European startup news, funding rounds and events
Fundraising intelligence, founder interviews and the events that actually move the ecosystem.
Agenda – next 30 days
See the full agenda →From the backstage
Creative tech in Europe runs on grants. San Sebastián’s finalists prove it
Ten startups pitched at the San Sebastián Film Festival on 24 September. I went through every one of them afterward and couldn’t find a single disclosed…
Ben Costantini
AI replaced 3D printing in composites pitches
In 2019, 3D printing was the loudest thing in composites. Across that year’s JEC Composites Startup Booster applications it ran at 24.7 mentions per 10,000 words…
Ben Costantini
IFA 2026: the twenty startups who pitched, and the one who won
A company that prints implantable human tissue won a pitch competition at a consumer electronics fair. Cellbricks Therapeutics took the IFA Pitch Battle 2026 on the…
Ben CostantiniThe Selected podcast
Tips & advice
Pick the LP first, then the 2027 conference
A communications director at a German VC firm sent me a two-line question recently. Her investor relations team wants conferences in 2027 with exposure to LPs,…
Ben Costantini
The empty startup area: why tradeshows fail at startup sales
Picture this. A strategy director at a major exhibition calls with six weeks to go before the show. The brand new startup area has sold exactly…
Ben Costantini
Why events are lying about their metrics
This week I read about a hackathon claiming 6,000 attendees over a single weekend. The venues hosting it can’t accommodate more than 1,000 people. Nobody in…
Ben CostantiniSpotlight
Cofrai
Vertical management software for companies that install and maintain fire protection systems, covering client management, scheduling, invoicing and compliance documentation.
Latest
Epyr raises €15M Series A to electrify industrial heat
SlateVC leads a €15M Series A for Epyr, whose firebrick heat batteries already cover a quarter of a WEPA paper mill's steam – next up, a 35 MWh unit taking…
CarbonFarm raises €7M Series A to cut methane from rice
An oversubscribed €7M Series A led by Colam Impact takes CarbonFarm's satellite MRV for low-methane rice from 19 countries into Latin America, with Proparco and Bpifrance aboard.
HyLight raises €13M Series A for hydrogen inspection airships
Four autonomous hydrogen airships already patrol French power lines and gas pipelines for Enedis and Téréga. A €13M Series A led by Rubio Impact Ventures aims at fifteen aircraft by…
CMR Surgical raises $400M from Stryker, with a buyout option
Stryker takes preferred equity, exclusive US sales rights to Versius and an option to buy 100% of CMR Surgical – US scale capital arriving for a Cambridge-built robot with 50,000…
Monopulse raises over €2M for jam-resistant NATO drones
Lithuania's Coinvest Capital leads over €2M into Danish-Lithuanian drone maker Monopulse, with 68 angels behind it, to take jam-resistant Falcon drones into Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Latest funding
| Company | Round | Lead | Sector | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cofrai Unclassified · Spain | DFF Ventures | Unclassified | €2.6M | |
| Undecimal Bio Unclassified · United Kingdom | Seed | 4BIO Capital, IQ Capital (co-leads) | Unclassified | €16M |
| Obsero Unclassified · United Kingdom | Seed | SFC Capital | Unclassified | €1M |
| ParkMundo Unclassified · Netherlands | Seed | Rabobank | Unclassified | €2.3M |
| Ubitium Unclassified · Germany | Seed | Ibex Investors | Unclassified | €12.5M |
| Alchera Technologies Unclassified · United Kingdom | Seed | Maven Capital Partners | Unclassified | €3.2M |
Browse the ecosystem
Investor corner
Call for startups
JEC Composites Startup Booster 2027
The JEC Composites Startup Booster is a pitch contest for startups, entrepreneurs and academic spin-offs working in composites and advanced materials, covering raw materials,…
JEC Composites Innovation Awards 2027
Advanced materials and composites work is judged here, with a trophy and a showcase at JEC World in Paris for the winners. Notably it…
4YFN Awards 2027
4YFN, the startup event GSMA runs beside MWC Barcelona, awards prizes across five categories: Health Tech, Fintech, Climate Tech, Connectivity and Digital Horizons. Four…
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