Mondra, a Scope 3 SaaS company serving the retail sector, and inoqo, a European sustainability intelligence platform, have announced a strategic merger that will combine their operations into a single global organisation focused on decarbonisation and resilience in the food system. The merger strengthens the combined company’s operational presence in mainland Europe and is intended to support a broader international customer base, including grocery retailers, manufacturers, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. The companies said the integration will combine inoqo’s European market expertise and impact data with Mondra’s technology to strengthen capabilities in areas such as product-level impact assessment, supplier engagement, and climate-related initiatives within retail organisations. The merged organisation will operate under the Mondra brand and maintain a globally distributed team with hubs in London, Vienna, and India. Integration efforts will focus on aligning product roadmaps and data systems to develop a single AI-powered platform aimed at improving transparency around environmental impacts and supporting net-zero objectives. Jason Barrett, CEO of Mondra, said the merger reflects the company’s efforts to support measurable sustainability outcomes across the food system, adding that combining technology and impact data is expected to help customers make more informed decisions. As part of the transaction, Markus Linder, founder and CEO of inoqo, will join Mondra’s leadership team to support international growth and strategic development.

London-based adeus, a legaltech company specialising in modernising will-writing and legacy planning, has launched adeus True Wills™, a service intended to help prevent wills from being lost, altered, or disputed after death. Founded in 2024 by entrepreneurs Nick Adams and Mark Hedley, the launch marks the first major product release from an innovation project supported by an Innovate UK Smart Grant, with additional products planned for release in the first half of 2026. Traditional paper wills can be lost, damaged, or challenged in court, potentially leading to stress and legal costs for families. adeus True Wills addresses these risks by creating a permanent digital fingerprint of a will using blockchain technology while remaining compliant with current UK law. According to Nick Adams, CEO of adeus, making a will is a significant step, yet paper-based wills are often more vulnerable than many people realise. True Wills removes the uncertainty. Your will is permanently protected, clearly time-stamped, and impossible to alter. This gives you peace of mind today and protects your loved ones from unnecessary conflict when it matters most, Adams said. The service is designed to work alongside a traditionally executed paper will signed and witnessed in accordance with current legal requirements. Once a will is created through the adeus platform, a unique digital fingerprint is generated and secured using adeus True Will Technology. The will document itself is not stored on the blockchain, only the digital fingerprint is recorded. This approach maintains privacy while providing cryptographic verification of authenticity. Because any change to the document would alter the fingerprint, potential tampering or forgery can be detected, giving families and executors verifiable evidence during probate and helping to reduce the likelihood of disputes. True Wills is an adeus trademark, and the company plans to offer the technology to independent will writers and solicitors in addition to its direct customers. For people with more complex needs who require expert legal advice, solicitors and will writers continue to do what they do best - taking instructions, drafting, and overseeing the signing of wills. We take care of the rest, ensuring their clients’ wills are protected with the same institutional-grade security, said Mark Hedley, COO of adeus. The launch comes as England and Wales prepare for significant reforms to will-making, with electronic wills expected to become legally valid in 2026 following the Law Commission’s recommendations in May 2025. adeus True Wills has been designed to adapt to this transition. While customers currently create digital wills that are executed using traditional wet signatures, the same platform is intended to support fully electronic will creation and signing once new legislation takes effect, without requiring users to start again. Hedley added that the company is building infrastructure for electronic wills ahead of legislative change, allowing customers to access True Wills protection now while preparing for future legal developments. adeus Wills are currently available in England and Wales, with the company planning to expand its product offering in 2026 as reforms around electronic wills progress.

A Berlin-based investment firm in the buzzy area of so-called “AI roll-ups” has emerged out of stealth, with an €80m target for its debut fund.   Tenet is set up by four executives with more than 25 years of investing experience across VC, growth capital, and private equity. Tenet is a VC-cum-private equity play, investing in “AI roll-ups” across Europe at the inception stage. The firm has raised around a third of its €80m target to date and plans to deploy cheques of around €5m. Tenet has already made its first investment, investing €5m in Taxforce, an AI-native German tax advisory platform. An “AI roll-ups” strategy can be described as a company acquiring several companies in a service sector, such as accounting, IT or insurance, and then leveraging AI to make the acquired companies more efficient.    It can be likened to a private equity model in some respects. Major US VC firms like General Catalyst, Lightspeed and Thrive Capital are making plays in “AI roll-ups”. Tenet is hoping to capitalise on what it sees as the tech adoption shortfall in Europe. It points to the major digital gap between the US and Europe, saying 60 per cent of small US businesses use vertical SaaS solutions, while adoption remains in the single digits in large parts of Europe.   Tenet backs founders at the inception stage to acquire and transform professional services businesses into scalable, AI-native platforms.    Martin Janicki, general partner, said: “SaaS has failed to reach the core of the European economy. While AI-powered productivity gains are real, they are currently hitting a wall of traditional sales methods and ineffectual implementation.    "We see a historic opportunity to solve our continent’s succession crisis at the exact point where the unstoppable force of AI meets the immovable object of the European SMB.”  Janicki, previously of Berlin-based VC Cavalry Ventures, set up Tenet, along with Alex Maly, previously of private equity firm Clearsight Investments, Sahil Patwa, previously of London-based investment firm Unbound, and Simon Lohmann, formerly of Atlantic Labs, the Berlin-based VC firm.   Maly adds: “AI roll-ups have been gaining attention as pioneering companies across Europe show remarkable progress. However, there is a realisation that neither classic private equity nor early-stage venture capital firms are the ideal launch pad for these platforms. "Private equity mandates typically require substantial scale and debt leverage at entry, while traditional VC firms often lack the expertise for establishing a buy-and-build platform. Tenet is purpose-built to fill that specific void at inception." Tenet is also supported by a network of advisors, including the founders of European AI roll-ups such as Arbio, Buena, and Zinco.

London-based SurrealDB, the company behind a multi-model, AI-native database, has raised an additional $23 million in Series A funding, bringing the round’s total to $38 million. Chalfen Ventures and Begin Capital joined existing investors FirstMark and Georgian in the extension, while Mike Chalfen of Chalfen Ventures will join the company as a director. The latest investment brings SurrealDB’s total funding to date, including seed financing, to $44 million. SurrealDB is a cloud-native, multi-model database designed for real-time and AI-native applications. The platform combines structured querying, graph traversal, embedded business logic, and AI-focused capabilities to simplify data infrastructure while supporting scalability and developer flexibility. The funding extension coincides with the general availability release of SurrealDB 3.0, which the company describes as its most stable, high-performance, and enterprise-ready version to date. Built in Rust, SurrealDB 3.0 is designed to unify multiple data models within a single platform, including relational, document, graph, time-series, vector, search, geospatial, and key-value data types. The system also provides real-time functionality intended to reduce the complexity and cost of operating multiple databases and integrating them through additional API layers. The release focuses on addressing challenges related to AI agent memory and context management, enabling models to maintain consistent information and manage relationships as data scales. SurrealDB 3.0 introduces features designed to support agent memory and context graphs directly within the database, helping data and logic remain closely integrated. The new funding will support continued product development and adoption, with a focus on reliability, performance, security, cloud capabilities, and enterprise readiness. SurrealDB also plans to expand its team to scale its cloud offering and strengthen support for production deployments.

Munich-based energytech startup nuuEnergy, which focuses on building regional heat-pump installation businesses, has secured €4.3 million in seed funding. The round was led by amberra, the corporate venturing studio of the Cooperative Financial Network Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, with participation from EnjoyVenture and existing investors HTGF, Vireo Ventures, better ventures, and Bynd Venture Capital. The heat pump sector has seen strong growth in recent years despite a slowdown in 2024. Around 229,000 units were sold last year, and annual installations could reach up to 500,000 by 2030, according to the German Heat Pump Association. While heat pumps can significantly reduce building-related CO₂ emissions, growth remains constrained by skilled labour shortages and inefficient installation processes. Founded in late 2023, nuuEnergy aims to address these challenges through a locally focused, digitally supported installation approach. The company generates revenue through planning, installation, and long-term maintenance contracts, with additional income from services such as water treatment systems and energy consulting. To build regional specialist businesses, or “hubs,” nuuEnergy focuses on attracting skilled workers through modern software tools and structured working conditions. The company positions itself between traditional craft businesses and digitally focused installation models. Digitised processes and on-site system planners support tailored technical planning for each building and aim to improve installation efficiency. Commenting on the funding, Tobias Klug, co-founder of nuuEnergy, said customers are looking for local partners that guide them through the full process, from planning to installation and service, adding that the new investors will support the development of the company through both capital and expertise. He also noted that cooperative banks can provide tailored financing options to support local heating transition projects. Julia Rafschneider, co-founder of nuuEnergy, added that the approach strengthens the company’s regional, quality-focused strategy and supports its skilled workforce. The newly raised capital will be used to expand regional specialist businesses and further digitise the installation process.

SatVu, a UK-based thermal intelligence company that uses space-based data to analyse operational activity and infrastructure performance, has closed a £30 million funding round, bringing its total equity funding to £60 million. The round includes a strategic investment from the NATO Innovation Fund, alongside the British Business Bank, Space Frontiers Fund II (managed by SPARX Asset Management), and Presto Tech Horizons. Existing investors also participated, including Molten Ventures, Adara Ventures, Ridgeline Ventures, NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim Space Fund, and Stellar Ventures. As governments and allied institutions place increasing emphasis on resilience, readiness, and independent intelligence capabilities, demand is growing for reliable and persistent sources of operational insight. Traditional observation methods can limit visibility into activity across critical infrastructure and complex environments, particularly when continuous monitoring is required. SatVu develops high-resolution thermal Earth observation technology designed to address these challenges. The company provides thermal intelligence data from space for government and defence customers, capturing activity both day and night at 3.5-metre resolution. Its technology supports defence, security, and critical infrastructure monitoring, including activity around buildings and strategic assets, helping organisations assess operational changes and readiness where independent insight is essential. Beyond defence applications, SatVu’s data also supports industrial and climate-related monitoring, including observations of blast furnaces, cement production, data centres, oil and gas operations, and energy generation such as solar farms. Anthony Baker, co-founder and CEO of SatVu, said the company was established to provide governments with intelligence that is not available through other sources. He explained that high-resolution thermal imagery from space can reveal activity that is otherwise difficult to detect, including heat signatures linked to operations around buildings and critical infrastructure, helping governments assess activity, operational readiness, and changes relevant to defence and security decision-making. To expand its capabilities, SatVu plans to launch two satellites in 2026, with three additional satellites already under contract as part of its transition toward a multi-satellite constellation. While a single satellite can observe any point on Earth, a constellation increases revisit frequency, enabling more continuous monitoring of activity and operational patterns over time. The funding will support the deployment of this high-resolution thermal constellation and accelerate the company’s transition from a single-satellite demonstration to scalable commercial operations.

Turkish deep-tech fund 212 NexT, focused on advanced materials and industrial technologies, has participated in Aepnus’ pre-Series A funding round. Founded by Lukas Hackl and Bilen Akuzum and headquartered in the US, with additional operations in Canada and Germany, Aepnus is developing a modular alternative to conventional energy-intensive production methods. The company’s technology is designed to enable lower-carbon manufacturing while reducing hazardous by-products such as chlorine gas, with applications across the chemicals industry, heavy manufacturing, and critical mineral processing. Dr Bilen Aküzüm, co-founder and CTO of Aepnus, said the company is developing a new electrochemical production model aimed at enabling the localised manufacturing of essential industrial chemicals that are challenging to produce using conventional methods. Explaining the company’s focus, Aküzüm said: Today, Turkey alone spends more than $150 million annually on caustic soda imports. Our approach strengthens supply security by enabling safe, on-site and lower-carbon production of these critical inputs. The platform we are developing offers a more economical and scalable pathway for producing caustic soda and sulfuric acid – chemicals widely used across battery manufacturing, paper, textiles, heavy industry and in the processing of critical metals. With 212 NexT’s support, we are focused on accelerating global commercialisation. Commenting on the investment, Çağlar Urcan, Managing Partner at 212 NexT, said that Aepnus is addressing structural challenges in the production of essential chemicals such as caustic soda, which are increasingly affected by supply constraints and cost volatility. The company’s modular, chlorine-free electrochemical process offers a commercially viable and more sustainable alternative to conventional production methods. By enabling competitive on-site manufacturing while eliminating hazardous chlorine gas by-products, Aepnus combines clear economic value with industrial scalability.This positioning is particularly compelling given the industrial depth of our investor base, including Akkök Group, a significant Turkish player in the chlor-alkali and speciality chemicals value chain. Emphasising Aepnus’ strategic relevance for Turkey, Urcan added that localising advanced production technologies for key chemicals such as caustic soda and sulfuric acid could strengthen supply security, support industrial competitiveness, and contribute to green transformation goals. He also said that 212 NexT focuses on technologies with strong technical foundations, industrial-scale potential, and long-term strategic value, noting that Aepnus aligns with this investment approach. The investment will support further development and global scaling of the company’s platform, including team expansion, progress across multiple markets, and the strengthening of industrial partnerships.

The British Business Bank is investing up to £45m in a VC fund which makes seed-stage investments in consumer brand startups and B2B tech that supports them. The UK state-backed bank is investing the funds in Redrice Ventures, saying it will help promising startups scale, commercialise research and attract follow-on investment.  It is investing in Redrice’s £75m Fund II. The BBB previously backed Redrice’s Fund 1 in 2021 with a £36m investment. The BBB calls its investment a "cornerstone commitment", designed to help the fund reach its close and attract other investors. London-based Redrice, founded in 2018, primarily invests across media, sport and health and wellness. The BBB's investment forms part of its Enterprise Capital Funds programme, which aims to increase the supply of equity capital to early-stage UK companies with long-term growth potential. The programme has backed 51 funds to date, representing more than £3bn of finance, the BBB said.   Christine Hockley, managing director & co-head of funds, British Business Bank, said: “The creative industries are central to the UK’s growth mission, employing 2.4 million people and contributing £124bn of Gross Value Added to the economy. As a cornerstone investor we hope to crowd in capital to provide additional finance options for companies looking to scale. This will ultimately create more jobs in an already-thriving sector and support the UK to reach its full commercial potential.”

London-based Klaris, an AI-driven medtech startup focused on automating regulatory compliance for medical device companies, has closed a $1 million pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Meridian Health Ventures, a specialist fund backed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital, University College London Hospitals, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Existing investor Antler also participated, alongside Vento Ventures, Milan-based private investment firm Alecla7, and a group of MedTech and regulatory-focused angel investors. The medical device market is projected to exceed $1.1 trillion by 2034, while regulatory requirements continue to present significant challenges for companies bringing products to market. According to FDA analysis, a large share of 510(k) submissions include quality deficiencies, and many are rejected at the first submission stage. In Europe, increasing regulatory demands linked to MDR and IVDR requirements have also led manufacturers to report reduced research and development activity, alongside a decline in the number of devices available on the EU market. To address these regulatory challenges, Klaris develops AI-powered software designed to support compliance for medical device manufacturers. Its platform automates compliance and consistency checks across technical documentation, helping teams identify gaps, maintain alignment with regulatory requirements, and prepare for submissions and audits. By combining AI-driven analysis with expert-validated regulatory frameworks, the company aims to replace traditionally manual documentation processes with a more streamlined approach, improving traceability, data security, and efficiency throughout the product lifecycle. The company was founded by Francesco Corazza and Mihai-Sorin Dobre, combining experience in medical technology, regulatory processes, and AI systems. With the new funding, Klaris will scale its engineering and product teams and accelerate commercial expansion into the wider EU market, following initial traction in the UK and Italy.

Paket Mutfak, a cloud kitchen software startup, has raised $3.8 million to support its ongoing expansion. The round included additional investment from existing backers such as Nokta Yatırım Holding, Ünlü & Co, and Fırat İşbecer, alongside new investors including Ali Sabancı, Sip & Bite GSYF, Robert Baler, and Corsini Global. The latest funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $12.3 million. As food delivery continues to grow while service quality remains uneven across the industry, Paket Mutfak focuses on an operations-driven model designed around the delivery experience. The company operates a multi-brand system aimed at delivering consistent quality and efficiency at scale. Paket Mutfak currently runs 16 brands across 16 locations in Istanbul and manages millions of annual orders through major food delivery platforms using its proprietary operational infrastructure, positioning itself as a scalable, delivery-focused platform. Commenting on the company’s approach, Tali Şalhon, co-founder and CEO of Paket Mutfak, said that one of the biggest problems in the takeaway industry is the inability to maintain quality standards: We are solving this problem by focusing on operational excellence. We are constantly improving our systems to offer our customers the same high quality with every order. Eytan Nahmiyas, co-founder and CSO of Paket Mutfak, said the company plans to develop its own application to gain greater control over the customer experience. By building a platform that enables us to oversee the entire process, from order placement to post-delivery, we aim to offer an experience that sets us apart in the sector. In the coming period, we will focus on strengthening our technological infrastructure and turning this vision into reality. The newly raised capital will be used to strengthen Paket Mutfak’s technology infrastructure, enhance customer experience, and support the development of its own ordering application alongside delivery-focused technology solutions. The funding will also support the expansion of its brand and location network, as well as improvements to supply chain flexibility.

Sendance, a startup developing sensor technology for collecting data from medical devices and assistive equipment, has raised new funding as part of its ongoing third investment round. The investment, structured as a convertible loan, was provided by Garage Angels, with Electron Capital Partners having participated earlier during the seed round. To date, the company has raised a total of €2.6 million to support the development of digital health products. Founded in 2021 and based in Linz, Sendance develops flexible, multi-functional sensor systems for wearable devices. The company has created a patented technology platform that enables manufacturers of products such as orthopaedic insoles, prosthetics, and exoskeletons to collect health-related data and support improved mobility outcomes. Its technology combines a patented sensor grid with a cloud platform, allowing manufacturers to integrate pressure, force, temperature, and motion sensing into medical, sports, and research wearables. The system supports the full product development cycle, from design and prototyping to production, enabling customers to collect and analyse real-time data to improve product performance and user outcomes. Sendance’s solutions are already used by customers internationally, and the first products featuring “sendance inside” technology are entering the market. As stated by the company, the current investment will support further development of the sensor and data platform and help expand its adoption among manufacturers looking to add data-driven capabilities to physical devices and develop new approaches to health and mobility data.

Intuos, a startup developing an integrated platform to improve aircraft fleet efficiency, safety, and compliance, has closed a €720,000 investment round. The round was led by a group of investors, including Argo, a TravelTech accelerator created through a CDP Venture Capital initiative in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Tourism and managed by Zest and Venisia, together with Techstars, Ventive, and several club deals and business angels. Founded by Carolina Gianardi and Vito Tedeschi, Intuos is addressing what it describes as a growing challenge in non-commercial aviation, where traditional software is increasingly unable to manage rising operational complexity and the integrated coordination of training, operations, and fleet management. According to the founders, non-commercial aviation requires stronger structured control across operational workflows, and the company’s platform was developed to close gaps between in-flight activity and operational oversight. The Intuos platform is built around two core components. The Manager digitises aeronautical operations, covering activities ranging from flight planning to fleet maintenance while centralising processes within a single integrated platform for flying clubs, flight schools, and commercial operators. The InFlight Data Monitoring solution combines proprietary IoT devices with real-time telemetry and engine performance data, enabling continuous monitoring, pilot performance analysis, and anomaly detection without the need for manual data uploads. Together, these components connect in-flight performance with operational management, creating a unified and scalable technology cycle supported by two patents, one of which has been extended internationally. The founders said that the platform integrates hardware and software within a single system to improve data consistency, reduce redundancy, and support safer and more efficient operations. The capital raised will support the completion of key technological developments and the company’s initial exploration of the US market, building on its expansion in Europe and South Africa.

The Austrian creator of the popular open-source AI assistant OpenClaw is joining US frontier lab OpenAI, in a move some see as a blow to the European tech ecosystem.   OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman announced on X last night that “genius” software developer Peter Steinberger is joining the company to “drive the next generation of personal agents”.   Altman said: “OpenClaw will live in a foundation as an open source project that OpenAI will continue to support. The future is going to be extremely multi-agent and it’s important to us to support open source as part of that.”   In a separate X post, Steinberger posted: “I’m joining OpenAI to bring agents to everyone. OpenClaw is becoming a foundation: open, independent and just getting started.”   He also wrote a blog post explaining his decision, saying he spent last week in San Francisco talking with the major labs. OpenClaw, previously called Clawdbot, then Moltbot, has become a viral sensation over the past few weeks as an “AI that actually does things”, from responding to emails, checking in flights and carrying out research. The OpenClaw tech was created in Europe.   Responding to the news, some commentators see Steinberger’s exit to a US firm as a blow to the European tech ecosystem.   Posting on LinkedIn, one tech commentator said: ”As happy as I am for him as a fellow Austrian, I can't help but wonder if there was a counter offer from a European tech company.”   Another commentator said: “It‘s a real pity that every promising idea/startup gets immediately swallowed by US big tech.”   A third person posted: "Europe isn't losing to OpenAI. Europe is losing to its own bureaucracy. When Zuck, Sam, and Satya call personally while European leadership is still 'aligning on a process,' the outcome is a foregone conclusion.” Many who posted on social media congratulated Steinberger on the move. Image: Peter Steinberger

Nul, a UK-based healthtech startup developing a supported alcohol reduction platform that combines clinical care and prescription medication, has raised $1 million in seed funding. The round was led by dmg ventures and BYVP, with participation from a group of angel investors. Alcohol use disorder and harmful drinking affect millions of people globally, while treatment options have seen limited innovation in recent decades. Nul aims to address this gap with medication- and therapy-supported reduction models designed for individuals who want to reduce their alcohol consumption without requiring immediate or complete abstinence. Founded by Matus Maar, Nul is building a telehealth platform that integrates clinical care, prescription medication, digital treatment pathways, and behavioural support. The company’s programme is based on naltrexone, a medication used to reduce alcohol cravings by targeting reward pathways. Delivered through a fully remote subscription service, the programme includes virtual consultations, ongoing clinical support, and structured digital guidance based on The Sinclair Method. Commenting on the company’s mission, Matus Maar, founder and CEO of Nul, said that alcohol reduction remains one of the largest areas in healthcare that has seen relatively limited modernisation. Telehealth and online pharmacy platforms have transformed categories like weight loss and mental health, yet alcohol has been left behind despite the scale of the problem. Nul is about making evidence-based treatment accessible, discreet and compatible with real life. Nul launched a UK test phase in summer 2025 and has onboarded more than 120 paying customers, reaching an annualised revenue run rate of over £300,000 within its first months, driven largely by organic demand and word-of-mouth. The seed funding will support the company’s full UK commercial launch, expansion of its clinical and product teams, scaling of customer acquisition, and preparation for future international expansion, including the US market. Alongside the seed round, Nul plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Republic Europe, allowing retail investors to participate in the round and support the company’s next phase of growth.

The Fourth Law (TFL), a Kyiv-based defence technology company, has secured a new funding round backed by Axon, a US public safety technology group. TFL develops AI and robotics solutions for defence and public safety, with a focus on autonomy technologies. The company builds an autonomy-focused software stack that includes simulation and analytical tools, autonomous applications, and fleet management systems. Designed to operate across multiple platforms, the technology can be integrated into quadcopters, fixed-wing UAVs, missiles, and ground or maritime drones. The system functions independently of satellite navigation (GNSS), allowing operation in GPS-denied environments, and may also have applications beyond defence, including logistics, manufacturing, and construction. TFL’s flagship products include the Lupynis-10-TFL-1 UAV and the TFL-1 autonomy module, which are used by more than 50 Ukrainian military units across multiple frontline areas. According to the company, its first-level autonomy technology increases FPV drone mission success rates by two to four times while adding around 10 per cent to unit costs. The company’s latest product, TFL-AntiShahed, is a module for interceptor drones that uses on-edge AI to detect and identify strike drones such as the Shahed and Geran more quickly than manual observation. TFL’s autonomy technology is designed for integration across platforms. In addition to its own Lupynis-10 UAV, the company’s AI modules have been integrated with dozens of third-party UAV manufacturers. The modules can be installed on external airframes, used with different ground stations, and operate across various connectivity architectures. As stated by Yaroslav Azhnyuk, founder and chief executive of The Fourth Law, the funding will support research and development of new autonomy capabilities intended to help protect cities and critical infrastructure from Shahed-type attacks.  

Last week, we tracked more than 65 tech funding deals worth over €3.4 billion, and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.Click to read the rest of the news.

The CEOs of two prominent Swedish AI startups have rejected suggestions that well-funded US frontier AI labs are threats to their business models.  Max Junestrand, CEO and co-founder of AI legaltech startup Legora, and Lukas Saari, CEO and co-founder AI healthtech startup Tandem Health, said the rise in popularity of chatbots such as Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini galvanised interest in their startups, but they were not a threat. Their views follow Claude chatbot maker Anthropic recently launching a legal plug-in to Claude, which specialises in legal tasks to "review documents, flag risks and track compliance". The tool aims to save firms time and money in legal costs. The plug-in launch, which is expected to be followed by similar type launches by OpenAI and Google, sent the share price of several large legal data firms tumbling.  Meanwhile, in January this year, ChatGPT maker OpenAI launched a new ChatGPT feature in the US, ChatGPT Health, which can analyse people’s medical records.   Some experts believe that OpenAI and Anthropic, which are looking to drive up paying customers to help fund their billions of dollars needed to power their growth plans, could cannibalise sales of startups built on their tech with rival offerings. Junestrand wrote a post on LinkedIn about the Claude plug-in launch, outlining its differences to Legora, which is built on top of LLMs.  Explaining more at the Techarena conference in Sweden, Junestrand said: “One of the frustrations that we’ve had is that the models have been really good at say coding, but they haven’t actually been that good on complex legal tasks.  “To give you an example, if you need to draft a share purchase agreement and just throw that into Claude, it is not going to turn out so good.”  He called Claude a “pocket lawyer”, which was used by individuals for one-off tasks, whereas Legora was a broad infrastructure used by over 400 legal firms.  He said: “We keep track of hundreds of millions of documents, we store them, we build knowledge graphs between them, we collect and ingest all the world’s legal data.”  Asked if he was worried about AI frontier labs launching a direct rival product, he said: “We don’t feel very threatened by the model providers. But I do think they serve as a very good spark and idea engine.”  He highlighted the importance of having industry-specific chatbots, using the example of Microsoft Copilot, saying it could have dominated in office use. But he said that “even if it’s really good, it’s very hard to be good for a finance professional, a tax professional, a legal professional”.  Legora, founded in 2023 and valued at $1.8 billion, is said to be raising funds that would triple its valuation to $6 billion, four months after its last financing round.  Asked whether this is true, Junestrand said: ”There are always a lot of rumours about these things. But that is something I cannot comment on.”  Comparing Legora to Sequoia-backed US rival Harvey, he said: “We started in Stockholm with a €50,000 angel cheque versus competition that had over $20 million from Sequoia and OpenAI.” He said Legora was winning a high per cent of deals it was competing for. Meanwhile, Saari said it is “not something that I worry about” when asked about a frontier AI lab launching a rival product to Tandem Health. Tandem Health, powered by LLMs, offers clinicians an AI co-pilot that generates medical notes during patient consultations. Saari said: “We are active in a field where you require so deep vertical integration that horizontal generalist solutions will never make the cut.   "And where you need to tailor the workflow so much to the users, you need to integrate with their systems, you need to follow local guidelines and so on.”  He pointed to the launch of ChatGPT Health, which he said now generates 230m users asking health-related questions every week, as an indicator of broader interest in health chatbots.  He said: “This is something that shows the demand for this type of product. "And we are here offering what is the safe option for doing this, where we are actually protecting like data sovereignty and processing it in Europe. And also anchoring it in the right clinical guidelines.”  Tandem’s co-pilot has evolved from solving the niche use case of medical note taking, expanding to a full medical assistant, which now includes referral notes and patient communications before, during and after patient visits.  In July last year, Tandem raised $50 million in a Series A round after a $10m seed round in 2024. On future funding, Saari said Tandem would “quite likely” to raise new funds this year. He said: “Capital is a means to go faster and be more ambitious. I very much optimise for speed. As soon as capital starts being a constraining factor, that is when we will fundraise again." Tandem, which employs around 130 people, is purely focused on the European market, with the UK, where NHS clinicians use it, its biggest market in terms of user numbers.  He said: "The UK is the most mature market in Europe for these types of solutions.  “In some of the other European countries, when we do our demo to the users, this will be the first time they have ever seen something like this.”  On the agenda for 2026, Saari said he wants to “make sure that all of the large care providers are choosing us as their long-term AI partner. And how we can parallel with this the build out of the product to be a complete AI medical assistant". Image: Nano Banana Pro

Munich-based construction robotics startup Sitegeist has raised €4 million in a pre-seed funding round co-led by b2venture and OpenOcean, with participation from UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators and several angel investors, including Verena Pausder, Lea-Sophie Cramer, Alexander Schwörer, and additional strategic backers from the construction and robotics sectors. Across Europe, ageing bridges, tunnels, parking facilities, and public buildings require major renovation. In Germany alone, the repair backlog amounts to hundreds of billions of euros, with similar challenges seen in North America and other regions. Labour shortages and the physically demanding nature of concrete repair make projects costly, hard to staff, and difficult to scale. Concrete renovation is particularly complex and capacity-constrained. Removing deteriorated concrete using high-pressure water or abrasive blasting requires precision and close supervision to avoid damaging steel reinforcement. Because the process is largely manual and site-specific, construction companies often face low efficiency, rising safety demands, and significant project backlogs. Sitegeist aims to address these challenges with modular automated robots designed for unstructured construction environments. Unlike conventional automation systems that rely on pre-existing 3D models or standardised site conditions, the company’s robotic systems are built to operate directly on existing structures. Using advanced sensing, AI-based decision support, and adaptive control, they can handle complex geometries and varying material conditions without prior digitisation, enabling deployment on active renovation sites. Building on this approach, Dr Lena-Marie Pätzmann, co-founder and CEO of Sitegeist, said that infrastructure renovation, particularly concrete repair, is facing a major bottleneck. She explained that deteriorated concrete is still removed through labour-intensive methods that are difficult to scale, and that Sitegeist is addressing this challenge by developing specialised, modular automated robots capable of performing renovation tasks directly on existing structures. The company works closely with concrete renovation firms on-site and is developing a modular platform intended to expand across the renovation value chain over time. Looking forward, Sitegeist plans to collaborate with additional test sites, co-development partners, and new talent to further validate and refine its robotic systems. The new funding will support team expansion and accelerate the deployment of Sitegeist’s automated, AI-enabled robots on real-world construction sites, helping concrete renovation companies address ongoing capacity constraints.

This week, we tracked more than 65 tech funding deals worth over €3.4 billion and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. Alongside the week’s top funding rounds, we’ve highlighted key industry developments, as well as notable trends in European venture activity, investor moves and emerging sectors shaping the current funding landscape. 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 ?? Nscale has secured a $1.4M Delayed Draw Term Loan backed by GPUs ?? Satellite operator Eutelsat secures €975M for LEO expansion ?? 25-year-old founder’s Olix nabs $220M for photonic AI inference chips to take on Nvidia ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? London-headquartered tech firm Reward has been acquired in a $230M deal ?? Admiral Group has acquired London insurtech Flock for £80M ?? Uber acquires Getir’s Turkish delivery business ?? Dcycle acquires ESG-X to scale sustainability data management in Europe ? Interesting moves from investors ? Elaia’s Digital Venture Fund V reaches €120M at first close ? Zilch co-founder raises $20M for latest venture ? ET Capital closes £270K fund to challenge traditional VC winner-picking. What about diversity? ? Antler launches always-on Nordic residency and $100M+ fund to accelerate startup investment ?️ In other (important) news ? From industrial depth to strategic growth: the German tech ecosystem ?? Bending Spoons is offering €1.5 million in tech scholarships with its new fellowship program ?? Poland’s VC market leans heavily on seed-stage funding ? Why is a $700M startup “testing” its AI in the Balkans? ? Recommended reads and listens ?? Mistral boss calls for European unity in AI race, as pledges €1.2B Swedish data centre investment ? MuseCool is using audio AI to fix the biggest problem in music education ?? Ukraine’s wartime VR therapy is scaling beyond trauma care ? Startup Nation Switzerland: Agenda for more innovation and growth ? European tech startups to watch  ?? xWatts closes £1.6M to expand AI-powered energy management solutions ?? Vesiro raises €1.6M to optimise elasticsearch and lower server energy use ?? AI-native proptech startup MARC has raised a $1M by a group of angel investors ?? Nocomed raises €650,000 in seed funding to address healthcareʼs biggest emissions blind spot

Zurich-based startup ScyAI has closed a €2 million pre-seed funding round led by AENU and co-led by PT1. The round also includes participation from unicorn founders David Helgason (Unity), Maex Ament and Philip Stehlik (Taulia, Centrifuge) through Anti Ordinary Ventures, as well as Bela Lainck, Robert Levenhagen, Christoph Aufmhof and Stefanie Gerhart through the angel investor alliance better ventures. For manufacturers, energy producers and other organisations with large physical asset portfolios, climate risk has become an increasingly important operational challenge. Industry data indicates that natural catastrophes continue to generate significant economic losses, with a substantial share remaining uninsured. One reason for this protection gap is that insurance pricing is often based on broad industry categories and regional averages rather than company-specific risk profiles. Without detailed information on factors such as facility construction, mitigation measures or asset separation, underwriters may apply more conservative pricing. As a result, companies with strong risk management practices may face higher costs or retain more risk than intended due to limited visibility into potential coverage gaps. In response to these challenges, ScyAI has developed a platform that creates quantified, auditable risk profiles by combining operational data with external hazard models. This allows organisations to demonstrate their specific risk characteristics using metrics aligned with those used by underwriters. According to the company, early users of the platform have reported reductions in insurance premiums alongside improved coverage terms. ScyAI’s solution is aimed at organisations with significant physical infrastructure and is designed to help address both affordability and coverage adequacy, which contribute to the existing protection gap. Bernhard Rannegger, founder and CEO of ScyAI, said that physical risks are becoming a central operational and financial issue for companies. He added that the company’s goal is to help organisations make these risks measurable and easier to understand, enabling risk and insurance teams to make more informed decisions.