ROTSA - Romanian Tech Startups Association

03/06/2026

On May 26 at ClujHub, ROTSA and Startup Reaktor teamed up with 28DIGITAL for a new edition of Founders Club Cluj, focusing on how local tech startups can scale into European markets. 💼

Moderated by Szilard Kacso (CEO @ Azimut), the panel featured practical insights from the 28 Digital team: Mirko Tadic, Krisztian Gal, Adina V. Rus, Sergio Balassone, and Botond Vajda. The discussion covered European growth infrastructure, international network leverage, and the transition from local validation to global expansion, followed by networking on the balcony overlooking the city. 🗣️🍷

The momentum continues with a direct opportunity: applications are open for the Startup Reaktor x 28 Digital - Venture Incubation Program, built to accelerate early-stage tech teams across the continent.

The application deadline is June 9th.

👉 Apply here: https://startupreaktor.com

02/06/2026

Over 100 developers, engineers, and creatives came together at the first edition of the to build 19 functional prototypes addressing real-world community and business challenges.

Here are the top 5 teams and the partners who provided their challenges:

🏆 1st Place: XenoTech (Icebreakr) (challenge proposed by Electric Castle) – Built an AI assistant for first-time Electric Castle attendees, blending logistics with strategic audience insights.

🥈 2nd Place: EC Bros (Festival OPS) (challenge proposed by Electric Castle) – Developed an AI platform optimizing operations and itineraries for large-scale events.

🥉 3rd Place: Nexus OncoBot (challenge proposed by Consiliul Judetean Cluj) – Created a transparent, verifiable AI system that transforms dense genomic research into accessible data for oncologists.

🏅 4th Place: InnoiNVest (challenge proposed by ADR Nord-Vest & INNO - Rethinking Business Networks) – Designed a solution utilizing multiple data streams to generate custom reports for investors looking at opportunities in Romania.

🏅 5th Place: Marketing OS (challenge proposed by autoworld.ro)– Developed an AI system automating performance marketing campaigns and budget optimization.

The teams now enter a mentorship phase to prepare for the June 25 pre-selection, heading towards the final pitch at Transylvania Demo Day this July.

A big thank you to Transylvania College, and Linnify for shaping the other challenges that fueled the competition!

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Cluj AI Buildathon was co-organized by ROTSA, ADR Nord-Vest, INNO - Rethinking Business Networks, the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute - AIRi@UTCN, and supported by Primăria Cluj-Napoca.

27/05/2026

Romania returned to 44th place in global startup ecosystem rankings showing ecosystem growth of 32.9%, according to data from StartupBlink. 🚀

This represents a major milestone for us, as the organisation dedicated to promoting, connecting and representing tech startups in Romania! It also proves that our country's market is maturing and that local innovation is successfully transitioning into viable business entities.

We are thrilled by these latest StartupBlink rankings, which reflect the hard work of our entire community and fuel ROTSA's commitment to bridging local talent and the global capital needed to scale! 🎯

Dacă la finalul anului 2025, România era într-o continuă scădere în topul țărilor în materie de startup-uri realizat de Startupblink, țara crește 4 locuri și

25/05/2026

🔥 Ideile bune prind viață atunci când oamenii potriviți se adună împreună!😉

Weekendul acesta, la Cluj AI Buildathon, am văzut cm 48 de ore de energie, colaborare și pasiune pentru tehnologie s-au transformat în soluții AI și prototipuri funcționale, demonstrând încă o dată potențialul extraordinar al ecosistemului tech din Cluj-Napoca. 💡
Felicitări tuturor participanților, mentorilor, organizatorilor și partenerilor care au contribuit la această experiență! 👏
Și - cel mai important — Buildathon-ul nu se oprește aici:
• proiectele participante pot avea acces la finanțare de până la 30.000€ prin 28Digital și ROTSA
• echipele au oportunitatea de a prezenta la Transylvania Demo Day
• cele mai bune soluții pot genera impact real în comunitate și mediul de business local

Mândri că am fost parteneri strategici!

25/05/2026

Last weekend, we hosted the first edition of Cluj AI Buildathon at ClujHub — part of Zilele Clujului 2026.

Young innovators built AI solutions for real urban challenges over two days! 🛠️

We warmly thank Mayor Emil Boc for joining the panel on digitalization in the AI era and for making a clear-eyed case for why Cluj — with its talent base and growing tech clusters — is already positioned to lead this shift. 🚀

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Cluj AI Buildathon was co-organized by ROTSA, ADR Nord-Vest, INNO - Rethinking Business Networks, the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute - AIRi@UTCN, and supported by Primăria Cluj-Napoca.

22/05/2026

The code is only one part of building a new tech product, but the real challenge lies in testing your baseline assumptions and optimizing for market reality. We designed the Cluj AI Buildathon specifically to bring that missing layer of market friction. 📈

To do that, our jury and mentors are here to find the cracks in your logic, stress-test your architecture, and push your product to a level where it is genuinely ready to deploy. They provide the precise evaluation required to transform a fragile demo into a resilient build!
🫸💥🫷

Meet the experts assessing your work this weekend:

Despina Maria Donca; Adela Muresan; Kinga Hening; Anca Roman Salanta; Adela Fofiu; Razvan Valentin Florian; Oana Odagescu; Radu Orghidan; Adina Rus; Bogdan Popovici; Balázs Blényesi; Alex Burciu; Stefan Szakal; Florentin Bota; Ștefan Rusu; Viorel Băltărețu; Ștefan Colcier; Cristian Mezei; Paul Zoicaş; Dan Mircea Suciu

Everything is lined up for the launch tomorrow, and we are ready to discover what you will build. See you there! 🫡

20/05/2026

Meet the challengers that will keep our team’s minds busy in those 48 hours they’ll spend building AI-based solutions for the Cluj community!

Electric Castle; Consiliul Judetean Cluj; Transylvania College; autoworld.ro; ADR Nord-Vest

The challenges cover areas like community & urban life, business & productivity, education & career, environment & mobility, and culture & experience.

Good news! 🎉 We extended the registration window by one day. You have until tomorrow to sign up for the Buildathon!

Developers, AI/Data specialists, UX/UI designers, Product Managers, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, Scientists — Cluj AI Buildathon needs you!

👉 Apply here: https://buildathon.rotsa.ro

19/05/2026

Cluj AI Buildathon doesn't happen without the right community behind it!

None of this without them 👇

Cluj IT Cluster; Transylvania Angels Network; FreshBlood; Transilvania IT Cluster; Cluj Startups SAS UTCN; Romanian Business Leaders; Today Software Magazine; ClujHub

On May 23–24 at ClujHub, developers, designers, and builders have 48 hours to turn real Cluj community challenges into working AI solutions.

Registrations close Thursday!
👉 https://buildathon.rotsa.ro

19/05/2026

Two days left to register for Cluj AI Buildathon and have the chance to win a demo flight from Cruiser Aviation România! ✈️

Cluj AI Buildathon is a 48-hour sprint taking place on May 23–24 at ClujHub, where developers, designers and builders come together to create AI solutions for real challenges from the Cluj community.

Registrations close on Thursday‼️

👉 https://buildathon.rotsa.ro

19/05/2026

Universitatea Tehnica din Cluj-Napoca has been training engineers since 1948 — with 20,000+ students today and membership in the European University of Technology alliance.

They are one of the partners behind Cluj AI Buildathon: 48 hours of building AI solutions for real community challenges, on May 23–24 at ClujHUB.

Tech or non-tech, there's a spot for you! 👩‍💻

🔗 Apply at https://buildathon.rotsa.ro