Paphos Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Gaming, AI and Telecom, Plus Cyprus Support for Founders
Paphos, on the south-west coast of Cyprus, is better known for tourism than for tech. Many of the island's best-known startups, such as BridgerPay in Limassol, are based elsewhere, but a small group of software, gaming and telecom companies has chosen Paphos, and a new university campus is bringing students and startup programmes to the city. The 2026 version of this article listed ten Paphos startups with impressive figures. When we checked them, two were real companies based elsewhere and eight could not be found at all. For this 2027 edition we started again. In October and November 2026 we checked each company on its own website to confirm that it exists, that it is based in Paphos or has a real office there, and that it still operates. That leaves four Paphos companies and two larger tech employers with offices in the city, plus the university and national programmes that support founders. We did not pad the list. What happened to the old names is explained near the end.
Quick answer: the Paphos startups to watch in 2027 are Gameram (a social app for gamers), Infiano (an AI research lab), Intergo Telecom (messaging and voice for businesses) and Awem Games (mobile games). JetBrains and Glorium Technologies also run offices in Paphos. For support, look at the AUB Mediterraneo Innovation Center in Paphos, the Research and Innovation Foundation's PRE-SEED calls, Cyprus Seeds and the Cyprus Startup Visa.
Are you getting customers from ChatGPT yet?
More and more traffic is coming from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Rank on ChatGPT
Why Paphos Matters for Founders in 2027
Three things shape startups in Paphos. The first is talent from abroad: game studios and software companies have moved teams to Cyprus, and several of them picked Paphos. The second is a new university base. AUB Mediterraneo, the twin campus of the American University of Beirut in Pafos, opened an innovation center for startups, and Neapolis University Pafos teaches fintech, data analytics and digital innovation. The third is national money and rules that apply to the whole island: grants from the Research and Innovation Foundation, the Cyprus Seeds programme for academic spinoffs and a startup visa for founders from outside the EU.
Paphos is a small ecosystem, like the ones in our lists of Beirut startups to watch and Hargeisa startups. For a bigger European hub, compare it with our list of Zurich startups to watch.
Paphos Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared
Sources: each company's official website, checked 1 November 2026; Cyprus Mail (13 October 2026) for Intergo Telecom's funding round.
The Paphos Startups to Watch in 2027
1. Gameram: a social app for gamers
Gameram is a social platform where players find teammates by playstyle, platform, games and schedule, then chat, call, share clips and join communities for specific games. It works on mobile, PC and consoles, with apps on the App Store and Google Play and a web version. Its homepage counts more than 12 million app installs, 7 million posts and 5.6 million gamers connected. Its privacy policy names Gameram LTD with an address on Ellados Avenue in Paphos. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Gameram does one job for one audience, matching players who want to play together, and grows through the games people already love. A narrow, clear promise is easier to market than a general social network.
Best for: founders in gaming, community apps and consumer social products.
2. Infiano: an AI invention lab
Infiano describes itself as an AI invention lab based in Paphos, and its site gives a company address in the city. It works on hard AI problems for businesses: industrial computer vision (Infiano Vision), automatic tuning of multi-agent LLM systems (AI Tuner) and an AI liquidity tool for decentralised exchanges (AMM Finance). It says it has filed six patents, with two more pending, and published two scientific papers. Its founder, Ernesto Evgeniy Sanches Shayda, spent seven years as a researcher at Samsung Electronics and did doctoral research at the University of Haifa, according to the company's team page. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Infiano sells research, not just integration, and backs it with patents. If your AI startup has a real technical edge, protect it and show it; it is what separates you from thousands of agencies that wrap the same models.
Best for: founders in AI, computer vision and deep tech.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
3. Intergo Telecom: messaging and voice for regulated industries
Intergo Telecom is a licensed telecom operator with its head office in Paphos and a second office in Athens. It holds a general authorisation from the Cyprus telecoms regulator (OCECPR, registration 9/2017) and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. Businesses use it to send SMS, make voice calls and reach customers on WhatsApp, Viber and RCS through one API, and to verify users with one-time codes. Its site lists more than 500 interconnects, more than a billion interactions a year and more than 150,000 customers, and names Google, Meta and Rakuten Viber as partners. According to Cyprus Mail (13 October 2026), Intergo Telecom raised EUR 600,000 in an angel round in April 2026.
Lesson for founders: Intergo built its business on a licence and direct carrier routes, which are hard to copy. In infrastructure, regulatory work done early can become your strongest moat.
Best for: founders in telecom, fintech, iGaming and B2B infrastructure.
Boost Your SEO by Publishing Your Startup Press Release with us.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Publish Press Release
4. Awem Games: mobile games made in Paphos
Awem Games is an independent mobile game developer. Its homepage names Cradle of Empires and says the team has made 30 more games in different genres over more than 20 years. Its privacy policy and terms of use give the company's address as an office on Neofytou Nikolaidi Avenue in Paphos. It is not a young startup, but it is one of the longest-running game studios in the city and a place where many local game developers gain experience. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Awem has kept making new games for two decades instead of betting everything on one hit. In a hits-driven market, a steady pipeline of releases is a strategy, not a sign of weakness.
Best for: founders in gaming, casual mobile apps and creative tech.
5. JetBrains and Glorium Technologies: tech employers with Paphos offices
JetBrains, the maker of developer tools such as IntelliJ IDEA, lists an office in Paphos as well as one in Limassol on its contacts page. Glorium Technologies, a software development company headquartered in Houston, runs development centres in Kyiv, Krakow and Paphos. Neither is a startup, but both employ engineers in the city, and that pool of experienced people is what young Paphos companies hire from and what future founders come out of.
Best for: founders who need to hire developers in Paphos, and engineers there thinking about starting their own company.
Where Paphos Startups Get Support
- AUB Mediterraneo: the twin campus of the American University of Beirut in Pafos. Its homepage lists 10 academic programmes, 52 faculty members, students from 51 nationalities and 5 research projects. The AUB Mediterraneo Innovation Center in Paphos, run with the Zein AUB Innovation Park, offers incubation, acceleration, mentoring, workspace and help with funding for AUB-affiliated startups; it does not publish cohort dates, so ask before you plan around it. According to Cyprus Mail (May 2024), three energy and agritech startups selected by AUB and the innovation park moved into the Paphos municipality's research, technology and innovation hub.
- Neapolis University Pafos: a private university in the city with master's programmes in data analytics and financial technology, information systems and digital innovation, and digital marketing, plus its own research institutes. A good source of interns and co-founders.
- Research and Innovation Foundation PRE-SEED: the national funding agency's programme for new startups with international plans. The PRE-SEED/0526 call, published on 20 May 2026, had a budget of EUR 1,000,000 and paid up to EUR 119,999 per project. It closed on 11 September 2026, and according to Cyprus Mail it drew a record 284 proposals. Watch the RIF site for the next call.
- Cyprus Seeds: an 18-month programme that turns academic research from Cypriot universities and research centres into companies, with grants, mentoring, training and investor introductions, run with the MIT Deshpande Center. It selects at least five projects per cycle.
- Cyprus Startup Visa: lets founders from outside the EU, alone or in teams of up to five, live and work in Cyprus to build an innovative startup. The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy's practical guide of December 2024 gives a three-year residence right with the option to renew, requires the applicants to hold at least 25% of the shares, and says the scheme runs until December 2026 with up to 150 visas, so check whether it has been extended before you apply in 2027.
- Invest Cyprus: the national investment promotion agency, with guides to setting up or moving a company to Cyprus and to the island as a tech hub.
Paphos Startups From the Old List That Changed or Could Not Be Verified
The 2026 version of this article listed ten startups. Here is what we found when we checked each one in October and November 2026:
- BridgerPay: a real payments company, but its own privacy policy gives its address in Limassol, not Paphos, so it no longer appears on a Paphos list.
- Magic Square: a real Web3 app store, but its website says the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands and names no Paphos office.
- Aria Health, Ecoship, Omnia AI Solutions, CyClean Energy, Mediterraneo EdTech, SafePort Security Systems, EVE Robotics and Nomad's Nest: we found no official website, registry entry or news coverage for any of them in Cyprus. All eight were removed, together with their figures, such as 2,000 platforms, a 40% cut in emissions, 55% growth in adoption and 1 million downloads.
- Mundfish: the studio behind Atomic Heart is sometimes described in the press as Paphos-based, but its legal pages give a registered office in Nicosia, so we left it out.
We also removed the old article's links to third-party startup lists and a coding bootcamp blog that it used as sources, and its unsourced claims about taxes and the ecosystem.
Which Paphos Startup Should You Learn From?
- You build a consumer or community app: study Gameram, which serves one audience with one clear job.
- You build in AI or deep tech: study Infiano, which turns research into patents and products.
- You build B2B infrastructure or fintech: study Intergo Telecom, which made a licence and its own network the core of its business.
- You make games: study Awem Games, which has shipped many titles over two decades.
- You need a team: look at engineers from JetBrains, Glorium Technologies and the two universities in the city.
- You are just starting: talk to the AUB Mediterraneo Innovation Center, watch for the next RIF PRE-SEED call and, if you come from outside the EU, check the Cyprus Startup Visa.
Is your startup on ChatGPT?
More and more traffic is coming from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Rank on ChatGPT
How Founders Use the Paphos Startup Scene
Paphos founders can use money and rules that cover all of Cyprus. Before you apply for national grants, compare them with other programmes in our list of grants for early-stage startups in Europe and, for women founders, grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe. When you are ready for investors, see our guide to early-stage VCs in Europe.
If you are still choosing where to build, compare countries in our guide to the best countries for startups in Europe, cities in our guide to the best cities for early-stage startups, and AI hubs in our list of cities for AI startups in Europe. Meet the island's founders and investors at the best startup events in Cyprus, and read our older overview of Cyprus startup financial solutions.
Before you copy any of these business models, validate your startup idea with real customers. Small ecosystems reward visibility: list your startup in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool or the AI SEO Blog so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.
FAQ About Paphos Startups to Watch in 2027
Which Paphos startups should I watch in 2027?
Our verified list: Gameram, Infiano, Intergo Telecom and Awem Games, plus JetBrains and Glorium Technologies, which run offices in Paphos. Each company's own website confirms that it operates and that it is based in Paphos or has an office there. We checked them in October and November 2026.
Why are there only six companies on this list?
Paphos is a small startup scene, and we only list companies whose website confirms a Paphos base and current activity. Of the ten names in the old article, two are based elsewhere and eight could not be found at all.
Is Paphos a good place to start a startup?
It can be, if you want a quieter base with access to Cyprus-wide programmes, two universities and engineers from companies such as JetBrains. The trade-off is a small local network, so plan to travel to Limassol and Nicosia for many events and investor meetings.
Who invests in Paphos startups?
Very few rounds are published. According to Cyprus Mail, Intergo Telecom raised EUR 600,000 from angels in April 2026. Founders also use national grants such as the Research and Innovation Foundation's PRE-SEED programme and angel investors from across the island.
What grants can Paphos founders apply for?
The Research and Innovation Foundation runs PRE-SEED calls for new startups; the 2026 call paid up to EUR 119,999 per project and closed on 11 September 2026. Academic teams can apply to Cyprus Seeds, and EU programmes are open too.
Can non-EU founders move to Paphos with a startup visa?
Yes, through the Cyprus Startup Visa, for individuals or teams of up to five who hold at least 25% of the company. The December 2024 practical guide says the scheme runs until December 2026, so check the gov.cy page for an extension before you apply.
Are there startup programmes in Paphos itself?
Yes. The AUB Mediterraneo Innovation Center in Paphos supports AUB-affiliated startups with incubation, mentoring, workspace and access to funding, and Neapolis University Pafos teaches fintech, data analytics and digital innovation.
What happened to the startups on the old list?
BridgerPay is based in Limassol and Magic Square is registered in the British Virgin Islands, so both were moved off a Paphos list. We found no website, registry entry or news coverage for Aria Health, Ecoship, Omnia AI Solutions, CyClean Energy, Mediterraneo EdTech, SafePort Security Systems, EVE Robotics or Nomad's Nest, so they and their figures were removed.
Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?
You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
