EQT Life Sciences’ EQT Health Economics 3 Fund (EQT HE3), a multi-stage life sciences and medtech-dedicated fund has received €25 million from the British Business Bank.  EQT Life Sciences backs companies focused on the development of therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and healthtech. With a 30-year track record, the firm has raised over €3.7 billion across 13 private funds and supported more than 150 companies from early clinical development through to commercialisation. This commitment is the latest in the British Business Bank’s ongoing work to back the UK’s high-potential life sciences companies, which is one of the eight growth sectors of the UK Industrial Strategy. The Bank has an existing relationship with EQT Life Sciences, having co-invested in both Phagenesis’ (2023) $42 million Series D and Cyted Health’s (2025) $44 million Series B funding round. EQT HE3 is targeting commercial stage, de-risked medtech and digital health technologies driving innovation and transforming healthcare delivery. Drew Burdon, Partner at EQT Life Sciences, said: “Over recent years, we have built an excellent relationship with The Bank through co-investments in leading UK health tech companies. The Bank's investment will further contribute to our commitment to tap into the attractive UK health tech ecosystem and grow strong companies together. “ Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Equity Funds at British Business Bank, said: “ The UK is home to a world-class life sciences sector, but scaling companies in the sector requires specialist investors. By investing in high-quality international funds, we encourage greater investment to flow back into the UK and ensure UK companies benefit from the capital and expertise of leading investors.” Lead image: Magnific.

Sightera Biosciences, a Belgian techbio company using generative AI to develop novel small-molecule therapies, has raised €3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Entourage, Anacura and QBIC. A spin-off from the University of Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), Sightera is developing an AI-native drug discovery platform focused on oncology and fibrosis. Unlike many AI drug discovery companies that rely on public or generic datasets, Sightera trains its models using proprietary data generated from patient-derived biological samples collected from individuals with advanced, therapy-resistant disease. These samples are used to create preclinical models, including organoids, that closely replicate human disease biology and generate large-scale drug-response datasets. The proprietary datasets underpin Sightera's AI platform, enabling it to design small molecules based on biological responses observed in patient-derived systems rather than chemical properties alone. By placing human disease biology at the centre of the discovery process, the company aims to improve the likelihood that AI-designed drug candidates will translate successfully into clinical development. The funding will support the expansion of Sightera's AI-powered drug discovery platform, accelerate the development of its preclinical pipeline and advance its lead molecular glue oncology programme towards preclinical candidate selection. The company also plans to strengthen strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies while expanding its research, AI and data science teams.

ENGO, a French company developing smart eyewear for athletes, has raised €5.1 million in a funding round to expand its international presence and accelerate the development of next-generation heads-up display technologies. The round was led by Ventech, Odyssée Venture and Bpifrance Amorçage Industriel, with Blueprint Partners supporting the company through the fundraising process. ENGO develops lightweight smart glasses featuring an integrated augmented reality Micro-OLED display that projects real-time performance data directly into the wearer's field of view. Designed for runners, cyclists, triathletes and other endurance athletes, the company's eyewear combines embedded display technology with up to 20 hours of battery life in a frame weighing less than 40 grams. Reducing weight is a key focus for the company, reflecting athletes' demand for equipment that delivers advanced functionality without compromising comfort or performance. By combining miniaturisation, energy optimisation and optical innovation, ENGO aims to make its technology as seamless and unobtrusive as possible, allowing athletes to stay focused on their performance. Eric Marcellin-Dibon, CEO of ENGO, said: Since ENGO's inception, we have pursued a simple vision: enabling athletes to stay focused on their performance, not the technology. The lighter, more natural, and more intuitive our eyewear becomes, the closer we get to our goal: making the technology disappear in favour of the athletic experience. The investment will support ENGO's commercial and industrial expansion as it strengthens its position in the global smart sports eyewear market. The company plans to expand its team in France across engineering, software, marketing and business development while strengthening partnerships within the sports ecosystem and increasing its presence in international markets. The funding will also accelerate research and development in ultra-miniaturised display technologies, optical innovation and energy efficiency, while supporting the integration of new features and the continued reduction of product weight. Looking ahead, ENGO plans to continue advancing the convergence of optics, electronics and embedded intelligence while exploring new applications for its smart eyewear technology beyond endurance sports.

Uber and one of its affiliates have entered into a business combination agreement to acquire Delivery Hero, thereby extending the mobility and delivery platform to 99 countries. Under the terms of the voluntary takeover offer, Uber will offer Delivery Hero shareholders €41.50 per share in cash (implying a fully diluted equity value of €13.0 billion).  Berlin-headquartered Delivery Hero currently operates in around 65 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. It began as a food delivery service in 2011 and today runs its own delivery platform on four continents. Additionally, Delivery Hero is pioneering quick commerce, the next generation of e-commerce, aiming to deliver groceries and household goods to customers in under 1 hour, often within 20 to 30 minutes.  “Delivery Hero’s talented team has built an extraordinary business, with beloved local brands and strong positions across some of the world’s fastest-growing delivery markets,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.  “By bringing our platforms together, Uber will extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in some of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers.” “We are excited about this opportunity with Uber and the possibilities it offers for our employees, shareholders, and partners. Uber’s global mobility and delivery platform and our shared commitment to innovation make this the right partnership to build on Delivery Hero’s strengths in local food delivery and Quick Commerce, and to take our Everyday App strategy further for our customers,” said Niklas Östberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Delivery Hero. “I’m grateful to our people for building this company over 15 years, and we look forward to this great next chapter together.” Uber has pledged to retain Delivery Hero’s headquarters and make no changes to its workforce in Berlin until at least 2029. Additionally, Uber committed to using commercially reasonable efforts to invest €2 billion in Germany through 2031, with a focus on developing its local corporate workforce, growing its nationwide business, and launching autonomous vehicle deployments and partnerships with the German automotive industry. “This acquisition and Uber’s planned investment in Germany demonstrate the attractiveness of the European tech ecosystem, and we intend to keep contributing to its growth,” said Niklas Östberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Delivery Hero.

Juno Bio, a UK-founded women’s health company dedicated to closing the gender health gap through precision vaginal microbiome testing and multi-omics, today announced the opening of its first sequencing lab built entirely for women’s health.  The new facility, in Oakland, California, marks a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, clinically relevant microbiome testing.  To fuel this stage of growth, Juno Bio has raised $3.8 million in funding. Investors include Ada Ventures, Artesian, Entrepreneur First, and Illumina Accelerator, investors known for backing early-stage startups spanning women’s health, deep tech and applied sequencing.  Using next-generation sequencing, Juno Bio’s platform delivers a detailed, clinically actionable view of vaginal health, equipping patients and healthcare providers with deeper insights into conditions that are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed.  Since its founding, Juno Bio has pioneered a new standard of care for vaginal microbiome health, building one of the largest repositories of vaginal microbiome data and helping thousands of women access more precise testing and treatment.  Juno Bio’s new clinically actionable vaginal microbiome and STI test is designed to address a critical gap in women’s health, where recurrent infections, fertility concerns, and peri- and menopausal symptoms are frequently misunderstood or inadequately treated. Processed in Juno Bio’s own CLIA-certified lab, the test analyses approximately 10,000 bacteria and fungi, along with four common STIs, to give patients and clinicians a detailed picture of the vaginal ecosystem.  After launching its first wellness test, the company has sold more than 20,000 tests organically and evolved into a clinical platform, expanding its scientific and clinical infrastructure through pharmaceutical R&D partnerships, its own clinical lab, telehealth and pharmacy integrations, and a growing network of medical advisors, including Anna Powell, MD, of Johns Hopkins, specialising in reproductive infectious disease and vulvovaginal disorders.  “Vaginal microbiome testing has the potential to significantly reshape how we understand and manage vaginal health, particularly for patients with recurrent or unexplained symptoms,” said Dr Powell . “While the field is still evolving, advances in sequencing and data interpretation are moving us closer to a future where more personalised, microbiome-informed care can complement existing diagnostic approaches.”  “Over the past five years, Juno Bio has grown from a pioneering vaginal microbiome test into a clinical platform advancing a new standard of care for women’s health,” said Hana Janebdar, Founder and CEO of Juno Bio.  “We’ve built one of the largest repositories of vaginal microbiome data, helped thousands of women access clearer answers, expanded our clinical and scientific infrastructure, and deepened our partnerships across research and care delivery. This next chapter is about scaling that work, expanding access to more actionable care, and continuing to close the gender health gap. We’re incredibly grateful to our investors and partners for their trust in our team and our vision as we move into this next stage of growth.”  Unlike traditional tests that focus on a limited set of pathogens, Juno Bio’s platform can help identify microbes associated with co-infections, subclinical conditions, and broader microbiome patterns that may influence care. When paired with symptoms and clinical review, the test can help clarify likely drivers of concerns such as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, aerobic vaginitis, cytolytic vaginosis, and estrogen-related changes, supporting more informed next steps across care, lifestyle, sexual health practices, and prescribed medication.   "Juno Bio is setting a new standard for how vaginal health is understood and managed,” said Check Warner, Co-founding Partner at Ada Ventures. “What they’ve built at this stage, with this level of capital efficiency, is exceptional. We’re proud to support the team as they scale their clinical infrastructure and continue leading innovation in this critically underserved category.”  Despite how common vaginal health concerns are, they remain widely misunderstood. According to Juno Bio data, prior to using its test, 67.5 and of customers had been incorrectly diagnosed, whether misdiagnosed, underdiagnosed, or overdiagnosed, and only 13 and had been successfully treated. Additionally, approximately half of users experience co-infections, which are often missed by conventional testing but can significantly impact treatment outcomes. 

Roman Sulzhyk, Founding Partner of Ukrainian investment fund Resist.UA, has a message for the world when it comes to investing in the Ukrainian startup ecosystem: "If you wait until after the war, you're already too late." He contends that the really entrepreneurial people didn't wait. Rather, “they recognised the opportunity during the war and came anyway." Founded in 2023 during Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Resist.UA operates at the intersection of international capital, military expertise, and battlefield-tested innovation. Its first fund was backed by Ukrainian capital and focused on early-stage miltech/defencetech companies at the pre-seed and seed stages.   The fund supports teams at the earliest stages, combining investment with operational support to help transform battlefield-tested prototypes into scalable companies. Interviewing defence tech investors is unlike covering most venture capital. For operational security, a significant share of their portfolio remains confidential. Image: Farsight Vision. What we do know is that Resist.UA's investments span battlefield software, autonomous aircraft and robotics. Portfolio company Farsight Vision develops AI-powered intelligence software that integrates data from multiple battlefield sensors, while M-FLY  is building autonomous drones for reconnaissance and strike missions. Image: Teslia unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) by Phantom Technology. The fund also backed Phantom Technology, developer of the Teslia unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which is used by Ukraine's Defence Forces for frontline logistics and casualty evacuation. In May 2026, Resist.UA completed its first exit when defence manufacturer TAF Industries acquired a majority stake in Phantom Technology to scale production of the battlefield-proven Teslia platform. This demonstrates how Resist.UA helps mature startups  to the point where established defence manufacturers can take over industrial-scale production. Resist.UA operates through a hybrid model combining venture capital and private equity, with a strong focus on long-term company growth and manufacturing capacity development. One of the platform’s core principles remains its reinvestment-first approach, where returns are primarily directed toward further scaling companies and strengthening the broader ecosystem. Through its first fund, Resist.UA built a portfolio valued at over $10 million, reviewed more than 600 projects and engaged with over 100 Ukrainian defence tech teams. From Wall Street to Ukraine's defence evolution Sulzhyk has a rich history in finance. Before founding Resist.UA, Sulzhyk spent years on Wall Street, working as a trader at Deutsche Bank during the 2008 financial crisis. He admits that when Russia's full-scale invasion began, it became obvious that Ukraine would have to build its own defence industry. “At first, I didn't think about venture capital. I simply saw groups of engineers trying to solve urgent problems." He was serving on the supervisory board of PrivatBank when one of these teams needed help transferring money abroad to buy components. The bank had frozen the payment because of wartime capital controls, so he went to verify what they were actually building. "I walked into a garage and saw around ten people assembling FPV drones by hand. I'd never seen anything like it." After confirming they really were supplying the military, he pushed for the payment to be released. Looking back, that garage became one of the first examples of what would evolve into Ukraine's modern defence-tech ecosystem. By 2023, hundreds of founders were building military technologies. Sulzhyk wanted to help create a real defence industry so that, after the war, these incredibly talented engineers wouldn't simply go back to outsourcing software for overseas clients. He contends that "this is the first time in Ukraine's 30-year history that we've had dedicated, professional investment capital focused on startups." Sulzhyk isn't alone in believing Ukraine is at the beginning of something much bigger. When I attended European Defense Tech Hub’s Defencetech Startup Week in Kyiv, multiple investors told me it's a founders' market. Startups attracting attention ranged from those founded by early-stage university students to active military and veterans. Sulzhyk revealed that one of his limited partners, who manages multi-billion-dollar funds in Ireland, shared that the atmosphere reminds him of the early internet era. "He said it feels like 1996 or 1997—the beginning of the internet boom. He never expected to see that kind of opportunity in Europe, let alone in Ukraine." Obviously, the numbers are much smaller. Ukraine may ultimately absorb one or two billion dollars rather than the hundreds of billions invested during the internet revolution. But relative to where Ukraine started, it's equally transformational." ​ Ukraine's fastest-growing investment sector According to research from AVentures Capital, defencetech remains the fastest-growing sector in Ukraine’s entire technology ecosystem. By the end of 2025, the fund recorded more than $129 million in publicly disclosed investments and grants raised by Ukrainian defence startups. Investments included: Swarmer – $15 million Tencore – $3.74 million Dropla – $2.75 million Teletactica – $1.5 million M-Fly – $1.3 million Norda Dynamics – $1 million ​ Helping build the next generation of Ukrainian industry Sulzhyk says his mission has evolved far beyond financing startups. "When I started Resist.UA, I thought I was building an investment fund. Today I see it differently. We're helping decide who becomes the next generation of industrial leaders." That shift has fundamentally changed how he evaluates founders. "The question isn't whether someone can build a billion-dollar company. It's whether they're the kind of person I want helping to shape Ukraine's future." For Sulzhyk, that's an enormous responsibility. It means spending as much time assessing a founder's values and character as their technology or business model. He wants to back people who will build companies with integrity, create places others aspire to work, and avoid repeating the oligarchic business culture that emerged after the Soviet Union's collapse. "Long after the war ends, these are the people who will still be building companies, creating jobs and attracting international investment into Ukraine." Most of the entrepreneurs he backs are still in their twenties or early thirties, yet he believes they will define the country's next industrial era. "They're exactly the kind of people who could shape what Ukraine looks like over the next twenty years. At this point, backing them isn't just about venture returns — it's about helping build the next generation of Ukrainian industry." Executive search meets venture capital While Roman Sulzhyk brings decades of investment experience, fellow investor Oleksii Komlichenko, who joined our interview briefly, leads fundraising, deal sourcing, government relations, and team assessment at Resist.UA. He also supports portfolio companies in leadership development, HR strategy, and organisational design. His executive search background has proven unexpectedly valuable in venture investing. "The first step is identifying the right people to invest in. The second is helping them develop." He explained: "Building the investment pipeline is about meeting founders, understanding what motivates them and establishing trust long before an investment takes place." For Komlichenko, the transition from engineer to company builder is one of the most important stages in a startup's evolution. "Successful founders eventually have to transition from being outstanding engineers into people capable of building organisations, attracting talent and leading teams. That's often where we spend the most time helping." Unlocking Ukraine's overlooked founders Sulzhyk contends that amongst the thousands of defence tech startups now operating in Ukraine. Brave1 is a critical investment gateway into the ecosystem as the sector has scaled: "The first investor day had maybe five companies and three investors. Now there are around a thousand companies and dozens of international investors." But that's only the visible part of the market. There are thousands of companies building defence technologies in Ukraine today. Only a small proportion have actually raised professional venture capital. He estimates that around 150 to 200 companies have received structured investment from venture funds. "That means there's still a huge pool of founders that international investors simply haven't discovered." Sulzhyk thinks of the ecosystem as a pyramid. At the top are founders who already understand Western venture capital. "They speak English, they pitch well, they've met international investors, and they know how fundraising works." Below them is a much larger group. "These founders have excellent technology, strong reputations with the military and real customers — but they don't know how to access Western capital. Sometimes they've never pitched before. Some don't even speak English. They're exceptional engineers who have spent the last three years solving battlefield problems rather than learning how venture capital works. That's the group we're most interested in." Below that is another layer of companies that aren't looking for venture funding at all because government procurement already provides enough work. Those businesses may never raise outside capital. For many founders, investment is only the beginning. As they begin expanding beyond Ukraine, they often turn to Resist.UA for practical support in navigating partnerships, hiring and international growth. Sulzhyk recalls: “Recently, one company wanted to negotiate a partnership in Sweden. They approached my partner and asked: "Can you effectively become our CEO for a while and help us do this?" They understood the technology perfectly. What they lacked was experience negotiating with international partners. That's where we can add value." ​ Finding companies before anyone else Ukraine's startup ecosystem is also attracting a growing number of international investors with an on-the-ground presence. ​ Green Flag Ventures, one of the first foreign VC firms dedicated to Ukrainian defence tech, operates from both Los Angeles and Kyiv and has backed startups including HIMERA and Swarmer. ​ Horizon Capital, while Ukrainian-founded, is supported by more than 40 international institutional investors and has maintained its Kyiv headquarters throughout the war while continuing to raise international capital, including its Catalyst Fund for reconstruction. ​ The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has also expanded its local engagement through investments such as Horizon's Catalyst Fund, supporting Ukraine's private sector recovery. Beyond these, international defence-tech investors, including D3, Radius Capital, Scout Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) have become active backers of Ukrainian startups, often via venture scouts or regular in-country visits. However, Sulzhyk contends that Resist.UA’s early access to startup founders provides a critical advantage: “We're much closer to the ecosystem. We meet founders before they've learned how to raise venture capital, and by the time many international investors discover a company, we've often known the founders for a year or two. That's incredibly valuable. It means investment decisions are based on relationships built over time rather than a single pitch meeting.” Sulzhyk contends that if Ukraine wants to attract long-term Western investment, founders need to become comfortable building genuine partnerships. "That's why I spend as much time evaluating people's values as I do their technology. Technology changes. Markets change. But people don't. The companies we're backing today won't simply build products. They'll shape how international investors see Ukrainian business for decades. That's an enormous responsibility.” Rebuilding Ukraine together Sulzhyk believes Ukraine's future will be shaped not only by government policy or foreign aid, but by the generation coming of age during the war. "The founders building companies today and the soldiers fighting on the front line belong to the same generation. One happened to go to war. The other stayed behind to build businesses. It could easily have been the other way around. The responsibility doesn't end when the war ends." He believes Ukraine's next generation of business leaders will also need to create opportunities for returning veterans, support communities affected by the conflict, and build industries capable of keeping talent — and attracting investment — at home. ​ Looking beyond defence Listening to Sulzhyk, I felt as though defence technology is almost secondary to the bigger mission. He asserts that defencetech is simply where Ukraine's transformation began. "I'm not trying to fund the next unicorn. I'm trying to help build the generation that will rebuild Ukraine. If we succeed, international investors won't come here simply because of the war. They'll come because Ukraine has become one of Europe's most dynamic places to build technology companies.” And that's ultimately the future he wants Resist.UA to help create . "The ultimate goal is to become one of the conduits through which Western capital flows into Ukraine — not just during the war, but for decades afterwards." The next global tech hub is Kyiv Sulzhyk shares my belief that Kyiv will become one of the world's leading tech ecosystems after the war. "The day commercial flights resume, you won't be able to book a hotel room." He tells investors that now is the time to build relationships. “We're not simply raising capital. We're building long-term relationships. If you're already part of our network, we'll help you understand how Ukraine works. After the war, there simply won't be enough time to build those relationships from scratch." Lead image: Taras Zharun, Alexey Komlichenko, and Roman Sulzhik, Resist.ua. Photo: Julia Weber.

Multimodal traveltech company Omio Group has signed a deal to acquire Rail Europe.  Upon completion, Rail Europe will become part of Omio Group, joining Omio's B2C booking platform, its B2B distribution business, and its travel discovery brand, Rome2Rio.  For 90 years, Rail Europe has helped make European rail travel accessible to travellers and travel businesses worldwide. Today, its technology, customer care services, and rail expertise support more than 25,000 partners across 70+ countries. Rail Europe connects travellers to around 250 rail providers — including SNCF, Eurostar, Trenitalia, DB, Renfe, SBB, and ÖBB — as well as leading rail passes such as Eurail and the Swiss Travel Pass. Every year, around 5 million train tickets are sold through its platform. Through its website and app, travellers can easily book rail journeys across Europe. Headquartered in Paris, with teams around the world, Rail Europe continues to make rail travel simpler and more accessible. With the addition of Rail Europe, Omio Group (OG) would sell 22 million train tickets per year, work with over 28,000 transport operators and travel sellers, and offer the world's most comprehensive ground transportation proposition.  Rail Europe would continue to operate under its established brand, serving both B2B partners and travellers, while benefiting from the Omio Group’s technology stack, platform capabilities, and multimodal inventory.  The proposed acquisition gives Omio access to Rail Europe’s global network of travel agents and operators across more than 70 countries, along with more than 90 years of rail expertise. Jean-Francois Bessiron, Chief B2B Officer at Omio Group, said:  “This deal marks a transformative moment for the future of global ground transport. Omio and Rail Europe would give the industry a player with the technology and scale to make connected, accessible, and affordable train travel a reality for all. The sector has been constrained by outdated systems and controlled by dominant players for far too long.”  According to Björn Bender, CEO and Executive Chairman of Rail Europe, the past few years have been transformational for Rail Europe.  “For the next chapter, Omio and Rail Europe are a natural fit. Omio brings significant scale and transformative technology. Rail Europe adds considerable rail experience, a trusted international consumer brand, and the strongest B2B distribution network. Together, we would offer more to our travellers, partners and the rail industry than either company could achieve on its own.” The proposed acquisition is subject to a consultation process with the CSE (Comité Social et Économique), which will issue an advisory opinion on the transaction. The transaction will not be completed until this process has concluded. 

Hyperion Robotics, a Finnish physical AI company developing robotic manufacturing technology for infrastructure construction, has raised $7.4 million in a growth funding round to scale its robotic microfactories across Europe. The round was co-led by Course Corrected and the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), with participation from RE Ventures, part of the Romande Energie Group, alongside existing investors Lifeline Ventures, Übermorgen Ventures and PC Rettig Impact & Co. Hyperion combines robotics, automation and artificial intelligence to manufacture infrastructure components in factory settings close to project sites. At the core of its technology is Forge, a software platform that integrates design, structural engineering, code compliance, robotics and factory operations into a single system. Compared with conventional construction methods, the company's robotic microfactories can produce infrastructure components up to three times faster while reducing costs by up to 50 per cent and cutting carbon emissions by up to 70 per cent. Hyperion says its approach also uses up to 75 per cent less material than traditional construction by shifting production from labour-intensive building sites to digitally controlled factories. Fernando De los Rios, CEO of Hyperion Robotics, said the investment will enable the company to scale factory-based manufacturing as Europe faces growing infrastructure renewal needs alongside labour shortages, budget constraints and decarbonisation targets. We've already built some of the most efficient concrete structures in the world. With this funding, we start delivering at scale, in factories built next to the projects they serve. Europe doesn't have the time, the budget or the labour for construction to keep working the way it has. Physical AI is how we close that gap. The investment will support the launch of Forge I, Hyperion's first UK microfactory, in Flixborough near Scunthorpe in partnership with LKAB. The facility will manufacture infrastructure components for sectors including energy, utilities, water, data centres and carbon capture. The funding will also support further development of the Forge platform and the company's expansion across European infrastructure markets.

Arq, a Spanish quantum technology startup developing networking hardware for the quantum internet, has raised $1.4 million in a pre-seed funding round to accelerate the development of its quantum communication technology. The round was led by Ground State Ventures, with participation from Big Sur Ventures. Founded in 2025 by quantum scientists Samuele Grandi and Emanuele Distante, Arq is developing quantum repeaters designed to connect quantum computers over long distances. The company's technology combines quantum memories based on rare-earth doped crystals with photon-pair sources to enable reliable, high-speed communication across fibre optic networks. At the core of Arq's approach is multiplexing, which allows multiple photons to be stored and transmitted simultaneously, improving the speed and efficiency of quantum communication. The company says the technology offers a faster and more cost-effective approach to networking quantum computers than existing alternatives and could provide the foundation for large-scale quantum networks. Commenting on the investment, co-founder Emanuele Distante said the company is working with research institutions, quantum technology companies and public organisations to move quantum communication beyond the laboratory: Our technology could lay the groundwork for quantum-exclusive networks that allow the impact of quantum technology to scale exponentially. Arq is targeting applications across industries including telecommunications, financial services, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, where future quantum networks could enable new capabilities beyond those possible with today's communication infrastructure. The funding will be used to establish a state-of-the-art laboratory and accelerate the development of Arq's next generation of quantum memory devices, with a focus on improving reproducibility and reliability.

SWISSto12, a Swiss aerospace company developing satellite payloads and platforms for the space and telecommunications industries, has raised $70 million in a Series C funding round to expand its manufacturing and integration capacity and meet growing demand from commercial and government customers. The raise follows the award of $84.8 million from European Space Agency (ESA) Member States to the HummingSat ARTES partnership project, through which the ESA is supporting the development and in-orbit validation of SWISSto12's HummingSat geostationary satellite platform. Founded in 2011, SWISSto12 develops satellite payloads and communication systems using patented manufacturing technologies, including 3D printing. Its portfolio includes HummingSat (GEO), a compact geostationary satellite platform, and HummingLink (LEO), a range of multi-orbit payload and antenna solutions deployed across commercial and government space missions. The company has secured seven HummingSat contracts with global satellite operators, including SES and Viasat, while expanding its HummingLink business into low Earth orbit constellation programmes and missions across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. More than 2,000 HummingLink solutions are currently deployed in orbit. CEO and founder Emile de Rijk said the growing importance of space infrastructure is creating new opportunities across commercial and sovereign communications, adding: Our products are supporting exciting new customer missions - from direct-to-device connectivity to media broadcasting, intersatellite data relays or sovereign communications infrastructure - many of which span multiple orbits. The company will use the funding to increase production capacity for both the HummingSat satellite platform and the HummingLink product portfolio as it scales to support a growing pipeline of commercial and government programmes.

Applied Computing, a British artificial intelligence company developing foundation models for energy operations, has raised $20 million in a funding round led by KBR, with participation from Databricks Ventures. Headquartered in London, with offices in Bengaluru and Houston, Applied Computing develops AI technology designed specifically for the energy sector. Check out our earlier interview with Dan Jeavons, the president of Applied Computing. Its flagship platform, Orbital, combines physics-informed AI with models for chemical engineering, time-series forecasting and language to help operators improve efficiency, reduce emissions, strengthen reliability and optimise decision-making across upstream, downstream and petrochemical operations. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, Orbital is purpose-built for real operating environments. Applied Computing has strengthened its commercial position over the past year through major partnerships, a growing presence in India and the addition of senior talent from across the energy and AI sectors. The investment builds on an existing commercial relationship between Applied Computing and KBR. Alongside the funding, the two companies have signed a multi-year agreement to develop exclusive AI products for the energy sector. Callum Adamson, CEO and co-founder of Applied Computing, said the investment and partnership with KBR will accelerate the deployment of Orbital across the global energy industry. Our mission is to provide operators with a foundation model that unlocks advantage at scale while delivering pathways to production that are safer, more efficient and far less carbon intensive. The funding will support Applied Computing's international expansion, including the opening of a new office in Houston, Texas, while accelerating the commercial deployment of Orbital, expanding its research and engineering teams and deepening deployments with major energy customers.

Syntetica, a deeptech company developing recycling technology for complex textile waste, has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round to scale its nylon recycling platform and bring its technology to industrial production. The round was led by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance, with participation from SWEN Capital Partners, lululemon, MAS Holdings, existing investor EQT Ventures, and the family offices of Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Venture's largest shareholder. The company also received support from public institutions, including Bpifrance and the European Innovation Council. Founded by Marco Bertone and Louis Monsigny, Syntetica has developed a patented process capable of recycling both Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 from mixed textile waste in a single process. By eliminating the need to separate different nylon types before recycling, the technology addresses one of the industry's key technical barriers to recovering valuable materials from post-consumer textile waste. The company is already working with brands including Victoria's Secret and Etam, alongside a growing number of global apparel companies, as demand for circular materials continues to increase. Unlike conventional recycling technologies that primarily process clean manufacturing waste, Syntetica's platform is designed to recover materials from post-consumer textiles, which account for the majority of textile waste. Commenting on the investment, co-founder and CEO Marco Bertone said the funding marks an important step in bringing the company's recycling technology from the laboratory to commercial-scale manufacturing: For decades, mixed nylon waste has been considered too complex and too expensive to recycle at scale. We have shown that it is possible to recover high-value materials from the waste streams the industry has historically written off. The funding will support the construction of Syntetica's first commercial demonstration facility in France, developed in partnership with Michelin's Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand. The plant will transition the company's technology from laboratory scale to industrial production, with the capacity to process hundreds of tonnes of textile waste each year. Looking ahead, Syntetica plans to expand its technology platform beyond nylon into additional materials and applications, including the textiles, automotive and speciality chemicals sectors, as it seeks to strengthen circular material supply chains across Europe.

Research published today by global early-stage VC firm Antler reveals that the single most important decision a founder can make is which company they work at before building their own, and specifically, whether that company is actively scaling from Seed to Series C stage whilst they are there. The report, Europe’s Growth Stage Founder Factories,  which analyses  51,722 European seed-stage companies, finds that working at a startup as it scales from Seed to Series C is the single strongest predictor of founding success. Founders who did so are nearly twice as likely to build startups that reach Series A. No other previous employment or experience comes close.  The research analyses startups in the UK, Germany, France and Sweden that raised a seed round between 2010 and 2021 and finds that, on average, 23 per cent of European startups secure Series A funding.  The growth stage founder advantage However, for startups run by founders who previously had direct experience working at a startup whilst it scaled from Seed to Series C, that figure increases to 45.6 per cent - a +22.6 percentage-point lift.  In contrast, Big Tech experience produces exactly the same conversion rate uplift as working at a seed-stage startup - 33 per cent. In other words, the data suggests that early-stage startup experience is an advantage equal to being an ex-Googler.  Founders in Germany who had previously worked at growth-stage companies are the most likely to successfully build their own startups to Series A (50.9 per cent).  The importance of staying the distance The research shows that nothing matches the hands-on experience of working at a startup whilst it scales. Founders who joined an employer at seed or pre-seed stage but left before significant growth successfully went on to raise Series A rounds themselves in 33.7 per cent of cases.  However, founders who joined at Seed stage or earlier, then stayed at their employer long enough to see it raise a Series B or above, went on to build startups that convert their own Series A at 55.3 per cent — nearly double the baseline.  The real founder factories Global founder factories creating startups in Europe:  LiveRamp - United States - 10 founders - 90.0 per cent went on to build startups that reached Series AImprobable - United Kingdom - 8 founders - 87.5 per cent Withings - France - 10 founders - 70.0 per cent Zenefits - United States - 22 founders - 68.2 per cent Indiegogo - United States - 12 founders - 66.7 per cent Dropbox - United States - 45 founders - 62.2 per cent Atlassian - Australia - 16 founders - 56.2 per cent GitHub - United States - 15 founders - 46.7 per cent Klarna - Sweden - 14 founders - 42.9 per cent Riot Games - United States - 26 founders - 42.3 per cent Christoph Klink, Partner at Antler, contends that the report shows that the most important decision a founder can make is not which university they attend or which famous company they join.  “It is whether they were inside a company as it was actively scaling — navigating the fundraising pressure, the hiring pace, the product decisions made under scrutiny.  That experience predicts founding success better than any other signal we tested, and it produces more than double the lift of working at Google or Meta.” He asserts that this is genuinely good news for Europe: “Yes, we have a generation of unicorns producing founders, but we also have a vibrant early-stage ecosystem that is giving future founders the best possible training ground. The flywheel is spinning faster than we realised. The task for Europe's investors is to update their filters to find them, back them, and back them early."

Research published today by global early-stage VC firm Antler reveals that the single most important decision a founder can make is which company they work at before building their own, and specifically, whether that company is actively scaling from Seed to Series C stage whilst they are there. The report, Europe’s Growth Stage Founder Factories,  which analyses  51,722 European seed-stage companies, finds that working at a startup as it scales from Seed to Series C is the single strongest predictor of founding success. Founders who did so are nearly twice as likely to build startups that reach Series A. No other previous employment or experience comes close.  The research analyses startups in the UK, Germany, France and Sweden that raised a seed round between 2010 and 2021 and finds that, on average, 23 per cent of European startups secure Series A funding.  The growth stage founder advantage However, for startups run by founders who previously had direct experience working at a startup whilst it scaled from Seed to Series C, that figure increases to 45.6 per cent - a +22.6 percentage-point lift.  In contrast, Big Tech experience produces exactly the same conversion rate uplift as working at a seed-stage startup - 33 per cent. In other words, the data suggests that early-stage startup experience is an advantage equal to being an ex-Googler.  Founders in Germany who had previously worked at growth-stage companies are the most likely to successfully build their own startups to Series A (50.9 per cent).  The importance of staying the distance The research shows that nothing matches the hands-on experience of working at a startup whilst it scales. Founders who joined an employer at seed or pre-seed stage but left before significant growth successfully went on to raise Series A rounds themselves in 33.7 per cent of cases.  However, founders who joined at Seed stage or earlier, then stayed at their employer long enough to see it raise a Series B or above, went on to build startups that convert their own Series A at 55.3 per cent — nearly double the baseline.  The real founder factories Global founder factories creating startups in Europe:  LiveRamp - United States - 10 founders - 90.0 per cent went on to build startups that reached Series AImprobable - United Kingdom - 8 founders - 87.5 per cent Withings - France - 10 founders - 70.0 per cent Zenefits - United States - 22 founders - 68.2 per cent Indiegogo - United States - 12 founders - 66.7 per cent Dropbox - United States - 45 founders - 62.2 per cent Atlassian - Australia - 16 founders - 56.2 per cent GitHub - United States - 15 founders - 46.7 per cent Klarna - Sweden - 14 founders - 42.9 per cent Riot Games - United States - 26 founders - 42.3 per cent Christoph Klink, Partner at Antler, contends that the report shows that the most important decision a founder can make is not which university they attend or which famous company they join.  “It is whether they were inside a company as it was actively scaling — navigating the fundraising pressure, the hiring pace, the product decisions made under scrutiny.  That experience predicts founding success better than any other signal we tested, and it produces more than double the lift of working at Google or Meta.” He asserts that this is genuinely good news for Europe: “Yes, we have a generation of unicorns producing founders, but we also have a vibrant early-stage ecosystem that is giving future founders the best possible training ground. The flywheel is spinning faster than we realised. The task for Europe's investors is to update their filters to find them, back them, and back them early."

Norrsken Evolve, the European pre-seed fund investing in founders tackling climate, health and resilience challenges, is formalising its Amsterdam presence by taking up base at Norrsken House Amsterdam.  The fund closed at €62 million after oversubscribing its initial €40 million target. Norrsken Evolve is part of the Norrsken Foundation ecosystem, founded in 2016 by Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth, which today manages nearly $1 billion across five investment funds and operates Norrsken Houses in Stockholm, Barcelona, Brussels, Kigali and Amsterdam. Norrsken Evolve encompasses a pre-seed fund, an in-person sprint programme, and a global community for founders building Europe's resilient and sustainable future.   The fund invests up to €500K  in each company and backs 20 to 30 startups per year across renewable energy, health tech, robotics, AI infrastructure, biotech and next-generation materials. The endeavour is led by General Partners Johan Attby, Alex Bakir and Rebecka Löthman Rydå, and backed by the European Investment Fund, Saminvest, SmartCap Green Fund and Skaala, the investment firm of Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi. 75 per cent of its portfolio companies have gone on to raise follow-on funding from leading investors.  “We have been backing Dutch founders for a while now,” said Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve. “Formalising that commitment in Amsterdam makes sense. The Dutch pre-seed ecosystem has real gaps, and we are here to back founders at the stage where most institutional capital still steps back.” Norrsken Evolve has made two Dutch investments to date. It was the first institutional money into New Dawn Bio, the Amsterdam-based biotech company developing wood alternatives that grow without trees, and subsequently introduced the company to Capital T — also a tenant at Norrsken House Amsterdam — which led a follow-on round.  The fund co-invested in Spiral Hydrogen, an Estonian-founded team building green hydrogen infrastructure at the Port of Rotterdam. A third Dutch investment is expected to close before the end of 2026. The fund estimates approximately five per cent of its capital — around €3 million – will be deployed in the Dutch market, targeting between five and eight investments over the lifecycle of the fund. “Dutch LPs told us we invest too early,” said Bakir. “Every piece of analysis on the Dutch ecosystem says early-stage capital is the critical gap. It didn’t discourage us to fulfil our mission — we kept going regardless, and closed the fund oversubscribed.” Norrsken House Amsterdam opens 1 September 2026 in the Van Gendt Hallen, Oostenburg - the largest Norrsken House 

Norrsken Evolve, the European pre-seed fund investing in founders tackling climate, health and resilience challenges, is formalising its Amsterdam presence by taking up base at Norrsken House Amsterdam.  The fund closed at €62 million after oversubscribing its initial €40 million target. Norrsken Evolve is part of the Norrsken Foundation ecosystem, founded in 2016 by Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth, which today manages nearly $1 billion across five investment funds and operates Norrsken Houses in Stockholm, Barcelona, Brussels, Kigali and Amsterdam. Norrsken Evolve encompasses a pre-seed fund, an in-person sprint programme, and a global community for founders building Europe's resilient and sustainable future.   The fund invests up to €500K  in each company and backs 20 to 30 startups per year across renewable energy, health tech, robotics, AI infrastructure, biotech and next-generation materials. The endeavour is led by General Partners Johan Attby, Alex Bakir and Rebecka Löthman Rydå, and backed by the European Investment Fund, Saminvest, SmartCap Green Fund and Skaala, the investment firm of Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi. 75 per cent of its portfolio companies have gone on to raise follow-on funding from leading investors.  “We have been backing Dutch founders for a while now,” said Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve. “Formalising that commitment in Amsterdam makes sense. The Dutch pre-seed ecosystem has real gaps, and we are here to back founders at the stage where most institutional capital still steps back.” Norrsken Evolve has made two Dutch investments to date. It was the first institutional money into New Dawn Bio, the Amsterdam-based biotech company developing wood alternatives that grow without trees, and subsequently introduced the company to Capital T — also a tenant at Norrsken House Amsterdam — which led a follow-on round.  The fund co-invested in Spiral Hydrogen, an Estonian-founded team building green hydrogen infrastructure at the Port of Rotterdam. A third Dutch investment is expected to close before the end of 2026. The fund estimates approximately five per cent of its capital — around €3 million – will be deployed in the Dutch market, targeting between five and eight investments over the lifecycle of the fund. “Dutch LPs told us we invest too early,” said Bakir. “Every piece of analysis on the Dutch ecosystem says early-stage capital is the critical gap. It didn’t discourage us to fulfil our mission — we kept going regardless, and closed the fund oversubscribed.” Norrsken House Amsterdam opens 1 September 2026 in the Van Gendt Hallen, Oostenburg - the largest Norrsken House 

Saible, a UK construction fintech building software to stop project money from being delayed, withheld or trapped before it reaches suppliers, has raised £2.9 million from angel investors. The funding comprises £2.1 million already raised and a further £800,000 angel round, taking Saible’s total funding to £2.9 .  Saible tackles one of construction’s most persistent problems: systemic cash extraction by late and non-payment. On a large project, four or five tiers can separate the project owner and the smallest supplier. At each stage, a payment can be delayed or held back, often because the firm holding it can use it as free credit to fund their operations. In the worst cases, the money never arrives: when ISG collapsed in 2024, it left more than £1.1 billion in unpaid debts, with hundreds of subcontractors unpaid for completed work.    The cost falls hardest on smaller firms and on the people who run them. Late payments mean missed payroll, staff layoffs and owners working unpaid to keep their businesses afloat.   Recent industry research from UK accountancy and advisory firm Menzies found that for the fourth year running, construction recorded more insolvencies than any other sector in the UK, with 4,450 firms failing in 2025 (up 9 per cent) and a further 1,180 in Q1 2026 alone.  The issue is moving up the political agenda. New and proposed late-payment legislation, tighter public procurement rules and the Construction Playbook are increasing pressure on construction clients to show that suppliers are paid fairly and on time. Project Bank Accounts were designed to help by ring-fencing project funds, but in practice, they often protect only the top tiers of the supply chain and can be cumbersome to set up and run.  Saible’s Digital Parallel Payment Account (‘DiPPA’) is designed to extend that protection further. Saible provides the software platform for approvals, verification and audit, while project funds are held in a trust with a regulated banking partner Griffin. Project funds are released directly to approved firms across every tier of the supply chain simultaneously, rather than moving down the chain from contractor to subcontractor. That means a smaller firm several layers below the main contractor does not have to wait for each company above it to pass the money on. The project owner pays Saible a 0.25 per cent fee of the payment value; the supply chain pays nothing. Jarvey Moss, co-founder and chief executive of Saible, said: “Late payment in construction goes beyond the balance sheet. It creates pressure that runs through businesses, workers and families. When firms are waiting months beyond agreed terms, people are left worrying about whether they can pay staff, suppliers, and themselves. “Payment in construction is dysfunctional and is in desperate need of better control. This funding allows us to expand our platform, support our regulatory work, and take Saible into more live projects with project funders that need clearer control over how money moves through the supply chain.”  Saible is working with the Environment Agency and BAM Nuttall on public-sector pilots designed to test its payment-control model on live, government-backed construction projects. The first pilot is expected to be a £1.5 million to £2 million footbridge replacement, due to commence in summer 2026, with a programme duration of 12–16 months. The pilot followed work by a Cabinet Office-sponsored group examining payment problems in construction and is intended to generate early evidence on payment visibility, supplier payment timing and supply-chain reach that can inform wider public-sector payment reform.  “Project Bank Accounts recognised the right problem, but they were never built to protect payment all the way down the supply chain,” said Phil Brown, founder and executive chair of Causeway Technologies and a Saible investor. “Saible is different because it gives clients and contractors a practical way to make sure money reaches the firms doing the work, not just the businesses at the top of the chain.”   Alongside the angel round, Saible is opening a limited £50,000 Crowdcube-hosted allocation from 15 July to 31 July, intended to allow smaller construction businesses and industry participants to invest alongside Saible’s angel backers. Lead image: Dr Tim Whitehill (CSO) and Jarvey Moss (CEO) of Saible. Photo: uncredited. 

Saible, a UK construction fintech building software to stop project money from being delayed, withheld or trapped before it reaches suppliers, has raised £2.9 million from angel investors. The funding comprises £2.1 million already raised and a further £800,000 angel round, taking Saible’s total funding to £2.9 .  Saible tackles one of construction’s most persistent problems: systemic cash extraction by late and non-payment. On a large project, four or five tiers can separate the project owner and the smallest supplier. At each stage, a payment can be delayed or held back, often because the firm holding it can use it as free credit to fund their operations. In the worst cases, the money never arrives: when ISG collapsed in 2024, it left more than £1.1 billion in unpaid debts, with hundreds of subcontractors unpaid for completed work.    The cost falls hardest on smaller firms and on the people who run them. Late payments mean missed payroll, staff layoffs and owners working unpaid to keep their businesses afloat.   Recent industry research from UK accountancy and advisory firm Menzies found that for the fourth year running, construction recorded more insolvencies than any other sector in the UK, with 4,450 firms failing in 2025 (up 9 per cent) and a further 1,180 in Q1 2026 alone.  The issue is moving up the political agenda. New and proposed late-payment legislation, tighter public procurement rules and the Construction Playbook are increasing pressure on construction clients to show that suppliers are paid fairly and on time. Project Bank Accounts were designed to help by ring-fencing project funds, but in practice, they often protect only the top tiers of the supply chain and can be cumbersome to set up and run.  Saible’s Digital Parallel Payment Account (‘DiPPA’) is designed to extend that protection further. Saible provides the software platform for approvals, verification and audit, while project funds are held in a trust with a regulated banking partner Griffin. Project funds are released directly to approved firms across every tier of the supply chain simultaneously, rather than moving down the chain from contractor to subcontractor. That means a smaller firm several layers below the main contractor does not have to wait for each company above it to pass the money on. The project owner pays Saible a 0.25 per cent fee of the payment value; the supply chain pays nothing. Jarvey Moss, co-founder and chief executive of Saible, said: “Late payment in construction goes beyond the balance sheet. It creates pressure that runs through businesses, workers and families. When firms are waiting months beyond agreed terms, people are left worrying about whether they can pay staff, suppliers, and themselves. “Payment in construction is dysfunctional and is in desperate need of better control. This funding allows us to expand our platform, support our regulatory work, and take Saible into more live projects with project funders that need clearer control over how money moves through the supply chain.”  Saible is working with the Environment Agency and BAM Nuttall on public-sector pilots designed to test its payment-control model on live, government-backed construction projects. The first pilot is expected to be a £1.5 million to £2 million footbridge replacement, due to commence in summer 2026, with a programme duration of 12–16 months. The pilot followed work by a Cabinet Office-sponsored group examining payment problems in construction and is intended to generate early evidence on payment visibility, supplier payment timing and supply-chain reach that can inform wider public-sector payment reform.  “Project Bank Accounts recognised the right problem, but they were never built to protect payment all the way down the supply chain,” said Phil Brown, founder and executive chair of Causeway Technologies and a Saible investor. “Saible is different because it gives clients and contractors a practical way to make sure money reaches the firms doing the work, not just the businesses at the top of the chain.”   Alongside the angel round, Saible is opening a limited £50,000 Crowdcube-hosted allocation from 15 July to 31 July, intended to allow smaller construction businesses and industry participants to invest alongside Saible’s angel backers. Lead image: Dr Tim Whitehill (CSO) and Jarvey Moss (CEO) of Saible. Photo: uncredited. 

Urban mobility is increasingly shifting toward electrification as cities aim to reduce emissions and improve air quality.  However,  while more than 60 per cent of new passenger cars sold in the EU were electrified — hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery-electric — fewer than 6 per cent of new motorcycles sold last year were electric. Rui Bento, co-founder and CEO of the Lisbon startup Pollen, attributes this to several factors. Electric motorcycles are still more expensive than petrol models because batteries account for a much larger share of the vehicle's overall cost.  “In a car, you can spread that battery cost across a much larger vehicle while also eliminating many mechanical components. Motorcycles simply don't have that advantage.” The second issue is charging. Riders have to stop frequently, and recharging typically takes five to eight hours. According to Bento, no one wants a motorcycle that's more expensive than a petrol bike. “For someone who uses a motorcycle professionally all day, it's a complete deal-breaker. That's the real reason why there are still so few electric motorcycles on European roads today.” The road to solving the gap in urban electrification Bento has spent the past 12 years working in urban mobility and logistics. In 2014, he returned to Portugal to launch Uber, eventually leading the company's operations across Portugal and Spain. In 2019, he co-founded foodtech startup Kitch with a former Uber colleague.  "Little did we know that within a year, there would be a pandemic that completely transformed the restaurant industry. We built the product, scaled across Europe, and eventually exited to Delivery Hero." Following this, he met Miguel Morgado (Co-Founder and CTO at Pollen He shared: “We kept coming back to one problem: while vehicles in cities are electrifying at a much faster pace than most people realise, motorcycles are not.” Building a universal battery instead of redesigning motorcycles Pollen is a Lisbon-based clean mobility startup developing a universal battery-swapping network for electric mopeds and motorcycles,  Currently every battery-swap network operating today for OEMS such as Gogoro, Honda, KYMCO Ionex requires OEMs to design vehicles around their battery. The result is that swapping has stalled outside a few Asian markets.  Pollen’s universal battery is built to solve these barriers. Its ECS (Electronic Cell Switching) technology lets a single battery safely power vehicles from different makes and models, without loss of performance, making fast, network-wide swapping possible for the first time, alongside a multi-protocol comms layer that lets the battery communicate with any bike, and a form factor compatible with most existing two-wheelers. As a result, OEMs can adopt the battery without redesigning their vehicles or introducing new SKUs. Turning every battery swap into a health check Pollen launched in Lisbon first, with three stations already operating at Galp service stations in Amoreiras, Alvalade, and Lumiar, and several more planned in the coming months. The stations are automated, available 24/7, and swapping takes seconds: no lines, no range anxiety, no downtime. Each battery-swapping station is equipped with sensor technology.  Whenever a battery is returned, the station communicates directly with it and performs a complete diagnostic. It analyses everything that's happened since the battery last left the station, and ensures that the  The battery is safe and healthy enough to be returned to another customer.. With battery swapping, every battery is effectively inspected daily. Each inspection checks whether individual battery cells remain balanced while monitoring temperature, pressure and data from the battery management system. If any parameter falls outside operating thresholds, the battery is automatically removed from circulation for maintenance rather than issued to another rider. For Bento, the critical question is always: Is this battery in perfect condition to be issued to the next customer? “That's one of the major advantages of battery swapping compared with battery ownership. If you own your own battery, it may only be inspected once a year during routine servicing.” Using real-world riding data to improve battery design The battery-swapping stations also provide valuable operational data about how people are actually using the batteries, which, according to Bento, “feeds back into the design of future generations.” An example is data about terrain. Some cities are extremely flat, so vehicles don't require rapid acceleration or high current draw. Lisbon, on the other hand, has a lot of hills. Riders accelerate much harder, which creates repeated peaks in power demand and much higher discharge currents. For Pollen, that raises interesting engineering questions. Bento explained:  “Should we use exactly the same battery everywhere, or should we optimise batteries for different operating environments? It even affects the type of cells we select. Do we prioritise long-term cell life, or do we choose cells that can better support repeated high-current discharge during steep climbs?” Giving batteries a second life Given that many Pollen end users are likely to be couriers and delivery riders using their bikes intensively, Pollen designs the batteries for approximately 1,200 charge cycles. How long that translates into in calendar time depends on how heavily the network is used. Bento explained:  “If the network is highly optimised and riders are swapping batteries constantly, the batteries will reach those 1,200 cycles more quickly—but they'll also deliver a tremendous amount of useful work during that time. If utilisation is lower, they'll simply take longer to reach the same number of cycles. The important point is that the lifespan is determined by charge cycles rather than years.” Further, battery swapping increases battery lifespan. Today, most electric vehicles have their own dedicated battery.  Often, the vehicle reaches the end of its useful life while the battery still has significant capacity remaining. This means, in effect, you're retiring a battery that still has plenty of useful life left. Battery swapping changes that. “Because batteries are shared across many users, they're utilised much more efficiently. You extract far more value from each battery before it reaches the end of its automotive life,” explained Bento. “In other words, you get many more kilometres from every kilogram of lithium.” Increasing grid-resiliency Once a battery reaches around 70 percent of its original capacity, it may no longer be ideal for powering a motorcycle because riders expect maximum range but it's still perfectly suitable for stationary energy storage systems that interact with the electricity grid — charging when there's excess renewable energy, such as during periods of strong solar generation, and supplying electricity back to the grid during periods of peak demand, for example when renewable generation is low and electricity consumption suddenly increases. According to Bento:  “Even before we launched, municipal organisations approached us." Last year, Portugal and Spain experienced a major blackout caused by grid instability. One of the biggest issues was the lack of backup power for critical infrastructure. Traffic lights stopped working, intersections became chaotic, and there was no local energy storage to keep essential systems running. "That led us to ask a simple question: what if a second-life battery station were connected to a major intersection? A single battery could keep traffic lights operating for several hours, maintaining a critical piece of city infrastructure during a power outage. That's definitely an area we'd like to explore because we think these batteries could create value well beyond transportation,” shared Bento. Two-wheelers are just the beginning Beyond motorcycles and mopeds, Bento sees the adaptable battery as a technology platform rather than a product that's limited to motorcycles. One example is commercial delivery vehicles that currently carry a single battery and have to return to a depot once it's depleted. Swappable batteries could allow them to complete an entire route without returning to recharge. Looking further ahead, there are applications in food trucks, recreational vehicles that currently rely on propane or diesel generators, and electric boats. For Bento, Marine applications are particularly interesting because charging infrastructure is often limited.  “Instead of returning to a marina for several hours to recharge, a boat could simply swap batteries and head straight back out. "More broadly, we see this as part of a future of portable, adaptable energy. Anywhere reliable grid access is difficult—or where remaining off-grid is valuable — a swappable battery system could become an important part of the solution.” Pollen is seeing strong interest from fleet operators that already have commitments to electrify their vehicles.  “Until now, those commitments often came with higher costs,” shared Bento, but now there's a genuine economic incentive. “Companies can reduce operating costs while moving to zero-emission vehicles. That's especially important at a time when petrol prices remain high. Anyone using a motorcycle professionally feels the impact of paying more than €2 per litre. Once electricity becomes both the cheaper and more convenient option, the decision becomes much easier than it was even a year ago.” Scaling a European battery-swapping network Last week, the company announced it has raised €3.2 million in seed funding as it seeks to accelerate the adoption of electric two-wheelers and expand its infrastructure across Europe. The funding round was led by Pale Blue Dot and Mustard Seed Maze, with participation from Kfund, Bynd Venture Capital, 4P Capital, Masia, and a group of mobility-focused angel investors. The newly raised capital will be used to expand Pollen’s battery-swapping infrastructure, grow its team, and support commercial deployment in additional European markets. By the end of the year, the company’s goal is to triple the network again, reaching around 30 to 40 stations across the city. According to Bento, the focus isn't on entering as many cities as possible. Instead, Pollen wants to build dense, highly functional networks where riders are never far from a swapping station.  “We believe that's the best way to deliver a great customer experience while also building a sustainable business.”

Urban mobility is increasingly shifting toward electrification as cities aim to reduce emissions and improve air quality.  However,  while more than 60 per cent of new passenger cars sold in the EU were electrified — hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery-electric — fewer than 6 per cent of new motorcycles sold last year were electric. Rui Bento, co-founder and CEO of the Lisbon startup Pollen, attributes this to several factors. Electric motorcycles are still more expensive than petrol models because batteries account for a much larger share of the vehicle's overall cost.  “In a car, you can spread that battery cost across a much larger vehicle while also eliminating many mechanical components. Motorcycles simply don't have that advantage.” The second issue is charging. Riders have to stop frequently, and recharging typically takes five to eight hours. According to Bento, no one wants a motorcycle that's more expensive than a petrol bike. “For someone who uses a motorcycle professionally all day, it's a complete deal-breaker. That's the real reason why there are still so few electric motorcycles on European roads today.” The road to solving the gap in urban electrification Bento has spent the past 12 years working in urban mobility and logistics. In 2014, he returned to Portugal to launch Uber, eventually leading the company's operations across Portugal and Spain. In 2019, he co-founded foodtech startup Kitch with a former Uber colleague.  "Little did we know that within a year, there would be a pandemic that completely transformed the restaurant industry. We built the product, scaled across Europe, and eventually exited to Delivery Hero." Following this, he met Miguel Morgado (Co-Founder and CTO at Pollen He shared: “We kept coming back to one problem: while vehicles in cities are electrifying at a much faster pace than most people realise, motorcycles are not.” Building a universal battery instead of redesigning motorcycles Pollen is a Lisbon-based clean mobility startup developing a universal battery-swapping network for electric mopeds and motorcycles,  Currently every battery-swap network operating today for OEMS such as Gogoro, Honda, KYMCO Ionex requires OEMs to design vehicles around their battery. The result is that swapping has stalled outside a few Asian markets.  Pollen’s universal battery is built to solve these barriers. Its ECS (Electronic Cell Switching) technology lets a single battery safely power vehicles from different makes and models, without loss of performance, making fast, network-wide swapping possible for the first time, alongside a multi-protocol comms layer that lets the battery communicate with any bike, and a form factor compatible with most existing two-wheelers. As a result, OEMs can adopt the battery without redesigning their vehicles or introducing new SKUs. Turning every battery swap into a health check Pollen launched in Lisbon first, with three stations already operating at Galp service stations in Amoreiras, Alvalade, and Lumiar, and several more planned in the coming months. The stations are automated, available 24/7, and swapping takes seconds: no lines, no range anxiety, no downtime. Each battery-swapping station is equipped with sensor technology.  Whenever a battery is returned, the station communicates directly with it and performs a complete diagnostic. It analyses everything that's happened since the battery last left the station, and ensures that the  The battery is safe and healthy enough to be returned to another customer.. With battery swapping, every battery is effectively inspected daily. Each inspection checks whether individual battery cells remain balanced while monitoring temperature, pressure and data from the battery management system. If any parameter falls outside operating thresholds, the battery is automatically removed from circulation for maintenance rather than issued to another rider. For Bento, the critical question is always: Is this battery in perfect condition to be issued to the next customer? “That's one of the major advantages of battery swapping compared with battery ownership. If you own your own battery, it may only be inspected once a year during routine servicing.” Using real-world riding data to improve battery design The battery-swapping stations also provide valuable operational data about how people are actually using the batteries, which, according to Bento, “feeds back into the design of future generations.” An example is data about terrain. Some cities are extremely flat, so vehicles don't require rapid acceleration or high current draw. Lisbon, on the other hand, has a lot of hills. Riders accelerate much harder, which creates repeated peaks in power demand and much higher discharge currents. For Pollen, that raises interesting engineering questions. Bento explained:  “Should we use exactly the same battery everywhere, or should we optimise batteries for different operating environments? It even affects the type of cells we select. Do we prioritise long-term cell life, or do we choose cells that can better support repeated high-current discharge during steep climbs?” Giving batteries a second life Given that many Pollen end users are likely to be couriers and delivery riders using their bikes intensively, Pollen designs the batteries for approximately 1,200 charge cycles. How long that translates into in calendar time depends on how heavily the network is used. Bento explained:  “If the network is highly optimised and riders are swapping batteries constantly, the batteries will reach those 1,200 cycles more quickly—but they'll also deliver a tremendous amount of useful work during that time. If utilisation is lower, they'll simply take longer to reach the same number of cycles. The important point is that the lifespan is determined by charge cycles rather than years.” Further, battery swapping increases battery lifespan. Today, most electric vehicles have their own dedicated battery.  Often, the vehicle reaches the end of its useful life while the battery still has significant capacity remaining. This means, in effect, you're retiring a battery that still has plenty of useful life left. Battery swapping changes that. “Because batteries are shared across many users, they're utilised much more efficiently. You extract far more value from each battery before it reaches the end of its automotive life,” explained Bento. “In other words, you get many more kilometres from every kilogram of lithium.” Increasing grid-resiliency Once a battery reaches around 70 percent of its original capacity, it may no longer be ideal for powering a motorcycle because riders expect maximum range but it's still perfectly suitable for stationary energy storage systems that interact with the electricity grid — charging when there's excess renewable energy, such as during periods of strong solar generation, and supplying electricity back to the grid during periods of peak demand, for example when renewable generation is low and electricity consumption suddenly increases. According to Bento:  “Even before we launched, municipal organisations approached us." Last year, Portugal and Spain experienced a major blackout caused by grid instability. One of the biggest issues was the lack of backup power for critical infrastructure. Traffic lights stopped working, intersections became chaotic, and there was no local energy storage to keep essential systems running. "That led us to ask a simple question: what if a second-life battery station were connected to a major intersection? A single battery could keep traffic lights operating for several hours, maintaining a critical piece of city infrastructure during a power outage. That's definitely an area we'd like to explore because we think these batteries could create value well beyond transportation,” shared Bento. Two-wheelers are just the beginning Beyond motorcycles and mopeds, Bento sees the adaptable battery as a technology platform rather than a product that's limited to motorcycles. One example is commercial delivery vehicles that currently carry a single battery and have to return to a depot once it's depleted. Swappable batteries could allow them to complete an entire route without returning to recharge. Looking further ahead, there are applications in food trucks, recreational vehicles that currently rely on propane or diesel generators, and electric boats. For Bento, Marine applications are particularly interesting because charging infrastructure is often limited.  “Instead of returning to a marina for several hours to recharge, a boat could simply swap batteries and head straight back out. "More broadly, we see this as part of a future of portable, adaptable energy. Anywhere reliable grid access is difficult—or where remaining off-grid is valuable — a swappable battery system could become an important part of the solution.” Pollen is seeing strong interest from fleet operators that already have commitments to electrify their vehicles.  “Until now, those commitments often came with higher costs,” shared Bento, but now there's a genuine economic incentive. “Companies can reduce operating costs while moving to zero-emission vehicles. That's especially important at a time when petrol prices remain high. Anyone using a motorcycle professionally feels the impact of paying more than €2 per litre. Once electricity becomes both the cheaper and more convenient option, the decision becomes much easier than it was even a year ago.” Scaling a European battery-swapping network Last week, the company announced it has raised €3.2 million in seed funding as it seeks to accelerate the adoption of electric two-wheelers and expand its infrastructure across Europe. The funding round was led by Pale Blue Dot and Mustard Seed Maze, with participation from Kfund, Bynd Venture Capital, 4P Capital, Masia, and a group of mobility-focused angel investors. The newly raised capital will be used to expand Pollen’s battery-swapping infrastructure, grow its team, and support commercial deployment in additional European markets. By the end of the year, the company’s goal is to triple the network again, reaching around 30 to 40 stations across the city. According to Bento, the focus isn't on entering as many cities as possible. Instead, Pollen wants to build dense, highly functional networks where riders are never far from a swapping station.  “We believe that's the best way to deliver a great customer experience while also building a sustainable business.”