Registration is now open for the 27th edition of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe, the regional competition that recognizes companies in technology and in related sectors with accelerated growth

Deloitte Romania announces the start of applications for the 27^th edition of the Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking, which recognizes technology companies with accelerated growth. The program is a platform through which both mature companies and start-ups can highlight their innovative products and services and strengthen their position on their respective market segment.

Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe will include the 50 most dynamic technology companies in the region, regardless of their size, based on the percentage revenue growth over the last four years (2022-2025). Competitors can be active in the public or private sector and in all technology-related areas – communications, environmental technologies, fintech, hardware, health and life sciences, media and entertainment, software. In order to be eligible, registered companies must meet certain criteria, such as having annual operating revenues of at least 50,000 euros in the first three years (2022-2024) and of at least 100,000 euros in 2025, being headquartered in a Central European country and owning intellectual property or proprietary technology.

In addition to the main category of the 50 fastest growing start-ups, the competition also includes the “Companies to watch” category, which recognizes players that do not meet the criteria for the main ranking yet. They must be active for at least three years (founded in 2022) and have operating income of at least 10,000 euros in the first year of activity (2023) and of at least 30,000 euros in 2025. The program also includes the special “Impact Stars” recognition, which rewards competitors whose products or services have positive effects on society, on the environment, on diversity or innovation. “Impact Stars” laureates must operate in one of the following areas: fintech, cyber, ESG, medtech/biotech, defence. In addition, Google Cloud, the regional technology partner of the competition, offers, together with Deloitte, the special recognition “AI Value Driver”. This category’s winners are chosen among the companies which entered the Technology Fast 50 Central Europe competition in 2026, following an assessment conducted by joint Google Cloud and Deloitte teams which evaluates the demonstrated potential to use artificial intelligence (without being limited to Agentic AI or Physical AI) at scale to generate a real impact on business.

“For more than two decades, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe program has remained a benchmark platform for recognizing companies that demonstrate not only rapid growth, but also the ability to turn technological innovation into real business value. We consistently see the Romanian ecosystem strengthening its maturity and competitiveness at the regional level, and this year’s edition represents a new opportunity for entrepreneurs and technology leaders to validate their performance and vision in an international context,” said Andrei Ionescu, Consulting Market Leader, Deloitte Romania, and leader of the Fast 50 program in Romania.

Over 55 local companies have received recognition through the Fast 50 ranking since 2008, either in the main ranking, of the companies with the highest growth in Central Europe, or in special categories, such as “Most disruptive innovation” or “Impact Stars”. These include travel agency Vola.ro, which ranked first in 2011, 2012 and 2013, with the highest growth in Central Europe, and UiPath, global leader in robotic process automation, which received the “Most Disruptive Innovation” recognition in 2017.

In 2025, four Romanian companies were included in the main category of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking – Finqware (17th place), Questo (18th place), Footprints AI (21st place) and Steepsoft AI (28th place). Also, the start-up Licenseware was included in the “Companies to Watch” subcategory, while the companies CashClub, UNY and Rayscape were recognized in the “Impact Stars” category.

Companies headquartered in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, or Ukraine can enter this year’s competition until August 31, 2026. The ranking will be announced in November 2026. Online registration and all details regarding the eligibility criteria are available on the web section dedicated to the competition.

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Deloitte Romania is one of the leading professional services organizations in the country providing, in cooperation with Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, services in audit, tax, legal, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, business processes as well as technology services and other related services, through 3,300 professionals.