Dear Recursive readers,

This week, we are reminded of the value of exercising some degree of caution in our decision making, whether as investors looking at a target with spectacular potential (but which could hide terrible leadership), or as consumers of emerging financial products such as crypto lending.

As tech makes new leaps and uncovers new territories of opportunity, early testing is crucial, but so is the coming together of different stakeholders to assess the implications and need for rule-establishing when it comes to running these technologies.

Whether we talk about crypto, conversational AI, nuclear fusion, and many others, our future will continue to be defined by innovations and the degree to which we understand them. 

Happy reading,

Antoanela

The Baltics Startups Spearhead Maria Rucevska on What to Expect at TechChill Riga 2023

In 2022 alone, over 300 Latvian startups raised more than €90M. One of the reasons for the steady growth in recent years is conferences bringing in international innovators and making local ideas take off.

TechChill, co-founded by Marija Rucevska, is one of them. We chatted with Marija about how the Latvian tech ecosystem has evolved in the past decade, what verticals are taking off, and what to expect from TechChill on April 27-28.

How to Build A Product Mindset

To wrap up awesome conversations on the topic of building a great product, we invite you to take a peek at the playbooks of some of the most exciting companies from Central and Eastern Europe. From the fundamentals of value creation to having the audacity to shape the world around them in a positive way, these entrepreneurs talk about what they have learned.

🏦 Updates on Nexo's investigations: After paying $45M in penalties to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators for failing to register its crypto asset lending product, Nexo reached a resolution with the US regulators.

⚖️Following the Nexo turmoil, the pressing need for more stability and regulation in the crypto market rang back, louder. So, we spoke to Bulgarian crypto experts about the knowns and unknows for crypto.

🚚 To consolidate its leading position in e-commerce in CEE, euShipments acquired a majority stage in Croatian startup Pick & Pack. 

🎵 Orfium has been focused on bringing innovation to the music rights management space since 2015. And now, the Greek music tech platform acquired London-based Soundmouse. Find out what's next.

💯Building a go-to-market strategy is not easy, but it can become manageable if you know the key steps and high-impact areas. Check out this guide to nailing your first GTM strategy from local experts.

🔎 When JP Morgan acquired student loan startup Frank little did they know they would shut it down a year and a half later due to fraud accusations. How could they have avoided the situation? Thorough due diligence. Find out how to be extra cautious with your investment.

🗺️ Our latest mapping is set in the very heart of CEE, Prague. See which are the most notable Prague startups in the hottest verticals.

🏃 The transportation industry is always looking to make more efficient use of resources. In the Czech Republic, different companies are looking to solve challenges in transport and logistics with tech, and these are the fastest-growing ones.

🌱 Green innovation needs scaling, which in turn requires that corporates and VCs work together. To learn best practices for collaboration, join our “Corporate Venturing in SEE for Sustainable Startups” hybrid event, organized together with Veolia, on January 26.

🔋 Nuclear fusion has become a reality. But can it become a viable clean energy source?

🤖 ChatGPT can now be listed as author on research papers. But many scientists are not happy.

🔏 Romanian company Bitdefender makes 4 predictions in cybersecurity for 2023.

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