DFF Ventures’ €70 Million Fund III Signals Strong European Pre-Seed Investment Trends in 2026
Dutch VC DFF Ventures announced the oversubscribed close of its third fund, DFF Ventures III, at €70 million (≈ $76 million). The fund will back pre‑seed startups that build software and AI solutions for under‑digitised industries such as logistics, trade and operations. Ticket sizes range from €250 k to €2.5 M (≈ $270 k‑$2.7 M) and the firm plans to invest globally while keeping Europe as a base. The announcement comes amid a wave of European early‑stage funds that together have locked up roughly €420 million (≈ $453 million) in 2026.
London’s Inploi Raises €3.4 Million to Help Enterprises Automate High-Volume Hiring with AI
London‑based talent‑tech startup inploi announced a €3.4 million (≈$3.7 million) funding round led by YFM Equity Partners to fuel its UK and US expansion. The capital will accelerate the rollout of AI‑driven Talent Agents that automate sourcing, screening, communications and interview scheduling....
UK Startup Rivan Raises €28.7 Million to Scale Domestic Synthetic Fuel Production in Europe
UK‑based Rivan announced a €28.7 million (≈$31 million) Series A round led by IQ Capital to accelerate its synthetic fuel platform. The funding follows a €11.4 million seed raise and will back the commissioning of a 15 MW synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant in Wiltshire...
Logicc Secures €2.5 Million Amid Continued Momentum in Germany’s Secure AI Market
Logicc, a Hamburg‑based AI startup focused on highly regulated sectors, closed a €2.5 million (≈$2.7 million) seed round. The funding will accelerate its GDPR‑compliant, zero‑knowledge platform that aggregates models like ChatGPT and Gemini for lawyers, doctors and public institutions. Within six months...
Valencia-Based GuruSup Raises €1.3 Million Seed Round for AI Customer Service Platform
GuruSup, a Valencia‑based SaaS startup that builds AI agents for customer service, closed a $1.4 million seed round led by 4Founders Capital with Addendum Capital and several Spanish angels. The funding will fund a headcount doubling and a five‑fold increase in...
Helsinki’s Algorithmiq Wins €1.7 Million Prize for Quantum-Enabled Light-Sensitive Cancer Drug Discovery
Algorithmiq, a Helsinki‑based quantum software firm, secured the €1.7 million ($2 million) Wellcome Leap prize for demonstrating a practical quantum advantage in drug discovery. The team built an end‑to‑end quantum‑classical workflow that ran on up to 100 qubits to simulate a photosensitiser...
Eindhoven’s ONWARD Medical Raises €40.6 Million in Capital Increase to Advance Spinal Cord Injury Therapies
ONWARD Medical, the Dutch neurotechnology firm behind the ARC‑EX spinal‑cord stimulation system, completed a €40.6 million (≈$44 million) accelerated book‑build private placement, issuing 13.5 million new shares at €3 each. The round includes a €25 million (≈$27 million) commitment from EQT Life Sciences and other...
Stockholm’s BioLamina Secures €20 Million EIB Loan to Scale Cell Therapies for Chronic Diseases
Swedish biotech scale‑up BioLamina secured a €20 million (≈$22 million) venture‑debt loan from the European Investment Bank to accelerate its laminin‑based cell‑culture platform. The financing will fund expansion of manufacturing capacity, broaden the product portfolio and reinforce the company’s technology base for...
London-Based Startup Lua Raises €4.9 Million to Scale Its Human-Agent Collaboration Platform
London‑based startup Lua announced a €4.9 million ($5.8 million) Series A led by Norrsken22 to accelerate its human‑agent collaboration operating system. The round also includes Flourish Ventures, 20VC, P1 Ventures, Phosphor Capital, Y Combinator and several high‑profile angels. Lua’s platform lets technical and non‑technical...
As the AI Era Strains Human Verification, Danish Startup Flare Bags €3.6 Million to Support Knowledge Validation
Copenhagen‑based Flare announced a €3.6 million (≈ $3.9 million) pre‑seed round to develop a trust infrastructure for knowledge validation as AI‑generated claims outpace human fact‑checking. The round was led by 20VC and included angels from Stack Overflow, GitHub, Reddit, Meta and other tech...
STORM Therapeutics Raises €47.5 Million Series C to Harness the Power of RNA Modification to Treat Cancer
STORM Therapeutics announced a €47.5 million ($56 million) Series C round led by existing backers including Pfizer Ventures and M Ventures. The capital will fund the Phase 2 monotherapy study of STC‑15, the company’s first‑in‑class METTL3 inhibitor, which has already dosed its inaugural sarcoma patient....
ALL THINGS Raises €4.1 Million After Chef Thomas Straker’s Viral Butter Series Sparked a Dairy Brand
UK dairy brand ALL THINGS, founded by chef Thomas Straker, closed a €4.1 million (~$4.4 million) round led by The Equity Studio, with participation from Access Industries and Active Partners. The brand, which grew out of Straker’s viral butter series that amassed...
Vilnius-Based Outcraft AI Raises €2 Million to Build an Autonomous Revenue Engine
Outcraft AI, a Vilnius‑based agentic AI startup, secured €2 million (about $2.2 million) in pre‑seed funding from Practica Capital to accelerate its autonomous revenue engine. The platform deploys AI agents that engage prospects in real time across voice, SMS, email and WhatsApp,...
London’s Qalzy Secures Pre-Seed Backing After Raising €204k in Kickstarter Pre-Orders for Its AI Nutrition Scale
London‑based Qalzy announced a pre‑seed round led by Jenson Ventures after raising nearly €204,000 ($241,000) through Kickstarter pre‑orders. The funding will expand its AI food‑recognition engine, scale production and support an international launch. Qalzy’s AI‑powered kitchen scale uses a camera...
French AviationTech Startup Donecle Bags €10 Million to Grow Drone-Based Inspection Platform
French startup Donecle, which automates aircraft inspections with AI‑driven drones, closed a €10 million ($10.9 million) funding round led by IRDI Capital Investissement and SWEN Capital Partners. The capital will fund rapid expansion across Europe and the United States, bolster AI development,...
CamGraPhIC Lands €211 Million to Tackle AI’s Data Bottleneck – in One of Italy’s Largest DeepTech Funding Deals
CamGraPhIC, the Pisa‑based spin‑out of the Cambridge Graphene Centre, secured €211 million (about $227 million) in state‑backed funding, one of Italy’s largest DeepTech investments. The money will fund a graphene‑based optical interconnect platform and a pilot manufacturing line near Milan, slated to...
With Europe Reliant on Foreign Critical Raw Materials, Germany’s WeSort.AI Raises €10 Million to Recover Them From Waste
WeSort.AI, a Würzburg‑based DeepTech startup, closed a €10 million financing round led by impact investors and public funds to scale its AI‑driven sorting platform for critical raw material recovery. The capital will expand market reach, reinforce European raw‑material sovereignty, and address...
Oxford Medical Simulation Secures €5.78 Million to Tackle Healthcare Training Gap with Virtual Reality
Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) has secured €5.78 million in growth funding from Salica Investments. The capital will fund OMS’s expansion into U.S. health systems and universities, and accelerate product innovation such as AI‑driven scenarios, learning analytics, and workflow tools. The round...
TMA Acquires Amsterdam’s BrainsFirst to Combine Psychometrics with Neuroscience-Based Talent Insights
Talent Motivation Assessment (TMA) has acquired Amsterdam‑based BrainsFirst, merging its neuroscience‑driven, game‑based cognitive assessments with TMA’s established psychometric talent‑management platform. BrainsFirst’s NeurOlympics suite measures natural cognitive abilities in roughly 45 minutes and is already deployed in more than 12 countries...
Teybridge Capital Europe Plans €5.2 Million UK Expansion, 30 London Jobs and Pledges €694.9 Million for British SMEs
Dublin‑based fintech Teybridge Capital Europe announced a €5.2 million investment in the UK over the next three years. The plan includes creating up to 30 new jobs in its London office and pledging €694.9 million to finance British SMEs. The UK now...
Vilnius-Based WhiteBridge AI Raises €2.6 Million for Its AI-Powered People Research Engine
Vilnius‑based startup WhiteBridge AI announced a €2.6 million seed financing round. The round was led by FIRSTPICK VC with participation from several other VCs and angels. WhiteBridge offers an AI‑powered people research platform that aggregates, verifies and analyses publicly available personal...
Amsterdam-Based Enterprise AI Agent Platform Wonderful Raises €129.8 Million Series B at €1.7 Billion Valuation
Amsterdam‑based AI agent platform Wonderful announced a €129.8 million Series B round, valuing the company at €1.7 billion. The round was led by Insight Partners and included existing backers such as Index Ventures and Bessemer. Wonderful’s model‑agnostic, locally‑deployed platform claims to reduce handling...
The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Refurbed Founder Kilian Kaminski
The EU‑Startups Podcast featured Kilian Kaminski, co‑founder of Refurbed, a Vienna‑based marketplace that resells professionally refurbished electronics. Since its 2017 launch, Refurbed has become one of Europe’s fastest‑growing platforms for sustainable consumption, operating in multiple markets and securing more than €120 million...
Barcelona’s Delfos Energy Raises €3 Million to Build AI “Virtual Engineer” For the Energy Industry as It Charges up for...
Barcelona‑based Delfos Energy closed a €3 million seed extension, bringing its total funding to €10 million. The round, led by new investor Vox Capital/COPEL alongside existing backers, supports the company’s AI “virtual engineer” platform that now monitors over 1,000 renewable‑energy sites across...
Elaia Closes Third DeepTech Seed Fund at €134 Million as “European DeepTech Is Reaching Escape Velocity”
Paris‑based venture capital firm Elaia has closed its third DeepTech Seed fund (DTS3) at €134 million, twice the size of its prior funds. The fund, backed by a mix of long‑standing and new investors such as PSL Université, INRIA, Bpifrance and...
Trade Tensions and Tariffs: What They Mean for Europe’s Startups
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned President Trump’s global tariff framework, leaving the 15% EU‑US tariff rate in limbo and prompting the European Parliament to pause ratification of the new trade pact. EU exports to the United States fell 25% in...
Portuguese Startup Sybilion Secures €3.6 Million to Build AI-Powered Decision Layer for Industrial Companies
Portuguese AI startup Sybilion announced a €3.6 million seed round led by Venturefriends and Semapa Next to develop an AI‑powered decision layer for industrial manufacturers. The platform ingests over a trillion external risk signals—commodity prices, weather, logistics, macro data—and maps them...
Albanian-Finnish Startup Bliss Raises €232.4k to Build “AI that Understands the Cultural Layer of Mental Health”
Albanian‑Finnish startup Bliss secured €232.4k in angel funding to build culturally intelligent AI for mental health therapy. The capital, led by Keiretsu Forum, Finest Love VC and Plug and Play, will fund the launch of therapist‑trained digital companions and expansion...
Ex-Viafintech Founders’ New Venture Finperks Raises €3.4 Million Pre-Seed to Build the “Stripe for Prepaid”
Finperks, a Berlin‑based fintech founded by the ex‑viafintech team, closed a €3.4 million pre‑seed round led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures. The startup positions itself as the "Stripe for prepaid," offering a single API that consolidates issuance, settlement, compliance and...
Samaipata Launches €110 Million Fund III to Back Early-Stage AI-Native Startups Across Europe
Samaipata announced the launch of its third venture fund, targeting €110 million to back early‑stage AI‑native startups across Europe. The fund has already secured €70 million, with anchor investors such as Spain’s SETT and Germany’s KfW. It plans to back 25‑30 companies,...
Targeting Water Innovation, Swiss VC Emerald Technology Ventures Hits €100 Million for Global Water Fund II
Emerald Technology Ventures announced it has reached the €100 million fundraising milestone for its Global Water Fund II, targeting a total size of €150‑180 million. The capital raise was backed by investors such as Temasek, Grundfos Foundation, Veralto, Ecolab, SKion Water and Oxy...
British Startup Outpost Raises €15 Million to Build Liability-Free Cross-Border Commerce Platform
London‑based Outpost, an AI‑driven merchant‑of‑record platform, closed a €15 million Series A led by Ribbit to expand its liability‑free cross‑border commerce infrastructure. The funding will accelerate product development, broaden jurisdiction coverage and grow the team as merchants seek to avoid costly compliance...
Paris-Based Qevlar AI Raises €25.8 Million to Automate Security Operations Centre Investigations with Agentic AI
Paris‑based Qevlar AI announced a €25.8 million funding round, co‑led by Partech and Forgepoint Capital with participation from EQT Ventures. The capital will expand its agentic AI platform that autonomously investigates security alerts, delivering full‑depth analysis and actionable insights. Qevlar claims...
Advancing Cardiovascular Health – SignaCor Therapeutics Lands €288k Investment as Pat of €1.1 Million Seed Round
Belfast‑based SignaCor Therapeutics raised €288k from venture firm Zinc as part of a €1.1 million seed round, enabling the company to move its Phase 2a trial for a first‑in‑class hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) therapy forward. The investment follows SignaCor’s win in Discovery Park’s...
Vilnius-Based Food Supply Marketplace Saltz Raises €20 Million Series A, Plans 100+ Hires as It Expands Across Europe
Vilnius‑based Saltz secured a €20 million Series A round led by the EBRD, aiming to accelerate its pan‑European food‑supply marketplace. The funding will fund expansion into new markets, broaden supplier offerings, and support hiring over 100 staff by 2026. Saltz’s platform consolidates...
Exclusive: Emagine Completes Acquisition of Dutch Consultancy Waada The Movement, Adding €40 Million in Annual Revenue
emagine has completed its acquisition of Dutch consultancy Waada The Movement, bringing roughly €40 million of annual revenue and over 400 professionals into its portfolio. Waada’s two brands—Prowareness for advisory and DevOn for engineering—expand emagine’s capabilities in business transformation, data and...
Italy’s AI Robotics Startup Mirai Robotics Raises €3.6 Million to Build Autonomous Systems for Maritime Operations
Italian AI robotics startup Mirai Robotics closed a €3.6 million pre‑seed round led by Primo Ventures, Techshop and 40Jemz Ventures. The Puglia‑based firm develops autonomous maritime platforms for surveillance, patrolling and ISR in extreme environments. Funds will accelerate technology development, expand...
Germany’s Telura Exits Stealth with €4 Million Pre-Seed to Unlock Geothermal Energy with Electric Impulse Drilling
Munich‑based Telura announced a €4 million pre‑seed round led by Nucleus Capital, Possible Ventures and First Momentum, coupled with a validation pact with Germany’s SPRIND agency. The startup’s electric impulse drilling technology replaces mechanical bits with high‑voltage pulses to fracture rock,...
Irish-Founded Startup Evervault Raises €21 Million to Advance Encrypted Data Orchestration
Irish‑founded Evervault announced a €21 million Series B round, led by Ribbit Capital with Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures participating, bringing its total financing to €39 million. The developer‑first platform encrypts and orchestrates sensitive data, chiefly for card‑payment workflows, and now processes over...
The Space Race Is Being Rewritten by AI – and Europe Risks Falling Behind
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping satellite operations, enabling real‑time capacity management and on‑orbit data processing. Smaller, agile constellations now require decision speeds that outpace human operators, prompting a shift toward AI‑driven bandwidth allocation and autonomous payload control. By processing imagery...
French VC Quantonation Raises €220 Million for Flagship Quantum and Deep-Physics Fund
Quantonation Ventures closed its second flagship fund at €220 million, making it the world’s largest dedicated quantum‑investment vehicle by assets under management. The round attracted both returning backers such as Vertex Holdings and new limited partners including the European Investment Fund,...
Stockholm-Based Hybridity Raises €2 Million to Automate Regulatory Compliance Through AI
Swedish RegTech startup Hybridity announced a €2 million funding round to accelerate commercialisation of its AI‑driven compliance platform Hy5. The round brings the company’s total capital to €5 million and adds investors such as Henrik Ekelund, Hans Otterling and family office Fonos....
London’s Mondra, Fresh Off an €11.8 Million Series A Raise, Merges with Austrian Sustainability Startup Inoqo
London‑based AI supply‑chain platform Mondra, fresh from an €11.8 million Series A led by AlbionVC and Planet A Ventures, announced a strategic merger with Vienna‑based sustainability SaaS startup inoqo. The combined entity will operate under the Mondra brand, uniting digital‑twin technology with inoqo’s...
Turin’s NANDO Secures €3.3 Million to Scale Municipal and Food Waste Optimisation Technology
Turin‑based AI startup NANDO closed a €3.3 million capital increase led by MAIA Ventures and CDP Venture Capital. The funding will expand its computer‑vision platform, which processes over 40,000 waste images daily and serves about 80 clients in more than 17...
British Startup Toyo Raises €3.6 Million to Develop Secure AI Agents for Non-Technical Founders
London‑based startup Toyo announced a €3.6 million seed round to build a secure AI‑agent platform that runs business operations autonomously. Backed by Frontline Ventures, iNovia Capital and angels from Amazon, Microsoft and Cloudflare, the company aims to make advanced agent workflows...
Rome-Based VoiceMed Reaches €1 Million in Total Funding; Launches Pilot for Early Detection of Chronic Respiratory Diseases
Rome‑based digital health startup VoiceMed announced it has secured €1 million in total funding, completing its first round with public support from Invitalia and private investors GCM Group, Padda Health and 28Digital. The capital will accelerate clinical validation of its AI‑driven...
Bootstrapped and Profitable AI InsurTech Company Mea Platform Raises €42.2 Million
UK‑based AI InsurTech mea Platform announced a €42.2 million minority growth equity investment from SEP to accelerate product development and customer engagement. The company, founded in 2021, has remained bootstrapped and profitable for four consecutive years. Its domain‑specific AI platform, already...
AI Films that Evolve in Real Time with Classical Music and Audience Interaction: OOVIE Studios Raises €164k
Lugano‑based OOVIE Studios secured €164,000 (CHF 150k) from Venture Kick to advance its Music Interactive Movies platform. The pre‑seed funding will accelerate business development and the launch of the OO App, enabling users to generate films directly from live music. OOVIE’s...
Milan-Based Contents Secures €5.9 Million for AI Workflow Platform, Sets up Doha Hub for Middle East Expansion
Italian AI workflow startup Contents announced a €5.9 million Series B extension, bringing its total financing to €21 million. The round was led by Qatar Development Bank with participation from Alkemia Capital, and will fund the launch of a Doha‑based hub serving the...
Bestselling Author Paulo Andrez Joins the EU-Startups Summit 2026 on May 7-8 in Malta
Bestselling author, angel investor and serial entrepreneur Paulo Andrez will join the EU-Startups Summit 2026 in Malta on May 7-8. Known for backing unicorn Sword Health and earning the 2012 Best European Angel Investment award, Andrez brings decades of early‑stage...