 119%, has created a complete communication and management solution for schools and kindergartens.
In the "Impact Stars" category, which recognizes start-ups whose products or services have positive effects on business, society or environment, in the field of diversity or innovation, the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking offers recognition to the Romanian companies SymphoPay, Infosec Center and Innoship. SymphoPay has created a cloud platform for integrating POS payments for banks and merchants, Infosec Center has developed an integrated system for advanced monitoring of industrial equipment and predictive maintenance, and Innoship is an advanced platform that allows retailers to optimize deliveries to customers.
The CE Tech Rocketship special recognition, offered by Google Cloud, the regional technology partner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe program, goes to the Romanian start-up DRUID, specialized in development of intelligent virtual assistants dedicated to complex processes in organizations. Google Cloud also provided a special recognition in this category to the local company Hermix, which has developed a platform that helps companies learn about business opportunities in the public sector by automating marketing activities for the business-to-government area, sales and pre-sales, as well as participation in public tenders.
"Romania is represented in this year's edition of the Fast 50 Central Europe program in all the ranking's categories, with no less than 11 start-ups, which have managed to stand out through their accelerated growth in recent years, through their further growth potential, through the positive effects in various fields of the innovative solutions they have created, as well as through the global business potential of the solutions they have developed. These results reflect the diversity and the potential of the Romanian start-up ecosystem, to whose development we are honored to contribute through the benefits that the Fast 50 platform brings," said Andrei Ionescu, Partner, Consulting Market Leader for Deloitte Romania and coordinator of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe program in Romania.
Fastest-growing technology companies in Central Europe
The winner of the main category of the ranking, which offers recognition to tech companies established at least four years ago which have the fastest growth in Central Europe, is Oddin.gg, from the Czech Republic, with a revenue increase of 7,958%, which has created an end-to-end esports betting ecosystem.
The companies included in this year's main ranking recorded an average increase of 1,604%.
This year's ranking, now in its 25th edition, is dominated by software players (28), followed by fintech (seven companies), media and entertainment (five companies), environmental technologies (four companies), and communication, hardware and health (to two companies).
"Companies to watch" and "CE Tech Rocketship" categories
In addition to the main category, which includes the fastest growing companies in the technology sector, the Deloitte 2024 Technology Fast 50 Central Europe program also includes the "Companies to watch" category, which offers recognition to start-ups that do not yet meet the criteria for the main Fast 50 ranking. The first position in this category, which included companies with revenues of at least €10,000 in 2021 and 2022 and at least €30,000 in 2023, went to the Czech start-up Patron GO, which uses open banking, data analysis and human expertise to identify and suggest better ways to manage their finances to customers. The company recorded a growth rate of 1,169%.
The "CE Tech Rocketship" category, through which Google Cloud offers recognition to companies that develop quality solutions, with the potential to be implemented globally, is dominated this year by Romania, through DRUID, winner of the category, and Hermix, which obtained a special recognition.
In order to be eligible for the main category of the Technology Fast 50 competition, companies must meet some financial conditions, namely to have a minimum annual operating income of €50,000 in the first three years analyzed (2020-2022) and €100,000 in 2023. They must also be headquartered in Central Europe and own the intellectual property rights or have created patented technology.
The Canadian incubator dedicated to technology start-ups Toronto Business Development Center is the local partner of the Fast 50 program, 2024 edition.