Notable Funding Rounds across the EU:
- Carbo Culture, a Helsinki-based climate technology company, has secured $18M in a Series A funding round by GenZero and True Ventures.
- Madrid-based Velca, specializing in manufacturing 100% electric motorcycles and bicycles, has raised €5.3M in a Series A led by Sherry Ventures, Noso Capital, and BeHappy Investments.
- Vesper, a Dutch agricultural commodity intelligence platform, has closed its Series A led by Keen Venture Partners and Piton Capital. The company specializes in simplifying complex data into actionable AI-driven insights for buyers, sellers, and traders in the agricultural commodity market.
New Venture Funds:
- UK-based Oxx closed its second fund generation at $190M focusing particularly on European B2B SaaS companies.
- Bulgaria–based BlackPeak Capital has committed €40M for investing in small businesses in Croatia. This investment is part of the €126M Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund, backed by notable financial institutions like the European Investment Fund, the EBRD, the IFC, and other European private institutional investors.
- Bethnal Green Ventures (BGV), the UK's first B-Corp certified venture capital firm, has announced the first close of its latest "Tech for Good" fund at £33M focusing on companies that integrate positive social and environmental impact with financial success.
- Failup Ventures, a Finnish venture capital firm, announced the initial closing of €30M for its new fund. The fund focuses on investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups in the United States and the Nordics EU in sectors including the future of work, software infrastructure, dynamic marketplaces, future of consumption, and commercial climate tech offers initial investments ranging from $200k to $1M.
Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions:
- Prague-based startup Keboola, specializing in data operations, has closed a $32M Series A investment round led by the US firm Viking Global Investors.
- Aether Biomedical, a Poznań-based startup specializing in bionic prostheses, has raised $5.8M in a Series A led by J2 Ventures, Story Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Sunfish Partners.
- AiSDR, a Ukrainian AI startup, has raised $3M in funding, including contributions from Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, Pioneer Fund, Bluepointe Ventures, SID Venture Partners, Flyer One Ventures.
- KARDI AI, a Czech Republic-based medtech startup, has raised €1.5M in seed funding from Purple Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Cleverage.vc, Soulmates Ventures, Garage Angels.
- Envirly, a Polish startup focusing on carbon footprint management, has raised approximately €1.38M backed by Bank BNP Paribas, the Tangent Line Ventures, Aligo VC.
- The Polish wellness startup Evidose recently raised $500k from Inovo VC and 500 Emerging Europe. Evidose is developing a platform that scientifically validates the effectiveness of dietary supplements.
- Riga-based Flirtu raised €200K from Expansion Capital AIFP. Flirtu is a dating service that operates via Telegram messenger, focusing on user privacy.
- Latvian mobility startup Meredot, recently secured $120K from the US-based accelerator Techstars. Meredot specializes in developing wireless chargers for a variety of electric vehicles.
- Vecticum, a Lithuanian company specializing in business process automation and employee self-service platforms, has received a $100k investment from Google under the Google Cloud for Startups Program.
- Skeleton Technologies, an Estonian energy storage company specializing in ultracapacitors and SuperBattery technology, has recently seen Siena Secondary Fund acquire a stake.
- Booksy, a Polish company renowned for its beauty services marketplace, recently had a stake acquired by Inovia Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm. The amount involved in the deal has not been disclosed.
Startup Calls:
- The EIT Digital Champions 2024 competition is now open for European deep tech scaleups offers winners free access to a 12-month Growth Services Program, providing support in fundraising and connections with investors across Europe. Open from November 30th to January 30th, the competition will select up to 50 finalists to pitch to top investors, with chosen winners also invited to VivaTech 2024 in Paris. Eligible scaleups must have a scalable product, be incorporated after January 1, 2014, have an annual revenue of €500K or over €2M in funding, and be headquartered in the EU or Horizon Europe-associated countries.
- The Orlen Skylight accelerator, aimed at young tech startups, is accepting applications for its 9th recruitment round until December 4th. Part of the ORLEN Group, the program seeks startups with solutions in areas like retail, logistics, safety, petrochemicals, and energy. Participants can test their solutions within ORLEN's infrastructure, receive funding for pilot projects, gain mentorship, and have opportunities for business scaling and solution commercialization post-pilot.
Related Posts:
VC & Startup Weekly News, 18-24 November, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News, 11-17 November, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News, 4-10 November, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor, Vestbee)
