Opper AI, a UK-based startup focused on production-grade reliability for generative AI systems, has acquired FinetuneDB, a platform known for its streamlined approach to dataset curation and fine-tuning of large language models (LLMs). While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, the integration signals a broader trend in the generative AI sector, where fine-tuning and real-world reliability are becoming crucial differentiators as companies move beyond experimentation and into scaled deployment. Founded in 2023 by Göran Sandahl and Johan Gustafsson, previously part of the founding team behind Unomaly (acquired by LogicMonitor in 2020), Opper AI provides a Task-Completion API designed to ensure generative AI models perform consistently in real-world applications. The startup’s customer base includes GetTested, Beatly, Ping Payments, and Steep, and it is backed by investors including Luminar Ventures, Emblem, Greens Capital, and a network of angel investors. FinetuneDB, for its part, has established itself as a go-to platform for simplifying the fine-tuning process of LLMs, with tools that streamline training workflows and enable teams to rapidly build models tailored to specific use cases. With the AI industry in the midst of a shift from foundational models to task-specific systems, fine-tuning has become a critical battleground. From OpenAI to Anthropic, players across the board are exploring ways to make LLMs more adaptable and efficient in targeted use cases. Opper’s acquisition of FinetuneDB places it among a cohort of companies aiming to own the full lifecycle of autonomous agents, from training data pipelines to deployment monitoring.

Healthtech continued to demonstrate its strength in Europe in the first half of 2025, attracting €4 billion in funding, around 12 per cent of the €33.7 billion raised across all European tech sectors. Although healthtech accounted for just 237 deals out of 1,923 total tech transactions (about 12 per cent), it delivered some of the largest rounds of the year, underscoring investor appetite for innovation in biotech, digital health, and medical devices. The top ten healthtech deals alone brought in over €2.1 billion, more than half of the sector’s total. The UK dominated the rankings with five of the ten biggest rounds, while Sweden and the Netherlands also stood out. Spain, Switzerland, and Ireland each contributed major rounds. This concentration of capital signals both the maturity of European healthtech and its growing role in tackling global challenges, from AI-driven drug discovery to obesity treatment, surgical robotics, and digital-first care delivery. Here are the 10 biggest healthtech deals in H1 2025. Amount raised in H1 2025: $600M Isomorphic Labs is a company with the mission to “solve all diseases.” Building on DeepMind’s AlphaFold, it combines advanced AI and drug discovery expertise to model biological complexity digitally. By creating predictive and generative models, the company designs novel molecules, predicts drug behaviour, and accelerates the development of new therapies. Its approach aims to transform how humanity understands, treats, and ultimately cures diseases. In March, Isomorphic Labs raised $600 million in its first external funding round to accelerate its AI drug design engine and advance therapies into the clinic. Amount raised in H1 2025: $411M Verdiva Bio is a company on a mission to transform the lives of millions living with obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders by developing next-generation, more patient-friendly therapies. Its lead asset, VRB-101, is an oral, once-weekly GLP-1 peptide with promising efficacy and dosing convenience demonstrated in a Phase 1 study. Verdiva also advances a robust pipeline of oral and injectable amylin agonists, both alone and in combination, designed for enhanced efficacy, tolerability, affordability, and access. Leveraging gut-brain biology and a team with proven drug-development expertise, Verdiva is poised to address significant unmet needs in obesity and cardiometabolic care. In January, Verdiva Bio launched with a $411 million Series A financing round, backing development of its next-gen oral and injectable obesity and cardiometabolic treatments. Amount raised in H1 2025: $260M Neko Health is a preventive healthtech company headquartered in Stockholm, with clinics in Stockholm and London. The company delivers a groundbreaking health check, the Neko Body Scan, that uses non-invasive, AI-enabled technology to capture millions of data points (skin imaging, cardiovascular metrics, bloodwork, etc.) in under an hour. Clients receive instant results and an unhurried doctor consultation, empowering early detection and personalised care to shift healthcare from reactive to proactive. The team spans over 100 doctors, researchers, and engineers across Europe. Neko Health secured $260 million in Series B funding in January to fuel US and European expansion and boost R&D in its preventive health scanning technology. Amount raised in H1 2025: $200M CMR Surgical is a British medical device company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cambridge, UK. Their flagship product, Versius, is a compact, modular, and portable robotic system designed to advance minimal access surgery, also known as keyhole surgery, by enhancing precision, surgeon ergonomics, and operational flexibility. Versius seamlessly integrates into existing operating-room workflows without requiring infrastructure changes, accelerating surgeon adoption through familiar port placements. CMR's mission centres on expanding access to robotic-assisted surgery globally, leveraging innovative deployment and financing models to benefit both patients and healthcare systems. In April, CMR Surgical raised over $200 million in a financing round (combining equity and debt) to drive global expansion and innovation. Amount raised in H1 2025: €150M Cera is a digital-first home healthcare provider. It enables longer, healthier lives at home by shifting services like nursing, telehealth, repeat prescriptions, and in-home care out of hospitals. Powered by AI and machine learning, its platform empowers carers with smarter planning and early detection tools, predicting and preventing deterioration up to 30 times faster than traditional methods, significantly reducing hospitalisations. With nearly 10,000 carers delivering over 60,000 daily in-home visits across the UK, Cera is shaping the future of connected, preventative healthcare. In January, Cera secured $150 million in a combined debt and equity financing round to scale its AI-driven home healthcare platform. Amount raised in H1 2025: €132M Azafaros is a company developing new treatments for rare genetic diseases called lysosomal storage disorders. Its lead medicine, nizubaglustat, is an oral drug designed to reach the brain and target the underlying cause of diseases such as GM1/GM2 gangliosidoses and Niemann-Pick type C. Founded in 2018 and based in the Netherlands, Azafaros is backed by European investors and is preparing to start Phase 3 clinical trials to bring the first disease-modifying therapy to patients in need. In May, Azafaros raised €132 million in an oversubscribed Series B round to advance its lead therapy. Amount raised in H1 2025: $135M SpliceBio is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company based in Barcelona, pioneering Protein Splicing, an innovative gene therapy platform, to deliver large genes that exceed the limitations of traditional AAV vectors. Its lead program, SB-007, is a dual AAV therapy currently in Phase 1/2 trials for Stargardt disease, aiming to restore full-length protein expression in retinal cells. With a strong, experienced team and a growing pipeline across ophthalmology and neurology, SpliceBio seeks to broaden the impact of gene therapy where there are no current options. In June, SpliceBio closed a $135 million Series B financing to advance its lead gene therapy candidate for Stargardt disease and expand its genetic medicine pipeline. Amount raised in H1 2025: $130M GlycoEra is a pioneering biotech company based in Switzerland and the US, transforming autoimmune disease treatment through its novel CustomGlycan platform. By engineering bispecific biologics that selectively target and degrade disease-driving circulating proteins, especially autoantibodies like IgG4, it offers unmatched speed, precision, and safety compared to traditional immunosuppressive therapies. In. May, GlycoEra closed an oversubscribed $130 million Series B financing to advance its lead IgG4-targeted protein degrader into human trials, bring a second program into the clinic, and expand its precision immunology pipeline. Amount raised in H1 2025: $120M CeQur is a diabetes technology company simplifying mealtime insulin delivery with its innovative CeQur Simplicity™, a discreet, wearable patch that eliminates the need for injections. Based in Switzerland, with US, CeQur offers injection-free mealtime dosing using a flexible cannula, enabling convenient one-click insulin delivery for up to four days per patch. Clinically shown to reduce A1C and boost time-in-range, it enhances adherence and helps people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes manage their health more easily. CeQur closed a $120 million equity financing round in January to accelerate commercial growth. Amount raised in H1 2025: $120M FIRE1 is a Dublin-based, clinical-stage medtech innovator focused on transforming heart failure care. Born from The Foundry incubator in Menlo Park, the company has developed NORM, an investigational remote monitoring system that directly measures fluid levels via the inferior vena cava. With a simple same-day implant, wearable activation belt, and connected patient–clinician app, NORM empowers patients to monitor their heart health at home and stay connected to medical teams. In January, FIRE1 secured $120 million in financing to expand operations and development of its heart failure management solutions.

Italian fintech platform Tot has closed a pre-Series A investment round of €7 million. The round was led by CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Azimut Group, The Techshop, X-Equity Venture Club, ClubDeal Digital, and early backer Banca Sella. Co-investors also include a Chapeau Media–led consortium of entrepreneurs and executives, Matteo Pichi (Poke House), Pietro Marchetti (Humamy; acquired by Bending Spoons), Giuseppe Nicola Ramonda (Sorelle Ramonda), Francesco Fiorese (Simon-Kucher Italy), and Alessandro Rimassa (Radical HR) via Happy2C Holding, alongside angels Paolo Galvani (Moneyfarm) and Gianluca Cocco (Qomodo). Tot is an online platform for company administrative and financial management. It offers a business account with an Italian IBAN, payment and collection services, physical and virtual cards, integrated administrative tools, and collaborative, team expense-management features, with data and payment security controls. Tot’s strategic goals are to become the Italian fintech champion in banking and administrative management for SMEs, targeting over 40,000 clients within two years and expanding its team to more than 100 employees. According to CEO Doris Messina, the company differentiates itself through a strong Italian identity and a deep understanding of the domestic market’s dynamics. With this new capital, we will further strengthen our mission to support Italian companies with cutting-edge financial tools for the development of the local real economy, showing that it is possible to challenge international giants in a market like ours, which is the largest in Europe by number of potentially interested companies. The funding will support the development of new products and features in administration, expense management, and financial optimisation. Tot also plans to increase investment in AI to enhance efficiency, expand automation for clients, and improve internal processes, aimed at further automating and simplifying administrative and financial tasks for Italian SMEs. In parallel, the company plans a significant team expansion, with hiring focused on technology, product management, marketing, sales, customer success, and compliance.

Quadrille Capital, which invests in VC and directly invests in tech, has closed a €500 million funding round, which will see it invest in the European and US tech sector.The Paris and San Francisco-based firm’s funding round runs across various funds. These are direct investments, €285m, while its primary fund has raised €70m, and its secondary fund has raised €150m. It brings Quadrille’s total assets under management to €1.8bn.Quadrille invests in tech sectors in the EU and the US in areas such as software, AI and healthcare. A quarter of its direct investment fund has already been deployed in firms such as Sanas in AI, Homa in gaming and Wisetack in fintech.The primary fund invests in VC funds and growth funds, while the €150m raise for the secondary fund, Quadrille says, was more than three times the amount raised in its first vintage.Jérôme Chevalier, CEO of Quadrille Capital, said: "Over 20 years, Quadrille Capital has built a leading independent investment platform that offers its investors the means to capture all growth opportunities in the tech sector in both Europe and the United States. “Our pioneering and cross-functional strategic vision, deployed through our multi-strategy model, gives us a unique positioning in the industry. These fundraisings illustrate the recognition of this model and demonstrate confidence in the expertise of our teams, whose talent and commitment are the foundation of our success."

Helsinki-based ONEiO, an automation-first platform redefining enterprise IT integrations, has raised €8 million in a growth round. The round was led by Bocap, with renewed participation from existing investor Fairpoint Capital. ONEiO is a Managed Integration Service Provider delivering IntegrationOps, a cloud-native, automation-led integration model for enterprise IT. In a world where teams ship weekly, orchestrate multi-party service ecosystems, and face constant cost pressure, legacy integration approaches can’t keep up. ONEiO’s fully managed platform replaces slow, project-based work with an always-on, scalable service that removes bottlenecks, lowers costs, and accelerates time-to-value. By productizing the delivery and operations of integrations, ONEiO treats them as core infrastructure that can scale and evolve continuously to deliver ongoing business impact, much like DevOps transformed software delivery. Powered by ONEAi® and deep domain expertise, ONEiO simplifies complex IT estates so organisations can scale faster and focus on outcomes. Juha Berghäll, CEO and co-founder of ONEiO, shared: For decades, integrations have been built as one-off projects: expensive, brittle, and impossible to scale. With IntegrationOps, we’ve turned integration into an ongoing capability that’s live in weeks, evolves automatically, and runs without manual work. In the AI era, this isn’t optional, it’s the only way to keep up. ONEiO has helped major organisations automate complex integrations in IT service ecosystems, from Service Integration and Management (SIAM) to global multi-vendor environments. Delivered as a fully managed service, ONEiO replaces custom code, middleware, and months-long delivery cycles with automation and speed. Customers connect internal systems and external partners through a ready-to-use, cloud-based platform with built-in automation, monitoring, security, and compliance. Integrations are deployed faster and at much lower cost, without sacrificing control or security. As the gap widens between enterprise needs and what legacy tools can deliver, IntegrationOps closes it, turning integration from a hidden operational burden into a strategic capability that accelerates innovation and improves customer experience. The new funding will advance IntegrationOps as a Service, while supporting key hires and expansion across the UK and DACH, where organisations face mounting pressure to modernise ageing infrastructure without escalating costs. 

Munich-based collaborative robotics specialist Hive Robotics has raised €2 million to further build a world-class engineering team and advance the technology roadmap for resilient, scalable robotics. The oversubscribed pre-seed round was led by b2venture, with participation from renowned VCs and business angels including Firedrop, Pareto, Matthias Hilpert and Klocke Group. Founded in 2025, Hive Robotics builds integrated, compact, and modular systems that fuse robot control, perception, localisation, and secure communications, engineered for resilience in complex, GNSS/GPS-denied environments. Through distributed sensor fusion and a proprietary Onboard AI module, its technology enables unmanned systems, from lightweight drones to heavy ground and maritime vehicles, to operate collaboratively. As unmanned systems expand rapidly across air, land, sea, and space, the need for secure, reliable, and cost-effective infrastructure is critical. Hive Robotics addresses this with its C3 (Command, Control, Connect) architecture, which compresses robotics complexity into a single framework so multiple platforms can collaborate more effectively than the sum of their parts. Examples include air swarms that detect wildfires or threats and instantly share data across the flock, to search and rescue missions where drones with heat sensors and cameras collaboratively locate people after disasters. By teaming air, ground, and maritime systems, rovers and unmanned boats gain aerial overwatch to navigate in GNSS-denied environments, aid defence operations, and monitor infrastructure (pipelines, offshore wind). This foundation also lets companies build additional, market-specific civil and defence use cases. According to Sebastian Mores, CEO and co-founder of Hive Robotics, the world is nearing a major automation shift, with millions of unmanned systems expected to operate across air, sea, land, and space. He commented: While the core technologies have existed for years, true integration into human environments requires rigorous safety, robust security, and globally aligned standards, as well as systems that can seamlessly work together. Global demand for robotics and autonomous systems is growing rapidly, with estimates pointing to multi-billion-dollar annual markets by 2025 and beyond. Two critical challenges remain: complying with safety regulations for use in populated areas and achieving seamless cross-domain integration. Hive Robotics addresses both, unlocking swarming capabilities for applications in disaster response, defence, critical-infrastructure monitoring, mining, and space exploration. The new capital will enable the company to recruit top engineering talent and advance the technology roadmap, enabling the team to deliver differentiated solutions faster and at scale.

Berlin-based healthtech startup OpenHealth Technologies has raised a $3 million seed round to accelerate European expansion and further develop the company's AI-driven medical platform. The round was backed by new investors GoHub Ventures, xdeck ventures, Edenbase, and Exceptional Ventures, with renewed support from YZR Capital, Octopus Ventures, and Calm/Storm Ventures. In total, OpenHealth has raised $4.3 million to date. Healthcare is shifting toward personalised, data-driven care, yet most lab data, the backbone of clinical decisions, remains unstructured and inaccessible. This gap delays diagnoses, drives up costs, and leaves patients without timely insights, underscoring the urgent need for interoperable, AI-ready health data solutions. OpenHealth aims to close this critical gap by modernising lab data infrastructure. Its API transforms raw results from any source into harmonized, AI-ready datasets and provides white-label tools to visualise them. Health and wellness companies embed the technology to add longitudinal insights to their products, while clinics and labs use it to deliver patient-friendly reports and personalised care. The company is working toward building the world’s largest usable biomarker database, with longitudinal data designed to improve the lives of over 100 million people. Gerrit Glass, CEO and Founder of OpenHealth, said the company has a clear mission: to empower individuals and organisations to make better use of health data. He said: Most lab results today are fragmented, unstructured, and underutilised. We’re changing that by building the rails for a smarter, interoperable health ecosystem. With this new round, we’re excited to accelerate our growth alongside new investors with deep B2B SaaS and AI expertise. Founded by a European team with deep clinical, technical, and health system expertise, OpenHealth is trusted by clients worldwide. Its customers include Latin America’s largest diagnostics and hospital groups, leading fitness and wellness companies such as Smart Fit, healthtech innovators like Aware, and a growing network of longevity providers across Europe and the Americas. OpenHealth will use the funding to speed up its expansion across Europe, bringing its platform to more laboratories, prevention and longevity clinics, supplement brands, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers. The investment will also fuel the development of AI-powered technology for personalized prevention and care.

Czech fintech Eterny  secures another €400,000 from JIC Ventures and Purple Ventures, bringing its funding to €800 to advance its aim to change asset insights and management. Globally, more than $300 billion is tied up in forgotten, duplicate, or outdated products. People unknowingly keep paying for insurance they no longer need or are unaware that their investments have no heirs. This even applies to those who work with advisors. But financial unpreparedness is not just about money – in serious life situations, it can cost time, nerves, and family stability. According to internal audit data, the average person loses up to €400 (CZK 10,000) annually due to hidden fees and inefficient payments, while 90 per cent of users lack digital continuity or an estate plan. “At Eterny, we see a well-thought-out product that the market lacks – sooner or later, most of us need a clear overview of our assets. The company is led by an experienced founding team headed by Jitka Paterová, and after the Czech market, they are quickly moving into international expansion,” says Jan Staňek, Managing Partner at Purple Ventures. Eterny’s key technological edge lies in combining AI-powered contract and payment audits, PSD2 data integration, blockchain for continuity, and large language models (LLMs) for transparent asset management and future planning.  This blend allows the platform to detect duplicate payments or unnecessary expenses, flag upcoming expirations or unfavourable contracts, and soon connect users with experts such as lawyers, notaries, and financial advisors through a dedicated marketplace, explains co-founder and CTO Pavel Kučera.  Designed for both individual users and financial institutions, Eterny is already preparing pilot tests with banks, advisors, and family offices in collaboration with partners. In its first months, Eterny attracted over 4,000 users and, in spring 2025, succeeded in several competitions: Fintech Roadmap 25ʼ, Microsoft Challenge, Fintechers Hackathon, and also received the Product Innovation award at the Mastercard Fintech Forum Vienna. “These wins are not just about marketing; they confirm that our solution has real impact and institutional credibility. And collaboration with banks, insurers, and experts is key to changing the way people think about their assets,“ says Jitka Paterová, founder & CEO. “We decided to invest in Eterny primarily because of the founder – her experience, drive, and ability to think globally really impressed us. The product has enormous potential to succeed worldwide, and the team is exactly the kind of people we trust to make it happen,” says Radim Kocourek, JIC Ventures. The funding will accelerate the development of the AI auditor, which automatically identifies risks in personal finances, expand B2B functionality, and speed up preparation for expansion. Eterny plans to expand to new markets, specifically Ireland and the USA, in 2026.

Bending Spoons, the acquisitive Italian software conglomerate, is acquiring US video sharing platform Vimeo for around $1.38bn, in a deal which will take Vimeo private. Milan-based Bending Spoons has been in talks about a potential bid for Vimeo since last year, according to Bloomberg. According to a statement, Vimeo shareholders will receive $7.85 for each share they own, in the all-cash deal. Unicorn Bending Spoons plans to expand Vimeo’s product across over-the-top streaming and for enterprise customers, Philip Moyer, Vimeo CEO said. Moyer added: “We are excited about this partnership, which we believe will unlock even greater focus for our team and customers."Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO and co-founder, said: “At Bending Spoons, we acquire companies with the expectation of owning and operating them indefinitely, and we look forward to realising Vimeo’s full potential as we reach new heights together. "We’re determined to make ambitious investments in the US and other priority markets, and all key areas of the business, spanning both the creator and enterprise offerings.”Bending Spoons, founded in 2013, is known for acquiring tech startups, and then trying to improve their finances, sometimes by laying off staff. Its previous acquisitions include WeTransfer, Evernote, MeetUp, Brightcove and Komoot. Vimeo, founded in 2004, is headquartered in New York.

Claret Capital Partners, Europe’s largest independent growth debt fund manager, has announced the second close of its Fund IV, bringing total commitments to over €350 million and total assets under management to over $1 billion.  Claret Capital Partners is Europe's largest independent growth debt fund manager.  Since its founding in 2013 in the UK, Claret has deployed over €1.2 billion to back more than 190 SMEs across Europe in sectors including technology, life sciences, and climate tech. Since March 2025, the firm has already added 12 new companies to its Fund IV portfolio – including Fund Recs, Mindler, Montonio, PRODA, SIDES, ValueBlue and Yseop – highlighting its robust sourcing capabilities and reflecting both the increased demand for growth debt and the emerging opportunities within Europe. Fund IV has secured commitments from Banca March, a major Canadian pension fund, a well-established German foundation, British Business Bank, The European Investment Fund (EIF), ISIF, KfW Capital, and Wachstumsfonds Deutschland - one of the biggest VC fund of funds in Europe, launched on the platform of Universal Investment. In addition to this second close, certain Fund IV LPs have also documented discretionary co-investment partnerships of over €115M to back the most ambitious companies.  This is on top of the Fund IV commitments mentioned above and gives Claret additional firepower to support the biggest opportunities. David Bateman, Managing Partner at Claret Capital Partners, comments: “We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the LPs for their continued trust in our investment strategy, and to the outstanding companies and co-investors who choose to partner with us — their collaboration is central to our mission and long-term success.  It’s a privilege to partner with the founders and management teams who are driving growth and innovation across Europe.” Riccardo Zorzetto, IQ-EQ Luxembourg’s Head of Client Relationship Management, added: “We’re thrilled to support Claret Capital Partners in their latest fund launch. We’ve been working hand in hand since 2020 and are proud to be part of this exciting new chapter in Claret’s growth journey.” A final close is expected in 2026. Lead image: David Bateman (left) and Johan Kampe, Managing Partners at Claret Capital Partners. Photo: uncredited. 

Google Cloud has launched a new service aimed at simplifying and incentivising multicloud strategies for organisations in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Dubbed “Data Transfer Essentials,” the service allows businesses to move data between Google Cloud and other cloud providers at no cost, removing one of the key barriers to true multicloud adoption: outbound data transfer fees. The launch is a strategic move by Google Cloud to align with the EU Data Act, which mandates improved interoperability between cloud service providers and greater freedom for customers to move data across platforms. While the legislation allows cloud providers to pass on data transfer costs to customers, Google Cloud is choosing not to, potentially setting a new benchmark for the industry. “We continue this open approach with the launch today of our new Data Transfer Essentials service for customers in the European Union and the United Kingdom,” said Jeanette Manfra, Senior Director of Global Risk and Compliance at Google Cloud. Data Transfer Essentials is designed for “in-parallel” processing of workloads across multiple cloud providers within the same organisation. In practice, eligible multicloud traffic - defined as data transferred between Google Cloud and another cloud for the same workload - will be metered separately and billed at zero cost. This offering builds on Google Cloud’s broader positioning as a proponent of openness and interoperability in cloud computing. It was the first major cloud provider to introduce a multicloud data warehouse and has previously waived exit fees for customers discontinuing service. Google Cloud’s announcement comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny and enterprise demand for greater data mobility and vendor neutrality. The EU Data Act, approved in 2023 and phased into enforcement in 2025, is a significant legislative push to make the cloud landscape more competitive and interoperable. It compels providers to make it easier and more affordable for customers to switch providers or use multiple services without incurring punitive fees or technical friction. While the service is available starting today, adoption may depend on how easily organisations can configure and identify qualifying multicloud traffic. Google Cloud has published a configuration guide to support onboarding and expects early uptake from enterprises with complex regulatory requirements or hybrid infrastructure strategies.

BlackRock-backed neobroker Scalable Capital has won a European Central Bank banking licence and will now boost its investment platform by offering banking services across the EU. The German investment platform, which raised €155m in equity at a valuation of about €1.5bn earlier this year, is looking to bulk up its services to better compete against neobroker rivals like Trade Republic and establishment players like Fidelity. Scalable already offers brokerage, wealth management, ETFs, and crypto products but now plans to expand its offering to include banking products, such as savings and lending across the EU. It plans to offer loans of up to €100,000 in Germany, after which the loans will be rolled out across the EU. The licence means Scalable can also accept client funds as deposits. The Munich-based startup, which has more than one million customers, is also backed by Tencent, HV Tengelmann, and Sofina. Erik Podzuweit, founder and Co-CEO of Scalable Capital, said: “We now have all the building blocks necessary to unleash our full potential for our clients across Europe.  “As we do so, we continue to set new standards and expand our offering, providing clients and their families with everything they need for investing, saving, and financing." Florian Prucker, founder and Co-CEO of Scalable Capital, says: “Our strength lies in our unique, fully vertically integrated business model. We develop our technology ourselves and serve the entire value chain with our own full banking licence.” Scalable offers its services in Germany, the UK, Spain, France, Italy and other EU markets.

UK-headquartered clinical AI workforce platform TERN Group has raised $24m Series A funding. Notion Capital led the funding, which includes RTP Global, LocalGlobe, EQ2 Ventures, Leo Capita, Presight Capital, Mato Peric MPGI, Tom Stafford (Cofounder of DST Global), along with former NHS England chair, and CEO of AXA Healthcare. This brings TERN Group’s total funding to $33 million. Hospitals and care providers are stretched thin, forced to rely on expensive locums that drain budgets without solving the long-term gap, with the UK NHS alone spending over £10 billion on locums Healthcare systems everywhere are caught in the same cycle: demand from the industry is rising, but there is no accessible pipeline of qualified healthcare professionals. On top of that, international recruitment is slow and bureaucratic. TERN Group has built what it calls the “world’s first AI clinical workforce platform” — developed by clinicians, HR experts, and AI technologists — to source, secure, and relocate top healthcare talent. The enterprise-ready system integrates AI-driven workflows with human-led support, combining sourcing, credentialing, training, relocation, and settlement into a seamless solution. The platform delivers 60 per cent faster time-to-hire (cutting months-long processes to weeks); 3x cost savings compared to locum-heavy models; 15–20 per cent productivity gains by aligning talent supply with clinical demand; a far superior candidate experience, driving 96 per cent retention; and the AI-workflows can be easily integrated into a single regulatory-compliant enterprise platform.  TERN Group already has over 100+ global healthcare clients, including 18 UK NHS trusts (including two of the five leading trusts in the country). The company has expanded from one to six core markets this past year, and is now active in Germany, UK, UAE, KSA, Japan and USA. More than 650,000 professionals from 13 countries have signed up to access transparent information, upskilling opportunities, and direct roles with reputable employers.  According to Avinav Nigam, founder and CEO of TERN Group, Every Trust the founders meet tells the same story: “They need qualified staff now, but they cannot risk patient safety or compliance.” “Our platform gives them speed without compromise, predictability without cost inflation, and sustainability where locum dependency has become unsustainable.  TERN Group’s mission is for every placement to set off a chain reaction: a nurse arriving on time means a ward runs smoothly, which means patients get treated faster. This raise enables us to make those chain reactions happen at scale, across the UK and beyond.” Itxaso del Palacio, Partner of Notion Capital says: “TERN Group is tackling one of the healthcare industry’s most urgent structural challenges: affordable, reliable and sustainable recruitment. By combining compliance with AI-driven efficiency, they are proving that workforce delivery doesn’t have to be slow or fragmented. It can be predictable infrastructure, which is why they are already becoming the trusted partner for healthcare systems in the UK and beyond.” Mark Hackett, CEO, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust shared: "TERN Group is helping us address critical workforce shortages by providing a compliant and predictable pipeline of international doctors. Their platform brings much-needed speed and structure to a process that has traditionally been slow and fragmented.”  With the new funding, TERN Group will expand its UK operations, deepen partnerships with NHS Trusts and care groups, and accelerate development of its Clinical AI Workforce platform, including compliance automation, workforce planning, and system integrations.  The company will also continue to invest in international talent preparation, clinically, linguistically, and culturally, ensuring that professionals not only arrive ready but also stay long term.

Productivity social network uRoutine has closed a £555,000 Seed funding round.  Described as the “productive social network”, uRoutine is free, globally accessible, and designed to be impactful in just five minutes a day, helping users ‘achieve more and scroll less’ while embracing the growing trend of digital detoxing.  The consumer-facing app aims to address the productivity and wellbeing challenges many people have faced since the pandemic and the rise of remote work. The platform allows users to create, copy and track routines, connect with friends, family, and trusted experts such as healthcare professionals and personal trainers, and stay motivated through shared progress and encouragement. uRoutine has already attracted more than 3,500 pre-registered users between May and July 2025. The investment, secured within just three weeks, comes primarily from angel investors who backed founders Ed Johnson and Gabriel Sirbu’s previous venture PushFar, which was acquired by ScaleUp Capital in June 2023. Ed Johnson, co-founder and CEO of uRoutine, shared:  “Closing our round in just three weeks and welcoming thousands of early users tells us there’s a real hunger for a more productive alternative to social media.”     We are thrilled to have the backing of investors who worked alongside us before and saw our last company through to a successful exit.  This allows us to focus entirely on delivering value for our users from day one, and turn the appetite we have experienced into lasting  Influence.” Investors who took part in the round include Timothy Hely Hutchinson CBE (former CEO of Hachette UK), Tom Weldon (CEO of Penguin Books UK), Glynn Woodin (Founder of Mustard Foods and Mustard Catering), and Paddy Dear (Co-Founder of Tetragon Financial Management). Tim Hely Hutchinson CBE, investor and former CEO of Hachette UK said:  “uRoutine is a platform that is perfectly aligned with the cultural shift towards digital balance, meeting a huge and growing demand for tools that help people use technology more purposefully and productively. An exciting aspect of uRoutine is that it combines social impact with strong commercial potential and a clear path to scale and profitability. Ed and Gabriel have a proven track record in identifying and executing opportunities to build impactful platforms, which I’ve seen first-hand, and I’m delighted to be working with them again.” uRoutine will use the funding to support the development and marketing of the platform, as well as developing B2C and B2B revenue streams. In the long term, the company plans to introduce a business and brand-facing solution, helping organisations with employee productivity, alongside helping brands reach consumers who are actively engaged with habits, goals and routines that align with brand purpose. Lead image: uRoutine. Photo: uncredited.

LeydenJar, a Dutch deeptech company, has raised €23 million to scale its technology into full production at its Eindhoven facility, PlantOne. The round includes €13 million in equity financing, led by Extantia and Invest-NL, to complete the final phase of PlantOne’s construction and begin operations in 2027. In addition, LeydenJar secured €10 million in customer funding from a leading US-based consumer electronics company to support the development and installation of key production equipment. LeydenJar is developing Silyte™, the energy-dense pure silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries. Its 100 per cent silicon anodes are ultra-thin, fast-charging, and structurally stable thanks to a unique porous columnar design, while also cutting CO₂ emissions. The technology increases energy density by up to 50 per cent, enables charging within minutes, and delivers reliable performance across hundreds of cycles. According to Christian Rood, CEO and co-founder of LeydenJar, the funding represents a significant milestone for the company: We’re now moving from breakthrough lab innovation to full-scale production. Our technology is already integrated into the roadmaps of some of the world’s most ambitious product developers and with PlantOne, we’ll be ready to deliver at scale. The company is investing in expanding its commercial organisation and scaling operational infrastructure to support rising customer demand and prepare for full industrial deployment.

Hormona, a UK-based healthtech developing personalised hormone tracking solutions, has received a £100,000 grant from Innovate UK to support development of its hormone tracking technology. The funding will support development of the company’s AI-driven, at-home hormone tests, designed to help shorten diagnostic delays. Founded by Karolina Löfqvist (CEO) and Jasmine Tagesson (COO), Hormona is targeting a longstanding and systemic issue in UK women’s health: the lack of adequate clinical tools and GP training to diagnose and manage perimenopause and menopause. According to the company, its solution will allow for at-home hormone testing using urine samples in about 15 minutes, as an alternative to blood tests that cost an average of £174. In the UK, around 13 million women are either perimenopausal or menopausal, with many facing years-long delays in receiving a proper diagnosis. Research cited by Hormona shows women often wait up to five years for a perimenopause diagnosis. This delay contributes an estimated £3.38 billion annually in lost productivity to the UK economy, according to data from the Fawcett Society The issue is compounded by gaps in medical training. A recent survey of UK general practitioners found that nearly half feel ill-equipped to manage menopause using current NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines. This results in many patients being misdiagnosed or told their symptoms are stress-related, an experience shared by Hormona’s CEO. “After personally experiencing how the medical system dismissed my symptoms as stress-related, I realised how widespread and damaging the lack of diagnostic tools and clinical support truly is,” said Karolina Löfqvist, co-founder and CEO of Hormona. Hormona’s innovation lies in its ability to combine rapid at-home hormone testing with AI-powered clinical decision support tools for GPs. The startup’s proprietary technology analyses hormone fluctuations using urine samples and provides data-rich results that clinicians can use to make more accurate, timely decisions. “Our tests are not just fast and affordable, they offer the objective data that doctors need to treat patients effectively,” added Jasmine Tagesson, co-founder and COO. “This funding will help us bring our technology to the women who need it most, and to the GPs struggling to support them.” The medical lead on the project, Dr. Anna Targonskaya, is overseeing clinical development and research validation. According to the company, its solution has potential not only to support perimenopause and menopause care but to eventually expand into broader women’s health diagnostics. The grant was awarded as part of an Innovate UK programme that supports breakthrough innovations with commercial potential. Innovate UK is the UK government's innovation agency, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and frequently backs early-stage companies that address market failures or underserved populations. According to Tech.eu research, investment in femtech remains a small but fast-growing segment of the European healthtech sector. With the Innovate UK grant in hand, Hormona plans to expand clinical testing, advance its AI capabilities, and begin early partnerships with healthcare providers in the UK.

Louis Taylor, the CEO of the British Business Bank (BBB), the UK’s biggest venture investor, has just come back from holiday, where he says he has “tried to shed” some excess weight amassed by the many corporate breakfasts and dinners he attends. Conversely, the BBB is fattening up, courtesy of the benevolence of the UK government, its owner, which has given it an additional £6.6bn to invest in VC funds and startups by 2030, as Labour hopes to boost the flagging economy through its Industrial Strategy. Set up in 2014 to improve the flow of capital to private finance, the BBB (which also has a banking arm), plays a pivotal role in how the UK funds startups, through direct and VC investments, encouraging the private sector to join investments they might view as too risky. But the BBB -which invested £1.29bn in 2024 in investment capital- faces questions, ranging from whether it has the smarts to directly invest in startups to the quality of its portfolio? Observers also question whether its “civil service” salaries can attract top talent. One source says: “Surely the BBB should stick to fund investing rather than trying to move into an area where they have a limited track record.” “Good quality” portfolio Defending the BBB portfolio, Taylor says it’s “good quality”. He says: “Not everything is going to be a winner, but that's the nature of the investment industry that we're involved in. We’re still carrying our portfolio at more than 1.3 times what we paid for it.” The BBB also points to the 22 unicorns which it has supported, including the likes of AI unicorn Tractable and fintech Thought Machine. One of its recent wins has been OrganOx, the University of Oxford spinout, which makes organ preservation devices, which in August was sold to global medical company Terumo Corporation in a $1.5bn “landmark” deal. Taylor, who has been CEO for three years, says BBB’s investment in OrganOx was a “ten-year burn”. He adds: “It took a long time to get that to a billion and a half. And similarly, there is a lot of companies in our portfolio that are quite new for us, which will take some time to realise.” BBB as direct investor and magnet for other funding On criticism that it should leave direct investing to VCs in the private sector, Taylor says: “Have we been directly investing as long as we've been doing fund investing? Well, no. But actually, we built our skill set in direct investing by looking at the companies we've been investing in through funds and looking at the ones from there that we want to directly invest in.” Generally speaking, the BBB is not competing directly with private investors, but is more acting as a stimulus to “crowd in” domestic institutional funds. The UK tech ecosystem has long faced the charge that it’s good at birthing startups, but not so good at scaling them, a disconnect the BBB was established to fix. Allied to this is the pull of the US investment market for UK startups, which is much bigger and more risk-tolerant, while US predators are also keen to hoover up the next big UK startups. Taylor, who has also served as CEO of UK government credit agency, UK Export Finance, and senior roles at Standard Chartered, says: “I mean, we’re not saying there shouldn’t be overseas capital in our scale-up companies. There absolutely should. It can be very helpful. “But there should be more domestic counterbalance to that overseas capital because companies tend to migrate to where their capital comes from. We don’t want to lose our best companies just at the point they’re becoming economically significant. We do want them to stay here, to do research, to employ people, to have more spinoff opportunities.” Sheffield HQ a "real advantage" Meanwhile, some have suggested that the BBB’s Sheffield headquarters could be a bit of a turn off for talent. Not so, says Taylor, who argues it’s a “real advantage”, citing the perspective it gives the BBB on investing in the UK regions, part of its remit, as well as benefiting from less competition for talent. He adds: “You look at Sheffield's universities and more of their graduates stay in Sheffield than pretty much any other university because it's a great place to be and there's great opportunity.” Taylor, who starts work at 8am and often attends work evening events, also defends criticism that talent might also be turned off by the BBB’s “civil service level” salaries. He added: “We’re not going to pay top whack private sector.” But he points to wider “social purposes” working for the BBB and helping generate economic growth. Paucity of pension fund investment Another long-standing burning issue is the paucity of UK pension funds invested in VCs and UK startups. Taylor says: “This is an allocation issue. It's a risk appetite issue. It's not about the amount of money we've got.” The BBB’s expanded role now includes the British Growth Partnership, an investment vehicle looking to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from UK pension funds and other institutions to back British venture capital. It is now, for the first time, managing capital on behalf of pension funds together with other institutional investors. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the bosses of the UK’s largest pension funds struck a deal with the government that it claims will release up to £50bn worth of investments, with at least 50 per cent earmarked for British startups, including home-grown startups. On the British Growth Partnership, he says: “We're seeking to raise hundreds of millions of pounds. We're in the market at the moment. “We've got due diligence going on, and we hope to be investing by the end of this year.” Lack of diversity in startups Like in other industries, the lack of diversity continues to be an issue in UK startups. This year, the BBB committed £400m to diverse and emerging fund managers. The BBB has also set its first gender target, with the initiative aiming to invest at least 50 per cent of the capital into female fund managers. Taylor said: “This is not an ideological push, this is a commercial push that we’ve got to get underserved entrepreneurs into the mainstream of venture capital investment.” On university startup stakes The BBB is also a big investor in UK university spinouts, backing one in four UK university spinouts, which raised £1.9bn in equity investment last year. Critics accuse the universities of taking too big a stake in startups, though 2024 figures show universities took an average of 16.1 per cent in the companies they spun out, down from an average of 21.5% per cent in 2023. Taylor says there is now “more realism” across UK universities compared to a few years ago. He says: “I am personally inclined to the view that universities should see the value of spinouts not least in drawing research funds to the university itself rather than being a cash cow for making capital gain.” IPO shortages On another key issue of the dearth of UK IPOs, Taylor said: “I wouldn't focus only on public markets. I think it's about liquidity in risk assets generally, so private markets as well. “And I think that if there were a greater appreciation by domestic institutions in the quality of the UK's innovation ecosystem, there would be a lot more liquidity in UK markets, private and public as well. And actually, valuation differentials between the UK and the US would be much narrower.” Is UK losing its lustre? Taylor does not think the UK has lost its status as an investment hotbed, pointing out that the UK venture market is bigger than France, Germany and Sweden combined. He adds: “I think London maintains its position as a really, really strong centre of venture capital for Europe. And I don't think that'll change unless our innovation ecosystem kind of collapses and I don’t see that happening.”

Today CUTISS, a late-stage clinical TechBio at the forefront of tissue therapeutics and regenerative medicine, has announced the closing of its Series C round for €57.9 million (CHF 56M) with existing and new investors, bringing total funds raised to more than €129.3 million (CHF 125M).  Established in 2017 as a spin-off of the Tissue Biology Research Unit of the University of Zurich, CUTISS is at the forefront of tissue engineering therapy and regenerative medicine.  Its lead product, denovoSkin, is a bio-engineered, personalised skin graft that promises to transform skin surgery, especially for burn victims.  I spoke to CEO and co-founder Dr Daniela Marino in May last year, so I was excited to talk again.  A bioengineered graft that grows with the patient The personalised (autologous), bioengineered skin graft denovoSkin™ is designed for patients undergoing skin surgery for burns, reconstructive and plastic procedures. denovoSkin™ is bilayer, composed of both dermis and epidermis. Long-term follow-ups to date have shown that it drastically spares donor sites, matures quickly, safely restores skin function, regenerating in a near-scarless manner, and growing with the patient. As a result, it has the potential to significantly reduce healthy skin harvesting and scar care (including follow-up corrective surgeries), and improve quality of life. From investor hesitation to FOMO: How a Dutch burn centre unlocked the funding Late-stage funding is never easy. Marino acknowledged that the fundraising process was unusually drawn out. “It took a long time—definitely harder than usual,” she said.  “Even the last round wasn’t done in a week, but this time you could really feel that although there was strong interest in the story — the data speaks for itself — investors just took much longer to make decisions. It stretched on and on. At times, I wasn’t sure if they were waiting for an apocalypse or a miracle in the markets. In the end, I spent almost two years pitching nonstop, which was painful.” To manage the process, CUTISS staged the raise in multiple closings. “That turned out to be the smartest move,” Marino explained.  “With the first closing, we were able to demonstrate real milestones—launching Phase 3, starting recruitment. People thought that with the new European system this would be too complex, but we showed we could succeed.” Momentum built after a key strategic backer came on board, as CUTISS has also signed a collaboration agreement with its new investor Rode Kruis Ziekenhuis (RKZ), which could see the creation of CUTISS’ first international commercial production facility in the Netherlands, once denovoSkin is commercially approved. RKZ is a leading EU clinical trials centre, participating in the Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials for denovoSkin.   “Once the burn unit hospital in the Netherlands invested, it sent a strong signal,” she said. “They saw that Phase 3 was happening, the timing was clear, and the product was truly on track. That investment unlocked the rest — suddenly, the other investors who had been hesitating for so long felt the FOMO. Within three or four weeks, after two years of effort, the round came together.” Nadine Vieleers, CEO Rode Kruis Ziekenhuis / Burn Center Beverwijk, commented:  “As a clinical institution dedicated to advancing burn care, we’re committed to support CUTISS and the development of denovoSkin. We’re excited to continue our closer collaboration, and the agreement we’ve signed sets out our vision for bringing their revolutionary skin tissue therapy to our patients as a priority.” The Series C co-lead investors – the family office of Giammaria Giuliani, a longstanding lead investor, and a US family represented by Shiloh Advisors AG – were joined in 2025 by new investors ranging from family offices to industry players, as well as an investor collective at Swisspreneur. Silvan Krähenbühl, speaking on behalf of Swisspreneur, commented: "We’re proud that Swisspreneur participated in the latest funding round of CUTISS, a pioneering Swiss biotech company. Their mission to revolutionise skin regeneration is exactly the kind of bold innovation we love to support, and we're excited for the next phase in the journey ahead."  For Marino, the validation goes beyond capital.  “It’s not just a family office or a private investor—it’s one of Europe’s leading burn hospitals betting on our technology. That makes it a strategic investment and sends a powerful message.” CUTISS is working to scale up the production of denovoSkin™ through automation. The company has already developed a first-in-class automation platform for the scalable production of personalised tissue therapy. This patented, fully-closed, end-to-end system enables de-centralised production, cost-effective scale-up, and high return on investment. Platform industrialisation is now ongoing. Orphan drug status and broad applications put CUTISS at the forefront of regenerative medicine The funding proceeds will be used to progress with the Phase 3 trial of the lead product denovoSkin. Currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in Europe, denovoSkin has received Orphan Drug Designation from Swissmedic, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the US FDA for the treatment of burns. Marino explained the trial process: “We started recruiting this year in Europe and Switzerland, really at full speed from the second quarter,” she explained. “We have almost 20 sites in the trial. It took some time to bring them all online, but now we expect to have our first dataset by the end of next year. This summer we already saw a lot of patients coming through. We’re at the very last step. If Phase 3 confirms what we saw in Phase 2, the future looks bright. Now that the fundraising round is closed, all of our energy is going into that.” Asked about the types of patients taking part in the trials, Marino pointed to the broad scope of applications.  “In Phase 1, we treated both patients with active burns and those undergoing removal of a scar or giant nevus, and we followed them for five years with good results.  In Phase 2, we expanded—one full trial just with burn patients, and another across reconstructive cases, from scar revisions to tumor resections to gender reassignment surgery. The outcomes have been very consistent. The product seems highly versatile.” She attributed that versatility to the underlying biology. “Each time, the product is freshly prepared for the individual patient. If the wound bed is well prepared, it doesn’t really matter why the wound is there—whether from burns or reconstruction.  Of course, actively burned patients are very fragile, so we see dropouts, sepsis, even deaths. It’s a very complex trial to run. But physiologically and biologically, when the wound is ready, our product appears to work across indications.”Further, there is a huge potential beyond burns." Over a million skin surgeries are performed per year in Europe. According to Marino: “We are really trying to approach the market in a very clever way: by getting there as fast as possible with the highest demand in burns, but really trying to serve the market correctly and support patients who had a trauma or an accident or a cancer to be able to use the technology correctly as well.” Paramount to this evolution and acceleration is a partnership Tecan, a Swiss-American company that produces machines for life science, announced earlier this year.  Marino admits: “Tecan was a real jackpot for us in the first quarter,” she said. “Up to now, our machines were developed as prototypes with engineers. But what we need are real, deployable devices — and with Tecan, we’re moving very quickly toward that finish line.” CUTISS to launch VitiCell for personalised vitiligo treatment CUTISS also has exclusive rights to globally commercialise VitiCell, an MDD CE-marked medical device developed by IBSA Pharma. The device enables autologous cell grafting for skin re-pigmentation, offering a personalised treatment option for patients with vitiligo. This chronic autoimmune disorder causes patches of skin to lose pigment or colour. According to Marino, vitiligo, a condition that remains poorly understood.  “It’s very prevalent and actually increasing, but nobody really knows why.  That lack of understanding comes from years of neglect—vitiligo was long dismissed as a cosmetic issue rather than a medical one, so little research was done.  Yet now we know these patients face higher cancer risks, immune response issues, and other comorbidities. Socially, the stigma can be devastating—in some cultures it can prevent people from having any kind of normal life.” Using VitiCell, “within an hour, clinicians can take a thin piece of pigmented skin from the patient, isolate the melanocytes, and apply them to the depigmented lesion so the cells repopulate the area,” Marino explained. “It’s still personalised, still cell therapy, and a perfect addition to our approach. We’re now in the regulatory transition from MDD to MDR, and once that’s complete, we’ll launch. The demand is already incredible.” In the future, patients treated with denovoSkin may also benefit from this therapy. CUTISS will launch VitiCell once the EU MDR CE marking is granted. “The vision is that by the time Phase 3 data is positive, the machines are ready, and we already have revenues from this device,” Marino explained.  “At that point, the company will truly be positioned as a commercial entity.” CUTISS is at the forefront of a growing tissue engineering wave Looking ahead, Marino sees CUTISS riding the broader wave of tissue engineering. “It’s a field that’s really taking off. Just yesterday I saw news of a new printer for tissues—  it’s becoming the next big thing,” she said. “We see CUTISS as one of the leaders. To the best of our knowledge, we’re the only company with a product already in Phase 3 and machines close to being market-ready. It’s an exciting point of development in such a fast-growing sector.” The next step, she noted, is not just regulatory approval but ensuring adoption. “That could mean an acquisition by a company already taking the lead in tissue and organ regeneration or others in the TechBio space. It could mean an IPO, so we grow internally and expand into other applications beyond skin. Or it could mean a large private equity round in a few years, depending on how the market evolves.” Marino is keeping an open mind. “Five years ago, the idea of an acquisition felt remote—I couldn’t see who would be able to sell this product effectively. But now, there are strong candidates emerging. By the time we’re ready, the landscape will look very different. Tissue and organ therapy is moving to the forefront, and CUTISS is well positioned to be part of that story.”

Pactos, a Munich-based startup building an AI platform for structured and compliant external workforce management, has raised €2.7 million in a pre-seed round. With a market value exceeding €230 billion, contingent workforce management is a major driver of Europe’s economy. Yet many companies still rely on fragmented tools like spreadsheets and email, an inefficient approach that also creates unnecessary legal risks. Pactos addresses these challenges with an AI-powered platform that streamlines the management of external workers. The software automatically reviews contracts, tracks assignments in real time, and securely stores all relevant data. Procurement, HR, legal, and finance teams gain access to detailed analyses and actionable recommendations, while the platform integrates seamlessly with existing IT systems such as zvoove. Already managing several thousand external workers for clients including Swissport, Knuth, and Unique Personal, Pactos is certified to internationally recognised standards and fully compliant with GDPR. Antonio Zill, Co-founder and Managing Director of Pactos, explains: We aim to build a real European powerhouse for external workforce management, enabling companies to respond quickly and efficiently to fluctuating demand. This funding allows us to refine our software end-to-end and better deliver on our promise: to make the use of external resources as simple and efficient as possible. The pre-seed round is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). Björn Sykora, Principal at HTGF, commented: Managing external workforce is a major challenge for companies: complex, time-consuming, and full of compliance risks. Pactos digitises the end-to-end process and has the potential to become the leading system in a billion-dollar market. Alongside HTGF, Pactos has also gained the support of various experienced industry leaders like Dr. Sebastian Dettmers (CEO of StepStone), Jens Bender (initiator of the HR Angels Club),  and Alexander Schwörer (owner of the PERI Group). Investors from the digital tech and startup scene, including Robin Haak (Managing Partner at Robin Capital), and Franzi Majer (Founding Partner of Superangels), shared: We are excited to support Pactos on its journey. Their AI-powered operating system brings transparency, control, and efficiency to an often-neglected area and has the potential to shape a new category in the B2B SaaS sector. With the pre-seed funding, Pactos aims to expand its AI functionalities, strengthen its development team in the DACH region, and accelerate its B2B growth.

Stockholm-based Standab, a provider of innovative urban smart-charging solutions, has secured €3.6 million in funding to scale its operations. Shared micromobility has grown rapidly in European cities, but inconsistent charging practices have led to operational inefficiencies, high costs, and street clutter. Micromobility operators often rely on costly and emission-heavy battery swapping using vans, while cities struggle to integrate these services seamlessly. Standab addresses these challenges through its standardised charging stations. They are compatible with more than 85 per cent of existing scooter and e-bike fleets. Having already entered partnerships with leading operators such as Dott/Tier, Standab enables automated charging, reduces the need for excess batteries, and significantly lowers CO₂ emissions. In pilots, Standab has shown a 50 per cent reduction in charging costs, 45 per cent higher fleet availability, and up to 55 per cent fewer swap tasks, while cities benefit from decluttered streets and free infrastructure. Marcus Adolfsson, Co-founder and CEO of Standab, said: Cities and operators alike are calling for smarter ways to integrate micromobility into the urban landscape. Our universal charging solution solves operational inefficiencies while reducing emissions and creating cleaner streets. With this funding, we can accelerate our roll-out and work towards making Standab the European standard for micromobility charging. The round was led by Spintop Ventures together with Almi Invest GreenTech. Erik Wenngren, Partner at Spintop Ventures, commented: Standab is uniquely positioned to become the universal smart-charging backbone for Europe’s micromobility sector. The company combines strong operator partnerships, proven technology, and a highly experienced team. This investment means that Standab can roll out their intelligent combined software/hardware solution, as the company continues to scale across Europe and deliver both financial and sustainability impact. This investment is fully aligned with one of our core investment themes: accelerating the transition towards a circular future. Jonathan Lannö, Investment Manager at Almi Invest GreenTech, emphasized that Standab’s universal charging solution tackles a key challenge in micromobility, namely the costly and carbon-intensive process of battery swapping. By extending battery lifecycles, reducing fleet overcapacity and enabling grid-smart charging, the company directly reduces emissions and helps cities integrate cleaner, more efficient transport solutions. At Almi Invest GreenTech, our mission is to support companies that accelerate the green transition – a mission that Standab embodies perfectly. The funding will be used to scale operations, expand into 15 European cities by the second half of 2026 and broaden its partnerships with leading micromobility operators.