Apostolos Chardalias

September 12, 2025

5 Signals Shaping Finance, Tech & AI 🇬🇷 Greek Tech — Growing, But Still Modest in Scale

In H1 2025, the top 10 funding rounds for Greek-based or Greek-founded startups totalled €74.11 million. Seed rounds dominated; few large late-stage deals. 
Also, there were 59 new funding announcements from Greek-founded startups in the same period, totalling over $1.8 billion in aggregate disclosures (including acquisitions).

Insight: Strong upward momentum and activity, but round sizes are mostly small-to-mid, and the ecosystem still has room to scale. 💸 AI Capital — AI’s Share of Global VC is Unmistakable

Global VC funding for generative AI in H1 2025 reached $49.2 billion, already higher than full-year 2024's figure. 
Overall, AI startups captured 53% of all global VC dollars in H1 2025. In the U.S., that share was about 64%. 
Global VC funding rose ~25% YoY in H1 2025, reaching nearly $190 billion, compared to about $152 billion in H1 2024.

Insight: AI is not just hot — it’s becoming the default destination for capital. That said, the high share also means more competition and pressure to deliver. ₿ Crypto Risk — Enforcement and Fragility

The Greek government froze approximately $72 million in crypto assets tied to the $1.46 billion Bybit hack (linked to Lazarus Group). This is Greece’s first crypto-asset seizure. 
This seizure represents about 5% of the stolen funds from the hack.

Insight: Crypto risk is no longer theoretical. Regulatory and enforcement arms are mobilizing. Security lapses or insufficient AML traceability are now costly. 🤖 Regulation — New Obligations under EU AI Act

On 2 August 2025, obligations under the EU AI Act for General-Purpose AI (GPAI) models came into effect. Providers placing such models on the market after that date must comply with transparency and copyright rules.
Models already on the market before that date have until 2 August 2027 to bring themselves into compliance.

Insight: The compliance window is now active. Firms in AI need immediate clarity on whether their models are GPAI, whether they exceed defined thresholds (compute/data), and what adjustments / disclosures are required. 🧭 Bottom Line

The data confirms what the signals suggested:

Greece is on the rise, but still at a phase of building and refining.
AI is dominating VC flows, which raises both opportunity and expectations.
Regulatory frameworks (crypto & AI) are no longer potential risks—they are active realities.

What to watch next:

Will Greek-founded startups break into larger rounds (Series B/C) or IPOs?
Which companies adapt fastest to the GPAI obligations without sacrificing product speed?
How many in the crypto space see enforcement spikes as a push to harden security and transparency?