Notable Funding Rounds across EU:
- Munich-based defense AI startup Helsing has raised €209M in a Series B led by General Catalyst. Helsing specializes in AI-driven technologies to protect democracies and enhance global resilience, with a strong focus on ethical considerations and transparency in their AI applications.
- Revel has secured €115M from Santander Consumer Finance. The company offers a flexible subscription service for electric cars, providing an alternative to traditional ownership.
- Swiss climate tech startup Viboo secures €1.6M in seed from High-Tech Gründerfonds, Swisscom Ventures, and Rainmaking Impact for its Predictive Control as a Service platform (PCaaS) that optimizes energy input in buildings, aiming to significantly reduce Europe's building energy consumption.
New Venture Funds:
- Tilia Impact Ventures Launches €32M Impact Seed Fund to Drive Climate, Education, and Healthcare Solutions. Fund adopts a balanced approach, allocating 50% of the fund's resources to initiatives focusing on "people" and the remaining 50% dedicated to "planet." Tilia Impact Ventures' second fund is financed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) - backed by the InvestEU programme - as a major investor, as well as Česká spořitelna Bank. Many notable Czech business leaders have also lent their support to the fund, including RSJ's Libor Winkler and Martin Ducháček, LINET's Zbyněk Frolik, Credo's Ondřej Bartoš, Pale Fire Capital's Jan Bárta, Siko's Tomáš Vala, Benefit Plus' Václav Kurel, and many more prominent figures in the Czech business community.
- Norwegian private equity firm Verdane closes a new €1.1B fund. The fund targets digitalization companies with investments ranging from €20-€150M.
- German PE investor SHS Capital closes its sixth fund with €270M. The fund focuses on backing growing European healthcare companies through 10 to 15 investments. Investment amounts range from €10 to €40M, with potential transaction values of up to €150M
- Finnish-Japanese VC NordicNinja launches €200M Fund II, backing Northern European startups addressing global challenges, notably carbon footprint. The fund supports early-stage and Series A/B founders in sustainability and digital society with €2-8M investments.
- SCVC, an early-stage deep tech investor, secures first close of $100M. The Bristol-based firm focuses on advanced technologies to improve health and environmental sustainability. The new fund invests in Pre-Seed and Seed stage startups with initial investments ranging from $500k to $3M, along with follow-on funding for Series A up to $7M for top-performing companies.
- A €30.5 million impact fund called SPOROS Platform has been launched in Greece to support startups with circular economy solutions and will target resource efficiency and waste reduction in sectors like clean energy, sustainable tourism, and circular manufacturing. positive impact.
- Latvian company Merito Partners launches a €30M Merito Self Storage Fund. Merito Partners invests in various sectors, including growth capital, sustainable energy, and specialized real estate.
- Stockholm based Norrsken Foundation launches Norrsken Mind, a €3M initiative focused on mental health treatment using psychedelic substances.
Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions:
- Romanian co-founded data analytics and AI Databricks secured over $500M in a funding round led by T. Rowe Price. Databricks aims to help businesses harness the power of big data and transform their data to extract insights and value.
- Romanian conversational AI tech provider DRUID has raised $30M in a Series B round led by TQ Ventures. DRUID's platform, aiding employee productivity, has been adopted by over 200 clients and integrated by major names like Kmart and NHS.
- Estonian Binalyze raises $19M in Series A funding led by Molten Ventures, with participation from Cisco Investments, Citi Ventures, and Deutsche Bank Corporate Venture Capital. Platform securely and automatically collects over 350 digital forensics artifacts in under 10 minutes.
- Bratislava-based fintech startup Blockmate has secured €1.5M in investment led by Seed Starter with participation Tensor Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Token Ventures, BADideas.fund, ZAKA Ventures, and Diaspora Ventures. Startup offers analytical insights into digital assets, connecting them with open banking.
- Polish REDD, a real estate market database, has secured €1.4M in funding from angel investors Tomasz Trzósło, Bartosz Mierzwiak, and Ph.D. Krzysztof Kalicki.
- Bulgarian B2B SaaS firm URBO Studio secures €1.2M in funding from Capital Investments VC. URBO Studio provides software solutions for the digitalization of service businesses in creative and recreational sectors.
- Estonian legal tech startup Avokaado raises €1.2M led by Tera Ventures for its contract lifecycle management platform. The funds will fuel product development and a new AI-ready upgrade. Avokaado's platform consolidates contracts and data for streamlined management.
- Estonian startup TrustLynx has raised over €300k from Startup Wise Guys accelerator fund and FundingBox.VC. The investment will help TrustLynx expand its digital trust services, including digital identities and e-signatures, across Europe, with a focus on markets like Poland and Italy.
- Lithuanian female founded fashion startup The Knotty Ones raises €250K from Coinvest Capital and angel investors. Startup focuses on producing knitwear rooted in the country's heritage craft of knitting.
Startup Calls:
- Finnish-Swedish investor Voima Ventures has introduced Velocity, a €1M science challenge aimed at pre-seed and seed stage science-based startups across the Nordic and Baltic regions. This initiative will support startups in scaling their solutions, with a focus on green transformation, life science, and health technologies.The top eight finalists will pitch their ideas in Stockholm on January 11, 2024. Apply here
- Apply for the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge, a renowned deep tech startup competition offering winners 1-to-1 coaching, global visibility, and funding prizes (€100K Grand Prize, €30K 2nd prize, €20K 3rd prize - all equity-free); connect with industry experts, investors, and potential partners, and showcase your innovation on a global platform; deadline for applications is September 22nd, 11.59PM Pacific time.
- Join Challenger AI an accelerator program, organized by CIVITTA and Radar Tech and supported by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on AI/ML-based solutions, welcoming startups across various sectors, from music apps to cybersecurity, with a minimum of 3 dedicated members and an existing MVP/demo, offering workshops, networking, mentoring, and more to empower innovation; apply by October 15th: https://lnkd.in/e4aJkUwB.
- Romanian SMEs can access European funding ranging from €20k to €50k. SMEs need to be part of a consortium with at least one SME related to cultural and creative industries and register for eligible projects to receive funding. Deadline is 30 September.
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