TechVillage 2025 came to life in Butuceni, a small village nestled in Moldova’s Orheiul Vechi cultural reserve. Between September 5-7, this three-day event brought together startups and investors from around the world, turning the peaceful countryside into a lively space for new ideas and innovation. A mix of ideas, ambition, and human connection, this initiative, proudly supported by EU4Innovation East, combined the natural beauty of Moldova with the energy of the global startup scene.
As the sun rose over Butuceni on the first morning, so too did the energy of possibility. The air buzzed with excitement as 36 pre-seed startups and 26 forward-thinking investors arrived from 16 different countries, each bringing their own stories, aspirations, and expertise to the table.
Set in the quiet beauty of the countryside, the event launched with informal meet-and-greets, structured pitches alongside spontaneous conversations, and a unique sense of community. It gave investors and founders a chance to go beyond formal pitches and have meaningful dialogues – discovering shared values and visions for the future.
“There are many events that bring together investors and startups, but not many are doing what TechVillage is doing—bringing people from different countries and ecosystems to one of the most beautiful landscapes in Moldova. This is why we, at EU4Innovation East, have decided to support this event: it is exactly matching our objective of bringing together different ecosystems, making sure that startups and investors make connections and laying the ground for future investments.’’ mentioned Charles Mathiaux, Project Deputy Director, EU4Innovation East.
If the first day was about discovery, the second was about depth. TechVillage’s curated programme included targeted one-on-one meetings designed to foster genuine connections and unlock growth opportunities. Attendees dove into critical topics like scaling across borders, navigating early-stage investment, and accelerating growth in emerging markets.
“I think it is really important that we expose founders to international investors, so they can see how things are operating outside of their countries, and especially in emergent markets like Moldova is really important that they see that they can build successful stories from small places and they don’t have to move to Silicon Valley in order to build something big, they can do it from here. Unfortunately, I’m staying only for 3 days, but I’m already looking forward to next year.”, underlined Vuk Lau, Silicon Gardens.
Throughout the day, the beauty of Moldova’s landscapes served as a quiet reminder: great innovation doesn’t always happen in formal settings – sometimes, it blooms best in open air, beneath old trees, and beside the warmth of community.
’’Yesterday I managed to pitch three startups from the stage in two minutes. One of them attracted the most interest from investors and business angels that are present here. It’s called ‘’Slidea’’ and it’s an AI powered pitch deck generator. The startup is not launched yet. At the same time, several investors expressed their interest in it. So, we exchanged our contacts and we’ll definitely keep in touch to present our progress and maybe to attract investments in the future. I think this is a great result for this event, for me, because of the connections that I got here and the networking. It was really amazing.’’ mentioned Slav Fokin, Founder of JobAtlas.
TechVillage is an awesome event. We’ve managed to connect with a lot of founders of startups, with a lot of investors, to have one-on-one meetings and to gain a lot of feedback, to think more about challenges in the long term. Investors asked us really good questions, which made us think ’’What would be the best way to go forward?’’. We definitely have some pretty good insights that we’ve noted down and for sure we’ll think about them in the next weeks and we’ll for sure implement them.’’ noted Alina Cojocaru, COO, Red Mechanic.
As the event concluded, there was a shared feeling that something lasting had been built. Beyond the contacts exchanged and the pitches delivered, what endured were the relationships formed and the collaborations sparked.
“TechVillage proved that Moldova is more than a stopover, but an emerging destination for innovation. What began with skepticism ended in confidence, as founders and investors found common ground to connect, collaborate, and shape future deals.”, said Renata Ungureanu, CEO of XY Partners.
In its short span, TechVillage 2025 achieved something rare: it transformed a rural village into a beacon of global innovation, placing Moldova firmly on the map as a rising hub in the innovation ecosystem. This event distinguished itself not only through its unique format, but also by the lasting connections it created and the meaningful outcomes that have yet to fully unfold. By supporting this event, EU4Innovation East contributed to fostering meaningful engagements between ambitious startups and experienced investors.
TechVillage was organised by XY Partners, with support from the EU4Innovation East project, funded by the European Union, co-funded by the French Government and implemented by Expertise France; in partnership with the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, the Swiss Government through Helvetas, and the Innovate Moldova Programme funded by Sweden.
