This week, we tracked more than 55 tech funding deals worth over €1.6 billion and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. 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. We also released our monthly report for June — now available FREE to all Tech.eu readers — covering the biggest fundraises, standout deals, and evolving tech trends. Either way, let's get you up to speed. ? Notable and big funding rounds ?? Quantum Systems raises $1.2B at $8B valuation ?? With 3,500+ agricultural SMEs financed, InSoil lands €120M to expand regenerative agriculture lending ?? Openchip lands €115M SETT investment to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor capabilities ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? Saltroad acquires AI platform Ogma to scale speech therapy for children ?? DATADOG acquires ADAPTIVE ML to strengthen its AI lab ?? The Exploration Company acquires European Astrotech ?? Ipsen to acquire Memo Therapeutics for up to €700M ?? Openchip lands €115M SETT investment to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor capabilities ? Interesting moves from investors ? Omnea launches fund with Firedrop to back employees as future founders ?  P101 expands into seed investing with PranaVentures integration and €100M fund ?  Nothing-backer Tapestry VC raises $80M fund, opens London office ? Common Path launches to connect low-income graduates with UK startups ?? More deals, smaller rounds: European startup funding in June 2026

This week, we tracked more than 55 tech funding deals worth over €1.6 billion and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. 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. We also released our monthly report for June — now available FREE to all Tech.eu readers — covering the biggest fundraises, standout deals, and evolving tech trends. Either way, let's get you up to speed. ? Notable and big funding rounds ?? Quantum Systems raises $1.2B at $8B valuation ?? With 3,500+ agricultural SMEs financed, InSoil lands €120M to expand regenerative agriculture lending ?? Openchip lands €115M SETT investment to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor capabilities ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? Saltroad acquires AI platform Ogma to scale speech therapy for children ?? DATADOG acquires ADAPTIVE ML to strengthen its AI lab ?? The Exploration Company acquires European Astrotech ?? Ipsen to acquire Memo Therapeutics for up to €700M ?? Openchip lands €115M SETT investment to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor capabilities ? Interesting moves from investors ? Omnea launches fund with Firedrop to back employees as future founders ?  P101 expands into seed investing with PranaVentures integration and €100M fund ?  Nothing-backer Tapestry VC raises $80M fund, opens London office ? Common Path launches to connect low-income graduates with UK startups ?? More deals, smaller rounds: European startup funding in June 2026

The Dutch Ministry of Defence has signed a strategic partnership worth tens of millions of euros with Dutch defence technology company Intelic to build the software foundation for its future unmanned systems ecosystem, making the Netherlands the first country in the world to formally invest in a Software-First approach to military interoperability.The three-year agreement marks a shift in how defence capabilities are developed. Rather than acquiring platforms first and addressing integration challenges later, the Dutch Ministry of Defence is making interoperability the starting point of its strategy.Under the partnership, Intelic will work closely with the Ministry over the next three years to develop and evolve the software architecture required to connect unmanned aerial and ground systems into a single operational ecosystem. Central to this partnership is Intelic’s Command-and-Control software NEXUS, which enables unmanned systems from different manufacturers to operate together within a single mission environment. This greatly reduces deployment times and training for operators, and ensures that different unmanned systems work together reliably. The rapid evolution of drone warfare and autonomous systems has exposed a growing challenge for military organisations: fragmented technologies that struggle to work together. By adopting a Software-First strategy, the Netherlands aims to ensure that new technologies, sensors and capabilities can be integrated quickly and effectively, regardless of platform or manufacturer.According to Derk Boswijk, Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel of the Netherlands (Staatssecretaris van Defensie): "Ukraine teaches us that not only the hardware, but also the software, is of great importance. Integrating different drone systems makes the fight easier. I am proud that a Dutch company can now meet this demand. We are entering into a partnership together, leaving the classic customer-supplier relationship behind us and committing to each other for a longer period of time." This approach is greatly informed by the Ukrainian frontline, which demonstrates the necessity of interoperable systems to enable superior surveillance, supply chain management and defence. NEXUS has been used on the battlefield in Ukraine since 2025, allowing drone operators to respond rapidly to changing conditions. The partnership builds on Intelic’s vision of software-defined interoperability. Earlier this year, the company launched Intelic BASE, a procurement platform that connects European drone manufacturers with Ministries of Defence, helping governments explore and identify unmanned systems already integrated with NEXUS across the European defence industrial base. By focusing on interoperability before procurement decisions are made, the Dutch Ministry of Defence aims to reduce integration risks, accelerate deployment timelines and remain flexible as new technologies emerge.Maurits Korthals Altes, CEO of Intelic, shared: "Europe now has more than 700 drone manufacturers, and that number continues to grow. For defence organisations, the challenge is no longer access to technology, but ensuring those technologies can operate together. Military advantage increasingly depends on software that connects platforms rather than locking governments into individual systems. This partnership reflects a fundamental shift from platform-centric procurement to software-defined defence capabilities built around interoperability." The partnership represents a significant milestone for Intelic and reinforces the growing role of software as the foundation of future military capability. For the Netherlands, it establishes a new model for defence modernisation built around adaptability, interoperability and operational readiness from day one.

The Dutch Ministry of Defence has signed a strategic partnership worth tens of millions of euros with Dutch defence technology company Intelic to build the software foundation for its future unmanned systems ecosystem, making the Netherlands the first country in the world to formally invest in a Software-First approach to military interoperability.The three-year agreement marks a shift in how defence capabilities are developed. Rather than acquiring platforms first and addressing integration challenges later, the Dutch Ministry of Defence is making interoperability the starting point of its strategy.Under the partnership, Intelic will work closely with the Ministry over the next three years to develop and evolve the software architecture required to connect unmanned aerial and ground systems into a single operational ecosystem. Central to this partnership is Intelic’s Command-and-Control software NEXUS, which enables unmanned systems from different manufacturers to operate together within a single mission environment. This greatly reduces deployment times and training for operators, and ensures that different unmanned systems work together reliably. The rapid evolution of drone warfare and autonomous systems has exposed a growing challenge for military organisations: fragmented technologies that struggle to work together. By adopting a Software-First strategy, the Netherlands aims to ensure that new technologies, sensors and capabilities can be integrated quickly and effectively, regardless of platform or manufacturer.According to Derk Boswijk, Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel of the Netherlands (Staatssecretaris van Defensie): "Ukraine teaches us that not only the hardware, but also the software, is of great importance. Integrating different drone systems makes the fight easier. I am proud that a Dutch company can now meet this demand. We are entering into a partnership together, leaving the classic customer-supplier relationship behind us and committing to each other for a longer period of time." This approach is greatly informed by the Ukrainian frontline, which demonstrates the necessity of interoperable systems to enable superior surveillance, supply chain management and defence. NEXUS has been used on the battlefield in Ukraine since 2025, allowing drone operators to respond rapidly to changing conditions. The partnership builds on Intelic’s vision of software-defined interoperability. Earlier this year, the company launched Intelic BASE, a procurement platform that connects European drone manufacturers with Ministries of Defence, helping governments explore and identify unmanned systems already integrated with NEXUS across the European defence industrial base. By focusing on interoperability before procurement decisions are made, the Dutch Ministry of Defence aims to reduce integration risks, accelerate deployment timelines and remain flexible as new technologies emerge.Maurits Korthals Altes, CEO of Intelic, shared: "Europe now has more than 700 drone manufacturers, and that number continues to grow. For defence organisations, the challenge is no longer access to technology, but ensuring those technologies can operate together. Military advantage increasingly depends on software that connects platforms rather than locking governments into individual systems. This partnership reflects a fundamental shift from platform-centric procurement to software-defined defence capabilities built around interoperability." The partnership represents a significant milestone for Intelic and reinforces the growing role of software as the foundation of future military capability. For the Netherlands, it establishes a new model for defence modernisation built around adaptability, interoperability and operational readiness from day one.

Starling Bank is set to cut around 130 jobs, as it looks to simplify its operations and cut duplication amid an AI push across the UK challenger bank. The cuts follow a dip in profits and revenues at Starling, one of the UK’s most well-known challenger banks. In the year ending in 2025, Starling reported that pre-tax profits fell three per cent to £217m and revenues dropped from £940m to £887m. The challenger bank, which employs more than 4,000 people, believes the cuts will allow it to launch products more quickly. Starling also said it was using more AI in its operations. The cuts, first reported by the Financial Times, have been confirmed by Starling. Starling said: "A key factor in our competitive edge over legacy banks is our agility; our ability to test, launch, learn and reorganise at pace. While we are continuing to hire tech and AI engineers, we recently told colleagues that we are changing parts of our banking team structure to simplify how we operate, reduce instances of duplication, and drive further product delivery at pace. We have begun a period of consultation with colleagues whose roles may be affected by these changes." Staff were told about the cuts this week, which will see a restructuring across Starling's banking and technology units. Starling, like other challenger banks, is making a push in AI. It 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.

Starling Bank is set to cut around 130 jobs, as it looks to simplify its operations and cut duplication amid an AI push across the UK challenger bank. The cuts follow a dip in profits and revenues at Starling, one of the UK’s most well-known challenger banks. In the year ending in 2025, Starling reported that pre-tax profits fell three per cent to £217m and revenues dropped from £940m to £887m. The challenger bank, which employs more than 4,000 people, believes the cuts will allow it to launch products more quickly. Starling also said it was using more AI in its operations. The cuts, first reported by the Financial Times, have been confirmed by Starling. Starling said: "A key factor in our competitive edge over legacy banks is our agility; our ability to test, launch, learn and reorganise at pace. While we are continuing to hire tech and AI engineers, we recently told colleagues that we are changing parts of our banking team structure to simplify how we operate, reduce instances of duplication, and drive further product delivery at pace. We have begun a period of consultation with colleagues whose roles may be affected by these changes." Staff were told about the cuts this week, which will see a restructuring across Starling's banking and technology units. Starling, like other challenger banks, is making a push in AI. It 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.

Danish investment firm Climentum Capital has raised €60 million in a first close for its second climate tech fund, backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), Denmark's export and investment fund EIFO, and the Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), to invest in early-stage climate technology startups across Europe. Developing new climate technologies requires patient, long-term investors willing to support companies long before they become commercially established. Climentum Capital backs hard tech companies that strengthen Europe's industrial resilience, sustainability and competitiveness. With teams based throughout the Nordics and Germany, we lead Seed and Series A rounds in companies addressing energy security, industrial efficiency, and supply chain sovereignty. Fund I launched in 2022 at €60 million. Fund II targets up to €100 million. With commitments from EIF, EIFO and IDA, Climentum Capital Fund II has reached a first close of €60 million. According to Morten Halborg, General Partner, Climentum Capital: "The fundraising environment for early-stage climate hard tech has not been easy in recent years. Investors are more selective, timelines are longer, and the proof bar is higher. That is why the composition of the Fund II launch matters: our investor syndicate reflects informed conviction, not momentum investing." The fund expects to make around 20 investments and will invest primarily in Seed and Series A companies developing hardware and deep tech solutions for energy, industry, transport, and agriculture. Its focus is on businesses that strengthen energy security, improve industrial efficiency and accelerate industrial decarbonisation, particularly in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “Europe has excellent research and business ideas,” said EIF Deputy Chief Executive Merete Clausen. “To build on these, it needs investors willing to back companies developing the industrial technologies that will shape the next generation of clean growth. Climentum Capital Fund II addresses an important financing gap by supporting entrepreneurs building climate solutions for the real economy.” Founded in Copenhagen in 2022, Climentum Capital specialises in early-stage investments in businesses developing technologies that can reduce the carbon footprint of sectors responsible for a large share of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions. While climate tech companies in Europe offer growing hope of stepping up the fight against climate change, fundraising has been held back by higher interest rates, a tougher exit environment, and broad macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.  Fund II aims to support companies whose technology products can reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by approximately 1.5 million tonnes a year – equivalent to the emissions from 350 000 gasoline-powered cars driven for one year. “EIFO's mission is to accelerate the green transition while strengthening Europe's strategic independence,” said EIFO Chief Investment Officer Erik Balck Sørensen. “Through our investment in Climentum Capital Fund II, we are helping to scale critical, yet significantly underfunded, climate technologies that are essential to reducing carbon emissions across European industry and achieving Europe's climate ambitions.” The Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), which represents more than 180 000 engineers, scientists and IT professionals, says access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers facing climate-tech entrepreneurs and has invested in Climentum Capital Fund II to help strengthen Europe's innovation ecosystem. "We cannot keep talking. We need to turn words into action. Europe needs more competitive technology companies, and Denmark has the ideas, the talent and the research to build them. I see this potential every day among our members. It is unusual for a trade union to become an investor, but I hope IDA can lead by example and inspire others to follow," said IDA President Laura Klitgaard. The EIF investment is supported by the RCR-REPowerEU mandate and advances the European Union's goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 while helping to reduce Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels.  

Danish investment firm Climentum Capital has raised €60 million in a first close for its second climate tech fund, backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), Denmark's export and investment fund EIFO, and the Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), to invest in early-stage climate technology startups across Europe. Developing new climate technologies requires patient, long-term investors willing to support companies long before they become commercially established. Climentum Capital backs hard tech companies that strengthen Europe's industrial resilience, sustainability and competitiveness. With teams based throughout the Nordics and Germany, we lead Seed and Series A rounds in companies addressing energy security, industrial efficiency, and supply chain sovereignty. Fund I launched in 2022 at €60 million. Fund II targets up to €100 million. With commitments from EIF, EIFO and IDA, Climentum Capital Fund II has reached a first close of €60 million. According to Morten Halborg, General Partner, Climentum Capital: "The fundraising environment for early-stage climate hard tech has not been easy in recent years. Investors are more selective, timelines are longer, and the proof bar is higher. That is why the composition of the Fund II launch matters: our investor syndicate reflects informed conviction, not momentum investing." The fund expects to make around 20 investments and will invest primarily in Seed and Series A companies developing hardware and deep tech solutions for energy, industry, transport, and agriculture. Its focus is on businesses that strengthen energy security, improve industrial efficiency and accelerate industrial decarbonisation, particularly in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “Europe has excellent research and business ideas,” said EIF Deputy Chief Executive Merete Clausen. “To build on these, it needs investors willing to back companies developing the industrial technologies that will shape the next generation of clean growth. Climentum Capital Fund II addresses an important financing gap by supporting entrepreneurs building climate solutions for the real economy.” Founded in Copenhagen in 2022, Climentum Capital specialises in early-stage investments in businesses developing technologies that can reduce the carbon footprint of sectors responsible for a large share of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions. While climate tech companies in Europe offer growing hope of stepping up the fight against climate change, fundraising has been held back by higher interest rates, a tougher exit environment, and broad macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.  Fund II aims to support companies whose technology products can reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by approximately 1.5 million tonnes a year – equivalent to the emissions from 350 000 gasoline-powered cars driven for one year. “EIFO's mission is to accelerate the green transition while strengthening Europe's strategic independence,” said EIFO Chief Investment Officer Erik Balck Sørensen. “Through our investment in Climentum Capital Fund II, we are helping to scale critical, yet significantly underfunded, climate technologies that are essential to reducing carbon emissions across European industry and achieving Europe's climate ambitions.” The Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), which represents more than 180 000 engineers, scientists and IT professionals, says access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers facing climate-tech entrepreneurs and has invested in Climentum Capital Fund II to help strengthen Europe's innovation ecosystem. "We cannot keep talking. We need to turn words into action. Europe needs more competitive technology companies, and Denmark has the ideas, the talent and the research to build them. I see this potential every day among our members. It is unusual for a trade union to become an investor, but I hope IDA can lead by example and inspire others to follow," said IDA President Laura Klitgaard. The EIF investment is supported by the RCR-REPowerEU mandate and advances the European Union's goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 while helping to reduce Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels.  

Europe has emerged as one of the world's leading centres for open-weight AI, with companies including Mistral, Black Forest Labs and Helsing contributing to a growing ecosystem focused on open models and AI sovereignty.  Much of that ecosystem relies on PyTorch, the open source machine learning framework used by the vast majority of organisations training frontier AI models. Earlier this year, I spoke with Mark Collier, Executive Director, PyTorch Foundation, at the PyTorch Paris conference.  From Meta project to neutral foundation PyTorch originated at Meta, back when it was still Facebook. It was created as an open source framework to help researchers train deep learning models. Even in its early days, the team recognised that this software was too fundamental to AI research to remain closed. They wanted researchers everywhere to use it, contribute to it and build an ecosystem around it. Collier recalls: “This was six or seven years ago, before generative AI became mainstream. But PyTorch became one of the core technologies used to train the models that eventually led to systems like ChatGPT.” Around three years ago, Meta transferred PyTorch into an independent, non-profit foundation.  Collier argues that simply making code open source is only the first step. When a project moves into a neutral foundation, other companies are much more willing to invest in it, contribute code and build products around it because they know it isn't controlled by a single vendor that could change direction or lose interest. “The PyTorch Foundation gave the project a permanent home, and since then adoption has only accelerated. Today, more than 90 per cent of AI laboratories developing frontier models use PyTorch.” How critical AI infrastructure becomes a public good Through Linux Foundation Europe, launched in Brussels in 2022, the organisation has been encouraging more open collaborative projects to be governed on European soil.  Collier points to Safe Tensors as an example of how critical AI infrastructure should be governed. Originally developed by Hugging Face as a secure alternative to Python'   klo    s pickle-based model format — which can execute arbitrary code during loading — SafeTensors is now being transitioned from company ownership to community stewardship.  Under the PyTorch Foundation, governance, trademarks and long-term stewardship will move to the Linux Foundation, while Hugging Face's maintainers will continue to oversee day-to-day development. An expanding home for open AI infrastructure The Paris conference also reflected how the PyTorch Foundation is evolving. Rather than acting solely as the steward of a machine learning framework, it is becoming a neutral home for an expanding open source AI stack.  Alongside PyTorch, projects including vLLM, DeepSpeed, Ray, and Helion now sit under the Foundation, reflecting a broader shift towards community-governed infrastructure spanning training, inference, deployment and AI security.  According to Collier,  “This follows a similar pattern to what happened with PyTorch itself. Moving an important technology into a neutral foundation signals to the market that it's intended to become a long-term standard rather than remaining closely associated with a single company.” SafeTensors is designed to improve the security of AI models by ensuring that downloaded models can be executed safely without introducing malicious code. Collier argues that security standards are strengthened when the community joins forces on common implementations. “The project was already successful, but joining the foundation should give it greater visibility, wider adoption and stronger long-term momentum.” Why Europe matters That said, while open source has become a central part of Europe's AI strategy, policymakers continue to debate how it should sit alongside investment in proprietary frontier models and domestic compute infrastructure. As Europe pushes for greater AI sovereignty, Collier argues that open source should form the foundation — not by creating separate European versions of software, but by ensuring globally maintained projects remain openly available for countries and companies to deploy locally. "Europe has an extraordinary concentration of AI talent, particularly around open source AI," says Collier. Companies like Mistral have become global leaders in open-weight AI models, and Europe has built a strong culture around open source AI more generally. The region is also increasingly focused on AI sovereignty. Open source plays a crucial role here because it gives organisations access to the technologies they need without becoming dependent on a single vendor. Collier cautioned: “What we don't want is separate regional versions of open source. Open source should remain global. Countries and regions can then use those shared technologies locally to meet their own sovereignty requirements. That's the right balance.” Where startups learn to scale AI Collier argues that one of the greatest strengths of the PyTorch community is its access to companies that have successfully commercialised AI. This means startups in Europe trying to bridge the gap between AI research and commercialisation can learn from others who have already made that transition. “At conferences like this, startups can meet customers, partners and companies that have successfully taken research out of the lab and into production. You can have very practical conversations about how someone turned a complex piece of AI software into a commercial product. There's enormous value in learning directly from peers who are building businesses around these technologies.” Collier shared:  “This is our first PyTorch Conference in Europe, and bringing everyone into the same room helps people work through competing ideas in ways that benefit the broader ecosystem. Ultimately, everyone here is betting on the same platform.” Why open standards matter For Collier, it is critical that AI remains open and accessible. The industry is investing enormous amounts in AI hardware and new accelerator architectures, but none of it matters without software capable of unlocking it. PyTorch provides a common layer. That's why so many companies contribute to it. “If we can maintain a shared, open standard that works across different hardware platforms, we'll end up with a much healthier AI ecosystem than one dominated by only a handful of companies.” Building the next generation of open AI From here on, PyTorch aims to work much more closely with neighbouring open source communities. “Modern AI depends on an entire stack covering training, inference, agents and deployment. No single project provides everything. Increasingly, these projects need to work together rather than exist in isolation.” With PyTorch, anyone can contribute code to PyTorch regardless of their location. The Foundation also invests heavily in local communities, launching a local ambassadors programme in 2025, and organising  PyTorch Meetups, PyTorch Days and regional events around the world  Those regional networks are an important way of keeping the community genuinely global. For Collier, Europe's competitive advantage isn't simply producing more AI models — it's helping build the open infrastructure that allows an entire ecosystem of companies to innovate.

Europe has emerged as one of the world's leading centres for open-weight AI, with companies including Mistral, Black Forest Labs and Helsing contributing to a growing ecosystem focused on open models and AI sovereignty.  Much of that ecosystem relies on PyTorch, the open source machine learning framework used by the vast majority of organisations training frontier AI models. Earlier this year, I spoke with Mark Collier, Executive Director, PyTorch Foundation, at the PyTorch Paris conference.  From Meta project to neutral foundation PyTorch originated at Meta, back when it was still Facebook. It was created as an open source framework to help researchers train deep learning models. Even in its early days, the team recognised that this software was too fundamental to AI research to remain closed. They wanted researchers everywhere to use it, contribute to it and build an ecosystem around it. Collier recalls: “This was six or seven years ago, before generative AI became mainstream. But PyTorch became one of the core technologies used to train the models that eventually led to systems like ChatGPT.” Around three years ago, Meta transferred PyTorch into an independent, non-profit foundation.  Collier argues that simply making code open source is only the first step. When a project moves into a neutral foundation, other companies are much more willing to invest in it, contribute code and build products around it because they know it isn't controlled by a single vendor that could change direction or lose interest. “The PyTorch Foundation gave the project a permanent home, and since then adoption has only accelerated. Today, more than 90 per cent of AI laboratories developing frontier models use PyTorch.” How critical AI infrastructure becomes a public good Through Linux Foundation Europe, launched in Brussels in 2022, the organisation has been encouraging more open collaborative projects to be governed on European soil.  Collier points to Safe Tensors as an example of how critical AI infrastructure should be governed. Originally developed by Hugging Face as a secure alternative to Python'   klo    s pickle-based model format — which can execute arbitrary code during loading — SafeTensors is now being transitioned from company ownership to community stewardship.  Under the PyTorch Foundation, governance, trademarks and long-term stewardship will move to the Linux Foundation, while Hugging Face's maintainers will continue to oversee day-to-day development. An expanding home for open AI infrastructure The Paris conference also reflected how the PyTorch Foundation is evolving. Rather than acting solely as the steward of a machine learning framework, it is becoming a neutral home for an expanding open source AI stack.  Alongside PyTorch, projects including vLLM, DeepSpeed, Ray, and Helion now sit under the Foundation, reflecting a broader shift towards community-governed infrastructure spanning training, inference, deployment and AI security.  According to Collier,  “This follows a similar pattern to what happened with PyTorch itself. Moving an important technology into a neutral foundation signals to the market that it's intended to become a long-term standard rather than remaining closely associated with a single company.” SafeTensors is designed to improve the security of AI models by ensuring that downloaded models can be executed safely without introducing malicious code. Collier argues that security standards are strengthened when the community joins forces on common implementations. “The project was already successful, but joining the foundation should give it greater visibility, wider adoption and stronger long-term momentum.” Why Europe matters That said, while open source has become a central part of Europe's AI strategy, policymakers continue to debate how it should sit alongside investment in proprietary frontier models and domestic compute infrastructure. As Europe pushes for greater AI sovereignty, Collier argues that open source should form the foundation — not by creating separate European versions of software, but by ensuring globally maintained projects remain openly available for countries and companies to deploy locally. "Europe has an extraordinary concentration of AI talent, particularly around open source AI," says Collier. Companies like Mistral have become global leaders in open-weight AI models, and Europe has built a strong culture around open source AI more generally. The region is also increasingly focused on AI sovereignty. Open source plays a crucial role here because it gives organisations access to the technologies they need without becoming dependent on a single vendor. Collier cautioned: “What we don't want is separate regional versions of open source. Open source should remain global. Countries and regions can then use those shared technologies locally to meet their own sovereignty requirements. That's the right balance.” Where startups learn to scale AI Collier argues that one of the greatest strengths of the PyTorch community is its access to companies that have successfully commercialised AI. This means startups in Europe trying to bridge the gap between AI research and commercialisation can learn from others who have already made that transition. “At conferences like this, startups can meet customers, partners and companies that have successfully taken research out of the lab and into production. You can have very practical conversations about how someone turned a complex piece of AI software into a commercial product. There's enormous value in learning directly from peers who are building businesses around these technologies.” Collier shared:  “This is our first PyTorch Conference in Europe, and bringing everyone into the same room helps people work through competing ideas in ways that benefit the broader ecosystem. Ultimately, everyone here is betting on the same platform.” Why open standards matter For Collier, it is critical that AI remains open and accessible. The industry is investing enormous amounts in AI hardware and new accelerator architectures, but none of it matters without software capable of unlocking it. PyTorch provides a common layer. That's why so many companies contribute to it. “If we can maintain a shared, open standard that works across different hardware platforms, we'll end up with a much healthier AI ecosystem than one dominated by only a handful of companies.” Building the next generation of open AI From here on, PyTorch aims to work much more closely with neighbouring open source communities. “Modern AI depends on an entire stack covering training, inference, agents and deployment. No single project provides everything. Increasingly, these projects need to work together rather than exist in isolation.” With PyTorch, anyone can contribute code to PyTorch regardless of their location. The Foundation also invests heavily in local communities, launching a local ambassadors programme in 2025, and organising  PyTorch Meetups, PyTorch Days and regional events around the world  Those regional networks are an important way of keeping the community genuinely global. For Collier, Europe's competitive advantage isn't simply producing more AI models — it's helping build the open infrastructure that allows an entire ecosystem of companies to innovate.

Today the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is embracing open source and rolling out a statewide collaboration platform based on Nextcloud – with the goal of reaching more than 50,000 employees across state and municipal administration in the long term. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern follows the example of other frontrunners such as Schleswig-Holstein, the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs and the French Ministry for the Energy Transition, among others. The French Ministry of Education uses Nextcloud for 400,000 employees and plans to roll it out to 1.2 million employees.  These successful projects demonstrate that digitally sovereign solutions are not a vague concept, but already exist and are being deployed at large scale and that European open source is a genuine alternative to big tech. The project is part of a broader sovereignty strategy for the German state, which also includes the cooperation agreement with Schleswig-Holstein signed in November 2025. The state is opting for an open-source platform that it can control, audit, and develop further itself. Responsible for setup and operation is DVZ M-V GmbH, the state's IT service provider, which provides the platform for the public sector in the German state. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's digital strategy aims to increase the digital capability, independence, and security of public administration. A key component is digital sovereignty – the ability to determine independently how the state manages its own IT infrastructure and underlying data. "Digital sovereignty and open source are central goals and cornerstones of digitalisation policy in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. We plan to continue expanding the use of open source and promote common standards and open interfaces for IT solutions in the public sector. This is the only way for the state and municipalities to have the power to act in the future. This is exactly where we are starting with Nextcloud," says Dr Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalisation of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The software runs under the free GNU AGPLv3 license. The state can review and audit the source code at any time and adapt it according to its own security and functional requirements. The project was built on the principle of "open source by design": it includes dedicated testing and production environments, operational training, security reviews, and prioritised integration of stability updates. Currently, around 5,000 employees actively use the collaboration platform for file sharing. In the medium term, the solution is planned to be expanded, and include chat, videoconferencing, and groupware applications, and made available to more than 50,000 public-sector employees across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – from ministries to municipal institutions. "The transition away from Microsoft SharePoint has been completed step by step, without disruption or data loss for employees. Together with DVZ M-V, we have built a platform that runs reliably today and continues to expand step by step," says Marco Anschütz, CIO of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The implementation of Nextcloud is part of a broader open source strategy of the state: in parallel to Nextcloud, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is OpenProject as an alternative to proprietary project management tools and has developed LEA, an AI-based administrative chatbot built on OpenWebUI, as its own locally controlled AI assistant for the public sector. "With Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, yet another German state is now committing to Nextcloud as a sovereign collaboration platform – in close alignment with Schleswig-Holstein. This shows once again that solutions are available and ready to deploy," says Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud. With the project, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is putting its sovereignty strategy into practice. The new collaboration platform strengthens the state's ability to act, gives it greater control over its digital infrastructure, and demonstrates how digital independence in the public sector can be achieved in practice. Earlier this year, Nextcloud joined forces with a coalition of European enterprises and community organisations, including IONOS, Nextcloud, Eurostack, XWiki, OpenProject, Soverin, Abilian and BTactic, to launch Euro-Office, a solution for editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, developed as a true sovereign community collaboration. Lead image: Marco Anschütz, CIO of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Dr Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalisation of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Photo: uncredited.

Today the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is embracing open source and rolling out a statewide collaboration platform based on Nextcloud – with the goal of reaching more than 50,000 employees across state and municipal administration in the long term. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern follows the example of other frontrunners such as Schleswig-Holstein, the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs and the French Ministry for the Energy Transition, among others. The French Ministry of Education uses Nextcloud for 400,000 employees and plans to roll it out to 1.2 million employees.  These successful projects demonstrate that digitally sovereign solutions are not a vague concept, but already exist and are being deployed at large scale and that European open source is a genuine alternative to big tech. The project is part of a broader sovereignty strategy for the German state, which also includes the cooperation agreement with Schleswig-Holstein signed in November 2025. The state is opting for an open-source platform that it can control, audit, and develop further itself. Responsible for setup and operation is DVZ M-V GmbH, the state's IT service provider, which provides the platform for the public sector in the German state. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's digital strategy aims to increase the digital capability, independence, and security of public administration. A key component is digital sovereignty – the ability to determine independently how the state manages its own IT infrastructure and underlying data. "Digital sovereignty and open source are central goals and cornerstones of digitalisation policy in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. We plan to continue expanding the use of open source and promote common standards and open interfaces for IT solutions in the public sector. This is the only way for the state and municipalities to have the power to act in the future. This is exactly where we are starting with Nextcloud," says Dr Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalisation of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The software runs under the free GNU AGPLv3 license. The state can review and audit the source code at any time and adapt it according to its own security and functional requirements. The project was built on the principle of "open source by design": it includes dedicated testing and production environments, operational training, security reviews, and prioritised integration of stability updates. Currently, around 5,000 employees actively use the collaboration platform for file sharing. In the medium term, the solution is planned to be expanded, and include chat, videoconferencing, and groupware applications, and made available to more than 50,000 public-sector employees across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – from ministries to municipal institutions. "The transition away from Microsoft SharePoint has been completed step by step, without disruption or data loss for employees. Together with DVZ M-V, we have built a platform that runs reliably today and continues to expand step by step," says Marco Anschütz, CIO of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The implementation of Nextcloud is part of a broader open source strategy of the state: in parallel to Nextcloud, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is OpenProject as an alternative to proprietary project management tools and has developed LEA, an AI-based administrative chatbot built on OpenWebUI, as its own locally controlled AI assistant for the public sector. "With Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, yet another German state is now committing to Nextcloud as a sovereign collaboration platform – in close alignment with Schleswig-Holstein. This shows once again that solutions are available and ready to deploy," says Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud. With the project, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is putting its sovereignty strategy into practice. The new collaboration platform strengthens the state's ability to act, gives it greater control over its digital infrastructure, and demonstrates how digital independence in the public sector can be achieved in practice. Earlier this year, Nextcloud joined forces with a coalition of European enterprises and community organisations, including IONOS, Nextcloud, Eurostack, XWiki, OpenProject, Soverin, Abilian and BTactic, to launch Euro-Office, a solution for editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, developed as a true sovereign community collaboration. Lead image: Marco Anschütz, CIO of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Dr Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalisation of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Photo: uncredited.

A total of 293 funding deals were announced in June, up from 258 in May, representing a 14 per cent increase in deal activity. Despite the higher number of transactions, European startups raised €8.3 billion, down from €10.5 billion in May, suggesting that June was characterised by a larger number of smaller funding rounds rather than the mega-deals seen the previous month. Companies Out of 293 deals in June, 16 companies raised more than €100 million each. The value of 29 deals remains undisclosed. The month's biggest deal came from Germany-based cognitive robotics company NEURA Robotics, which secured up to $1.4 billion in a Series C funding round. Industries Robotics was the leading sector by investment volume in European tech startups in June 2026, capturing 15.6 per cent of the month’s total funding, at €1.3 billion. Countries Germany emerged as the top fundraising market in June, securing €2.4 billion over 43 transactions. Exits Europe recorded 39 exit activities in May, with M&A activity characterised by strong cross-border consolidation across the region. Germany emerged as the largest source of acquisition targets, while France, the UK, and Germany were among the most active acquirors, highlighting the increasingly interconnected nature of Europe's tech ecosystem. Grab the PDF version of this report for even more critical insights.

A total of 293 funding deals were announced in June, up from 258 in May, representing a 14 per cent increase in deal activity. Despite the higher number of transactions, European startups raised €8.3 billion, down from €10.5 billion in May, suggesting that June was characterised by a larger number of smaller funding rounds rather than the mega-deals seen the previous month. Companies Out of 293 deals in June, 16 companies raised more than €100 million each. The value of 29 deals remains undisclosed. The month's biggest deal came from Germany-based cognitive robotics company NEURA Robotics, which secured up to $1.4 billion in a Series C funding round. Industries Robotics was the leading sector by investment volume in European tech startups in June 2026, capturing 15.6 per cent of the month’s total funding, at €1.3 billion. Countries Germany emerged as the top fundraising market in June, securing €2.4 billion over 43 transactions. Exits Europe recorded 39 exit activities in May, with M&A activity characterised by strong cross-border consolidation across the region. Germany emerged as the largest source of acquisition targets, while France, the UK, and Germany were among the most active acquirors, highlighting the increasingly interconnected nature of Europe's tech ecosystem. Grab the PDF version of this report for even more critical insights.

Swiss biotech startup ALP Bio has secured €161,000 (CHF 150,000) from Venture Kick to support the commercial development of its platform, which helps drug developers identify immune-related risks earlier in the development process. By combining human immune tissue models with artificial intelligence, the company aims to improve the safety and success rate of next-generation biologic medicines. Biologic drugs, including many therapeutic antibodies, can trigger unwanted immune responses that reduce treatment effectiveness, cause adverse side effects, and contribute to costly failures during clinical development. Current methods for predicting these responses often provide only limited insights, making it difficult for developers to detect potential risks before clinical trials. ALP Bio addresses this challenge through a platform that combines human tonsil-derived immune models with AI-based protein modelling to predict how the immune system is likely to respond to therapeutic antibodies. By generating insights based on human biology, the technology enables researchers to identify and mitigate immunogenicity risks at an earlier stage, supporting better drug design and increasing the likelihood of successful clinical outcomes. Founded by Dr Christian Vahlensiek (CEO), Dr Lucas Schaus (CSO), Anatol Ehrlich (CTO), and Punit Mehra (CBO), ALP Bio brings together expertise in immunology, artificial intelligence, protein engineering, and business development. The Venture Kick funding will support ALP Bio's first pilot projects with pharmaceutical partners. By co-financing these early collaborations, the company aims to validate its technology in real-world settings, facilitate its adoption, and strengthen its commercial position.

Swiss biotech startup ALP Bio has secured €161,000 (CHF 150,000) from Venture Kick to support the commercial development of its platform, which helps drug developers identify immune-related risks earlier in the development process. By combining human immune tissue models with artificial intelligence, the company aims to improve the safety and success rate of next-generation biologic medicines. Biologic drugs, including many therapeutic antibodies, can trigger unwanted immune responses that reduce treatment effectiveness, cause adverse side effects, and contribute to costly failures during clinical development. Current methods for predicting these responses often provide only limited insights, making it difficult for developers to detect potential risks before clinical trials. ALP Bio addresses this challenge through a platform that combines human tonsil-derived immune models with AI-based protein modelling to predict how the immune system is likely to respond to therapeutic antibodies. By generating insights based on human biology, the technology enables researchers to identify and mitigate immunogenicity risks at an earlier stage, supporting better drug design and increasing the likelihood of successful clinical outcomes. Founded by Dr Christian Vahlensiek (CEO), Dr Lucas Schaus (CSO), Anatol Ehrlich (CTO), and Punit Mehra (CBO), ALP Bio brings together expertise in immunology, artificial intelligence, protein engineering, and business development. The Venture Kick funding will support ALP Bio's first pilot projects with pharmaceutical partners. By co-financing these early collaborations, the company aims to validate its technology in real-world settings, facilitate its adoption, and strengthen its commercial position.

IQM Quantum Computers today became the first European quantum computing company listed on a major US stock exchange. Based on the transaction proceeds, IQM (Nasdaq: IQMX) maintains a strong pro forma cash position of €337 million. The company enters the public markets with strong commercial momentum and a rapidly expanding global footprint — having sold 23 quantum computers worldwide, more than any other quantum manufacturer. Central to that leadership is its Production Quantum model: full-stack, open-architecture systems that customers own, operate, and build on. The company has emerged as one of the world’s leading providers of full-stack superconducting quantum computers, delivering complete systems to enterprises, research institutions, universities, supercomputing centres, and national laboratories.   “Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point. Around the world, organisations are moving from exploration to implementation, investing in quantum infrastructure and building the capabilities that will define the next generation of computing,” said Jan Goetz, CEO and Co-Founder of IQM Quantum Computers. “IQM enters the public markets from a position of strength, with leading technology, a growing global customer base, and a clear strategy for scaling the commercial adoption of quantum computing. We are excited to begin this next chapter as a public company.”   The listing reflects IQM’s continued commitment to executing its technology roadmap and scaling its operations as a fully vertically integrated quantum computing company. That commitment is already delivering results across the world.   IQM´s technology approach focuses on high-performance quantum processors, hardware-efficient control systems, and advanced system engineering. The company recently announced a novel quantum error correction approach that significantly reduces the hardware requirements for fault-tolerant quantum computing. IQM´s quantum computers are operated by an open and modular software stack to empower a broad developer community and enable industrial use cases.    Across the world, IQM’s quantum computers are operational at leading institutions and supercomputing centres, including CINECA in Italy, the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) in Germany, and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the United States, establishing the company as the trusted partner for the world’s most demanding research and computing environments.   In addition, IQM is cementing its position at the heart of America’s quantum strategy with the opening of its first Quantum Technology Centre in Maryland and a landmark installation at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.   IQM is also driving quantum adoption in Asia. The company secured the first enterprise quantum computer purchase in Japan, with Toyo Corporation acquiring an IQM system to accelerate industrial quantum computing applications and broaden access to quantum technologies for Japanese enterprises and research organisations.   IQM believes the quantum computing market is approaching a critical inflexion point as governments, enterprises, and scientific institutions increase investments in next-generation computing capabilities to address challenges in materials science, optimisation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate modelling, and drug discovery.

CEE investors Orbit Capital have announced the second closing of Growth Debt Fund II at €107 million, surpassing its initial target.  To date, Orbit Capital has supported over 20 high-growth companies through its venture debt platforms, providing non-dilutive growth capital to some of the region’s most promising scale-ups.  As companies mature, they need smart and flexible financing that preserves equity, notes Radovan Nesrsta, Partner at Orbit Capital. We provide the strategic runway they need to scale efficiently.  Fund II targets post-Series A technology companies with at least €3 million in revenue and a minimum 30 per cent YoY growth. With tickets ranging from €3 million to €15 million, the capital supports international expansion, acquisitions, working capital, and capital expenditures.  The fund’s investor base reflects a synergy between major European institutions and individual investors. Anchor LPs include the European Investment Fund (EIF), Rentea, Česká spořitelna/Erste, and Conseq. The inclusion of Rentea, a Czech private pension fund, marks a significant structural shift in the region, as pension funds begin allocating capital to venture debt for the first time.  The closing also includes an allocation from PFR Ventures, the largest fund investor in the CEE region. This marks their inaugural allocation into venture debt as an asset class.  "At growth stages, access to debt financing can significantly accelerate expansion while limiting dilution for founders, said Bartłomiej Samsonowicz, Investment Director at PFR Ventures.  “Orbit Capital’s track record and deep understanding of the regional technology ecosystem make them a strong partner in supporting the next generation of CEE technology leaders.” The fund is also backed by a diversified group of private investors from across Europe, including Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, and Slovenia, as well as Western European markets, underscoring growing investor confidence in venture debt across the CEE innovation ecosystem.  "We decided to invest as there are few players in the CEE who are as experienced as Orbit in venture debt. Apart from that, we see potential in venture debt as a financial product as the role of startups and scaleups will grow in all CEE economies," said Jaroslav Baier, Partner at Havel & Partners.  Lukas Macko, General Partner at Orbit Capital, adds: "Our investment track record shows that founders value a partner who understands the nuances of high-growth tech. We aren’t just providing capital; we’re providing a sophisticated tool that helps entrepreneurs maintain control as they hit their next major milestones." Fund II has already begun deploying capital, with 5 investments so far, including Czech startups Sloneek and IAG, as well as Polish startup Talkin' Things, further strengthening Orbit Capital’s portfolio of high-growth technology companies across the region. 

British data intelligence company StirlingX has raised a $20 million Series A round from Ventura Capital and RCM Private Markets Master Fund managed by Rokos Capital Management US (LP). The funding comes just months after its $11 million Seed round in response to significant commercial traction.    StirlingX is a data intelligence provider, disguised as a drone company, building a sovereign intelligence and autonomy platform to help customers capture, secure, fuse, analyse and act on data from complex and contested environments.  The company, chaired by the former Director of GCHQ, addresses the secure capture of, and ability to act upon, high-value data at speed and scale in complex, sensitive and contested environments.   StirlingX operates across critical national infrastructure and defence environments. Its current use cases range from surveying, mapping and monitoring critical infrastructure to detecting and countering hostile drones.    Dean Jones, CEO and Founder of StirlingX, said: “We are building a category-defining sovereign data intelligence company. This Series A will drive our business forward as we scale with new and existing partners across critical national infrastructure and defence ministries and agencies.”   Mo El Husseiny, Managing Partner of Ventura Capital, said:  “StirlingX represents a unique combination of establishment trust, technical expertise and execution excellence. The utilisation of powerful data intelligence has become a must for Government and corporates, and increasingly so within a sovereign-secure framework. StirlingX is the trusted solution for Five Eyes and beyond.”       The capital will accelerate company growth and product development to support customers delivering complex missions in the hardest of operating environments.

Corporate accelerators have become commonplace, but relatively few consistently turn startup pilots into long-term commercial partnerships.  Aviation presents an even tougher test, where safety, regulation and operational complexity mean promising technologies can quickly unravel in practice.  Over the past decade, IAGi, the innovation arm of International Airlines Group (IAG), has developed a model designed to bridge that gap, helping startups validate technologies inside airlines including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling before scaling successful projects across the Group. I spoke to Nisha Basson-Mugnier, innovation leader at International Airlines Group (IAG) to learn more. Founded in 2016, IAGi has evolved into a multi-track innovation platform that supports startups from early validation through to commercial deployment.  Working across six strategic areas — AI, automation and robotics, sustainability and mobility, experiential platforms, connectivity and next-generation computing, and cybersecurity — the programme connects emerging technologies with real business problems and priorities across the Group. At its core is the IAGi Accelerator, an open innovation programme that pairs startups with IAG business units to run pilots in areas ranging from airport operations and customer experience to AI, robotics and sustainability.  Complementing the accelerator is IAG Ventures, the Group's corporate venture capital arm. Launched in March 2025, it plans to invest up to €200 million in high-potential startups over the coming years whose technologies have long-term strategic relevance to aviation — making it one of the largest corporate aviation venture funds globally and the biggest established by a European airline group. Beyond the accelerator and investment activities, the innovation team works closely with IAG's airlines to identify business challenges, scout promising startups globally, and help successful pilots become commercial deployments across the Group. Airlines decide, IAGi enables  Unlike many corporate innovation programmes, however, IAGi does not decide which startups move forward. The airlines themselves select which companies they want to work with, ensuring every pilot begins with a clearly defined operational need.  According to Basson-Mugnier, the programme is about finding the real challenges their airlines have.  “We work with the airlines to identify those problems, then we scout globally for startups that can solve them. We handle all scouting and invite the strongest startups to present at a series of Pitch Week sessions. The airlines themselves decide which startups they want to work with. From there, we support those collaborations to help determine whether the startups can successfully solve those challenges.” The IAGi Accelerator operates across two distinct tracks, designed to support startups at different stages of maturity. Deploy is a 12-week programme for companies with market-ready products, working directly with IAG's airlines and operating businesses to run proof-of-value projects in live operational environments. Discover, meanwhile, is aimed at earlier-stage deeptech startups whose technologies are not yet ready for commercial deployment. Over a six-month programme, founders receive technical and commercial guidance from IAG and industry experts, helping them validate technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel, carbon removal and fuel-efficiency solutions before they reach the market. When does a pilot become a commercial deployment? I’m always interested in how many accelerator-style programs translate into financial opportunities rather than simply pilots. Basson-Mugnier asserts that across the aviation industry, proof-of-concept conversion rates tend to sit around 30 to 40 per cent.  But she admits that while they are always thinking of how to improve these numbers, it's difficult to know what the ideal number should be.  “If our conversion rate was 80 per cent, I'd probably question whether we were genuinely testing innovation or simply acting as another procurement route. Success for us isn't measured by the number of pilots we run. It's measured by the value we create for the airlines and how many proofs-of-concepts ultimately convert into longer-term collaborations.” One success story, AISmartPlan joined IAG’s accelerator in 2025, partnering with Aer Lingus to test its technology in a live airline environment. Its platform replaces manual maintenance production planning with an intelligent, automated system that pulls together key operational data; from flight schedules and aircraft availability to workforce constraints, to generate optimised plans. In just three months, the start-up transformed its platform from proof of concept into a working solution and is now part of Aer Lingus airline’s maintenance production planning. Not every startup becomes an investment Commercial deployment, however, doesn't automatically translate into venture investment. While the accelerator team works closely with IAGi's venture arm, not every accelerator company is suitable for investment. Only around 10 per cent of accelerator startups receive investment from the Fund.  Basson-Mugnier explained:  “The Ventures team looks not only for financial returns but also for strategic value. They ask whether a company can solve meaningful problems for the airlines. There isn't always overlap between those objectives.” Image: Wastefront. Among the companies that have made that transition is Norwegian startup Wastefront , a tyre-to-fuel company, which plans to turn used tyres into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The SAF will be made by converting waste tyres into tyre-derived oil, which is then refined into road fuels and SAF. The SAF produced is expected to give life cycle carbon emission savings of over 80 per cent versus fossil fuels. Another is Swiss company Assaia, which uses computer vision to optimise aeroplane turnarounds, enabling more effective planning across airside operations. The company received investment from IAG post-accelerator completion and went on to raise $26.6 million Series B in 2025. Image: ZeroAvia. Hydrogen aviation company ZeroAvia followed a similar path. The company participated in IAG’s Hangar 51 accelerator to explore how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a leading role in the future of sustainable flying. British Airways subsequently invested in ZeroAvia’s Series A round in 2021, followed by IAG investing in their Series B round in 2022.  Scaling across an airline group In terms of scaling startup tech, the program thinks about whether a technology can solve multiple problems within a single airline. Another is whether it can solve the same problem across multiple airlines within the IAG group. She explained: “A startup might pilot a solution with one airline and then expand to the others.  For example, British Airways might lead a pilot while the other airlines participate through project reviews, midpoint assessments or demonstration sessions before deciding whether to adopt the solution themselves.” Ten years of lessons in aviation innovation IAGi Accelerator is now in its tenth year. Looking back, Basson-Mugnier believes the early years were driven largely by excitement around technology itself as solutions were trialled that were interesting but were never really going to scale or deliver significant business impact.  “There was a lot of experimentation with things like VR headsets and improving premium cabin experiences, but ultimately those weren't solving major operational needs.” She believes that the biggest lesson has been that “everything we do needs to address a meaningful business problem, with solutions which fit into airline operations.  “Airline operations are extremely complex. Sometimes a technology appears to be an excellent fit, but once you get into the operational details you uncover complexities that make adoption more difficult,” she explained.  She also cites proactiveness as a marker of successful teams: “They spend time with the business, stay closely involved throughout the project and make the most of having direct access to subject matter experts within the airlines. That combination of strong solution fit and engaged founders makes a significant difference.” Where IAGi sees the next wave of aviation technology Those lessons are now shaping where IAGi is focusing its attention. Rather than experimenting for experimentation's sake, the team is prioritising technologies that can address measurable operational challenges. Operational AI, robotics, and fuel and flight efficiency are the biggest areas of interest right now. Basson-Mugnier explained that beyond consumer-facing AI, startups are applying AI to very specific aviation problems and integrating directly into the software and systems airlines already use. “Disruption management is a good example. When major disruptions occur, rebuilding a flying schedule is incredibly complex. AI has huge potential to optimise those recovery processes by evaluating many scenarios much more quickly than people can.” IAGi is also seeing increased activity around fuel optimisation and flight efficiency, and automation and robotics are another major focus.  “Those are longer-term deep-tech opportunities that naturally take longer to deploy, but they're foundational technologies that airlines will need in the future,” she shared.  How startups can apply In terms of applications, Basson-Mugnier explained that the team is trying to understand “the technology, what makes it proprietary, what the development team is building, and most importantly, where the founders believe their solution can create value for an airline. That's really the conversation we want to have.” With more than 70 active business challenges across the Group, Basson-Mugnier says startups don't need to wait for the next formal accelerator cohort if their technology addresses a genuine need for airlines. Lead image: AISmartPlan partnering with Aer Lingus to test its technology in a live airline environment.