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Romanian startup Assista AI raises €100K from Gluon Syndicate for AI agents
Romanian task automation startup Assista AI has raised €100,000 from Gluon Syndicate.
Assista AI, founded by Paul Burca and Anton Zaharia in late 2023, is pioneering AI-driven automation by enabling businesses and professionals to delegate day-to-day tasks to AI agents.
Unlike single-purpose AI tools, Assista AI connects to over 100 productivity applications, allowing users to automate complex workflows using simple natural language commands.
At the core of Assista AI’s innovation is its ability to deploy multiple specialised AI agents that collaborate to streamline entire processes across different applications. Looking ahead, the startup plans to introduce its DeepResearch agent, a RAG system, and a “Digital Twin” feature that will copy the user’s behaviour.
The investment comes from Gluon Syndicate, an emerging Slovak-Czech angel investment syndicate, with individual contributions ranging from €5,000 to €50,000.
Paul Burca, CEO of Assista AI, shared:
“This investment from Gluon Syndicate is a significant milestone for Assista AI. It not only validates our vision of transforming task automation through AI agents but also provides the resources needed to accelerate our growth.
We are excited to enhance our platform and introduce innovative features like the 'digital clone' to empower users further.”
According to Patrik Janusek, one of the Founding Partners of Gluon Syndicate, the decision to invest was driven primarily by the strength and adaptability of the founding team:
“When evaluating startups, the founder's resilience and adaptability are paramount. While technology and business models may evolve, a founder's unwavering commitment and enthusiasm are crucial for navigating the challenges of a startup journey.
In Paul and Anton, we see a team that embodies these qualities, making Assista AI a compelling investment.”
This is the second investment from Gluon Syndicate’ which aims to prove that syndicated investing is a scalable and impactful model for early-stage funding.
Lead image: Paul Burca, CEO of Assista AI. Photo: uncredited.
The AI paradox: Overhyped in the short term, underinvested in the long term
If I had to pick the biggest player in today's tech hype cycle, it would be B2B AI.
Many businesses have rushed to integrate AI, driven by promises of automation, hyper-personalisation, and cost savings, and many startups have worked hard to develop solutions in response to business pain points.
But ultimately, with the exception of a few high-impact use cases, we don't realistically know to what extent business customers will extend their contracts across the incoming months and years or how many early adopters will shift their allegiances to the next AI product on offer.
Oxx is a venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Richard Anton and Mikael Johnsson. It aims to become Europe's leading investor in companies developing profound B2B software products. I sat down with Johnsson to learn more.
According to Johnsson, AI investment is overhyped in the short term but underinvested in the long term.
"This pattern is common with any major technological shift. The initial enthusiasm leads to overestimating the short-term impact, while long-term consequences are often underestimated."
Oxx has invested in various B2B SaaS companies including Kodiak Hub, Funnel, Gravitee, and Apica.
The firm focuses on founders with deep domain expertise and access to unique data that can support AI-driven business differentiation.
Johnsson shared:
"On average, our founders tend to be older and more experienced than those typically backed by venture funds.
Many are second or third-time entrepreneurs, usually in their mid-30s to early 50s. While we do make exceptions, most of our founders have spent 10 to 20 years in their industries.
They're approaching problems from a customer or industry-insider perspective, rather than as technology-first evangelists."
In December 2023, Oxx closed its second fund generation, raising $190 million to continue supporting European B2B SaaS scaleups.
European enterprises are over-reliant on US software
According to Johnsson, at the time of the firm's founding in 2017, most investors focused on digital consumer businesses, and there was relatively little interest in funding and scaling SaaS companies.
Then, with the onset of COVID-19 and its aftermath, demand for B2B SaaS solutions surged, and suddenly, everyone wanted to be a SaaS investor.
"Now, we see the landscape shifting back, with fewer investors specialising in this space. However, we remain deeply committed because we see a fundamental issue: Europe is home to a large share of the world's Fortune 1000 companies—many of them global leaders in their niches—yet the software driving their digital transformation is primarily American. That doesn't make sense to us."
Data infrastructure is the key to unlocking AI's full potential
Johnsson believes that the trend of dedicated AI funds and investors treating AI as a standalone investment theme is a passing phase.
"AI represents a fundamental shift in how software is built and deployed, much like the transition from on-premises servers to cloud computing or the move from perpetual software licenses to subscription-based models."
However, we don't see AI as a niche investment category—it will be embedded in nearly all software companies."
For Johnsson, the real opportunity lies in understanding how AI can be leveraged to build differentiated businesses.
Oxx is particularly excited about the foundational work required to make AI truly valuable. One critical challenge is the data pipeline.
"With the rise of cloud and SaaS, enterprise data is now scattered across numerous isolated applications. This creates a need for what we call a "data refinery"—solutions that aggregate, transform, and harmonise data into a unified business view.
We've invested in companies tackling this issue in marketing, HR, and IT operations, and we're now exploring cybersecurity. Before any meaningful AI-driven innovation can happen, businesses need well-structured, accessible data. That's why we see data infrastructure as a crucial area of investment."
Johnsson admits that he and his co-founder Richard Lu have seen multiple market cycles. He contends that once interest rates stabilise and inflation continues to decline, we will see a massive uptick in M&A activity.
"That will be the catalyst to restart the investment cycle.
There is significant pent-up demand, and private equity firms have enormous amounts of capital earmarked for consolidation. We're on the cusp of seeing a surge in M & A, which will help unfreeze the market and fuel the next wave of investment."
He asserts that Many of these deals will be tech-driven, and we'll see a lot of "acquihires", where companies are bought primarily for their talent rather than their products.
"Many AI startups are composed of brilliant minds, but they don't necessarily have the scale to be standalone businesses. In the right environment, these teams could be incredibly valuable."
The B2B AI hype cycle is in full swing, but long-term success will depend on solving real business challenges, particularly in data infrastructure. Oxx remains committed to backing experienced founders who can build AI-driven differentiation.
OakNorth acquires US community bank CUB
OakNorth, the UK challenger business bank, has made its first US acquisition, a Michigan-based bank which serves retail and business customers. OakNorth is endeavouring to make a big play in the US and has lent $700M, via its UK balance sheet, in the US since it launched stateside in mid-2023.
Community Unity Bank (CUB), founded three years ago, serves mainly customers in Southeast Michigan. OakNorth, which is buying CUB, which is FDIC-insured, in an all-share deal, says the deal will mean it can expand its business lending throughout the United States.
OakNorth, which is backed by SoftBank, the Japanese investment group, lends to UK businesses with between £1m and £100m in revenue and offers business banking through savings accounts and cards. CUB marks OakNorth’s first US acquisition and third acquisition in total, following the purchase of Fluidly and Ask Partners.
Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth, said:
"In the summer of 2023 following the collapse of several US banks which had been focused on serving the lower mid-market, we saw an opportunity to step up and do our part in helping to fill the funding gap they were experiencing.
"Over the last 18 months, we’ve supported businesses with their growth ambitions, providing several hundred million dollars of capital. Demand from US borrowers continues to be exceptionally strong."
Greg Wernette, CEO, CUB, added:
"CUB was formed by bringing together entrepreneurs from around Oakland County with diverse backgrounds to meet a growing need for small business banking.
"As business owners and executives, we know that access to capital means everything, and CUB was started to meet that need, assembling a team experienced at lending during both up cycles and down cycles.
"With an entrepreneurial focus at our core, and every team member striving for customer delight, we are very excited to be joining forces with OakNorth to support an even greater number of US businesses together."
Tech leaders call for EU sovereign infrastructure fund in “crisis” moment
Scores of European tech leaders have joined the call for the EU to become less reliant on overseas tech and pursue a strategy of independence, saying the bloc was in an “acute moment of crisis”. Aerospace giant Airbus, cloud storage firm Cubbit and lobby groups such as the European AI Forum and the European Startup Network are among the 100 or so signatories of an open letter to European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen.
Signatories of the letter have called on the EU to create a sovereign infrastructure fund to galvanise investment in tech across the bloc, as part of a series of demands. The issue of European tech independence is a hot-button issue, as the bloc plays catch up to the US and China.
The issue has become more pronounced amid faltering relations between the US and EU after a broadside by US vice president JD Vance, who questioned European values. The 2024 Draghi report highlighted that the EU needs more coordinated industrial policy, more rapid decisions and massive investment if it wants to keep pace economically with the US and China.
The open letter says:
"Europe needs to recover the initiative and become more technologically independent across all layers of its critical digital infrastructure: from logical Infrastructure - applications, platforms, media, AI frameworks and models - to physical infrastructure - chips, computing, storage and connectivity.
"Europe’s current multiple dependencies create security and reliability risks, compromise our sovereignty and hurt our growth."
It adds:
"We call on your convening powers to mobilise industry to actively help coordinate and validate a continent-wide strategy to power a European digital sovereign effort.
"To support Europe in this acute moment of crisis for our security and strategic autonomy, the Commission must urgently form and convene working groups with industry to transform its tech sovereignty ambition into concrete actions."
As well as a call for an EU sovereign infrastructure fund, the letter also calls for the EU to prioritise services with strong adoption projects, such as those in cybersecurity and prioritising “result-oriented projects”.
Signatories of the letter back the EuroStack initiative, which is championing EU digital sovereignty and calling for Europe to play a bigger role in digital supply chains.
The letter adds:
"Time is of the essence, and industry is prepared to invest if there are conditions for viable returns. Together we must create a reliable, open infrastructure which supports offering solutions that cannot be built in today’s captured digital economy. We stand ready to meet you to discuss this plan."
Biotech Maxion Therapeutics secures $72M Series A
Cambridge-based Maxion Therapeutics, a biotech developing antibody-based drugs for ion channel- and G protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases, has raised $72M in a Series A round. The round was led by General Catalyst with additional investment from new investors, British Patient Capital, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, Solasta Ventures and Eli Lilly and Company and supported by existing investors LifeArc Ventures, Monograph Capital and BGF.
Maxion Therapeutics is focused on developing transformative protein therapeutics for treating diseases driven by ion channels and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). They use their proprietary technology to create therapies that address previously untreatable conditions, offering improved selectivity, potency, and manufacturability. Their innovations aim to target chronic pain, autoimmunity, and cardiovascular diseases, providing safer and more effective alternatives to current small-molecule treatments.
Maxion’s lead programme, MAX001, is currently in preclinical development to target a broad spectrum of inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Other early-stage programmes include molecules for the treatment of pain and cardiovascular disease. Ion channel and GPCR dysfunction is implicated in a wide range of debilitating diseases and current treatments, based on small molecule drugs, often suffer from poor efficacy and side effects due to the lack of selectivity and exposure. Compared to small molecules, engineered antibodies offer superior selectivity and are well proven therapeutically. Despite these obvious advantages, antibody discovery against ion channels and GPCRs has been very challenging with no antibodies against ion channels currently in clinical development.
“This landmark fundraising – one of the largest European private biotech financings since the beginning of 2024 – highlights the significant potential of our technology and development pipeline. KnotBodies represent a potential breakthrough biologic drug modality, delivering greater potency, selectivity, and durability. We believe that KnotBodies will provide transformational new therapeutic options for ion channel- and GPCR-driven diseases, across a wide range of therapeutic areas with a remaining high unmet medical need.
"The calibre of our international investor syndicate validates our approach, and I would like to welcome our new investors to Maxion and thank our existing investors for their continued support.” Arndt Schottelius Maxion is developing a proprietary pipeline of KnotBody® molecules with “first-in-class" and “best-in-class" potential." said founder Arndt Schottelius.
Elena Viboch, Managing Director at General Catalyst, added: “We believe Maxion is radically shifting the biologics discovery process to address the most challenging drug targets such as ion channels and GPCRs. With a strong team and differentiated platform, Maxion is well-positioned to discover and develop medicines that matter."
Only 2 days left to secure Early Bird tickets for the Tech.eu Summit London 2025!
As you know, the Tech.eu Summit London 2025 will take place on March 25-26 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre. This two-day event promises to bring together the global investment and startup community for insightful discussions, networking, and collaboration in the heart of London.
Time is running out! Don’t miss your chance to purchase tickets before prices go up. Also, the Tech.eu Summit London 2025 conference program is coming soon—stay tuned for the big reveal!
Early Bird tickets valid until 19 March 2025
On 19 March 2025, Early Bird tickets will become Regular tickets. Right now, Early Bird tickets are available for £700 + VAT, but after Mach 18, 2025, the price will rise to £750 + VAT. Attending with colleagues or friends? The “Early Bird (3+ People)” ticket option is currently priced at £630 + VAT per person, increasing to £660 + VAT per person after March 18.
You can also download the Tech.eu Events app from the App Store and Google Play Store to start networking before the event, explore attendee profiles, schedule meetings, and access the full event agenda. The app also allows seamless entry with a QR code for quick check-in.
Get your tickets today!
Don’t wait too long—secure your spot before prices rise on March 19. Be part of this exciting event at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre on March 25-26, where the brightest minds in tech and investment will gather.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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European tech weekly recap: More than 70 tech funding deals worth over €701M
Last week, we tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €701 million, and over 15 exits, M&A transactions, rumors, and related news stories across Europe.Click to read the rest of the news.
Dalma raises €20M Series B to transform pet care with AI-powered insurance and wellness solutions
Pet insurance company Dalma has raised a €20 million Series B funding round led by Breega, bringing its funding to over €50 million.
Founded in 2021, Dalma offers a fast and seamless insurance experience: in just two clicks, customers can customise their coverage. Through its AI-embedded app, it can analyse and reimburse claims instantly, while the industry norm typically takes several days.
Its app also allows pet parents to connect 24/7 with veterinarians via chat and video calls while also providing educational programs designed in collaboration with animal welfare experts.
According to Alban de Préville, co-founder of Dalma:
“Dalma’s added value rests on two essential pillars: a more efficient insurance model than its competitors and an exceptional customer experience.
Our vision goes beyond traditional insurance: we aim to transform the way pet parents care for their companions.”
With 700 per cent growth since its Series A and profitability already achieved in France, Dalma has established itself as a key player in the pet insurance industry.
This round is supported by its existing investors, Northzone and Anterra Capital, alongside Bpifrance's Digital Venture 3 fund and Breega, both of which are joining the company's capital.
“Dalma is capturing a unique market timing and dynamics, combining a societal wave in favour of animal welfare with inflationary pressure in the broader veterinary sector. Their natural response: an insurance and prevention product for pets, which has already convinced nearly 60,000 owners. Breega is very happy to join this adventure alongside Alban and Raphaël," said Benjamin Deplus, Partner at Breega.
"In just a few years, Dalma has successfully created the most transparent and high-performing insurance product on the market, combined with a strong brand that has already become a must-have for pet owners. We are confident that this unique combination will enable Dalma to establish itself as the European leader in the sector," says Claire Castel, Investment Director at Bpifrance Digital Venture.
With this new funding round, Dalma is planning to broaden its offering to include the introduction of a direct payment system for policyholders and the launch of an e-shop featuring a curated selection of top health and wellness products for pets.
Lead image: Dalma. Photo: uncredited.
International Long COVID Day highlights need for diagnostics as PrecisionLife unlocks genetic breakthroughs
March 15th marked International Long COVID Awareness Day. This debilitating condition is estimated to affect at least 65 million people and is increasing annually, creating a rising healthcare burden of over $1 trillion globally.
Long COVID has a variety of commonalities with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a complex, chronic illness characterised by profound fatigue that is not improved by rest and worsens with physical or mental activity. Both conditions are difficult to diagnose and treat due to the large number of different disease symptoms and organs that are affected.
However, in spite of their enormous personal and public health impacts, we still have no tools to accurately diagnose patients and no drugs that treat the underlying causes of the diseases. This has led to widespread misunderstanding, lack of awareness, and even denial of the diseases in the clinical and social care communities, which further harms sufferers.
UK precision medicine company PrecisionLife leverages AI and combinatorial analytics to find deeper genetic associations than traditional analysis methods, explain more about how complex diseases manifest in patients, and uncover hidden patterns in high-dimensional, complex patient data. This can enable breakthroughs in diagnostics, drug discovery, and precision medicine.
I recently met PrecisionLife co-founder and CEO Steve Gardner at the Hevolution global healthspan summit in Riyadh, where he shared the company's insights and their success in bringing new insights to aid the diagnosis and treatment of long COVID and other complex chronic diseases.
Transforming disease understanding through advanced data analytics
PrecisionLife's AI-driven approach goes beyond traditional genome-wide association studies (GWAS) by identifying combinations of genetic and non-genetic factors that drive disease in different patient subgroups.
Gardener explains the technological foundation of the company:
"Technologically, we reimagine how you analyse data, and this is really the genesis of the company—bringing two sets of technology together. One that I had developed over the last 20 years and another that my co-founder, a mathematician and computer scientist, had been developing for even longer—actually 30 years.
We realised that if we put those two things together, we would actually have a way of dealing with these hyper-complex, big patient datasets with all of the genomic information, all the multi-omics, proteomics, epigenetics, and everything else like that, and correlating it with things like longitudinal electronic medical records (EMR) or electronic health records (EHR) and epidemiological and environmental information."
The scientists had seen the transformation in the delivery of oncology:
"It's grown from being an organ-mediated diagnosis into "this molecular characterisation of tumours, and a nuanced palette of options for a clinician to choose from based on the makeup of specific tumour types.
I wanted to do the same for all those diseases that didn't work."
This has led to the company tackling highly complex diseases like Alzheimer's, long-term COVID-19, schizophrenia, and endometriosis — conditions where there isn't a single gene responsible but rather a network of genetic and non-genetic components influencing risk, disease onset, and progression.
Gardner calls ME/CFS "the poster child for hard diseases."
According to Gardener, there are many different genetic components within these diseases, but also non-genetic components that influence, increase risk, trigger disease, and show how that disease will manifest itself in individual patients.
"Getting into that level of understanding of the drivers of disease biology—and the patients for whom a specific driver was relevant, and therefore which therapy they might respond to—was not something that we could do with traditional genetic analysis, the genome-wide association study-based approaches."
Since then, the company has applied this methodology to around 60 different diseases, gaining what Gardener describes as "world-leading insights into many of those."
In the case of long COVID, Gardner shared:
"Today, we have zero approved diagnostics for long COVID. We have zero approved disease-modifying therapies. We don't even know which organs in the body are involved for an individual patient.
We know it impacts many tissues, but we know little about it."
A key aspect of PrecisionLife's approach is that it is based on the belief that there are many different causes of disease in patients.
Patients may be given the same diagnosis just because their symptoms appear similar, e.g., they all have fatigue, but that doesn't mean their diseases are the same.
Therefore, drugs that benefit one patient may not work in another if their cause of disease (their disease 'mechanism') is different.
Gardner explains, "We generate patient stratification biomarkers to deliver precision medicine insights across dozens of chronic diseases."
A series of key genetic discoveries in COVID, Long COVID, and ME/CFS
PrecisionLife has leveraged its combinatorial analytics platform to make significant genetic discoveries related to COVID, long COVID, and CFS/ME:
In 2020, it identified 68 novel gene targets linked to severe COVID-19, of which 70 percent were later validated. This resulted in 29 opportunities for approved drugs and candidates that could be repurposed as COVID-19 treatments. Thirteen of these drug candidates were evaluated in clinical trials.
In 2022, it provided the first replicable genetic risk factors for ME/CFS in over 30 years, identifying 14 genes and 199 SNPs, explaining 91% of studied cases.
In mid 2023, PrecisionLife accessed Sano Genetics' GOLD long COVID patient dataset. It looked at two sets of
Northvolt files for bankruptcy, GoByBike secures €125M, and European founders unite to fund next-gen founders
This week we tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €701 million, and over 15 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.In addition to this week's top financials, we've also indexed the most important/industry-related news items you need to know about.
If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter and receive a more robust version of this round-up delivered to your inbox.
Either way, let's get you up to speed.
? Notable and big funding rounds
??Employee bike service GoByBike secures €125M
?? Alight secures €46M to expand solar projects in Finland
?? Blackwall raises €45M Series B to protect SMBs from malicious online traffic
?? Alloyed raises £37M for additive manufacturing in aerospace and electronics
???? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers
?? Quantum Systems acquires AirRobot to boost drone tech for the Bundeswehr and European partners
?? Gleamer acquires Caerus Medical and Pixyl
?? Allegro DVT buys Vicuesoft
?? Euronext acquires Admincontrol
? Interesting moves from investors
?? Vento launches €75M Fund to boost Italy's underserved tech ecosystem
?? Webrazzi Startup-1 Venture Capital Investment Fund started accepting investors
?? Ukraine is launching Diia.City Invest. The initiative will allow to set up a VC fund in one week
?? 125 top European founders unite to fund and mentor the next generation of European founders
?? OTB Ventures expands its reach with the launch of a Luxembourg office
?️ In other (important) news
? Northvolt files for bankruptcy, imploding Europe’s bid to break away from Chinese battery dominance
? February 2025's top 10 European tech deals you need to know about
?? Standing with Ukraine: Cybersecurity startup Periphery donates military-grade security to protect Ukraine’s drone fleets
? Curve halves losses as it puts US expansion plans on hold
? Recommended reads and listens
?? “There is still a lack of investment opportunities in Slovakia,” says Slovak fintech founder
♀️ Startups take on big tech: women’s health companies file EU complaints over digital censorship
? This startup is filling the gap between natural and supplements and big pharma
? Harvesting innovation: xFarm and Checkplant join forces to grow agritech in Latin America
? European tech startups to watch
?? Legaltech Lexroom.ai secures €2M seed funding
?? Cloud Gateway secures £1.5M and appoints new CEO
?? Wave energy solutions provider Wavepiston bags €900,000
?? Alfa raises £495,000 in pre-seed funding
?? OVIANTA has closed a €540,000 pre-seed round
?? YAi raises £250,000 for AI-driven content creation
This startup is filling the gap between natural and supplements and big pharma
When I heard about a startup calling itself a "post-chemical pharmacy", my interest was piqued. What does this even mean? Hopefully not homeopathy, which I've always been shocked that it is legal in many countries.
Lisbon startup Biocol Labs is focused on the next generation of plant-based, science-driven remedies. I spoke to Christian Balivet, co-CEO, to learn more.
It's an unusual story. Biocol Labs was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from Biocol —a family-run laboratory established in 1977 — by husband and wife Gualdim and Natalia Redol, a self-taught scientist and a self-made businesswoman.
Balivet shared:
"My grandparents founded a natural pharmaceutical company during a time when conventional medicine was becoming heavily reliant on chemical solutions.
They believed in a balanced approach — leveraging the strengths of both natural and chemical medicine where appropriate."
The business was originally focused on doctors with a nature-first philosophy, expanding across Europe and into markets where natural medicine remained a core part of healthcare, such as Japan and certain parts of Asia.
Balivet's parents continued this work, expanding into over 100 pathologies, pet care, and pediatric solutions.
"We are not here to make you feel good, we are here to fix your problem."
Spin-out Biocol Labs aims to create what it calls "ethical remedies modern people need, but no other pharma company dares to address." These include clinically backed remedies for liver detox, hangovers, post-party blues, post-sex bladder infections, immunity, and jet lag.
The company challenges the traditional pharmacy-dominated model by selling its products direct-to-consumer and via retail spaces such as design hotels, concept stores, and bars.
So what is natural medicine?
Regarding my question about what natural medicine means, Balivet noted that internally, Biocol Labs considers medicine as either natural or chemical, albeit recognising that chemical medicine often originates from natural compounds.
"The key difference is in philosophy and regulation. Natural medicine is typically categorised as supplements in Europe and the US, while pharmaceuticals dominate the treatment space."
Biocol Labs identifies medical issues where natural solutions can be superior to chemical alternatives, focusing on efficacy, speed of action, and minimal side effects.
According to Balivet:
"We aim to bridge the gap between supplements and prescription drugs by solving medical issues with natural solutions that are scientifically validated. We are not here to make you feel good, we are here to fix your problem."
All of its ingredients must have clinical validation.
Balivet reassured me:
"We do not work with homeopathy, as its mechanisms lack scientific backing. Similarly, we avoid trendy ingredients like CBD until sufficient clinical data supports their efficacy.
Each product is designed with the best delivery format in mind, whether that's sprays, capsules, or ampoules, ensuring maximum effectiveness."
For example, Biocol Labs' sleep aid Something for Dreaming contains melatonin, passionflower, lemongrass, and Vitamins B6 and B1 to support a sense of calm and promote deep sleep.
The spray delivers active ingredients directly into the bloodstream for faster results.
From natural OTC medicine to a DTC deep dive on liver health
The company initially pioneered the concept of natural over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, creating an alternative to conventional drugstore remedies. However, according to Balivet, "economic shifts, inflation, and changes in digital advertising affected our one-time purchase model."
Analysing its customer base, the company found that its liver detox product — "one we had considered discontinuing" — was gaining traction.
"This led us to a deeper understanding of fatty liver disease, which is a root cause of 70 per cent per cent of global mortality-related conditions, including diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular diseases."
According to Balivet, the liver is essential to overall health, yet fatty liver disease is largely ignored.
"Traditionally associated with alcoholism, it is now a modern epidemic caused by sugar consumption, pollution, and processed foods.
The liver doesn't distinguish between a tequila shot and a sugary frappuccino. In the US, up to 20 per cent of teenagers already show signs of fatty liver disease.
Since pharmaceuticals lack an FDA-approved solution, natural medicine is often the only viable approach. We are developing products that both protect and treat liver health, along with diagnostic tools for tracking improvements."
Natural ingredients, high standards: Biocol Labs' pricing strategy pays off in the US
95 per cent of Biocol Labs customers are in the US. Balivet admits that while its products are expensive by European standards they are competitively priced in the US "where people are used to spending more on health":
"We initially launched in Portugal and the UK but found that consumers and retailers struggled to categorise us — neither purely supplements nor pharmaceuticals. In the US, however, consumers immediately understood our positioning."
High-quality natural medicine requires real, naturally grown ingredients rather than synthetic compounds which increases the price. However, the company hopes as it scales to make products more accessible without compromising quality."
Biocol Labs has raised two rounds of funding totaling €3.2 million. Investors include Paul Michaux (Prose), Eddie Roschi (Le Labo), Alex Zubilaga (Spotify, Glossier), 0.9 founder Eghosa Omoigui, actor Paul Wesley, and Future Positive.
Balivet shared:
"Despite economic downturns, we have maintained profitability, growing 3x year-over-year. Unlike many startups burning cash, we believe a sustainable, profitable business is essential for long-term success."
The company's next steps involve launching blood tests to help consumers track their liver health and continuing its work in making natural medicine a viable mainstream alternative.
Lead image: Biocol Labs.
Curve lands £37M in funding
Curve, the London fintech, has secured £37m in funding, led by a VC firm that invests in early and growth stage startups.
Hanaco Ventures, which is investing in Curve for the first time and has a focus on Israeli startups, led the round which also features existing Curve investors Fuel Ventures, IDC, Outward VC and Lord Stanley Fink.
Earlier this week new figures showed that Curve, an all-in-one payment fintech, reported a £36m loss in 2023, a 48 per cent improvement on the year before. The fintech says its goal is to break even in the “near term”.
Curve, founded in 2015 by Israeli entrepreneur Shachar Bialick, allows customers to use their banks and loyalty cards through one app, and says it has more than 5.5m customers.
Curve said its latest funding will help it on the road to make a full-year profit and new product launches.
Curve has partnerships with Samsung, PayPal and Visa and is also planning to launch Curve Pay what it is billing as a rival to Apple Pay, a move in which it claims could save banks “millions of euros” that are paid to Apple in transaction fees.
Prior to this latest funding round, Curve, which is in over 30 markets, has raised over £200m in total funding including more than £40m in funding in 2024, which was made up of £29.7m in equity funding from new and existing investors and £11.6m from debt funding in the form of a convertible loan.
Tomer Jacob, general partner, Hanaco, said:
“The Curve team has proven to be resilient and innovative, and we are excited to support Curve as it continues to grow, bringing more choice and flexibility to the digital wallet market, and to its millions of users.”
OTB Ventures expands its reach with the launch of a Luxembourg office
Pan-European deeptech VC fund OTB is expanding its reach with the launch of its Luxembourg office and the hiring of three new team members from the Promus team to support the firm’s efforts in the region: Jeremy Teboul, Estelle Godard, and Kateryna Lopatynska.
Established in 2017, OTB Ventures specialises in Series A and late seed funding. It currently manages over €350 million and will now have three offices across Warsaw, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg, with a total of 16 staff members.
The new team members will bring valuable experience covering earlier-stage (Pre-seed and Seed) investment in robotics, space tech, enterprise automation, and AI, all key OTB focus areas.
OTB currently invests in various companies, such as Hydrosat and ICEYE. It has also successfully exited companies, including Minit and BabbleLabs to the likes of Microsoft and Cisco, respectively.
Adam Niewinski and Marcin Hejka, Co-Founders and Managing Partners at OTB Ventures, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome Jeremy, Estelle, and Kateryna to the team as we expand our presence with our new Luxembourg office.
Their addition strengthens OTB’s ability to support breakthrough innovation across Europe. With their presence and capabilities, OTB Ventures further solidifies its position as a leading pan-European deep tech investor.”
Jeremy Teboul, new Partner at OTB Ventures, on behalf of the three new joiners, added:
“Luxembourg is rapidly emerging as a critical hub for deep tech innovation, offering a strong ecosystem supported by institutional backing and a thriving space sector.
We are excited to contribute to the launch of OTB Ventures’ Luxembourg office as the firm expands its reach into key markets such as the Benelux and France.”
SoftBank-backed Vivid Money axes retail banking as standalone offering to focus on business banking
SoftBank-backed German challenger bank Vivid Money is switching its focus to business banking with a report in German media saying it is winding down its retail banking business altogether.
The Berlin-based challenger bank, valued at €750 million at its peak, was originally built as a retail challenger bank, looking to take on the likes of German rival N26 and Revolut in the retail banking space.
With its one-stop “super-app” offering, Vivid Money has raised around $205m in total including a $114m funding round in 2022, with backing from Greenoaks Capital, Ribbit Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing it at $885m (€750 million).
Vivid Money put out a press release earlier this week, saying it was extending its business banking offering, which has 30,000 SME customers, beyond German to France, Spain, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
It has also made several new executive recruits. Vivid Money first got into business banking at the start of 2024.
Vivid Money is thought to have over 500,000 retail customers but will no longer support its retail offering with new products and marketing, a Vivid Money spokesperson said.
The move comes amid a highly competitive retail German banking market, with incumbents and new fintechs battling it out.
The news of Vivid Money’s switch to focus on SME was first reported by Manager Magazine.
Alexander Emeshev, co-founder (pictured), Vivid Money, said: “By combining B2C and B2B banking in one platform, we are creating a seamless financial ecosystem that supports both individuals and businesses.”
Emeshev said that Vivid Money was the “fastest-growing SME financial platform in Germany" and that it had onboarded more new clients than the competition in March.
Vivid Money’s retail customers will continue to have access to all its services but, moving forward, the fintech’s focus will be on developing products and investment for the SME market.
Alloyed raises £37M for additive manufacturing in aerospace and electronics
Oxford University spinout company Alloyed, a developer and manufacturer of advanced metallic components for aerospace and electronics, has raised £37 million Series B funding.
The company is focused on automated design and manufacturing through additive manufacturing, or industrial-scale 3D printing, which combines many functions into one metal part.
Alloyed’s UK base in Abingdon is already home to one of the largest fleets of Additive Manufacturing machines in Europe.
High-performance metallic alloys will have a significant role to play in future industries and the energy transition, as companies seek to deploy ever stronger and lighter metals to meet the demands of next-generation technologies.
Its current customers include Boeing, Microsoft, Anglo American and BMW, with its applications spanning a wide range of industries – including lightweight antennas and structural components for satellites, high-temperature-resistant alloys for jet engines, as well as precision parts for jewellery, wearables such as virtual reality headsets, and smartwatches.
Japanese investors SPARX and the Development Bank of Japan, led the round, with participation from Aviva Investors and Future Industry Ventures (a Redstone and SBI fund).
Michael Holmes, CEO of Alloyed, said:
“After 5,000 years, metal remains the material of choice for the toughest jobs, and our mission is to harness our digital platforms to make metal components lighter, stronger, and more precise, all while reducing costs and maximising sustainability.
Automated design and manufacturing is an industry where the UK, with our expertise in materials science and world-class engineering capability, has the potential to lead on the global stage and Alloyed is at the forefront of this transformation.”
Takaki Demichi, Director and Head of Investment for Next-Generation Growth Division at SPARX Asset Management, said:
“Additive manufacture has great promise for the energy transition and future products across a range of industries, but has been held back by a range of engineering challenges which we believe are directly addressed by Alloyed’s materials, processing, design, and production technologies and its highly data-driven approach.”
Yuki Takemori, General Manager of Innovation Promotion Office at Development Bank of Japan, shared:
“Japan has a well-established ecosystem of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in alloy production and our collaboration with Alloyed will enhance the sector even further.
With this new partnership, we will create a model case for commercialising technology - cultivated in one of the world’s leading academic institutions.”
The fundraise will be used to expand Alloyed’s manufacturing facilities in Abingdon, UK, and Seattle, USA, as well as accelerate the development of its digital platforms for the design and processing of improved alloys and alloy components.
Lead image: Alloyed. Photo: uncredited.
The state of productivity in 2025: Improving how you work with AI [Sponsored]
Productivity can seem like an elusive goal at work, but actually, it’s a measurable equation of input (time and labor) compared to output (goods or services produced). And, by many accounts, global productivity has skyrocketed over the past 25 years, in part due to advances in technology and automation.
However, when you’re struggling to get through your to-do list, spending too many hours in meetings that don’t actually accomplish anything and wasting time on miscommunications within your team, you might feel less productive than ever.
How can you remove the barriers to productivity so you can collaborate better and get more done? Unsurprisingly, the answer may lie with AI. McKinsey research estimates that generative AI’s impact on productivity could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion in value to the global economy annually.
What’s getting in the way of productivity?
Disengagement at work
According to Gallup, employees who are not engaged or are actively disengaged with their work account for $8.9 trillion in lost productivity worldwide.
Not focusing on what matters
75% of employees reported spending more than one hour a day on administrative tasks, but only 35% felt this would be meaningful to success in their role.
Toggling between tools
Leaders who use more than 10 apps were up to 15 percentage points more likely than those who used fewer apps to experience consequences related to ineffective collaboration.
The impact of bad collaboration
Collaboration is a big part of our workday. When teams struggle with working together effectively, it can lead to a host of challenges that hinder productivity.
Our 2024 Global Collaboration in the Workplace report found that leaders, in particular, spent a significant amount of time (three or more hours) on meetings and email. Nearly half of leaders said they spent more time on these tasks than they wanted to.
What’s more, 57% of leaders felt that if a meeting was canceled, their alternative use of time would be more productive. This may indicate that many leaders could be spending too much time in meetings that they feel are unproductive or unnecessary.
Ineffective collaboration can have far-reaching effects. According to the report, a third of leaders said they spend an hour or more resolving challenges related to bad collaboration, like participating in meetings and chats with no clear outcome, resolving misunderstandings or miscommunication between teammates, or following up with colleagues on the status of a project. Wasting just one hour on any of these tasks could cost organizations up to an estimated $16,491 per manager in inefficient productivity.
When you look at these stats, it’s clear that collaboration and productivity influence each other — when one is ineffective, the other suffers, too. Some of the strategies discussed in the next section are designed to help your employees work together more effectively and improve their individual productivity, too.
3 steps to greater productivity
So, how do you increase productivity? Addressing inefficiencies brought on by tool overload, low-impact tasks, and disengagement can help you create a better, more collaborative employee experience. When employees have the tools and environment they need to do their work successfully, they can be truly productive.
1 - Improve employee experience through technology
When comparing employee engagement levels, Gallup found that the best-engaged workforces had 18% higher levels of productivity over the lowest-engaged workforces. By improving employee engagement, you could reap the benefits of better productivity, not to mention higher levels of profitability, better retention, and lower absenteeism — other trends Gallup found in highly engaged workforces
The concept of employee engagement has changed in recent years as teams have gotten more dispersed and work arrangements have become more flexible. It’s evolved from simply engaging employees to delivering a positive employee experience through a focus on people, processes, and technology.
IT leaders have an increasingly important role to play in employee experience. If your employees are constantly filing IT support tickets or using third-party apps instead of the tools they’re given, they might feel like they don’t have the tools they need to succeed. If they’re struggling to collaborate with team members in different locations, they might feel like they’re spinning their wheels and not actually getting things done. These pain points naturally affect their experience at work and can all contribute to disengagement — not to mention, a dip in productivity
On the other hand, if employees have tools that make it easy to communicate and collaborate however they need to (whether it’s a quick phone call, an impromptu video meeting, whiteboard, shared document, or chat channel), they’ll be able to build stronger relationships with teammates and get more done with less friction. All that can contribute to a positive experience, a feeling of connection, and a higher likelihood of engagement.
2 - Enable time savings with AI
Time is an essential part of the productivity equation, and how you spend it matters. Finding ways to save time on rote or repetitive tasks allows you to allocate those minutes or hours toward activities that contribute to productivity.
According to a 2024 AI survey commissioned by Zoom and conducted by Morning Consult, 48% of employees who use AI say it saves them one or more hours a day on researching and organizing information, and 46% say it saves them the same amount of time on automating repetitive tasks.
When asked what they’d use the time savings for, 40% of employees said they’d improve their processes and workflows, and 38% said they’d engage in uninterrupted focus time to complete their work, tasks they also viewed as most meaningful to success in their role. By using AI to automate or get assistance with some of their more routine tasks, employees can focus their efforts on different activities that help increase output, drive revenue, and otherwise move the needle, thereby improving their productivity.
So, how can employers successfully implement AI? Providing AI tools isn’t enough — employees also need training and education to help them understand the capabilities and how to incorporate them into their work. Additionally, organizations should focus on identifying the areas where AI can help them, and creating custom workflows or clear use cases for their employees to adopt.
3 - Simplify your tech stack
Toggling between multiple tools and apps may take a fraction of a second, but when you’re constantly moving from your team chats to your meeting notes to your calendar and back, all that context-switching can add up. Our collaboration report found that 37% of leaders and 42% of employees who use more than 10 apps take 15 minutes or longer to refocus when switching tasks.
For companies, that’s a lot of potential productivity and real dollars wasted. And for employees, that’s a lot of precious time squandered.
Start with re-evaluating your company’s tech stack and consolidating multiple point solutions to a few core applications. You may find that consolidating to a single platform like Zoom Workplace is more efficient and cost-effective than having separate apps (and licenses) for chatting with colleagues, making phone calls, scheduling meetings, creating video clips, and whiteboarding. Adding to that, tight integrations across Zoom products and a flexible ecosystem of apps allow you and your employees to build more seamless workflows — meaning less context-switching and fewer seconds lost to toggling.
With this in mind, implementing AI can’t be a cobbled-on solution. Look for AI tools like Zoom AI Companion that are built into the applications your employees use every day to help streamline their workflows even more.
Next steps to boosting productivity
If you’re exploring how to improve productivity within your organization, see how Zoom Workplace, your AI-first work platform, can help.
AI Companion is seamlessly woven into Zoom Workplace at no additional cost*, helping your teams incorporate the time-saving benefits of generative AI across their meetings, chat, phone, email, and productivity tools while helping improve your ROI.
By consolidating with Zoom, your IT team can benefit from streamlined management, fewer contracts, reduced TCO and less time spent on training and support.
Lithuania: A hotspot for innovation and tech growth
Lithuania’s tech ecosystem is one of the fastest-growing in Central and Eastern Europe, driven by innovation, strong government support, and a dynamic startup culture.
According to the Tech.eu 2024 Annual report, Lithuanian tech companies raised nearly €600 million in 2024, with major deals including unicorn Vinted (€340 million) and Green Genius (€100 million). A recent Lithuanian Startup Ecosystem 2024 report highlights that the ecosystem’s valuation has surpassed €16 billion—an impressive 39x growth in just a decade— establishing Lithuania as a regional leader.
Cities like Vilnius and Kaunas are emerging as key tech hubs, attracting global investors, top talent, and major international companies. Lithuania’s success is fueled by a business-friendly environment, world-class digital infrastructure, and ambitious startups scaling to global markets.
Here are 10 companies to watch in 2025.
Amount raised in 2024: €340M
Vinted is Europe's largest online C2C marketplace dedicated to second-hand fashion, boasting millions of registered members across over 20 markets in Europe and North America. Founded in 2008, Vinted has grown significantly over the years, aiming to make second-hand the first choice worldwide.
The platform enables members to buy and sell a wide range of second-hand items, from clothing to pet care products, thereby extending their lifecycle and promoting sustainable consumption.
In 2024, Vinted raised €340 million in a secondary share sale, bringing its valuation to €5 billion.
Amount raised in 2024: €100M
Green Genius is an international renewable energy company specializing in the development and operation of solar, biogas/biomethane, wind, hydrogen, and energy storage projects.
Operating in eight European countries, Green Genius actively promotes the transition to renewable energy.
In October 2024, Green Genius secured a €100 million equity investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support its European expansion plans.
Amount raised in 2024: €50M
HeavyFinance is a climate technology company specializing in sustainable finance and investment solutions for the agricultural sector. The company operates an investment marketplace that connects global investors with European farmers who are transitioning to regenerative agriculture practices.
The platform offers collateralized agricultural loans, allowing investors to earn double-digit returns while supporting sustainable farming initiatives. HeavyFinance's mission is to remove 1 gigaton of CO₂ emissions by 2050 through the promotion of regenerative agriculture practices such as no-till farming, crop rotation, and cover cropping.
In 2024, the company secured €50 million to boost sustainable farming in Europe.
Amount raised in 2024: €35M
Finbee is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdfunding platform, connecting individuals seeking loans with investors looking for diverse investment opportunities. The platform offers competitive alternative financing solutions for both personal and business needs, facilitating loans with low interest rates and manageable monthly payments.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Finbee provides business loans tailored to support various financial requirements, including working capital, business expansion, new equipment acquisition, and invoice financing.
In 2024, the company secured €35 million in funding from Pollen Street Capital, which will be used to support over 1,500 businesses.
Amount raised in 2024: €20M
Ovoko is one of Europe's largest online marketplaces dedicated to used car parts, connecting over 3,000 professional sellers from 15 countries with tens of thousands of B2B and B2C customers.
The platform hosts a catalog of more than 23 million used auto parts, offering fast delivery across Europe and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Ovoko's mission is to promote a circular economy in the automotive industry by giving car parts a second life and changing the way used car parts are purchased today.
In 2024, the company raised €20 million in Series B funding to drive product development, expand into new markets, and grow its team, reinforcing Ovoko’s ambition to lead Europe’s used car parts e-commerce industry.
Amount raised in 2024: €6.5M
Biomatter is a synthetic biology company specializing in the design of novel proteins and enzymes for health and sustainable manufacturing applications. The company employs a "bottom-up" approach to protein engineering, utilizing generative artificial intelligence to create de novo enzymes. This method allows for the development of customized enzymes tailored to specific industrial needs, including chemical bioproduction, agriculture, the food industry, and medicine.
Through its pioneering work in AI-driven protein design, Biomatter aims to transcend the limitations of natural enzymes, contributing to advancements in biotechnology and promoting a sustainable future.
In 2024, Biomatter secured €6.5 million in a seed funding round, aiming to further advance its Intelligent Architecture™ platform.
Amount raised in 2024: €6.5M
Bourgeois Bohème (BoBo) is a bespoke financial services provider catering to affluent, high-net-worth, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals across Europe and the UK.
BoBo offers an integrated suite of digital tools and exclusive services designed to streamline complex financial management and enhance lifestyle experiences.
Through strategic partnerships with luxury brands, BoBo enhances customer experiences by hosting exclusive events and promotions that align with the sophisticated lifestyles of its members. By combining advanced financial tools with personalized lifestyle services, BoBo empowers clients to manage their wealth efficiently while enjoying unparalleled convenience and luxury.
In 2024, the company raised €6.5 million.
Amount raised in 2024: $3.5M
Spike API is a technology company that provides a unified API to access real-time health and productivity data from over 300 wearable and IoT devices. This enables developers to integrate diverse data sources into their applications seamlessly.
By simplifying the integration of wearable and IoT data, Spike API empowers developers to enhance user experiences with personalized, data-driven insights.
Spike API's commitment to data privacy and security is evident in its compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, ensuring that health data is processed securely and in accordance with legal standards.
In 2024, the company secured an oversubscribed $3.5 million seed investment to develop regulatory-compliant Generative AI products and expand its support for medical, wearable, and IoT sensor data.
Amount raised in 2024: €3.2M
Unmanned Defense Systems (UDS) is a leading provider of advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies, specializing in loitering munitions and autonomous systems. As a comprehensive kill chain ecosystem provider, UDS designs and manufactures automated systems that integrate detection (ISTAR), engagement (loitering munitions), and command (C2) phases into a cohesive swarm ecosystem.
UDS's commitment to delivering battle-tested technology ensures that its products are optimized for rapid deployment, operator convenience, and mission success in contested environments.
The company raised €3.2 million in 2024 to scale battlefield-tested UAVs and advance AI-based swarm integrations with contemporary battlefield management systems.
Amount raised in 2024: €3M
Ligence is a pioneering health technology company specializing in AI-powered echocardiography solutions. Their flagship product, Ligence Heart™, is a web-based, fully integrated analysis and reporting software designed to enhance cardiovascular diagnostics.
Ligence's mission is to revolutionize cardiovascular care by improving diagnostic accuracy, streamlining clinical workflows, and enabling cardiologists to focus more on their patients through automation of routine tasks.
In 2024, Ligence secured €3 million in seed funding, aiming to expand its operations and prepare for FDA clearance in early 2025.
Vento launches €75M Fund to boost Italy's underserved tech ecosystem
Italian private early-stage venture capital firm Vento has launched its second fund — committing €75 million over the next five years to find the boldest Italian startup founders globally.
The fund is the flagship investment vehicle from the organisers of Italian Tech Week.
Founded in 2022, Vento is part of a three-pronged approach to building Italy’s underserved tech ecosystem and helping to foster a growing tech sector that is capable of rivaling Italy’s biggest global industries.
Vento has now invested in 100 startups, including Bee, JetHR, and Qomodo, making it one of the country’s largest early-stage portfolios in Italy.
Fund II expects to invest in 375 investments over five years.
The platform has evaluated over 3,500 startups, resulting in about 100 investments in Italian founders worldwide, maintaining a highly selective 2.5 per cent conversion rate with a standardized €150,000 ticket size.
Select follow-on investments are also made, helping the strongest Italian founders on their global scaling journey.
“Almost three years after launching Vento,” said John Elkann, Chair of Vento.
“We're proud to renew our commitment and back top Italian entrepreneurs with a new fund. The passion behind their innovative ventures and our shared successes so far drive us to pursue even more ambitious goals together."
"We believe Italy's technological and entrepreneurial potential has been underserved for too long," added Diyala D’Aveni, CEO of Vento.
Besides the fund and Italian Tech Week, Vento also operates a venture building program that has created 26 startups from three cohorts. The 5 month program is one of the country’s most high-profile startup building initiatives.
Lead image: Vento. Photo: uncredited.
“There is still a lack of investment opportunities in Slovakia,” says Slovak fintech founder
"There is still a lack of investment opportunities" in Slovakia, according to the founder of a Slovakia-based fintech, despite its growing reputation as a startup hub.
Speaking on the Tech.eu podcast, Tibor Zavadil, founder and CEO of fintech startup DigFin, the digital mortgage startup, highlighted the startup’s struggles to bag funding from Slovak VC firms.
In particular, Zavadil spoke about its struggles to secure its first funding round from a Slovak VC, which he said was owing to global economic challenges at the time.
Zavadil also pointed out that DigFin could not get a Slovak investor to fund the startup’s bridging round, so instead it sought investment from the US.
However, he said the situation was improving with the number of VCs growing in Slovakia.
Zavadil appeared on the podcast along with Dominik Sadlon, director, ABFSwap, a crypto startup based in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
The pair discuss the positives and negatives of being a startup located in Slovakia, which has a population of under five million.
On the plus side was “very convenient” access to nearby markets including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Germany as well as a skilled workforce in areas like cyber security and software development.
On the negative side was Slovakia’s small population and the lack of a fully developed VC ecosystem.
Slovakia has a growing reputation as a startup economy with AI, blockchain, fintech, and gaming hot sectors, bolstered by a collaborative environment of incubators and accelerators.
Examples of talked-about startups from the region include Brightpick, Fuergy and Sensoneo.
Spanish SaaS startup flowww secures €4M to scale across Europe and Latin America
Valencia software provider for healthcare and beauty medicine flowww has raised €4 million in funding to scale its international expansion.
flowww, founded and led by entrepreneurs Natalia Villora and Germán Oltra, offers a vertical solution that enables aesthetic medicine, beauty, and healthcare businesses to unify all their operations into a single platform.
The software includes features such as an intelligent agenda, digital invoicing with electronic invoices, stock management, automated marketing and data analytics.
Additionally, it provides specialized modules tailored to client needs, such as flowww WhatsApp, customised web applications and other tools that enhance commercial conversion and transactional efficiency.
flowww’s SaaS model ensures that companies can grow continuously and adapt to the demands of each business stage. It improves revenue by 40 per cent and optimises profitability by 20 per cent.
Currently, flowww operates in 17 countries and serves 3,500 clinics, having managed over 13 million appointments with an annual transaction volume exceeding €300 million.
The company has a team of 70 professionals across its offices in Spain, Mexico and Brazil. With this first investment round, it seeks to expand into the European and Latin American markets through strategic partnerships with new partners, following the example of its collaboration with Odella in Mexico.
According to Natalia Villora, CEO of the company:
“We are at a pivotal moment for the company, where our track record demonstrates that flowww effectively addresses key challenges in growing an aesthetic medicine, healthcare and beauty business.
We are capable of driving direct profit margins with highly productivity and marketing-focused tools, providing the best vertical solution for the market.
For this reason, and after years of being a profitable company funded by our own resources, we feel we have surrounded ourselves with the best partners to take an exponential leap into the global market and open new sectors focused on business growth with highly qualified support”.
This first investment round for the company was led by Swanlaab Venture Factory and Bonsai Partners, with participation from Sabadell Venture Capital.
Verónica Trapa, General Partner at Swanlaab, commented:
“flowww’s ability to convert large private healthcare chains into loyal clients demonstrates the great potential of its technology in the enterprise and mid-market segments.
Natalia's vision and her focus on monetisation, customer success and data exploitation position flowww on the path of global leaders like Zenoti and Mindbody."
Martí Escursell, Managing Partner at Bonsai, added:
"flowww is part of a select group of verticalized B2B software companies that successfully serve both enterprise and retail clients—something that, from our experience, represents a distinct competitive advantage.”
Lead image: Natalia Villora and Germán Oltra, flowww founders. Photo: uncredited
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