European startup news, funding rounds and events
Fundraising intelligence, founder interviews and the events that actually move the ecosystem.
Agenda – next 30 days
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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
1KOMMA5°
Always the cheapest and cleanest energy from wind and solar power
Latest
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, other GPs and good…
SpectaCell raises €6M seed for cell therapy analytics
Four founders out of imec, VIB and Ghent University raised €6 million to measure how single cells respond to therapy – with every cheque from Benelux institutional capital.
Klarent raises €7.13M seed to test the code AI writes
Two ex-Google engineers in Zurich raised €7.13M from Mosaic Ventures to sell verification in the AI coding boom: Klarent's agents write deterministic tests for code other agents produce.
TrueLayer raises $27M led by CDP Venture Capital for its Italy push
Italy's sovereign venture arm just led a $27M round into a London fintech founded by two Italians. TrueLayer counts 30M+ pay by bank users across 22 countries.
Sava raises $36M Series B to retire the fingerstick
London's Sava landed a $36M Series B and a distribution deal in one move: lead investor Ascensia will sell its glucose microsensor across Europe once the CE mark lands.
Latest funding
| Company | Round | Lead | Sector | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1KOMMA5° Unclassified · Germany | – | Unclassified | €70M | |
| Scarlet Unclassified · United Kingdom | Series B | Headline | Unclassified | €44.7M |
| Mothium Unclassified · Spain | – | Unclassified | €1M | |
| Besso Unclassified · Switzerland | Undisclosed European family office (named anonymous by the company) | Unclassified | €4.3M | |
| Klarent Unclassified · Switzerland | Seed | Mosaic Ventures | Unclassified | €7.2M |
| Sava Unclassified · United Kingdom | Series B | Ascensia | Unclassified | €32.2M |
Browse the ecosystem
Investor corner
Call for startups
Google for Startups Immersion EMEA 2026
Google for Startups Immersion is a hands-on technical programme for active founders, CTOs and technical leads who already have a live product and demonstrable…
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…
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