AI model giants should pay a content levy for selling their services in Europe with the money funnelled into Europe’s cultural sector, according to the boss of Europe’s leading AI model startup.   Arthur Mensch, the CEO and co-founder of Mistral, says such a levy would be a win-win for both the AI model providers, giving them legal certainty, and also creators, whose data the AI models are trained on, which would benefit from the levy.   AI model companies, which train their models on vast amounts of text, audio and video data, have been hit by complaints and legal challenges from creators and copyright owners.   In an op-ed in the Financial Times, Mensch writes that European AI model developers were at a disadvantage, operating under a “fragmented legal environment”, compared to AI developers in the US and China, who were “developing their models under permissive or non-existent copyright rules”. He says that the current copyright rules for European creators were also not working. Mensch says a “new approach” is needed, with his solution being a revenue-based levy, which would be levied on AI model companies which operate in Europe, "reflecting their use of content publicly available online". “Proceeds would flow into a central European fund dedicated to investing in new content creation and supporting Europe’s cultural sectors”, he says. According to one report, Mensch is calling for a contribution between one and five per cent of the revenues of AI model providers in Europe. This was not confirmed by Mistral.   Mensch writes: "At Mistral, we are proposing a revenue-based levy that would be applied to all commercial providers placing AI models on the market or putting them into service in Europe, reflecting their use of content publicly available online.   "Crucially, this levy would apply equally to providers based abroad, creating a level playing field within the European market and ensuring that foreign AI companies also contribute when they operate here.    "The proceeds would flow into a central European fund dedicated to investing in new content creation, and supporting Europe’s cultural sectors.  In return, AI developers would gain what they urgently need: legal certainty.  "The mechanism would shield AI providers from liability for training on materials accessible online. Importantly, it would not replace licensing agreements or the freedom to contract.    "On the contrary, licensing opportunities should continue to develop and expand for usage beyond training. The fund would complement, not crowd out, direct relationships between creators and AI companies.”   Under the EU’s current rules, AI companies can use copyrighted materials for text and data mining, including AI training, unless a creator has “reserved their rights". The EU is looking into a permanent solution to protect copyright from use by AI.

Big news this week as the European Commission presented its proposal for EU Inc., a new single set of corporate rules that will serve as the cornerstone and starting point for the EU's 28th regime. As a journalist, well, I’m pleased and frustrated all in equal parts. Earlier this week i called it a win because I think it would be a mistake for anyone to dismiss the challenge it took to get here. The announcement represents a major milestone for EU–INC, a policy movement backed by over 22,000 signatories, including Europe's leading founders, investors, and the broader startup community.  European bureaucracy moves at a glacial pace, and the journey here has been long and complex.  There are numerous wins — For example, entrepreneurs, founders, and companies will be able to found an EU Inc. company within 48 hours, for less than €100, with no minimum share capital requirement. There will be EU-wide employee stock option plans and increased digitisation. BUT there are a number of areas that sound like ideas rather than actioned items (dare I say the gap between aim and execution?), and worse, fundamental elements which stray from the original idea.  Instead of establishing a truly unified legal framework, the proposal defers interpretation to national courts—risking 27 divergent outcomes—relies on national registries rather than creating real ecosystem standardisation, and ultimately introduces further fragmentation at the very layer that should be harmonised.  Further, the call on Member States to only consider establishing specialised judicial chambers or courts to handle disputes related to EU Inc. company law is notably vague in both scope and implementation. I’m hopeful for better, but let’s watch this space.But that aside, this week, we tracked more than 85 tech funding deals worth over €4 billion and over 5 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 ??  Upvest raises $125M to strengthen its API-based investment platform ?? WorkFlex secures €37M to automate cross-border workforce compliance ?. Sequoia-backed Edra raises $30M Series A to turn enterprise data into self-improving AI agents ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? Nscale snaps up major US data centre site, American Intelligence & Power Corporation, inks AI compute deal with Microsoft ?? Amazon acquires Zurich-based Rivr, developer of stair-climbing robots for doorstep delivery ?? TMA acquires Amsterdam’s BrainsFirst to combine psychometrics with neuroscience-based talent insights ? Interesting moves from investors ? Partech’s €300M Impact Fund targets Europe’s next generation of industrial and climate tech leaders ?.Montis VC reaches €50M first close to back energy and industrial tech startups ?. Albion Venture Capital Trusts close £90M top-up offer as demand for UK innovation investments grows ? New €70 million GVC Gaesco fund targets InfraTech startups focused on energy, industry and digital infrastructure ?️ In other (important) news ?  UK government pledges £1BN quantum computing investment ??. EU Inc. marks major win for startups as Commission unveils 28th regime proposal ? Zopa reports third consecutive year of profit, says new current account topping expectations ?? Alpine Eagle scales Sentinel production with new Munich facility and European expansion ??. CiaoDott raises €1.5M pre-seed to bring vertical voice AI to Italy’s medical sector ??  Cleavr raises €1M to develop an AI solution for accounts receivable ?? Rhonexum secures $1M to scale cryogenic electronics for quantum computing ?? First Concepts raises $1M to develop AI-native OS for creative work ?? Noru raises €560,000 to develop an agentic compliance platform

Over Paddy's weekend 2026, a friendly Northern Irish "woman" called Rachel rang more than 3,000 pubs across all 32 counties to find out the price of a pint of Guinness. Over 1,000 gave a price.  Only a handful seemed to realise Rachel was an AI voice agent.  A data gap 14 years in the making Ireland’s Central Statistics Office stopped tracking pint prices 14 years ago, leaving no comprehensive dataset since. In response, Matt Cortland created the “Guinndex,” using AI to rapidly collect and analyse pint prices across Ireland, where costs have become increasingly inconsistent. The result is what he claims is the most complete index of pint prices to date—an effort to bring transparency and potentially help normalise the price of a Guinness. From pub owner to AI engineer Matt Cortland is an American AI engineer based in London who previously lived in Ireland for several years. A former US-Ireland Alliance Scholar (George Mitchell Scholarship), he holds a Master’s degree in Creative Digital Media from TU Dublin (formerly DIT). Earlier in his career, he founded and operated a global pub and entertainment company spanning Ireland, the UK, and the US, including a chain of IoT-enabled “wizard bars” where he created working magic wands.  He has since transitioned into AI engineering and private consulting, developing his own AI projects while building AI products and tooling for companies, several of which are based in Dublin. "I'm a former pub and bar owner, so I know what it's like to be on the other end of customer pricing calls," said Cortland. "But I also know what it's like to be on the consumer end and paying a kidney for a pint. I apologise to everyone I tortured over Paddy's weekend. Rachel just wanted a wee drink." Designing a believable pub caller Cortland named the AI agent “Rachel” and trained her to be friendly, direct, and—if questioned—transparent. She explains she’s “putting together a wee price comparison list” and confirms she is an AI if asked. The calls were made through ElevenLabs’ conversational AI platform and Twilio for telephony, using an old Irish SIM.  The phone numbers come from the Google Maps API, publicly available numbers for each venue.  Cortland indexed over 5,200 pubs across all 32 counties using Google's Places API.  He explained;  “Over Paddy's weekend, Rachel called the 3,000+ of those that had phone numbers listed. 2,052 answered the phone, and over 1,000 gave a verified price, which I then extracted from the call transcripts using Claude AI.  The whole thing cost about €200 to run plus a lot of my time.” Getting the voice right proved critical, with much of the work focused on refining Rachel’s accent, tone, and personality. Cortland tested dozens of options before landing on a Northern Irish accent, inspired by Rachel Duffy from The Traitors, which he felt sounded the most natural in conversation. “Duffy was the first female traitor to win the show, and she was just so good,” he said. “She played an absolute blinder. That’s what I wanted — someone warm, someone you’d believe. A Northern Irish accent that makes ‘we were lookin’ to come in for a wee drink’ sound completely natural.” The script itself went through multiple iterations. Early versions had Rachel confirming the price back—“Grand, so that’s six seventy, is that right?”—but this extended calls and gave people time to grow suspicious. “The final version keeps it simple: ask the question, say ‘thanks very much,’ hang up. The transcript captures everything,” Cortland says the biggest challenge wasn’t technical infrastructure, but making the agent feel human—particularly in an Irish context. “Funnily enough, for the Irish market, it was training her to have banter, which she really struggled with,” he said. “Should have made her American.” How did the staff react?  Few people Rachel spoke to realised they were talking to an AI agent. The calls produced dozens of memorable exchanges. When questioned, Rachel told them truthfully that she was putting together a wee price comparison list. Most people accepted that and moved on. At Malzard's Pub in Kilkenny, the bartender laughed and offered to buy the round: "They're normally 6.20, but if you can't afford one, we'll buy you one. We'll look after you." At Doogies in Northern Ireland, the bartender opened with: "Twenty-five pound. But if you're coming in for a wee drink, I'll give it to you for a fiver." At McIntyre's Bar in Donegal, the bartender launched a full interrogation: "Five eighty. What time is it? How many are coming? Where are you coming from? What part of the country are you from? Who's this I'm speaking to?" At Drumlane Bar in Cavan, the person who answered was in the kitchen: "I'm in the kitchen. I don't work in the bar at all." He went behind the bar to check. Five sixty. At Beaufort Bar in Kerry, the bartender played coy: "It's far too cheap. You'll have to come in to find out the price." Rachel persisted. Five sixty. At Buddy's Bar in Tipperary, Rachel asked the price. The bartender asked her name. Rachel said she was just putting together a wee price comparison list. "Fuck off." Fair. At The Plough in Curraglass, Cork, the bartender refused to give the price no matter how many times Rachel asked: "You'd have to call in and I'll tell you." Rachel said she couldn't do that. "Ah, well done. You'll never know, though, will you?" At The Linen House in Lisburn, Rachel got trapped in a Premier Inn phone system. Two AI systems talked past each other, neither able to help the other. Rachel said "Oh, dear" four times. The virtual receptionist kept apologising. Nobody got a pint price. Pat Hayes, owner of The Arch Bar in Thurles, Tipperary, was one of the thousands of people who picked up Rachel's call over the weekend. When he later found out he'd been chatting to an AI, he took it in good spirits. "It was a good laugh. I had no idea it wasn't a real person," said Hayes. "But look, knowing the price of a pint is important. People want to know what they're paying before they walk in the door. If someone's putting together an index of every pub in the country, fair play to them. It's good for the customer and it keeps us all honest." AI and the pub Beyond the novelty of calling pubs, the project also highlights where AI is beginning to have real-world impact. The Guinndex arrives at an interesting moment. Earlier this month, Anthropic published research showing that bartenders, cooks, and dishwashers are among the 30 percent of occupations with zero exposure to AI automation. Computer programmers, by contrast, are the most exposed at 74.5 per cent. "AI isn't coming for the person behind the bar," said Cortland.  "As a former bar owner, I know this.  AI can't (yet) pour a pint, it can't read a room, it can't tell when someone's had enough. But it can call pubs on a weekend and tell you where to find a decent pint for under a fiver. The physical work is safe. The information layer on top of it is where AI lives and where we all should be aware."  How much is a pint of Guinness these days, anyway? The national average price of a pint of Guinness is €5.95. The most common price is €5.50. But where you drink matters enormously. Dublin is the dearest county by a wide margin, averaging €6.75 a pint. The cheapest pints are in the west and midlands, with Laois at just €5.38. The gap between Dublin and the cheapest county is €1.37 per pint. The cheapest pint in the entire index is €3.00 at Glynn's Bar in Dunmore, Galway, although he may have just been taking the mickey. The most expensive is €10 at The Auld Dubliner, Dublin, which, incredibly, seems to be accurate. Despite the rising cost of a night out, the Guinndex unearthed 12 places across Ireland where you can still get a pint for a fiver or less, including one in Dublin. Dublin doesn't fare well on any measure. Of the 46 pubs in Ireland with a perfect 5.0 Google rating, not a single one is in Dublin. They're in places like Augher (Tyrone), Kilmakilloge (Kerry), and Rathdowney (Laois). The CSO tracked pint prices from 2001 to 2011, then stopped. In the 14 years since, the price of a stout has jumped from €3.93 to €5.95 (+48 per cent). The Guinndex fills the gap. Not a stunt, but a dataset: the mission to map — and lower — the price of a pint Cortland asserts that Guinndex is definitely a data project rather than an effort to test the vulnerability of humans in identifying AI: “I want to see if we can collectively drive down the cost of a pint across Ireland. Rachel unearthed the first 1,000+ pint prices, but there are still over 4,000 to find. Those will need to come from people who log the cost using the "Contribute" button at guinndex.ai, which instantly updates the index and prices on the site.” He believes that if enough people get involved, he can map the country and stabilise the price.  “Or at the very least, unearth some really good gems and places where you can still get a pint for a fiver or less (spoiler, there are 19).” Cortland admits he’s a “real AI and data nerd” and thought this would be both a practically useful and really fun project.  “Honestly, the main goal of this is to help make a pint of Guinness affordable again. If enough people contribute prices, we can map the whole country and start to bring down the price to something reasonable.  I will say that this is part of something bigger I'm working on, but that's for another day. For now, go contribute to your local.” Search the Guinndex and help it grow The project is now evolving into a crowdsourced platform, encouraging people across Ireland to contribute local pint prices.  The full dataset is live at guinndex.ai. Search by county, town, or pub name to find the price of a pint near you. The site includes an interactive map, county-by-county breakdowns, and the ability to compare prices across the country. Anyone can hit the “Contribute” button on the site to submit the price of their last pint, flag a correction if a price is wrong, or share photos of pints and pubs for the Guinndex social media channels. Pub owners who want to update their listing can also message to make an amendment with the “Contribute” button on the site. Cortland concludes: " If you're sitting there with a pint right now, tell us what you paid."

Starling Bank is rolling out what it says is the “UK’s first agentic AI financial assistant”, as it looks to leverage the new technology to help improve day-to-day banking. The UK challenger bank, which has nearly five million customers, said that Starling Assistant can help its customers manage day-to-day finances, share personalised financial insights and give general banking guidance. The assistant responds to voice and natural language prompts before carrying out banking tasks on the customer’s behalf, from setting up personalised saving goals to organising bill payments.   Examples of what it can do include if a customer is planning a holiday, they could say: "I need to save £500 for a trip to Paris in July. How much do I need to save monthly and can you set up automatic transfers to a dedicated space?" Or if a customer wants to perfect their payday routine, they could say: "Set me up with dedicated spaces for my groceries, bills, travel and eating out" and then specify how much to transfer to each space on pay day.     Harriet Rees, Starling’s group chief information officer, said: “It’s time to embrace a new era of banking, one that’s powered by agentic AI.  "At Starling, we want to encourage our customers to trust that AI can help them with money management and we’re excited to be pioneering the use of this cutting-edge technology to help people be good with money.”    The assistant is built on Starling’s proprietary tech platform using Google Gemini and Google Cloud technologies.   Previously, Starling has launched several generative AI tools, including Spending Intelligence, which lets customers ask natural language questions about their spending habits, while Scam Intelligence helps detect online marketplace scams.   Many fintechs and neobanks are using or experimenting with generative AI tech. Across Europe, Klarna uses it for customer service purposes while Bunq launched its AI assistant in 2024. Danish challenger Lunar says its GenAI-powered voice assistant will handle around 75 per cent of customer calls over time.   Meanwhile, Revolut is exploring a push into the AI agent space, aiming to use the technology to automate everything from customer service to sales.

Montis VC has launched a new venture capital fund, securing €50 million at first close. The fund is backed by the European Investment Fund through the REPowerEU programme, the Polish Development Fund, and a group of family offices and private investors from across Central and Eastern Europe. The fund will focus on early-stage startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, targeting around 20–25 companies developing technologies across energy, industrial transformation, and artificial intelligence. Its strategy reflects broader shifts in the European economy, where demand is growing for solutions that improve productivity, support industrial innovation, and contribute to the energy transition. Montis VC aims to invest in scalable companies with the potential to compete globally, particularly in areas where AI can accelerate development and enhance real-world impact. We invest in founders who want to build the future of the European economy through technology and energy efficiency, particularly in areas such as the energy and industrial transition, where AI can drive innovation and scale, said Michał Gawęda, Partner at Montis VC. The fund builds on the track record of the team behind Montis Capital, which has invested in companies operating at the intersection of technology and industry since 2019. With the new fund, Montis VC plans to increase both the size of its investments and its level of involvement, with initial tickets ranging from €0.5 million to €2 million and additional capital reserved for follow-on rounds. Led by an international team with experience in venture investing, industry, and entrepreneurship, Montis VC is supported by a network of venture partners who will contribute to deal sourcing and help portfolio companies expand into global markets. The fund will take an active approach in working with founders, supporting strategy, international expansion, and preparation for future funding rounds, as it continues its fundraising process.

Eternal.ag, a startup building autonomous harvesting robots for greenhouses, today announced it has raised €8 million in funding from Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures and Backbone Ventures.  Eternal.ag is developing fully autonomous robots that perform greenhouse crop work without human operators. Greenhouses are increasingly essential for securing the year-round supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, being far more resilient to seasonal weather, climate change, land shortages and pests than outdoor farming. However, greenhouse labour availability is falling rapidly — in Europe, by as much as 30 per cent since 2010 — and forecasts say this trend will continue, leaving growers with structural staffing shortages. By automating physically demanding harvesting work, eternal.ag’s robots enable greenhouses to operate reliably and continuously, even when labour is unavailable or inconsistent. By 2040, the company envisions fully automated greenhouse operations powered by robotics, requiring no manual operations. Eternal.ag’s first commercial product to launch is Harvester, a fully autonomous harvesting robot designed for tomato greenhouses. Harvester operates up to 22 hours a day consistently and works as part of an intelligent AI-powered system to ensure the quality of produce and cut. Built as a modular system, the platform is designed to expand over time with additional robotic functions to better serve broader greenhouse operations. “Autonomous robots only work if they can handle real-world variability between plants, layouts, and daily operations,” said Renji John, CEO and co-founder of eternal.ag.  “We develop and validate our robots using simulation-first development. That allows us to train, test, and fail safely in virtual greenhouses — cutting iteration cycles from months to days. Once deployed, every robot action feeds data back into the system, which is designed to learn, improve and scale.” “Climate change, labour shortages, and rising demand are pushing food production to its limits,” said Niklas Leske, Principal at Simon Capital. “Greenhouse horticulture is one of the most efficient and sustainable ways to grow fresh produce year-round. Yet, labour shortages put the industry at risk, and robotics is the only future-proof solution to build a decentralised, resilient food supply chain for the next generation. eternal.ag’s experienced team has a deep understanding of what growers are up against and has developed a solution to tackle this in a sustainable and measured way.” Founded by Renji John and Sherry Kunjachan, eternal.ag has built a team of 26 employees so far, working across Europe and India, with headquarters in Cologne and offices in Bengaluru.  The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand commercial deployments across Europe, and extend to additional crop types.

Today, startup Edra announced $30 million Series A led by Sequoia, which included investment from 8VC and A*z.   Edra builds AI agents that learn how a business operates, then automate the work. Its AI agents reverse-engineer how a business actually runs from existing systems and create executable knowledge: structured, white-box instructions that agents can act on. Instead of asking humans to document processes, Edra analyses the data a company already generates. Through support tickets, emails, logs, and chat histories, it creates a living knowledge base that reflects how the business actually runs, not just how it was supposed to run on paper. As people use it, the system learns and improves on its own while remaining transparent and editable.  Founded by Croatian Eugen Alpeza and Greek Yannis Karamanlakis (former leaders of Forward Deployed AI Engineering at Palantir, which they started in the London office). They spent years inside large enterprises watching that exact failure mode play out.  Edra builds a Living Playbook by connecting to a customer’s existing systems within minutes and ingesting standard operating procedures, tickets, and communications without manual configuration. From there, it continuously learns from actual employee behaviour and surfaces suggested improvements. Unlike static documentation or knowledge bases, Living Playbooks evolve as the business changes. The pattern is proving out across industries where process knowledge determines competitive advantage. They're already in production at HubSpot, ASOS, and Cushman & Wakefield. The HubSpot numbers are notable: Edra analysed 150,000 support conversations, surfaced 600+ knowledge base updates, and cut human handoffs by 12 per cent. The first successful use cases are around automating IT service management and customer technical support, where the data is rich, and the pain is acute.  The same engine now powers sales enablement, learning from call transcripts to build a searchable precedent for revenue teams and other operational functions. Anywhere work is digitally captured, and resolution requires judgment, the playbook can be extracted and systematised. According to Sequoia partner Luciana Lixandru:  “As always, our investments are all about people. When I first met Eugen and Yannis, what struck me was not only what they had built, but how they work together. Eugen is one of the most commercially gifted people I have met—someone who earns the trust of sceptical buyers and makes them believe. Yannis is technically exceptional, the kind of partner who makes the hardest things feel solid. Their dynamic as a founding duo is a genuine superpower.”

Cleavr, an AI solution dedicated to autonomous accounts receivable management, has raised €1 million in a funding round backed by Kima Ventures, Better Angle, Raphaël Nahum (CFO of Pennylane), Régis Samuel (CEO of MyUnisoft), and Olivier Brourhant (CEO of Mantu). The company develops an AI solution designed to support finance teams across the full accounts receivable cycle, addressing persistent challenges around late payments and cash flow management. Payment delays remain a widespread issue, with many companies experiencing regular financial losses due to unpaid invoices. Cleavr’s platform automates a large portion of the collection process, handling tasks such as reminders, reconciliation, and dispute management. Unlike traditional tools that rely on fixed workflows, the system uses AI to manage multi-channel communication, identify the appropriate contacts, process payment commitments, and escalate cases when needed. Our ambition is simple: to give every company the collection rigor of a large finance department. By taking charge of most tasks, our AI ensures systematic follow-up of invoices and allows teams to focus on higher-value cases, said Baptiste Nassoy, CEO and co-founder of Cleavr. The platform integrates with existing accounting and ERP systems, enabling companies to track overdue invoices, interact with debtors, and adapt communication strategies over time. By automating follow-up and maintaining consistent engagement, Cleavr aims to improve collection efficiency without requiring dedicated teams. Already adopted by around fifty clients, the solution supports the majority of the collection cycle and is designed to help companies reduce delays and improve cash flow management. The new funding will be used to accelerate deployment in France and support expansion into European markets, with international rollout planned from 2026.

Cleavr, an AI solution dedicated to autonomous accounts receivable management, has raised €1 million in a funding round backed by Kima Ventures, Better Angle, Raphaël Nahum (CFO of Pennylane), Régis Samuel (CEO of MyUnisoft), and Olivier Brourhant (CEO of Mantu). The company develops an AI solution designed to support finance teams across the full accounts receivable cycle, addressing persistent challenges around late payments and cash flow management. Payment delays remain a widespread issue, with many companies experiencing regular financial losses due to unpaid invoices. Cleavr’s platform automates a large portion of the collection process, handling tasks such as reminders, reconciliation, and dispute management. Unlike traditional tools that rely on fixed workflows, the system uses AI to manage multi-channel communication, identify the appropriate contacts, process payment commitments, and escalate cases when needed. Our ambition is simple: to give every company the collection rigor of a large finance department. By taking charge of most tasks, our AI ensures systematic follow-up of invoices and allows teams to focus on higher-value cases, said Baptiste Nassoy, CEO and co-founder of Cleavr. The platform integrates with existing accounting and ERP systems, enabling companies to track overdue invoices, interact with debtors, and adapt communication strategies over time. By automating follow-up and maintaining consistent engagement, Cleavr aims to improve collection efficiency without requiring dedicated teams. Already adopted by around fifty clients, the solution supports the majority of the collection cycle and is designed to help companies reduce delays and improve cash flow management. The new funding will be used to accelerate deployment in France and support expansion into European markets, with international rollout planned from 2026.

Today, counter-drone defence technology company Alpine Eagle announced it is scaling production of its Sentinel system. Alpine Eagle develops counter-drone (counter-UAS) systems designed to detect, track, and neutralise hostile drones, including increasingly sophisticated autonomous swarms. Its technology combines multiple sensing modalities —such as radar, radio-frequency scanning, and optical or infrared cameras — to identify aerial threats early, classify them using AI, and monitor behaviour in real time. Rather than relying on a single interception tool, the system fuses these inputs into a unified operational picture, enabling faster, more precise responses. Central to this approach is Sentinel, the company’s flagship platform. A software-defined, layered defence system, Sentinel integrates sensing and interception into a single operational network. It combines Alpine Eagle’s airborne radar and sensor network with a scalable defence architecture to track threats across wide areas and neutralise them using airborne interceptors. Alpine Eagle is now participating in a defence innovation programme in the Netherlands, and over the past year, it has also conducted counter-drone trials in Ukraine and participated in Project Vanaheim, a counter-UAS trial involving the US and UK armed forces. To understand the company’s growth and positioning, I spoke to Jan-Hendrik Boelens, co-founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle. Scaling across Europe after Bundeswehr launch The company has seen accelerating demand across Europe. Sentinel was first deployed with the German Bundeswehr in 2024 as a launch customer, and Alpine Eagle has since secured contracts with three new European customers and has expanded to the UK and the Netherlands.  Alpine Eagle has expanded its team from 12 employees in 2024 to 50 in 2026, with plans to reach 100 employees this year as production scales. Drone warfare is reshaping defence economics Drone warfare reshapes modern air defence — from Ukraine to the Middle East — driving governments to prioritise systems that can be produced and deployed at scale and at lower costs than legacy defence platforms. For Boelens, Ukraine has been the proving ground. “It has shown what large-scale, drone-saturated warfare actually looks like and how quickly existing air defence systems can be stretched. The Middle East escalation is reinforcing that lesson in real time, particularly around the economic imbalance of defending against large volumes of low-cost drones.” At the same time, Europe is increasingly seeing drone incursions around critical infrastructure, airports and military sites. “That’s turning what was once seen as a battlefield problem into a domestic security issue.” Alpine Eagle’s technology has already been tested in operationally relevant environments, including trials conducted in Ukraine, where counter-drone systems face constant pressure from mass drone attacks and must function reliably under disrupted GPS conditions.  The cost asymmetry driving urgent procurement Recent conflicts have underscored the urgency of scalable counter-drone capability. Large-scale drone strikes in Ukraine and across the Gulf show how inexpensive drones can overwhelm traditional air-defence systems and force defenders to expend far more costly interceptors. In recent attacks in the Middle East, analysts estimate that defenders spent over $1.5 billion intercepting drones that attackers may have cost around $250 million to launch. This imbalance is accelerating demand for systems designed to counter large volumes of low-cost threats. Together, these dynamics are driving a shift from experimentation to procurement. Governments are no longer asking if they need counter-drone capability, but how quickly they can deploy it at scale. Scaling production for rapid deployment According to Boelens, defence ministries are increasingly looking for systems that can be delivered quickly and scaled as operational demand grows.  To support scalable production, Alpine Eagle integrates its technology with the DeltaQuad Evo, a UAV platform developed by Dutch manufacturer DeltaQuad. The partnership gives Alpine Eagle immediate access to industrial-scale manufacturing capacity while reinforcing a resilient European supply chain. By combining proven hardware with its proprietary sensing and defence software, the company can deliver deployable counter-drone systems significantly faster than traditional defence programmes. “We integrate the DeltaQuad Evo UAV platform, produced by our partner DeltaQuad,” shared Boelens. “This means the facilities, permits, and production processes are already in place in the Netherlands. As a result, we can scale output rapidly — from several hundred units to more than a thousand per month.” Alpine Eagle can deliver operational capability within approximately four weeks of contract signature. This is enabled by a robust supply chain and strong component availability, combined with systems designed for rapid deployment. With a small footprint, self-sustaining logistics, and minimal training requirements, customers can move from delivery to operational use almost immediately. “Rapidly deployable, for us, means weeks — not months," explained Boelens.   “With supply chains secured and production ready, we can deliver within around four weeks of contract signature, and systems can be brought into operation almost immediately with minimal training.” The company is also planning to open a 2,000-square-metre production facility for its own-developed interceptor near Munich, supporting its next phase of industrial scaling.  Why European defence supply chains are being rebuilt Alpine Eagle has made European supply chain sovereignty a core strategic priority, deliberately sourcing and manufacturing a significant share of its system within Europe. Boelens shared: “Wherever possible, we prioritise European partners across our supply chain. That’s a deliberate choice.” The shift reflects a broader recalibration across the defence ecosystem, as recent shocks — from COVID-19 disruptions to the war in Ukraine, rising trade tensions, and the expanding conflict in the Middle East — have exposed the fragility of global supply chains. Counter-drone defence as a coordination problem, not a hardware race What sets Alpine Eagle apart is its software-defined, networked approach to defence. Instead of treating counter-drone protection as a standalone hardware problem, the company frames it as a coordination challenge, linking distributed sensors, AI-driven decision systems, and response mechanisms into a scalable defence network. This allows it to handle large volumes of simultaneous threats, particularly in swarm scenarios where autonomy exists on both sides.  With multiple players in the counter-drone  space — both incumbents and startups — Boelens sees Alpine Eagle’s biggest advance as a combination of software and speed of deployment, rather than any single factor. The core challenge in counter-drone defence is not just intercepting a single threat, but managing large volumes of targets in real time. That requires software that can fuse sensor data, prioritise threats and coordinate responses across systems. At the same time, defence customers increasingly need solutions that can be deployed quickly. "By building on existing hardware platforms and focusing our innovation on the software and sensing layer, we can field systems faster than traditional defence programmes.” A fragmented market moving toward integration According to Boelens, the counter-drone market is still highly fragmented. He explained, “You have companies focusing on individual components — sensors, electronic warfare, interceptors — and others building more integrated systems. That reflects how quickly the space has evolved and how many different approaches are being tested in parallel.” In the near term, Alpine Eagle expects continued proliferation, particularly as new technologies are validated in Ukraine and other operational environments. Over time, though, Boelens predicts there will likely be consolidation around integrated architectures.  “Counter-drone defence is ultimately a systems problem — detection, tracking, decision-making and interception all need to work together seamlessly. Alpine Eagle’s focus is on that system layer: building an architecture that can integrate sensors and effectors into a coherent, scalable network.” When swarms become the norm: defence as a coordination problem As drone warfare evolves toward fully autonomous, AI-coordinated swarms, counter-drone defence is shifting from hardware to systems-level thinking—where coordination, speed, and scale matter more than any single platform. Boelens argues that the challenge fundamentally changes in nature. “It becomes a network problem rather than a platform problem.” Defending against autonomous swarms requires the ability to detect, classify, and respond to large volumes of coordinated threats simultaneously, often with minimal human intervention. This demands distributed sensing, real-time data fusion, and AI-supported decision-making operating in parallel. “No single interceptor or sensor will solve that challenge. You need layered, software-defined networks that can scale across large areas and adapt in real time.” Autonomy on both sides of the battlefield As autonomy advances, it will define both sides of the battlefield—offence and defence alike—raising the stakes on coordination and system integration. “Autonomy will exist on both sides. The advantage will come from how effectively systems can coordinate at scale.” As counter-drone technologies mature, the question for Boelens is not which systems disappear, but how the air defence stack is rebalanced. Rebalancing the air defence stack for the drone era Rather than rendering existing systems obsolete, Boelens argues the shift will redefine their role within a layered architecture. “It’s less about systems becoming obsolete and more about how they are used.” High-end air defence platforms such as Patriot or THAAD will remain critical for countering aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic threats. But they are fundamentally ill-suited — both technically and economically — to address large volumes of small, low-cost drones. “Using multi-million-dollar interceptors against low-cost drones is not sustainable at scale. What changes, then, is not the relevance of these systems, but the burden placed on them. Tasks they were never designed for—such as countering drone swarms — will increasingly be offloaded to new, lower-cost layers. In the future, high-end systems will be complemented by scalable counter-drone layers, allowing them to focus on the threats they were built to defeat.” Boelens concludes: "I’m incredibly proud of what the Alpine Eagle team has achieved over the past year. The reality is that threats facing Europe are higher than they have been for decades and drones are transforming the battlefield faster than traditional defence systems can adapt. Our mission is to ensure democracies have the tools they need to defend their airspace in this new era of warfare.”

Today, counter-drone defence technology company Alpine Eagle announced it is scaling production of its Sentinel system. Alpine Eagle develops counter-drone (counter-UAS) systems designed to detect, track, and neutralise hostile drones, including increasingly sophisticated autonomous swarms. Its technology combines multiple sensing modalities —such as radar, radio-frequency scanning, and optical or infrared cameras — to identify aerial threats early, classify them using AI, and monitor behaviour in real time. Rather than relying on a single interception tool, the system fuses these inputs into a unified operational picture, enabling faster, more precise responses. Central to this approach is Sentinel, the company’s flagship platform. A software-defined, layered defence system, Sentinel integrates sensing and interception into a single operational network. It combines Alpine Eagle’s airborne radar and sensor network with a scalable defence architecture to track threats across wide areas and neutralise them using airborne interceptors. Alpine Eagle is now participating in a defence innovation programme in the Netherlands, and over the past year, it has also conducted counter-drone trials in Ukraine and participated in Project Vanaheim, a counter-UAS trial involving the US and UK armed forces. To understand the company’s growth and positioning, I spoke to Jan-Hendrik Boelens, co-founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle. Scaling across Europe after Bundeswehr launch The company has seen accelerating demand across Europe. Sentinel was first deployed with the German Bundeswehr in 2024 as a launch customer, and Alpine Eagle has since secured contracts with three new European customers and has expanded to the UK and the Netherlands.  Alpine Eagle has expanded its team from 12 employees in 2024 to 50 in 2026, with plans to reach 100 employees this year as production scales. Drone warfare is reshaping defence economics Drone warfare reshapes modern air defence — from Ukraine to the Middle East — driving governments to prioritise systems that can be produced and deployed at scale and at lower costs than legacy defence platforms. For Boelens, Ukraine has been the proving ground. “It has shown what large-scale, drone-saturated warfare actually looks like and how quickly existing air defence systems can be stretched. The Middle East escalation is reinforcing that lesson in real time, particularly around the economic imbalance of defending against large volumes of low-cost drones.” At the same time, Europe is increasingly seeing drone incursions around critical infrastructure, airports and military sites. “That’s turning what was once seen as a battlefield problem into a domestic security issue.” Alpine Eagle’s technology has already been tested in operationally relevant environments, including trials conducted in Ukraine, where counter-drone systems face constant pressure from mass drone attacks and must function reliably under disrupted GPS conditions.  The cost asymmetry driving urgent procurement Recent conflicts have underscored the urgency of scalable counter-drone capability. Large-scale drone strikes in Ukraine and across the Gulf show how inexpensive drones can overwhelm traditional air-defence systems and force defenders to expend far more costly interceptors. In recent attacks in the Middle East, analysts estimate that defenders spent over $1.5 billion intercepting drones that attackers may have cost around $250 million to launch. This imbalance is accelerating demand for systems designed to counter large volumes of low-cost threats. Together, these dynamics are driving a shift from experimentation to procurement. Governments are no longer asking if they need counter-drone capability, but how quickly they can deploy it at scale. Scaling production for rapid deployment According to Boelens, defence ministries are increasingly looking for systems that can be delivered quickly and scaled as operational demand grows.  To support scalable production, Alpine Eagle integrates its technology with the DeltaQuad Evo, a UAV platform developed by Dutch manufacturer DeltaQuad. The partnership gives Alpine Eagle immediate access to industrial-scale manufacturing capacity while reinforcing a resilient European supply chain. By combining proven hardware with its proprietary sensing and defence software, the company can deliver deployable counter-drone systems significantly faster than traditional defence programmes. “We integrate the DeltaQuad Evo UAV platform, produced by our partner DeltaQuad,” shared Boelens. “This means the facilities, permits, and production processes are already in place in the Netherlands. As a result, we can scale output rapidly — from several hundred units to more than a thousand per month.” Alpine Eagle can deliver operational capability within approximately four weeks of contract signature. This is enabled by a robust supply chain and strong component availability, combined with systems designed for rapid deployment. With a small footprint, self-sustaining logistics, and minimal training requirements, customers can move from delivery to operational use almost immediately. “Rapidly deployable, for us, means weeks — not months," explained Boelens.   “With supply chains secured and production ready, we can deliver within around four weeks of contract signature, and systems can be brought into operation almost immediately with minimal training.” The company is also planning to open a 2,000-square-metre production facility for its own-developed interceptor near Munich, supporting its next phase of industrial scaling.  Why European defence supply chains are being rebuilt Alpine Eagle has made European supply chain sovereignty a core strategic priority, deliberately sourcing and manufacturing a significant share of its system within Europe. Boelens shared: “Wherever possible, we prioritise European partners across our supply chain. That’s a deliberate choice.” The shift reflects a broader recalibration across the defence ecosystem, as recent shocks — from COVID-19 disruptions to the war in Ukraine, rising trade tensions, and the expanding conflict in the Middle East — have exposed the fragility of global supply chains. Counter-drone defence as a coordination problem, not a hardware race What sets Alpine Eagle apart is its software-defined, networked approach to defence. Instead of treating counter-drone protection as a standalone hardware problem, the company frames it as a coordination challenge, linking distributed sensors, AI-driven decision systems, and response mechanisms into a scalable defence network. This allows it to handle large volumes of simultaneous threats, particularly in swarm scenarios where autonomy exists on both sides.  With multiple players in the counter-drone  space — both incumbents and startups — Boelens sees Alpine Eagle’s biggest advance as a combination of software and speed of deployment, rather than any single factor. The core challenge in counter-drone defence is not just intercepting a single threat, but managing large volumes of targets in real time. That requires software that can fuse sensor data, prioritise threats and coordinate responses across systems. At the same time, defence customers increasingly need solutions that can be deployed quickly. "By building on existing hardware platforms and focusing our innovation on the software and sensing layer, we can field systems faster than traditional defence programmes.” A fragmented market moving toward integration According to Boelens, the counter-drone market is still highly fragmented. He explained, “You have companies focusing on individual components — sensors, electronic warfare, interceptors — and others building more integrated systems. That reflects how quickly the space has evolved and how many different approaches are being tested in parallel.” In the near term, Alpine Eagle expects continued proliferation, particularly as new technologies are validated in Ukraine and other operational environments. Over time, though, Boelens predicts there will likely be consolidation around integrated architectures.  “Counter-drone defence is ultimately a systems problem — detection, tracking, decision-making and interception all need to work together seamlessly. Alpine Eagle’s focus is on that system layer: building an architecture that can integrate sensors and effectors into a coherent, scalable network.” When swarms become the norm: defence as a coordination problem As drone warfare evolves toward fully autonomous, AI-coordinated swarms, counter-drone defence is shifting from hardware to systems-level thinking—where coordination, speed, and scale matter more than any single platform. Boelens argues that the challenge fundamentally changes in nature. “It becomes a network problem rather than a platform problem.” Defending against autonomous swarms requires the ability to detect, classify, and respond to large volumes of coordinated threats simultaneously, often with minimal human intervention. This demands distributed sensing, real-time data fusion, and AI-supported decision-making operating in parallel. “No single interceptor or sensor will solve that challenge. You need layered, software-defined networks that can scale across large areas and adapt in real time.” Autonomy on both sides of the battlefield As autonomy advances, it will define both sides of the battlefield—offence and defence alike—raising the stakes on coordination and system integration. “Autonomy will exist on both sides. The advantage will come from how effectively systems can coordinate at scale.” As counter-drone technologies mature, the question for Boelens is not which systems disappear, but how the air defence stack is rebalanced. Rebalancing the air defence stack for the drone era Rather than rendering existing systems obsolete, Boelens argues the shift will redefine their role within a layered architecture. “It’s less about systems becoming obsolete and more about how they are used.” High-end air defence platforms such as Patriot or THAAD will remain critical for countering aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic threats. But they are fundamentally ill-suited — both technically and economically — to address large volumes of small, low-cost drones. “Using multi-million-dollar interceptors against low-cost drones is not sustainable at scale. What changes, then, is not the relevance of these systems, but the burden placed on them. Tasks they were never designed for—such as countering drone swarms — will increasingly be offloaded to new, lower-cost layers. In the future, high-end systems will be complemented by scalable counter-drone layers, allowing them to focus on the threats they were built to defeat.” Boelens concludes: "I’m incredibly proud of what the Alpine Eagle team has achieved over the past year. The reality is that threats facing Europe are higher than they have been for decades and drones are transforming the battlefield faster than traditional defence systems can adapt. Our mission is to ensure democracies have the tools they need to defend their airspace in this new era of warfare.”

This week, the Oscars celebrated some of last year’s most outstanding achievements in cinema. In the meantime, the tools behind filmmaking are undergoing a profound transformation. Media and filmtech startups have fundamentally changed how films are storyboarded, edited, soundtracked, and enhanced with special effects. AI is also reshaping how speech is generated and reproduced,  as well as how media is produced and consumed, transforming nearly every stage of the filmmaking pipeline. This shift is underpinned by a growing ecosystem of accelerators and innovation programmes focused on media and film technology via nitiatives such as IDA Hub, Cannes Next, and The TechMedia Hub Potsdam, alongside Berlinale EFM Startups, and Digital Catapul.  Major media companies such as Netflix and Disney also deliver dedicated programmes to explore emerging technologies shaping the future of storytelling. Here are some of the startups to have on your radar:  EpicFrames (Estonia) EpicFrames is building what it calls the workflow layer for AI filmmaking. While generative AI models have advanced rapidly, creators working in film, advertising, and branded content still rely on fragmented workflows across multiple tools to produce structured visual narratives.   EpicFrames allows creators to plan scenes, iterate visuals, and organise assets within a workflow that mirrors real filmmaking. Filmster Network (UK) Filmster Network is building a collaborative digital platform to help independent filmmakers plan, produce, and manage film projects.  Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Reading, the company aims to function as an “operating system for modern filmmaking,” giving creators tools to assemble crews, manage schedules and budgets, and coordinate production workflows without relying on traditional studio infrastructure. It also integrates production-management features such as script breakdowns, crew coordination, scheduling, and knowledge sharing across projects, helping independent filmmakers operate with efficiencies typically available only to large studios. Greenigma (Germany) Greenigma is a Berlin-based company that provides certified Green Consultants who work with film, television, advertising, and other cultural productions to integrate sustainable practices throughout the production lifecycle—from early script development to post-production reporting. Greenigma’s consultants support productions with practical measures such as energy and waste management, sustainable mobility planning, responsible catering and accommodation, and resource-efficient logistics.  The team develops sustainability plans aligned with ISO 14001 standards, tracks emissions during filming, and produces final environmental reports that can be submitted to funding bodies or used to measure a project’s carbon footprint.  Gretico (Spain) Gretico is a media-technology company building tools that allow films and live events to be streamed and projected directly in cinemas or temporary screening venues without the traditional distribution infrastructure.  It makes it easier to set up theatrical screenings anywhere, especially in places without permanent cinemas.  Speekz (Lithuania) Speekz is a new app that lets you listen and record synchronised audio commentary while watching movies, TV series, and eventually live sports, turning passive viewing into a shared interactive experience.  It’s a modern, social twist on the DVD-era director’s commentary — or TV programmes like Googlebox — except the commentary can come from anyone: your favourite comedian, a celebrity, or your best friend. Speekz secured $175K in funding after appearing on a local version of Shark Tank. Long-term, the company aims to build the world’s largest digital marketplace for commentary with a platform where anyone can earn by simply sitting on their couch watching TV and yapping into their iPhone.  team4set (Poland) team4set is a digital platform designed to help filmmakers find and assemble production crews.  It operates as a networking and hiring marketplace for the film industry, allowing users to create profiles that showcase their skills, experience, and portfolios. Producers and directors can search for collaborators such as cinematographers, editors, sound engineers, makeup artists or production assistants, making it easier to build teams for film projects. The platform is particularly aimed at students and early-career filmmakers who may struggle to access industry networks. 

This week, the Oscars celebrated some of last year’s most outstanding achievements in cinema. In the meantime, the tools behind filmmaking are undergoing a profound transformation. Media and filmtech startups have fundamentally changed how films are storyboarded, edited, soundtracked, and enhanced with special effects. AI is also reshaping how speech is generated and reproduced,  as well as how media is produced and consumed, transforming nearly every stage of the filmmaking pipeline. This shift is underpinned by a growing ecosystem of accelerators and innovation programmes focused on media and film technology via nitiatives such as IDA Hub, Cannes Next, and The TechMedia Hub Potsdam, alongside Berlinale EFM Startups, and Digital Catapul.  Major media companies such as Netflix and Disney also deliver dedicated programmes to explore emerging technologies shaping the future of storytelling. Here are some of the startups to have on your radar:  EpicFrames (Estonia) EpicFrames is building what it calls the workflow layer for AI filmmaking. While generative AI models have advanced rapidly, creators working in film, advertising, and branded content still rely on fragmented workflows across multiple tools to produce structured visual narratives.   EpicFrames allows creators to plan scenes, iterate visuals, and organise assets within a workflow that mirrors real filmmaking. Filmster Network (UK) Filmster Network is building a collaborative digital platform to help independent filmmakers plan, produce, and manage film projects.  Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Reading, the company aims to function as an “operating system for modern filmmaking,” giving creators tools to assemble crews, manage schedules and budgets, and coordinate production workflows without relying on traditional studio infrastructure. It also integrates production-management features such as script breakdowns, crew coordination, scheduling, and knowledge sharing across projects, helping independent filmmakers operate with efficiencies typically available only to large studios. Greenigma (Germany) Greenigma is a Berlin-based company that provides certified Green Consultants who work with film, television, advertising, and other cultural productions to integrate sustainable practices throughout the production lifecycle—from early script development to post-production reporting. Greenigma’s consultants support productions with practical measures such as energy and waste management, sustainable mobility planning, responsible catering and accommodation, and resource-efficient logistics.  The team develops sustainability plans aligned with ISO 14001 standards, tracks emissions during filming, and produces final environmental reports that can be submitted to funding bodies or used to measure a project’s carbon footprint.  Gretico (Spain) Gretico is a media-technology company building tools that allow films and live events to be streamed and projected directly in cinemas or temporary screening venues without the traditional distribution infrastructure.  It makes it easier to set up theatrical screenings anywhere, especially in places without permanent cinemas.  Speekz (Lithuania) Speekz is a new app that lets you listen and record synchronised audio commentary while watching movies, TV series, and eventually live sports, turning passive viewing into a shared interactive experience.  It’s a modern, social twist on the DVD-era director’s commentary — or TV programmes like Googlebox — except the commentary can come from anyone: your favourite comedian, a celebrity, or your best friend. Speekz secured $175K in funding after appearing on a local version of Shark Tank. Long-term, the company aims to build the world’s largest digital marketplace for commentary with a platform where anyone can earn by simply sitting on their couch watching TV and yapping into their iPhone.  team4set (Poland) team4set is a digital platform designed to help filmmakers find and assemble production crews.  It operates as a networking and hiring marketplace for the film industry, allowing users to create profiles that showcase their skills, experience, and portfolios. Producers and directors can search for collaborators such as cinematographers, editors, sound engineers, makeup artists or production assistants, making it easier to build teams for film projects. The platform is particularly aimed at students and early-career filmmakers who may struggle to access industry networks. 

Zopa Bank, the UK savings and lending digital bank, has reported its third consecutive year of profit, as it says take-up of its new current account proposition has eclipsed expectations. The London-based bank reported pre-tax profits of £44.9m 2025, up from £31.6m in 2024, driven by its borrowing and savings products.   The SoftBank-backed digital bank said more than 85 per cent of its staff were using AI tools in their everyday work, with a growing number of custom-internal GPTs speeding up tasks.   In June last year, Zopa announced the launch of Biscuit, its current account product, looking to take on challenger banks like Revolut and Starling as well as traditional banks like Barclays and HSBC. Unicorn Zopa, founded in 2004, did not disclose specific customer numbers for the free-to-open current account but said take-up had “exceeded our expectations”.   A Zopa spokesperson said it had onboarded hundreds of thousands of Biscuit customers, and was 40 per cent ahead of plan.    Zopa said its customer numbers grew to 1.7 million in 2025 across savings, lending and everyday banking, onboarding more than half a million gross new customers during the year.    Over the period, the bank’s deposit base grew 17 per cent to £6.4 billion, while gross loans upped 23 per cent to £3.8bn.    But Zopa said it has set aside £7.9m in provision relating to the car finance mis-selling scandal.   Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa Bank said: “2025 was another landmark year for Zopa as we expanded into everyday banking. We grew our customer base to 1.7 million, supported by strong growth across all products and from our expansion into current accounts and Investments. "Our performance drove 24 per cent revenue growth, with Zopa doubling its profit before tax despite a challenging UK economic environment.   “Unlike much of the industry, we continue to place significant emphasis on rewarding loyalty, and the deepening of customer relationships has been the strongest indicator of our progress towards establishing the Home of Money, a place that makes customers feel at home with their finances.”

Zopa Bank, the UK savings and lending digital bank, has reported its third consecutive year of profit, as it says take-up of its new current account proposition has eclipsed expectations. The London-based bank reported pre-tax profits of £44.9m 2025, up from £31.6m in 2024, driven by its borrowing and savings products.   The SoftBank-backed digital bank said more than 85 per cent of its staff were using AI tools in their everyday work, with a growing number of custom-internal GPTs speeding up tasks.   In June last year, Zopa announced the launch of Biscuit, its current account product, looking to take on challenger banks like Revolut and Starling as well as traditional banks like Barclays and HSBC. Unicorn Zopa, founded in 2004, did not disclose specific customer numbers for the free-to-open current account but said take-up had “exceeded our expectations”.   A Zopa spokesperson said it had onboarded hundreds of thousands of Biscuit customers, and was 40 per cent ahead of plan.    Zopa said its customer numbers grew to 1.7 million in 2025 across savings, lending and everyday banking, onboarding more than half a million gross new customers during the year.    Over the period, the bank’s deposit base grew 17 per cent to £6.4 billion, while gross loans upped 23 per cent to £3.8bn.    But Zopa said it has set aside £7.9m in provision relating to the car finance mis-selling scandal.   Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa Bank said: “2025 was another landmark year for Zopa as we expanded into everyday banking. We grew our customer base to 1.7 million, supported by strong growth across all products and from our expansion into current accounts and Investments. "Our performance drove 24 per cent revenue growth, with Zopa doubling its profit before tax despite a challenging UK economic environment.   “Unlike much of the industry, we continue to place significant emphasis on rewarding loyalty, and the deepening of customer relationships has been the strongest indicator of our progress towards establishing the Home of Money, a place that makes customers feel at home with their finances.”

Spanish tech companies raised €3.1 billion in 2025, highlighting a broad and increasingly mature ecosystem. Large late-stage rounds remained strong, alongside a deep base of early and growth-stage funding across sectors. Funding was concentrated at the top, with the ten largest deals accounting for around 39 per cent of capital, and the top twenty about 57 per cent. AI, deeptech and frontier infrastructure stood out, including quantum, applied AI, cloud, semiconductors, robotics and security, signalling a shift toward more technical, defensible businesses. Healthtech and biotech also emerged as key pillars. Enterprise software and fintech provided consistent activity, while climate and energy gained momentum through investments in cleantech and low-carbon technologies. Consumer platforms remained active across travel, education, real estate and commerce. The mix of debt and alternative financing alongside equity also pointed to a more mature market. Overall, Spain’s tech ecosystem is becoming more diversified and technically advanced, with capital spread across multiple sectors and increasing late-stage capacity (for more detailed analyses of the European technology ecosystem, check out Tech.eu’s annual report: European Tech 2025 – The Big Picture). Here are the 10 companies that raised the most in 2025. Amount raised in 2025: €256M Multiverse Computing is a quantum AI software company that develops advanced artificial intelligence and quantum-inspired technologies to solve complex problems across industries. The company builds software that applies quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms to areas such as finance, manufacturing, energy, logistics, and cybersecurity. Its technology focuses on improving the efficiency and performance of artificial intelligence systems. In 2025, Multiverse Computing raised €256 million over two rounds to accelerate the widespread adoption of LLMs to address the massive costs that currently prohibit their rollout. Amount raised in 2025: $200M TravelPerk is a global business travel and expense management platform that helps companies plan, book, and manage work trips in one place. The platform integrates travel booking, expense tracking, and reporting tools, enabling organisations to streamline their corporate travel processes and reduce administrative work. In 2025, TravelPerk raised $200 million in a Series E round to accelerate growth, expand its presence in the US, and invest in product development, technology, and AI to build a leading travel and expense management platform. Amount raised in 2025: €137M Xoople is a data and AI company that develops Earth intelligence technology by combining geospatial data with artificial intelligence to analyse and understand changes on the Earth’s surface. Founded in 2019, the company provides AI-ready Earth data that organisations can integrate into their enterprise workflows for analysis and operational decision-making. Through its platform, EarthAI, Xoople processes large volumes of satellite and geospatial data to automatically monitor, detect, and predict changes across the planet. The company’s mission is to provide a consistent, global source of Earth data that helps organisations better understand physical changes on the planet and make faster, more informed decisions about real-world challenges. In 2025, Xoople secured €137 million across two funding rounds to develop next-generation Earth intelligence technologies. Amount raised in 2025: $135M SpliceBio is a biotechnology company developing next-generation gene therapies using its proprietary Protein Splicing platform. The company’s technology enables the delivery of large genes that are difficult to treat with traditional gene therapy approaches, helping address genetic diseases caused by mutations in large genes. The company’s platform is based on technology developed at Princeton University and leverages decades of research in protein engineering and intein biology to enable new therapeutic approaches for diseases that currently lack effective treatments. SpliceBio closed a $135 million Series B funding round in 2025 to support the clinical development of its flagship program. Amount raised in 2025: $120M Factorial is an HR technology company that develops cloud-based software designed to help businesses manage people, processes, and operations more efficiently. Founded in 2016, the company provides an all-in-one platform that automates human resources tasks such as time tracking, payroll, absence management, document handling, recruitment, and performance evaluation. The platform centralises HR and operational data in a single system, allowing companies, particularly small and mid-sized businesses, to streamline administrative work, gain visibility into their workforce, and make data-driven decisions. Factorial secured $120 million in 2025 to boost sales and marketing. Amount raised in 2025: €100M Lingokids is an educational technology company that develops a play-based learning platform for children aged 2 to 8. The company offers a mobile app that combines games, videos, songs, and interactive activities to help children build academic knowledge and essential life skills in a safe, ad-free environment. Lingokids is designed to help children learn at their own pace while giving parents tools to track progress and manage their child’s digital learning environment. In 2025, Lingokids raised over €100 million to accelerate its global expansion. Amount raised in 2025: €92M Job&Talent is a workforce platform that connects companies with workers through a technology-driven marketplace for flexible and temporary jobs. The company uses data and AI to match candidates with employers, streamline hiring, and manage large workforces through its digital platform. The platform enables businesses to recruit, schedule, and manage workers while providing individuals with access to job opportunities, contracts, and work management tools through a mobile app. By combining recruitment, workforce management, and analytics, Job&Talent aims to simplify hiring processes and improve productivity for companies while offering workers more flexible employment opportunities. In 2025, Job&Talent raised €92 million in a Series F round to expand its workforce management platform. Amount raised in 2025: €90M Proeduca is an online higher-education group that provides university and professional education through digital learning platforms. The company specialises in delivering fully online academic programs and professional training to students around the world. The group operates several educational institutions, as well as other specialised schools and international partnerships. Through these institutions, PROEDUCA offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional programs designed to combine flexible online learning with academic rigour and industry-relevant skills. Proeduca secured €90 million in 2025 to boost the development of online education in Spain. Amount raised in 2025: $100M Fever is a global technology platform for discovering and booking live entertainment and cultural experiences. The company operates a digital marketplace and mobile app that helps users find events such as concerts, immersive exhibitions, sports, theatre performances, and festivals in cities around the world. Through its proprietary technology, Fever provides personalised recommendations and curated experiences while also offering ticketing, marketing, and data tools that help venues, promoters, and creators reach new audiences and manage events more effectively. In 2025, Fever closed a $100 million funding round, further strengthening its position in the entertainment sector. Amount raised in 2025: €70.1M Playtomic is a sports technology company that develops a digital platform connecting racket-sports players and clubs. The company offers a mobile app and software tools that allow users to find partners, book courts, join matches, and manage sports activities such as padel and tennis. Through its marketplace and SaaS solutions for clubs, Playtomic helps sports venues manage reservations, payments, and customer relationships while enabling players to organise games and connect with local sports communities. In 2025, Playtomic secured €70.1 million in two funding rounds to support its expansion in the US and Europe.

Spanish tech companies raised €3.1 billion in 2025, highlighting a broad and increasingly mature ecosystem. Large late-stage rounds remained strong, alongside a deep base of early and growth-stage funding across sectors. Funding was concentrated at the top, with the ten largest deals accounting for around 39 per cent of capital, and the top twenty about 57 per cent. AI, deeptech and frontier infrastructure stood out, including quantum, applied AI, cloud, semiconductors, robotics and security, signalling a shift toward more technical, defensible businesses. Healthtech and biotech also emerged as key pillars. Enterprise software and fintech provided consistent activity, while climate and energy gained momentum through investments in cleantech and low-carbon technologies. Consumer platforms remained active across travel, education, real estate and commerce. The mix of debt and alternative financing alongside equity also pointed to a more mature market. Overall, Spain’s tech ecosystem is becoming more diversified and technically advanced, with capital spread across multiple sectors and increasing late-stage capacity (for more detailed analyses of the European technology ecosystem, check out Tech.eu’s annual report: European Tech 2025 – The Big Picture). Here are the 10 companies that raised the most in 2025. Amount raised in 2025: €256M Multiverse Computing is a quantum AI software company that develops advanced artificial intelligence and quantum-inspired technologies to solve complex problems across industries. The company builds software that applies quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms to areas such as finance, manufacturing, energy, logistics, and cybersecurity. Its technology focuses on improving the efficiency and performance of artificial intelligence systems. In 2025, Multiverse Computing raised €256 million over two rounds to accelerate the widespread adoption of LLMs to address the massive costs that currently prohibit their rollout. Amount raised in 2025: $200M TravelPerk is a global business travel and expense management platform that helps companies plan, book, and manage work trips in one place. The platform integrates travel booking, expense tracking, and reporting tools, enabling organisations to streamline their corporate travel processes and reduce administrative work. In 2025, TravelPerk raised $200 million in a Series E round to accelerate growth, expand its presence in the US, and invest in product development, technology, and AI to build a leading travel and expense management platform. Amount raised in 2025: €137M Xoople is a data and AI company that develops Earth intelligence technology by combining geospatial data with artificial intelligence to analyse and understand changes on the Earth’s surface. Founded in 2019, the company provides AI-ready Earth data that organisations can integrate into their enterprise workflows for analysis and operational decision-making. Through its platform, EarthAI, Xoople processes large volumes of satellite and geospatial data to automatically monitor, detect, and predict changes across the planet. The company’s mission is to provide a consistent, global source of Earth data that helps organisations better understand physical changes on the planet and make faster, more informed decisions about real-world challenges. In 2025, Xoople secured €137 million across two funding rounds to develop next-generation Earth intelligence technologies. Amount raised in 2025: $135M SpliceBio is a biotechnology company developing next-generation gene therapies using its proprietary Protein Splicing platform. The company’s technology enables the delivery of large genes that are difficult to treat with traditional gene therapy approaches, helping address genetic diseases caused by mutations in large genes. The company’s platform is based on technology developed at Princeton University and leverages decades of research in protein engineering and intein biology to enable new therapeutic approaches for diseases that currently lack effective treatments. SpliceBio closed a $135 million Series B funding round in 2025 to support the clinical development of its flagship program. Amount raised in 2025: $120M Factorial is an HR technology company that develops cloud-based software designed to help businesses manage people, processes, and operations more efficiently. Founded in 2016, the company provides an all-in-one platform that automates human resources tasks such as time tracking, payroll, absence management, document handling, recruitment, and performance evaluation. The platform centralises HR and operational data in a single system, allowing companies, particularly small and mid-sized businesses, to streamline administrative work, gain visibility into their workforce, and make data-driven decisions. Factorial secured $120 million in 2025 to boost sales and marketing. Amount raised in 2025: €100M Lingokids is an educational technology company that develops a play-based learning platform for children aged 2 to 8. The company offers a mobile app that combines games, videos, songs, and interactive activities to help children build academic knowledge and essential life skills in a safe, ad-free environment. Lingokids is designed to help children learn at their own pace while giving parents tools to track progress and manage their child’s digital learning environment. In 2025, Lingokids raised over €100 million to accelerate its global expansion. Amount raised in 2025: €92M Job&Talent is a workforce platform that connects companies with workers through a technology-driven marketplace for flexible and temporary jobs. The company uses data and AI to match candidates with employers, streamline hiring, and manage large workforces through its digital platform. The platform enables businesses to recruit, schedule, and manage workers while providing individuals with access to job opportunities, contracts, and work management tools through a mobile app. By combining recruitment, workforce management, and analytics, Job&Talent aims to simplify hiring processes and improve productivity for companies while offering workers more flexible employment opportunities. In 2025, Job&Talent raised €92 million in a Series F round to expand its workforce management platform. Amount raised in 2025: €90M Proeduca is an online higher-education group that provides university and professional education through digital learning platforms. The company specialises in delivering fully online academic programs and professional training to students around the world. The group operates several educational institutions, as well as other specialised schools and international partnerships. Through these institutions, PROEDUCA offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional programs designed to combine flexible online learning with academic rigour and industry-relevant skills. Proeduca secured €90 million in 2025 to boost the development of online education in Spain. Amount raised in 2025: $100M Fever is a global technology platform for discovering and booking live entertainment and cultural experiences. The company operates a digital marketplace and mobile app that helps users find events such as concerts, immersive exhibitions, sports, theatre performances, and festivals in cities around the world. Through its proprietary technology, Fever provides personalised recommendations and curated experiences while also offering ticketing, marketing, and data tools that help venues, promoters, and creators reach new audiences and manage events more effectively. In 2025, Fever closed a $100 million funding round, further strengthening its position in the entertainment sector. Amount raised in 2025: €70.1M Playtomic is a sports technology company that develops a digital platform connecting racket-sports players and clubs. The company offers a mobile app and software tools that allow users to find partners, book courts, join matches, and manage sports activities such as padel and tennis. Through its marketplace and SaaS solutions for clubs, Playtomic helps sports venues manage reservations, payments, and customer relationships while enabling players to organise games and connect with local sports communities. In 2025, Playtomic secured €70.1 million in two funding rounds to support its expansion in the US and Europe.

Berlin-based Bounti has raised €4 million in a funding round led by Ventech, with participation from IBB Ventures, Robin Capital, Common Magic, and several business angels. While much of the technology has been deployed in knowledge-based work, sectors such as hospitality, retail, and services continue to face challenges, including labour shortages, high staff turnover, and operational inefficiencies. Bounti addresses these issues with an AI-powered platform designed for frontline teams in multi-location businesses. Rather than focusing on analytics alone, the platform identifies operational issues, analyses their root causes, and triggers concrete actions such as targeted training, task assignment, and performance tracking. Imagine a system that automatically shows you where problems arise across your locations — and how they directly impact revenue and performance. The AI doesn’t stop at insights. It initiates action, said Deniz Bayraktaroglu, founder of Bounti. The platform is used by companies across sectors, including hospitality and retail, where it supports onboarding, standardisation, and internal communication for frontline employees. By focusing on usability and real-time operational support, Bounti aims to improve execution across distributed teams, helping organisations maintain consistency and performance at scale. Bounti will use new funding to further develop the platform and expand its deployment across frontline-focused industries.

Berlin-based Bounti has raised €4 million in a funding round led by Ventech, with participation from IBB Ventures, Robin Capital, Common Magic, and several business angels. While much of the technology has been deployed in knowledge-based work, sectors such as hospitality, retail, and services continue to face challenges, including labour shortages, high staff turnover, and operational inefficiencies. Bounti addresses these issues with an AI-powered platform designed for frontline teams in multi-location businesses. Rather than focusing on analytics alone, the platform identifies operational issues, analyses their root causes, and triggers concrete actions such as targeted training, task assignment, and performance tracking. Imagine a system that automatically shows you where problems arise across your locations — and how they directly impact revenue and performance. The AI doesn’t stop at insights. It initiates action, said Deniz Bayraktaroglu, founder of Bounti. The platform is used by companies across sectors, including hospitality and retail, where it supports onboarding, standardisation, and internal communication for frontline employees. By focusing on usability and real-time operational support, Bounti aims to improve execution across distributed teams, helping organisations maintain consistency and performance at scale. Bounti will use new funding to further develop the platform and expand its deployment across frontline-focused industries.

Ghent-based Ringtime, an AI agent platform for managing inbound and outbound conversations, has raised €1.8 million in a seed round led by Volta Ventures, with participation from Syndicate One, JK Invest, New School VC and Allusion. The company is focused on addressing structural labour shortages across sectors such as retail, logistics and hospitality, where many roles remain unfilled. Traditional recruitment processes for blue-collar workers often rely on repetitive outreach and manual screening, while existing tools are not well adapted to the communication preferences, languages, and availability of these candidates. Ringtime’s platform automates the recruitment process end-to-end, using AI to determine the most effective way to reach candidates, including preferred channels, timing, and language. It then manages conversations, screening, and matching through a single orchestration layer. Ringtime is evolving into a complete, intelligent solution for connecting technical candidates to the right job across sectors, languages and geographies. We’re building the infrastructure that brings supply and demand together faster than the market can do on its own, said Diederik Syoen, co-founder of Ringtime. Founded in 2025, the company is already generating revenue and working with clients such as Trixxo Jobs, Synergie Jobs and House of HR. In addition to recruitment, Ringtime is also used in sectors such as real estate and technical installations, where managing high volumes of communication is critical. The funding will be used to expand the team, scale marketing efforts, and strengthen the company’s position in the recruitment sector, with plans to expand into additional European markets.