PwC Central and Eastern Europe

Millions of young people play sport, but only a fraction are ever seen by professional scouts.    With TED Conferences, we explore how AI is changing that, using computer vision to assess athletic performance through smartphone video. It gives more athletes the chance to be seen, regardless of location, networks or access to traditional scouting.     AI can reveal patterns and opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to identify. Human judgement remains critical in translating insights into decisions.    Watch the full film: https://pwc.to/4cPRbUH       #AI #Innovation #sport    Lilia Christofi, Tom Karkeek, Peter Durojaiye, Jakub Borowiec, Anda Rojanschi, Vojtech Till, Kamil Marcin Kosiński, PhD, Tomas Fiala, Marek Novotný, Gabriel Voicila, Péter Lajtai, Štefan Čupil

83% of cities studied have a smart mobility plan, only 17% have a budget for it. This was revealed in our CEE Smart Cities Mobility Sprint 2026 which was officially launched today at Kongres Nowej Mobilności | New Mobility Congress in Katowice, Poland. Here are some of the key findings presented by Jens Hörning, PwC Partner and CEE Industrials & Services and Automotive Industry Leader:  🟧 Sustainable urban mobility planning is a mandatory requirement under European regulations, and most cities already have strategic frameworks in place. 🟧 Successful urban transformation requires more sources of financing beyond EU grants and municipal budgets. It can be green finance, private capital, or innovative public-private collaborations. 🟧 Cities need closer alignment between air-quality compliance and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan implementation. 🟧 The next phase of smart mobility in CEE will depend on stronger collaboration among cities, governments, businesses, investors, transport operators, and the wider innovation ecosystem. The Sprint is a joint initiative by PwC CEE, PSNM – We drive new mobility!, and EIT Urban Mobility. It’s a follow‑up to the CEE Smart Cities Mobility Index 2024, which was an honest assessment of the smart city thinking and activities across the CEE region.   We collected interviews and questionnaire responses from 18 cities, exploring how they meet new regulatory expectations. Explore the regional findings, city practices, and partnership opportunities shaping the future of smart mobility. Register to receive the full report: https://lnkd.in/ex_uYix5 Jason Wardell, Jeffery McMillan, Iveta Maliskova, Ivo Cupak, Petr Dovolil, Eliška Bajgarová, Aleksander Rajch, Marian Nic, Borna Čuljak, Karmen Limmer, Szabolcs Mezei, Līga Vilkāja, Marta Gocłowska, Justyna Jasiewicz, Radu Andrei, Saša Prica, Vladislav Cvetkovic, Grega Strosar, Vlado Šarenac, Kostiantyn Sinelnychenko (UA), Adam Kňaze, Zuzana Palkechová, Mislav Slade-Šilović, Dionizy Smoleń, Karolina Antos #FutureofCEE #SmartMobility #cities #KNM2026

Health decisions used to be made at the doctor’s office. Now they are made at a supermarket, a pharmacy, through an app or with a wearable.     96% of consumers in CEE have a health and wellness goal. They want a longer life, less stress, and better sleep.     79% use health apps or wearables for at least one wellness activity. 47% use AI when they first have a health question.     For retail, pharma, food and beverages, and many other brands, this impacts their strategies and positioning.     We surveyed consumers across Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine to find out how consumers think, behave, and spend. Download the CEE edition of the Voice of the Consumer 2026 to see more: https://lnkd.in/eX5pak9w   #VoiceofConsumer #Consumer #Health #Wellness #FutureofCEE Mieczyslaw Gonta, Ruxandra Tarlescu, Olena Volkova, Anita Mekler, Xenofon Eleftheriadis, Bakhtiyar Sultan, Norbert Madar, Ana-Maria Iordache, Iulian-Tiberiu Panfiloiu, Dragan Mrkajic, Agnieszka Gajewska, Anda Rojanschi

How can AI help us outpace antibiotic resistance, one of the most pressing healthcare challenges of our time?     Together with TED Conferences, we’re exploring how innovators are using AI to accelerate discovery and identify new possibilities in the search for antibiotics.     Beyond the healthcare story, this film is an example of how AI can amplify human expertise to solve problems in new ways and maintain the precision and validation needed to build trust.     Watch the full film: https://pwc.to/4xsQ6dS     #AI #Innovation    Peter Durojaiye, Jakub Borowiec, Anda Rojanschi, Vojtech Till, Kamil Marcin Kosiński, PhD, Tomas Fiala, Marek Novotný, Gabriel Voicila, Péter Lajtai, Štefan Čupil, Scott Likens, Annie Veillet, Brenda Vethanayagam, CPA, CA

Five factors will determine where the $31.6 trillion data centre capex goes.    1️⃣ Power: has to be affordable and reliable    2️⃣ Latency and connectivity: proximity to users, interconnection with cloud and fibre ecosystems    3️⃣ Security and trusted-region hosting: cybersecurity maturity and regulatory credibility    4️⃣ Access to graphics processing units and ecosystem depth: proximity to advanced semiconductor supply chains and specialised talent    5️⃣ Policy certainty and community consent: coordinated planning, investment, and energy approvals.     Learn more what this means for investors, operators, and policymakers in our Global Data Centre Outlook: https://pwc.to/3SXx7ZS    #DataCentre #AI #AIinfrastructure

2025 was a solid year for the world’s top 40 miners. Revenues grew 3.3% to US$909bn.     Higher prices for gold, silver, platinum group metals, and energy metals such as copper drove the growth of revenue and profitability. Companies also exercised disciplined cost management.     Mining dealmaking got more selective in 2025. Volumes fell 20%, but deal value topped US$70bn. Gold, silver, copper, and lithium made up 70% of it.     The critical minerals race doesn’t depend on geology alone. Countries with modest reserves can still win with the right policy, capital, and processing capability.     Read the Mine 2026 report to find out more: https://pwc.to/4g0eugX     #CriticalMinerals #Mining

The AI revolution is driving the largest infrastructure cycle of our generation.     In past infrastructure booms (railways, electrification, internet), most of the money was spent upfront to build the network, and investment slowed once it was complete.     AI infrastructure investment is different as it demands continuous reinvestment. Chips and other ICT equipment require upgrades every few years.      Annual data centre capital expenditure is forecast to rise from roughly US$800 billion per year in 2026 to $1.8 trillion per year in 2050.     Learn more about factors that will define the next 25 years of data centre investment in our Global Data Centre Outlook: https://pwc.to/3SXx7ZS    #DataCentre #AI #AIinfrastructure

Reach or monetisation?    Rights holders prioritise wider distribution over paywalled content: 87% vs 13%. That’s according to CEE sports executives in our survey.    Media revenues can be a significant part of income for sports leagues.     For Poland’s Ekstraklasa, it’s around 25%. The league is expanding its digital footprint through short-form, data-driven, and AI-supported content. This is supported by traditional broadcasting and OTT platforms.    Learn more where there’s untapped digital potential in CEE sports in our report: https://lnkd.in/esdBSE4c     #Sport #OTTPlatform #SportsBusiness #FutureofCEE    Árpád Kelemen, Bence Dolezsár, Szabolcs Mezei, Alexa Mizsér, Török Máté, Balázs Dabasi, Barbara Kovács, PwC Hungary 

In more and more cities across Europe, people can use an app to buy discounted meals that weren't sold during the day.     Such apps connect surplus with those who need it most, ensuring food is used, retailers still make their margin, and waste isn't causing environmental damage in landfill.      Value within the Feed domain is shifting from linear production chains to data‑driven systems. These systems reduce waste, adapt to climate volatility, and respond to changing consumer expectations around health, affordability, and convenience.     Explore the Feed domain, part of our Lives in Motion series, developed in collaboration with Economist Enterprise: https://pwc.to/4umvOBL    #Food #LivesinMotion #IndustryConvergence    Harald Dutzler 

Jens Hörning, our CEE Industrials & Services and Automotive Leader, will be a speaker at the upcoming New Mobility Congress.   This is the largest platform in the CEE region for knowledge exchange on the future of mobility. Join industry professionals, market leaders, and representatives from government and academia as they explore the ongoing transformation across cities, economies, technology, resilience, and defence.   Date: 23-25 September 2026  Location: International Congress Centre, Katowice    We’ll also be launching our latest report at the event—CEE Smart Cities Mobility Sprint 2026. It provides insights into the evolving landscape of smart urban mobility across Central and Eastern Europe. Be the first to get the full report soon: https://lnkd.in/dS6azzEP     Free tickets and more information about the Congress here: https://lnkd.in/dqHuEhsv #NewMobilityCongress #KNM2026 #SmartCities #Mobility #Innovation