Corporate food companies group NutriUnited has raised €8.5 million Seed financing. Founded by Josef Brunner, NutriUnited builds,  connects and develops artisan-oriented food companies. It aims to create a home for family-run businesses in the product categories meat,  meat alternatives and ready-made meals. Josef Brunner is a serial entrepreneur, executive, and investor with over two decades of experience building and scaling technology companies across cybersecurity, IoT, industrial digitalisation, and the future of nutrition. He is the Founder and CEO of NutriUnited, launched in 2024, where he is building technology-enabled solutions in the nutrition and health domain. He serves as Chairman of the Board at Startup Insider, supporting Europe’s tech ecosystem, and is a Supervisory Board Member at learnd. Previously, he was the Founding Investor and CEO of relayr, one of Europe’s leading industrial IoT success stories and co-founder of JouleX, which was acquired by Cisco.  Accomplished entrepreneurs from the fields of food, buy & build,  communications, and new business models (including Flink, ETL and Chrono24), including;  Martina Pfeifer (flatexDegiro), Tim Stracke  (Chrono24), Oliver Merkel (formerly Flink), Christof Wahl (G-FUND), Marc  Müller (formerly ETL Group), Frank Dopheide (human unlimited), Arnd  Hungerberg (ServiceNow), Finn Wentzler (Atlantis Ventures), Leon Mann  (Direkt Gruppe), Dr Hadi Saleh (CeramTec) and Timo Seggelmann (OakHorizon). “We want to create a home for family-run food companies,” says Josef  Brunner, founder and CEO of NutriUnited.   “We stand for true entrepreneurship, dedication to craftsmanship, and honest products – and we see ourselves as the anti-corporation. Even as we grow, we want to remain small, agile and close to our customers. As the son of a baker, returning  to my roots and dedicating myself to the most important mission of my life  is deeply personal: ensuring the future of medium-sized artisan food  producers with NutriUnited.” According to Arnd Hungerberg (ServiceNow): “I invested in NutriUnited because I  believe in sustainable food innovation that connects tradition and the  future, creating real value for people and businesses.” Leon Mann (Direkt Gruppe) shared: “NutriUnited’s contribution to the food  industry is more important than ever – not only in terms of high-quality  products but also in securing the competitiveness of SMEs.”  The new capital will be used to fuel further growth, integrate additional companies and advance the shared mission. The objective is clear:  strengthening family-owned businesses, 

SportAI, a B2B sports technology company that uses AI-powered video analysis to provide professional-grade performance insights, has raised an oversubscribed $3 million round from investors including Norwegian fund Altitude Capital and tennis player Casper Ruud. Endre Holen, former Head of McKinsey’s Global Tech & Media practice, has also invested and will serve as Chairman. Other participants include US professional soccer player Alejandro Bedoya and Trond Riiber Knudsen (TRK Group founder). SportAI provides AI-powered technique analysis, in-depth match statistics, tactical insights, and highlight videos using computer vision and machine learning. Traditionally, video analysis relied on manual tagging by coaches, which limited scale, long-term use, and accessibility—making it viable mainly for professional players with dedicated performance staff. As mounted court cameras, broadcast feeds, and mobile video recording become standard at sports venues, SportAI is leveraging this shift to meet growing demand for advanced, automated analysis. Through its SaaS platform and APIs, the company integrates with court camera systems to match the rapid global rollout of cameras and streaming services. The platform is camera-agnostic, allowing its AI technology to be deployed across thousands of sports facilities worldwide, where players and coaches can access real-time statistics and highlights. As a former NCAA player, I know how transformative good coaching and analysis can be—and how inaccessible it often is. That’s what we’re solving at SportAI, said Lauren Pedersen, CEO and co-founder of SportAI. By prioritising an API-first model, SportAI focuses on partnering with court camera and streaming providers that want to add AI-driven analysis to their existing hardware solutions, strengthening their product and go-to-market strategies. The funding round will be used to scale SportAI’s global rollout and expand technical development.

Talliin-based PowerUP Energy Technologies has closed a €10 million Series A funding round to accelerate the manufacturing and commercialisation of its hydrogen-powered electric generators. Co-led by Mercaton and ScaleWolf and joined by SmartCap’s Green Fund, the investment will enable further scaling of the technology, recognised for its dependable performance in extreme environments. PowerUP Energy Technologies, founded in 2016, develops and manufactures modular hydrogen fuel cell systems for defence, industrial, and off-grid applications. Its silent, emission-free generators are designed for use in sensitive military forward operating bases and critical civilian infrastructure, supporting customers that prioritise reliable, security-grade energy independence. At the core of PowerUP’s strategy is a dual-use approach: providing robust, resilient power solutions that meet the high demands of the defence sector while also serving critical commercial use cases such as security and telecommunications. The company’s technology has gained international recognition for its reliability in extreme environments, including deployment and validation in high-risk regions such as Ukraine. PowerUP was founded on a clear mission: to deliver clean, reliable energy solutions. While other technologies are still being tested in labs, ours has already been battle-tested on the front lines in Ukraine. This is the very definition of dual-use innovation: a cleantech solution that has been forged and validated by the urgent needs of defence, said Ivar Kruusenberg, founder and CEO of PowerUP Energy Technologies. The new investment will be used to meet growing demand across both commercial and defence markets. PowerUP plans to expand its sales and technical teams to enter new commercial segments, with a focus on backup power for critical infrastructure, while building strategic sales and support hubs in key regions such as Central Europe and North America to strengthen its international presence. In parallel, the company will accelerate R&D to develop higher-density fuel cell models tailored to a wider range of power requirements.

Leeds-based Uniphy, whose technology could replace car dashboard controls and change how people interact with appliances, has raised £3 million to prepare for mass production. The funding comes from existing investors NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance, managed by Mercia Ventures under the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, and Mercia’s own funds. Founded in 2015 by microelectronics specialists David Lomas and David Dean, Uniphy develops its BeyondTouch® smart-surface technology, which enables integrated user interfaces built into 3D plastic or glass panels. Uniphy’s smart surfaces allow controls to be embedded into 3D panels of almost any shape, enabling users to locate functions by feel alone. This offers a safer alternative to in-car touchscreens by allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road and provides a sleeker, more hygienic, and lower-cost option than traditional buttons. As manufacturers move away from touchscreens toward physical controls, driven by safety concerns in automotive and reliability issues in home appliances, Uniphy’s solution offers a compelling alternative. It works with standard plastic or glass surfaces, can incorporate haptic or voice feedback, uses conventional manufacturing methods to keep costs low, and is highly recyclable. It also functions reliably in the presence of liquids, making it suitable for marine cockpits, hobs, and washing machines. Jim Nicholas, CEO of Uniphy, explained: As humans, we spend much of our lives interacting with machines – on our mobiles, in our cars or our homes – but the limitations of current controls can make it a frustrating experience. Uniphy’s technology offers designers the freedom to create new, more intuitive interfaces and transform the way we engage with machines. The technology has already been successfully tested by Hyundai and Grupo Antolin, who are now exploring how to integrate it into their vehicles. The new investment will enable Uniphy to develop its own integrated chip ahead of mass production and to miniaturise the technology for mobile use cases.

Juo, a Warsaw-based startup building technology for physical product subscriptions, has raised €4 million in seed funding. The round was led by Market One Capital and Peak, with participation from SMOK Ventures, BADideas, FJ Labs, and Lakestar, bringing the company’s total funding to around €5 million. The subscription economy has transformed how consumers purchase and interact with products, with physical goods already accounting for around 40 per cent of a market projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2030. Juo focuses on this fast-growing segment of physical and hybrid product subscriptions at the infrastructure layer. Its platform provides a full toolkit to design, launch, and manage subscription models for a wide range of physical products, from simple recurring orders, such as supplements, cosmetics, meal kits, and pet food, to complex, higher-value items like home appliances or medical equipment. With separated workspaces, operators and developers can collaborate in the same environment while using tools tailored to their roles, and Juo’s proprietary technology supports virtually any development stack, allowing business teams to manage operations without writing code. The platform includes the core logic layer, API, SDK, CLI, and a collaborative editor. Using its APIs and prebuilt components, merchants can integrate subscriptions in days rather than months. The toolkit works with modern e-commerce stacks such as Hydrogen (Shopify), Medusa, and commercetools, as well as established platforms like PrestaShop and Shopware. To support the full subscription lifecycle, Juo enables recurring payments via credit cards, SEPA Direct Debit, and regional methods like iDEAL and BLIK, through partners including Adyen, Mollie, PayU, and Tpay. Since launch, Juo has built strong traction in the subscription e-commerce market, supporting over 500,000 active subscriptions across hundreds of clients in Europe and North America. Customers include Pulse4all, Mother’s Earth, Meowbox, Impossibrew, Boerschappen, Guud, Yummygums, and Natulim. With the new funding, Juo plans to enter its next stage of growth, expanding the platform’s capabilities for developers, administrators, and AI agents across custom implementations and e-commerce platforms, including support for modern front-end technologies and Model Context Protocols (MCPs) that enable AI systems to interact directly with subscription infrastructure.

Today, Coinvest Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Depo Ventures, BSV Ventures, Balnord, and New North Ventures — six VC funds actively investing in dual-use and defence — together with market-intelligence platform Dealroom, unveil the inaugural Tough Tech by the Tough Ten report, The report is the first comprehensive mapping of tough-tech ecosystems spanning mission-critical defence, dual-use, and space innovation across Europe’s eastern frontier. It examines how these “Tough Ten” nations are mobilising talent, capital, and technology in response to shifting security realities.  It covers priority innovation domains identified by NATO, from AI and quantum technologies to hypersonics, energy, and next-generation communications.  The tough ten countries sit from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and include Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria.   The report highlights the true dynamics of defence innovations in the region. Key findings include:  The Tough Ten nations are outpacing the rest of Europe in mission-critical innovation.  Between 2019 and 2022, tough-tech ventures made up 7 per cent of all startups in these countries, compared to 5 per cent across the rest of Europe.  By 2023–2025, this share more than doubled to 16 per cent, while the rest of Europe lags at 10 per cent.  By 2025, 53 per cent of all Deep Tech and 23 per cent of total VC investment will flow into Tough Tech, a dramatic shift from software convenience to hardware courage.   Futher, as part of defence efforts, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry; the European Union (EU) is building the European Drone Wall and Eastern Flank Watch; and the Baltic countries and Poland are creating the Eastern Shield and Baltic Defence Line.  Space and quantum dominate defence investment across the Tough Ten Across the Tough Ten, defence tech investment remains concentrated in a few deep-tech verticals: Quantum computing, cryptography, and sensing ($606 million) and Space and Satellite ($703 million) dominate, accounting for most funding since 2019.  Broader security segments, such as Energy Security ($253 million) and Health Crisis Preparedness ($166 million), highlight an expanded notion of defence, linking resilience and infrastructure.   Core military areas - C4IS — which stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance — ($22 million), UAVs/UGVs ($28 million), and Advanced Materials ($38 million) — show steady but limited venture traction, reflecting Europe’s ongoing shift from early-stage R&D to scalable dual-use commercialisation.   The rise of a defence-driven innovation economy Tough tech in the region has grown from a handful of early-stage experiments into a mature, multi-stage pipeline, with companies now progressing from pre-seed through to Series C. This acceleration is reinforced by national initiatives across Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and others, which have launched sovereign funds, defence-industry parks, DIANA hubs, and rapid-testing frameworks to support scalable dual-use innovation. At the European level, programmes such as SAFE, EDIP, and the European Defence Fund add more than €150 billion in stimulus, creating unprecedented momentum for defence and resilience technologies across the Tough Ten. What began as a necessity to deter and defend is fast becoming the region’s competitive identity. This surge underscores a decisive strategic shift: proximity to geopolitical pressure has translated into faster mobilisation, deeper investment in dual-use capabilities, and a sharper focus on technologies with defence and resilience applications.    The steady climb since 2020 signals ecosystem maturity, where early-stage experimentation is giving way to scalable, capital-intensive breakthroughs in defence, autonomy, and deep industrial tech - proof that the region no longer only invents, but begins to industrialise innovation.    According to Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director at Coinvest Capital, who has initiated the report, with geopolitical tensions on the rise, this report, for the first time, provides summary insights into the defence innovation trends, key ecosystem players, funding instruments available, and most notable startups to be watched and partnered with: “Living at the borders of the European Union, having experienced in our own lifetime the Soviet Russian occupation, makes each of us very much aware of the price we all have to pay to protect our freedom and way of life. Currently, the highest price is being paid by the freedom fighters and people of Ukraine. Here in Europe, we must ensure that the time we still have is put to the best use, investing in deterrence, building resilience, and advancing innovation, capabilities, and competitiveness. Our region demonstrates just that by actions taken and changes initiated at increasing speed.” “Tough tech is Europe’s new competitive edge. Founders on the Eastern Flank are proving that innovation is the real deterrent. With unprecedented capital ready to deploy into resilient, dual-use, and industrial tech, Europe has never had a stronger moment—or greater responsibility—to build the technologies that will secure its future,” shared Jarek Pilarczyk, Operating Partner at Balnord.   Sandra Golbreich, General Partner at BSV Ventures, sees tough tech as more than a category: "We invest in people who take on the hard problems because they have to, because it's a mission for them, not because it’s fashionable. That’s where real value and real impact come from. As BSV we’re glad to contribute towards this report and the community in the ecosystem, choosing to build and back things that last — and to stand for something that does too." For Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, Partner, NATO Innovation Fund, defending the Alliance’s Eastern Flank isn’t just about presence - it’s about preparedness. "Supporting and scaling local innovations is essential to that effort. Their technologies, which are informed by each nation's capability needs - across sensing, autonomy, and secure communications - are helping to ensure that our forward defences are smarter, faster, and more connected. The growth of these innovative companies strengthens not just the Eastern Flank, but the Alliance’s collective technological edge."

An AI automation platform for the financial services industry, founded by two brothers, has raised $75m in a Series A funding round.The funding round in London and New York-based Model ML was led by FT Partners with participation from Y Combinator, QED, 13Books, Latitude and LocalGlobe.The Series A follows six months after Model ML’s seed raise, led by LocalGlobe, and twelve months after its launch.Founded by brothers and repeat entrepreneurs Chaz and Arnie Englander, Model ML is leveraging AI so that financial services firms can work more efficiently..In particular, it says its tech enables financial teams to build AI workflows that automate repeat work, helping speed up compiling pitch decks and diligence reports as well as investment memos. The platform slots into existing workflows, only pulling and processing data from a company's bank of trusted sources. Model ML says its platform is akin to building a bespoke AI brain for each organisation, and each AI agentic system is custom-built for individual clients. The startup says its tech is used by several of the world's largest banks, asset managers and consultancies, including two of the Big Four accounting firms.The funding will be used to propel global expansion and beef up its AI capabilities across key financial hubs, it saidChaz Englander said: "High-stakes business runs on documents: pitch decks, diligence summaries, investment memos. But most firms still build them the hard way. "Analysts spend entire weekends cross-checking numbers and formatting slides. Despite all that effort, mistakes still slip through because no one can realistically verify every data point in a 100-page deliverable. "That's why we built Model ML. Our agents reason across data sources, write the code to extract and transform what's needed, and generate finished, branded outputs with verification built in. We're eliminating the grunt work so teams can focus on the analysis that actually matters."

Netherlands-based Social Links has secured $3 million in follow-on funding to advance the development of next-generation tools that help organisations protect their brands, assets, and personnel in an AI-driven risk environment. The investment is led by Yellow Rocks!, which has increased its total commitment sixfold since its initial funding. Drawing on a decade of experience in Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and digital investigations, Social Links has translated its expertise into AI agents that counter AI-driven crime and operate collaboratively as an autopilot system. The product marks a key step in the company’s approach to protecting against modern threats, complementing and extending beyond traditional infrastructure-focused cybersecurity solutions. The company provides comprehensive data intelligence to help organisations detect and address AI-enabled fraud and crime across social media, messaging services, and other digital platforms, with a focus on anticipating new AI-driven attack surfaces. Ivan Shkvarun, CEO of Social Links, noted that the misuse of AI by the criminal sector has introduced complex risks that current protection methods can no longer keep up with. Our responsibility is to provide clarity and actionable insight, turning fragmented and overwhelming data into effective defence. This is essential for securing trust in an AI-driven world. We deeply care about our investors and customers, and it is important for us to develop and grow together. Social Links’ flagship AI initiative, developed under the AI Defender Autopilot concept, is designed to address emerging AI-related digital risk challenges, such as detecting fraud and scam messages in employee communication channels and identifying misinformation or false content about a brand, with a focus on accuracy and scalability. The company also plans to accelerate its growth with the introduction of new products built on its AI Defender Autopilot concept.

Revolut has been valued at $75bn, following a secondary share sale, which saw Nvidia and US blue-chip VC firm Andreessen Horowitz invest in Europe’s most valuable private tech firm for the first time.The round was led by Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer, and Fidelity Management & Research Company with participation from NVentures, Nvidia’s venture capital arm, and Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), Franklin Templeton, and T. Rowe Price.Revolut’s $75bn valuation marks a significant jump compared to its $45bn valuation through a secondary share sale last year, cementing its status as Europe's most valuable private tech firm and valued in the top 10 of the world's most valuable private companies, Revolut said.In the share sale, which was widely known about, employees were allowed to sell up to 20 per cent of their holding to new and existing investors.Nik Storonsky, CEO & co-founder of Revolut, commented: “This milestone reflects the remarkable progress we have made in the last twelve months towards our vision of building the first truly global bank, serving 100 million customers across 100 countries. "I’d like to thank our team for their determination and energy, and for believing that it is possible to build a global financial and technology leader from Europe.”Victor Stinga, CFO of Revolut, said: “The level of investor interest and our new valuation reflect the strength of our business model, which is delivering both rapid growth and strong profitability. We welcome onboard a series of world-class investors and look forward to working with them for the next stage in Revolut’s evolution.”The share sale is Revolut's fifth employee share sale to date.Revolut, which has over 65m customers, reported revenues of £3.1bn in 2024, a 72 per cent year-on-year increase and pre-tax profits of £1.1bn, more than double the previous year.

Onstage, an organiser of standalone demo events in Europe, announced the launch of its first venture fund, with an initial close of £10 million. The fund is intended to support European founders at the pre-seed and seed stages and will be led by founding partner Joel Hambly. Founded in 2020 by Episode 1 GP Hector Mason and dmg ventures Partner Taos Edmondson, and led operationally by co-founder Issie James, Onstage’s flagship demo day has attracted more than 2,000 startups and worked with over 330 venture funds from Europe and the US, including Sequoia, a16z, Balderton and LocalGlobe. Demo day finalists have collectively raised more than £500 million from venture capital firms, with companies such as Scan.com (£60 million) and Lawhive (£44 million) among those securing significant follow-on funding. Separately, Onstage has established a large GP–LP gathering, with its most recent event attracting 350 GP applicants, reflecting its role within the European venture ecosystem. A fund is the clear next step for Onstage and will enjoy a symbiotic relationship with our demo days. It further strengthens our proposition for founders and deepens our relationship with the top VCs in Europe. We can't wait to support Europe’s next wave of founders, who are ready to compete and win on a global stage, said Joel Hambly. Fund I includes Peter Simon, President of US investment firm Simon Sports, who joins Onstage as a Partner and investor. Other LPs include a number of European founders and investors, such as Alex Chesterman, as well as GPs from Concept Ventures, Creator Ventures, Chapter One and Episode 1. To strengthen links with the European VC landscape, Emma Phillips (LocalGlobe), Laura McGinnis (Balderton) and Jamesin Seidel (Chapter One) will join as external members of Onstage’s investment committee, working with the Onstage team on sourcing and selection. The Fund Incubator, Blears and Bunch Capital have supported the establishment of the fund. Onstage plans to make around 80 investments over the next three years, with a focus on early-stage backing and network building. It will use its platform to connect founders and investors across Europe.

Last week, we tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €2.3 billion, and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.Click to read the rest of the news.

Dutch online grocery store Picnic has raised €430 million from existing investors and is ploughing much of the funding to grow its operations in Germany.Picnic's existing investors include German supermarket giant Edeka, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Dutch investment firm Hoyberg and Amsterdam-headquartered investment firm NPM Capital.As well as bolstering its presence in Germany, where Picnic says it's the market leader, the funds will be used to expand into multiple unnamed markets, the company said.The company was founded in the Netherlands in 2015 and delivers groceries from local distribution warehouses to customers using small electric vans.Picnic, which launched in Germany in 2018 and France in 2021, says it now serves two million customers in 200 locations. The new investment round is being officially announced this afternoon during the 120th anniversary celebrations of the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce in The Hague. Michiel Muller, Picnic co-founder, said: "The collaboration between software developers and operational staff from both countries demonstrates the excellent cross-border cooperation and the development of a European market leader in online grocery shopping."Last year, Picnic raised €355 million in capital as part of plans to expand its presence in France and Germany. In 2022, it raised €600 million in its Series D round.

This week, we tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €2.3 billion and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. In addition to this week's top financials, we've also indexed the most important/industry-related news items you need to know about. If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter and receive a more robust version of this round-up delivered to your inbox. Either way, let's get you up to speed. ? Notable and big funding rounds ?? Capital on Tap secures £500M funding package ?? Picnic raises €430M ?? HoloSolis lands €220M to build one of Europe’s biggest solar factories ?? Flatpay anointed as the latest Danish unicorn, after securing $170M in funding ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? London fintech Curve confirms sale to Lloyds ?? Integral acquires cleverlohn ?? The Exploration Company is acquiring Thrustworks ?? Belfast software group AuditComply acquired by Toronto's Nulogy ? Interesting moves from investors ? Sofinnova Partners secures €650M to back breakthroughs in biopharma and medical technology ? RCA closes first design & innovation investment fund ? How EQT uses AI to see the startup world differently ?? European life sciences VC firm Medicxi closes €500M Fund V ? EIT Urban Mobility reports strong results and new €44M Fund ?️ In other (important) news ? Unveiling the Second Round of Speakers for the Tech.eu Summit London 2026! ??  UK government announces billions of pounds of AI investment including Sovereign AI Unit ?? Pennylane launches in Germany, plans 100 hires ⚛️ The biggest European quantum tech deals in H1 2025 ? Recommended reads and listens ?? Europe at a “crossroads” as it is called to power its first trillion-euro tech company ? The Twingo E-Tech is more than a car — it’s Renault’s blueprint for competing with China ? When anything is possible: what creatives should make in the age of AI ? European tech startups to watch  ??  InvenireX secures £2M to commercialise its disease detection platform ?? Overlab closes €450,000 pre-seed round to accelerate European industry ?? Sencillo raises £350K+ to help UK families navigate rising education costs ??  Integral secures funding to advance its AI accounting and payroll platform

EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, announced results demonstrating the measurable impact of its investment approach and and commits €44M for future investments Since 2020, EIT Urban Mobility has built a portfolio of over 140 companies across Europe, creating systemic transformation in urban mobility. The impact of its portfolio companies extends well beyond financial returns: more than 1,000 jobs supported, over 35,000 hours of engineering services delivered, and emissions reductions equivalent to more than 19,500 tonnes of CO2. “Urban mobility is not a niche field to invest in; it touches the lives of up to 80 per cent of Europe’s population that are living in cities,” said Daniel Serra, Director Impact Ventures at EIT Urban Mobility. “Our results this year demonstrate that when capital aligns with purpose, we can achieve both financial sustainability and meaningful societal impact. This is our mission in action.” EIT Urban Mobility’s investment portfolio reflects the organisation’s commitment to diversity in every dimension: geographic reach across European countries, varied business models (B2B, B2G, B2C), and solutions addressing different aspects of the mobility ecosystem. Recent investments showcase this breadth: Luvly’s innovative approach to urban vehicles, NOWOS’s circular economy solutions for battery systems, and dot.Lumen’s mobility solutions for the visually impaired.  The organisation has also demonstrated strong conviction in its portfolio companies through follow-on investments in companies like Elonroad and Futurail, and by participating in competitive rounds alongside credible co-investors such as Asterian Ventures, Shift4Good, Spintop Ventures and Shift4Good. With a net impact ratio of 50 per cent measured by the Upright Model and portfolio rankings in the top 5 per cent for societal infrastructure and top 1 per cent for reducing non-GHG emissions, the organisation is proving that strategic capital aligned with purpose delivers ambitious, quantifiable outcomes. Over the next three years, EIT Urban Mobility will invest up to €44 million in companies ranging from pre-seed to Series A stages. The investment focus will target scalable and globally relevant innovations, with particular emphasis on: Urban logistics, Mobility data management, Health and mobility, Public transport, Electrification of transport and alternative fuels. Further, EIT Urban Mobility actively supports women-founded teams, resulting in a 27 per cent of portfolio startups having at least one woman as founder.

The UK government has unveiled a package of measures putting AI at the centre of its growth plans, pledging the creation of thousands of jobs and government support for key domestic AI tech. The measures, featuring billions of pounds of public and private investment, come ahead of the Autumn Budget and warnings from company bosses that AI will slash UK workforce numbers. They also come as US AI firms like Groq and Perplexity commit to AI investments in the UK. The reforms include up to £100m of government support to back startups building AI hardware projects and fresh details about the previously announced Sovereign AI Unit, backed by nearly £500 million in investment, to help build and scale AI capabilities on British shores, which is to be chaired by Balderton's James Wise. AI ambassadors, including Monzo co-founder and Y Combinator general partner Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind VP of research Raia Hadsell, will champion British startups and the UK AI ecosystem, drumming up investment, the government said. The government is also to offer more free compute to British researchers and British startups so they can train new AI models and deliver scientific breakthroughs. The government is also teaming up with Microsoft and Vantage Data Centers on a new data centre campus in South Wales, according to Bloomberg. The campus is backed by £10bn of investment from Vantage Data Centers. The government said its AI Growth Zone in South Wales would create more than 5,000 jobs. Meanwhile, US AI firms have committed to increase investment in the UK. These include AI inference platform Groq opening its first UK data centre in London, backed by around £100 million; AI search engine Perplexity investing £80 million to expand its offices in London; and AI coding firm Cursor opening its London office as its European headquarters. Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said: 
"We are ambitious for our country and believe Britain’s best days lie ahead. Today we’re announcing a package of measures that ensure we seize the opportunities to get jobs and growth in every part of the country.
 "The backing by international investors today is a vote of confidence in the UK – and we’re determined to do even more to ensure we are backing British businesses, workers and researchers to benefit from the opportunities AI brings. "This is about bringing jobs, opportunities and hope to the people and places that need it most, delivering on our promise of change." IMAGE: Taylor Vick on Unplash

Today, French startup MuchBetter.ai announced a €4 million funding round led by Educapital, an impact fund specialising in education and the "future of work," with support from Astorya VC and Antler. The company has developed an AI-powered training platform for sales teams and customer-facing field teams. It enables rapid and independent professional development through ultra-realistic, educational, and gamified conversations and simulations, allowing sales teams to practise with virtual customers, receive real-time feedback, and refine their approach. These AI-driven scenarios can be adapted to industry-specific contexts—from insurance and telecom to finance and retail—and tailored to different personas and situations. The solution is trusted by learning and sales teams looking to: Speed up onboarding. Boost pitch confidence. Drive consistent performance across teams. Managers and trainers benefit from dashboards, analytics, performance tracking, transcripts, and coaching recommendations, while the platform also helps accelerate onboarding for new hires and ensures that training is fully aligned with strategy and field execution. In less than two years, MuchBetter has supported over 30 major accounts, including Bouygues Telecom, Boulanger, Schneider, La Poste, and Philips. The funding is being used to: Further enrich conversations and debriefings with clients' industry expertise. Personalise training paths to meet each user's needs. Enable the management of sales skills across an organisation in the age of AI.

AI agents are “lost” when patients ask medical questions, and it will take time to roll agents out effectively in a clinical setting, according to the founders of two healthtech firms. Ali Parsa, who previously ran the failed Babylon Health and Circle Health and is now heading up Quadrivia, which has built an AI agent for clinicians, and Vladimir Lupenko, the CEO and co-founder of the orthodontic health firm Impress, were speaking on the Tech.eu podcast. The pair discussed AI, how their respective startups were leveraging AI, AI challenges and the future of AI in healthtech. AI agents have been one of the hottest subjects in AI this past 12 months, with AI evangelists seeing them as the future of the workforce. But in a recent podcast appearance, Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, said functioning agents “will take about a decade”. Lupenko pointed to the limitations of agents, saying Impress had not implemented any agents within patient care. He said: “If patients start asking any medical questions, the agent is lost.” He said it would take time to develop agents.He added: “If someone tells me that ‘we can build you an agent for patient care for orthodontic services within two weeks’, I say 'no, it’s impossible, you can answer generic questions but if you go outside of 10 standard questions that a patient could ask, it’s not working at all.'"Echoing this, Parsa said AI agents do 80 per cent of the “basics very well”, but the problem lies with the other 20 per cent. Parsa said too many US AI startups were rushing to market too quickly, making bold claims in a bid to hoover up customers quickly. He said: “I think that in healthcare it pays to be cautious, it pays to be transparent."

Education financing platform Sencillo has raised over £350,000 in Pre-seed Funding. The rising costs of education mean UK families are now spending increasingly larger amounts on their children’s education each year, averaging between £3,600 and £15,000 per annum for early years childcare, £19,000 to £50,000 for independent schooling, and over £22,700 a year for university, including living costs. Sencillo addresses a growing need for accessible, transparent, and responsible financial support in the education sector  Its platform aims to support parents navigating these rising costs, whilst also addressing the impact of VAT on private school fees, limited bursaries and the growing accessibility gap for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) - all major challenges families are facing in the education sector.  Focused on smart planning tools and responsible credit and savings products, Sencillo’s platform gives families a single, clear view of their education journey and costs - from nursery to university - so every family can access a secure education journey and future for their children. The platform’s marketplace is initially focused on unsecured credit products that integrate directly with its proprietary planning tools. Parents use smart digital calculators to visualise the total cost of the education journey ahead, allocate any savings and family contributions to the plan, and, where required, responsibly access tailored financing solutions via their strategic partners to support the most immediate costs, with the money paid directly to the nursery, school or university. The result is a simpler experience and a manageable plan to secure and fund a child’s educational journey with confidence. Founded by Adam Amos, a design and innovation expert with experience spanning fintech and family finance, Sencillo is built by parents for parents and backed by leading experts. Previously, he co-founded Pigzbe, a pocket money app focused on early financial literacy and held positions at EY, leading innovation across retail banking, wealth and credit lending. As a father of two, Amos brings both professional expertise and personal insight to the challenge. The round was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from a select group of strategic angel investors and executives from PensionBee, Premium Credit, the London Stock Exchange, and more. According to Adam Amos, CEO and founder of Sencillo, education is one of the biggest investments any parent will make. Yet for most, the process is fragmented, confusing, and stressful: “Add in challenges such as the rising cost of childcare, VAT on private school fees,and the growing accessibility gap for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities; it can feel like an impossible journey to navigate. Sencillo believes every parent should be able to make informed, confident decisions about their child’s education. Amos asserts, "Smart planning plus responsible, accessible financial products are key, and Sencillo is here to make that possible - not just for the few, but for every family seeking a clear and secure education journey and future for their children.” According to Mark Pearson, founder of Fuel Ventures:  “Adam’s vision for helping parents plan and fund education in a smarter, more accessible way is exactly the kind of ambitious thinking we look for at Fuel. Sencillo is tackling real challenges within the education sector that affect millions of families across the UK.” The new investment will enable Sencillo to grow its team, expand its    platform, and prepare for a full public launch in late 2025.

Earlier this year, I attended Upscale Conf in San Francisco, a conference hosted by Spanish generative AI creative suite Freepik. One of the topics I was most interested in was how creatives – designers, illustrators, film makers, etc. think about and use AI, so I was excited to attend a workshop titled “When anything is possible, what’s worth creating?” Hosted by Creative Strategist Jesús Terrada Gómez and Sofia López, Head of Social & Community – AI Growth from Freepik, it took a thoughtful look at the reality of what happens to creatives when commercial AI is unleashed. I also interviewed López after the workshop to gain more insights.  Freepik has a long creative legacy, having started as a stock media company working closely with illustrators, vector artists, photographers, and videographers.  The arrival of AI, therefore, wasn’t merely a product evolution — it represented a profound shift that reshaped the workflows, experiences, and even the creative identities of the artists who had long been part of its ecosystem. Check out my earlier interview with Joaquín Cuenca, CEO of Freepik.  Can AI art carry cultural weight?  López holds a degree in art history and a Master’s degree in Museology and Museum Studies, with a focus on classical Latin and the Baroque period. When asked whether AI-generated visuals can ever hold the same emotional or cultural resonance as traditional art, López contends that “art always has context. It has a moment in time, and it has intentionality. AI can absolutely participate in that.” While startups and investors race to position themselves in the AI hype cycle, López’s approach is noticeably more grounded. Intentionality, she argues, is not something AI introduces—it’s something creators must bring. “This challenge existed long before AI,” she says. “If you’re designing visuals for a brand’s Instagram, you’re not always approaching it as an artist. Sometimes you’re just doing your job.” AI, in her view, occupies a space between efficiency and expression. “AI can make you fast and efficient, but when you want to be intentional, you still can be,” she says. “The tool doesn’t decide that—you do.” Inside Freepik, López sees this duality in action. Creators use the company’s tools for daily marketing tasks, but many also push far beyond the expected: “Some of the experimental videos our creators make in their free time are incredible,” she says.  “We have an internal channel where they share them, and everyone goes, ‘Oh my God, you did this?’ Sometimes our CEO puts them straight onto the big office screen. It’s inspiring.” For López, that’s the path forward: a blend of experimentation, artistic sensibility, and a willingness to step outside AI’s default aesthetic comfort zone. “We can absolutely make culturally relevant work with AI,” she says. “But only if we treat it as a medium—not a shortcut.” However, she is also as wary of AI slop as the rest of us, asserting:  “There’s going to be a lot of mediocrity,” she warns. “We’re already drowning in this plasticky, cyberpunk-ish vibe. We can do better. We can tell better stories.” According to López, we’re living in an era where the internet allows everyone to share their creations. However, like every technological or creative revolution, it also means that everyone is sharing—AI users, non-AI users, and everyone in between.  “So a lot of people look around and think, “Oh my God, AI is this plasticky, cyberpunk-ish mess.” Terrada Gómez also admits, “somedays I scroll through endless neon cyberpunk explosions and think, “Oh God, we’re going to be stuck in this aesthetic for years.” This brings us to the question: Can AI be considered an art form? A lot of people say no, asserts López, “ But we say yes, but with nuance.” How does AI change the creative process in creative industries?  Terrada Gómez—an artist, illustrator, and scriptwriter—and López both believe we’re entering an era where intentionality and narrative matter more than ever. Terrada Gómez contends: “AI didn’t make me stop illustrating. Instead, I feel like I have two creative selves. Sometimes I start drawing and then jump to AI, or I generate something in AI that sparks a new illustration. They coexist. Traditional craft doesn’t disappear. It evolves.” López admits that as an art historian, "I was originally pessimistic. I wondered how artists would react. But then I saw critical, intentional work and realised this new medium absolutely has space for depth, critique, and relevance.” Further, Terrada Gómez asserts that you can always tell when AI work is made by someone with artistic sensibility versus someone simply smashing the “generate” button. “Everyone has a camera in their pocket. But not everyone has a photography exhibition. Tools don’t equal artistry.The difference is intentionality. Story. Emotion. You can tell instantly when something is crafted versus randomly spat out.” The evolution of consumption For one workshop participant, the real question was: What’s worth consuming? They shared: “People watch someone organise their fridge longer than they watch an Oscar-winning film. Maybe human connection or relatable content is what survives.” López agreed, asserting that every creative revolution changes what people consume.  “When photography appeared, ultra-realistic painting suddenly felt pointless, so artists shifted to surrealism, abstraction, and expressionism. Today, realism is admired again. Cycles change.” For Terrada Gómez, one thing never changes: good stories are always worth consuming: “A great story — whether animated, filmed, AI-generated, anything — moves people.” Finding your voice in the age of noise In a world suddenly saturated with AI-generated visuals, both Terrada Gómez and López argue that the real challenge—and opportunity—for creators lies in carving out a sense of authorship amid the chaos. Terrada Gómez notes that we’re all still early users, collectively shaping what the future web of AI art will look like. “Maybe you think you haven’t found your style — maybe you simply haven’t asked yourself the right questions yet. Self-reflection is part of the medium.” López believes that the creators alive today are the ones future generations will look back on. “So how we contribute now matters.” Terrada Gómez shared some of his work during the workshop, including Tears of a Clown and The Meteorite of Truth, a surreal, claymation-style AI short built around a simple idea: when a meteorite is moments away from obliterating Earth, people stop pretending and start telling the truth. As the rock draws closer, the honesty intensifies: The film's production involved a two-hour scriptwriting sprint with three hours of image and video generation. He asserts that the better you are at prompting, the faster the process takes.  He advises using long, detailed prompts  describing: The type of shot Camera movement Lighting The character The mood Pacing “Short prompts sometimes work, but we’re not at the point where they reliably give consistent character identity or tone.” But he also suggests that while AI is fast, people should “Slow down. Study cinema. Study composition. Learn why things work." "I once saw someone copy one of my videos almost exactly. Not sure how to feel about that yet.” López believes in testing the tools with a real goal: “Sitting down instead of trying three prompts, getting eight fingers on a hand, getting frustrated, and quitting. That’s not giving AI a real chance." On the other hand, she highlights the power of critical thinking by sitting down and asking:  “What am I as a creator? What do I want? What are my processes? Am I comfortable with what I’m creating? There’s a lot of self-reflection people are skipping because we live in the age of immediacy. In the end, meaning is what matters. Why are you making this? What do you want someone to feel? What do you feel?”  So, what should creators—especially in small startup design teams—be asking themselves when thinking about working with AI? López asserts that the best thing small teams can do is experiment because “we’re still at a point where there’s no single place where you can learn all AI processes or workflows.” “This means testing, playing, asking questions. Many places now will have enterprise plans. That alleviates compliance concerns, allowing creators to focus on their creativity. Dive in. Give it a go. Do the extra research. Go beyond the cyberpunk plasticky aesthetic and see what others are doing, what stories are being told.” According to López, we need not only conversations about getting creative work done, but also the “good and the ugly” conversations — “what worries me, what excites me, what creators think.” “At Freepik, we come from a very traditional background—illustrators, photographers, mockup creators. Some were sceptical of AI. However, after learning and experimenting, the things they are building now are truly impressive. They know composition and storytelling. Giving them AI is like giving a Ferrari to a pilot.” Lead image: Still image from short film Tears of a Clown.

Berlin-based NexDash has secured €5 million in seed funding to build Neo-Carrier for electric trucks, only three months after its founding. The round included participation from Extantia Capital and Clean Energy Ventures. Heavy-duty trucks account for around 35 per cent of transport-related CO₂ emissions, while over 90 per cent of logistics operators rely on small, ageing diesel fleets with limited capital and low levels of digitalisation. Although electric trucks can offer economic benefits, high upfront costs, operational complexity, and insufficient charging infrastructure have slowed their adoption. NexDash addresses these challenges with NexOS, an AI-based operating system that coordinates fleets, energy, and financing in real time, forming the digital backbone for electric and, over time, autonomous logistics. Using a combined model of digitalisation, electrification, and consolidation, NexDash acquires mid-sized logistics operators, accelerates the electrification of their fleets via scalable structured financing, and manages them through its Trucking-as-a-Service (TaaS) platform. This creates a scalable and economically viable model for zero-emission, data-driven freight transport. Founded by Michael Cassau, previously the founder of tech-rental company Grover, NexDash aims to accelerate the electrification of Europe’s fragmented and under-digitalised road freight sector. We consolidate, transform, and electrify diesel fleets – building Trucking-as-a-Service made in Europe. The last decade was about neobanks; the next is about neo-carriers, said Cassau, noting that Germany’s shift to electrification is beginning in the logistics sector. NexDash will use this round to finance acquisitions, early electric truck deployments, charging infrastructure, and the ongoing development of NexOS as it builds a next-generation, zero-emission logistics network across Europe.