A new report published by the European Commission and the StepUp StartUps Consortium outlines how Europe is entering a critical phase in which the ability to integrate AI across civilian and defense innovation ecosystems will determine both technological competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

AI is becoming central to Europe’s dual-use technologies, with the European startup and scale-up ecosystem creating new opportunities for innovation, competitiveness and security.

While not formally classified as a dual-use technology, AI acts as a decisive enabler across multiple capability areas – ranging from autonomy and sensing to cybersecurity, logistics, and decision-support.

“Advancing European leadership in dual-use technologies is an intrinsic part of the EU strategy to address critical dependencies, to shape international standards and to make the EU’s role indispensable globally in value chains and in key industries,” says Marc Lemaître, Directorate General for “Research and innovation” (RTD

A growing but fragmented ecosystem

Europe has expanded both its civil and defense innovation programmes in recent years, making important progress towards a more coordinated innovation pipeline for dual-use technologies. EU instruments such as Horizon Europe and the European Defence Fund (including the EU Defence Innovation Scheme, EUDIS) are placing significant emphasis on AI, while synergies between civil and defence programmes have grown.

Notably, the recent opening of the EIC Accelerator to dual-use innovation reflects this trend.

However, the report highlights the opportunity for better integration in European efforts. Currently, civil research and defence programmes are not sufficiently connected which can slow the progression of AI solutions from early research to real-world deployment.

Improving structural connections would help navigate the complexities associated with dual-use AI, which benefits from continuity: shared definitions, aligned funding streams, compatible testing environments, and clear governance. Strengthening these connections could accelerate the journey from promising research outcomes to operational maturity.

Strengths emerging across Europe

Despite these challenges, Europe is already developing strong dual-use AI capabilities.

Key clusters – in security, transportation and robotics – are supported by dynamic hubs such as Munich, Berlin, Paris, Helsinki, Tallinn and Vilnius. Venture activity is rising rapidly, and Europe now leads globally in the number of dual-use AI investment deals.

The rise of specialised dual-use and defense technology funds since 2022, supported by initiatives such as the Defence Equity Facility under InvestEU, alongside the launch of actions such as the EUDIS Defence Business Accelerator or NATO Diana Accelerator, is helping to build a more robust pipeline for defence and dual-use startups and scale-ups.

“We are proud to collaborate with the EIF on the deployment of the Defence Equity Facility … to foster the development of an ecosystem of private funds investing in defense in the EU,” adds Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space.

Overcoming barriers to scale

AI-driven dual use startups and scale-ups in Europe face barriers such as: limited access to operational test environments, complex procurement processes, funding gaps between research and deployment, and limited access to contracts.

As a result, many innovations can struggle to move beyond prototype stage.

“In a borderless research area, there can be no weak links. By protecting research security across Europe, we will safeguard academic freedom, our open and trusted research system, and empower Member States to take action,” shares Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.

Read the full report here.

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Ghent-based FoodTech startup Those Vegan Cowboys has secured €6.25 million in its first funding round to accelerate the development of its cow-free casein, a vital dairy protein made using precision fermentation – with plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign in the coming months.

The funding round was led by Pieter Geelen, co-founder of navigation giant TomTom, and included contributions from Westland Kaas, the Dutch cheese producer behind Old Amsterdam, and Wouter Veenboer, co-founder of the ad automation platform ProductHero. The capital will secure the startup’s operations for the next two years, as it edges closer to regulatory clearance in the United States and ramps up for commercialisation.

CEO Hille van der Kaa emphasises the significance of the funding: “This is where sustainability, technology and industry come together. Our partners recognise that animal-free casein is no longer a distant vision, but ready for commercial application. This investment allows us to move from development to market entry.”

This year has shown continued funding activity across precision fermentation and adjacent FoodTech segments, providing context for the €6.25 million first round raised by Those Vegan Cowboys.

Recent examples include PFx Biotech, a Porto-based startup that secured €2.5 million to develop allergy-free human milk proteins using precision fermentation, and SUMM Ingredients from Copenhagen, which raised €1.7 million to accelerate the commercial rollout of its fermented protein ingredient for food manufacturers. At a later stage, Revyve, based in the Netherlands, closed a €24 million Series B to scale yeast-based proteins designed to replace eggs and additives in mainstream food products.

EU-Startups has also reported on Fungu’it, which raised €4 million to develop fungi-based natural flavourings, and EvodiaBio, a Copenhagen-based company that secured €6 million to scale fermentation-driven flavour technologies for industrial applications.

Together, these 2025 rounds represent approximately €38 million invested into fermentation-led and closely related FoodTech innovation, before including Those Vegan Cowboys’ own financing.

The data points to sustained capital allocation across neighbouring European markets, particularly in alternative proteins, functional ingredients, and fermentation-enabled food technologies.

Frank Fischer, CFO of Westland Kaas adds: “As Westland Kaas, we have always combined tradition with technology. We continue to invest in innovation to reinvent cheese for future generations. Our investment in Those Vegan Cowboys reflects our commitment to open innovation and next-generation food technologies.”

Those Vegan Cowboys was founded in 2020 by former The Vegetarian Butcher founders Jaap Korteweg and Niko Koffeman. The company’s innovation lies in producing casein – the key protein in traditional dairy – using microbes instead of cows. This enables the production of cheese that is bioidentical to its dairy counterpart but entirely animal-free.

The startup is already working with ten industrial partners across Europe on various applications for its cow-free casein, from melting mozzarella alternatives to semi-hard cheeses. It previously teamed up with investor Westland Kaas to launch the plant-based cheese brand WildWestLand, a nod to the company’s quirky cowboy-themed branding and a first step toward mainstream recognition.

The company is now preparing to open up its mission to the public via a crowdfunding campaign – likely the first of its kind in the precision fermentation dairy space. This initiative aims not only to raise additional funds but also to foster brand awareness and consumer buy-in.

Tastings of their cheese prototypes are planned for 2026 in the Netherlands, giving early backers a chance to experience the results first-hand.

Investor Wouter Veenboer also highlighted the growing urgency for sustainable alternatives: “This has the potential to be a major breakthrough. As livestock farming continues to industrialise, the need to relieve the dependency on animals becomes more urgent. Cheese is one of the products consumers miss most when they reduce dairy. I’m excited to help make this vision a reality.”

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Quakenbrück-based BIOWEG, in partnership with Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), has secured €1.5 million to support the development of its waste-to-value platform tech for water-based Rare Earth Element (REE) recovery.

The funding comes from SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, as part of the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge; the aim of which is to develop and validate innovative processes for recovering critical metals from complex waste streams.

Dr Prateek Mahalwar, BIOWEG’s co-founder and CEO, said, “The funding from SPRIND will allow us to accelerate the development of a sustainable and bio-based REE recovery platform in collaboration with TU Berlin. It is built on BIOWEG’s expertise of waste stream based fermentation platform and green chemistry, extending the application of capabilities we already use at scale in bacterial cellulose production.”

2025 has shown a steady flow of early-stage capital into bio-based, fermentation and sustainable materials technologies across Europe.

In Denmark, EvodiaBio raised €6 million to scale its yeast-based fermentation platform for producing natural flavours for the beverage industry. Germany also featured in this landscape through Kynda, which secured €3 million in Seed funding to advance fungal protein production using fermentation processes. In the adjacent sustainable materials space, Finland-based Fiberdom raised €3.5 million to further develop plastic-free, wood-fibre-based materials aimed at circular economy applications.

Combined, these 2025 rounds amount to approximately €12.5 million invested into fermentation-driven and bio-based material technologies, providing context for BIOWEG’s €1.5 million funding to develop its waste-to-value platform for REE recovery.

BIOWEG, founded in 2019 by Dr Prateek Mahalwar and Srinivas Karuturi, uses precision fermentation and green chemistry to create high-performance, bio-based and biodegradable ingredients that replace intentionally added microplastics and fossil-derived polymers.

By converting food-industry side streams into high-purity bacterial cellulose and tailoring it into functional materials, BIOWEG supports reformulation in personal care, home care and agriculture.

The fermentation systems that underpin BIOWEG’s bacterial cellulose ingredients for cosmetics and personal care also generate bio-based acids as a secondary output, which is directed into other high-impact applications using secondary fermentation.

The company operates a demonstration site in Quakenbrück, Germany and a formulation, material science and applications lab in Monheim on the Bayer Crop Science campus. BIOWEG’s product families include Micbeads (micro-powders), RheoWeg (rheology control) and AgriWeg (seed and fertiliser coatings).

Professor Juri Rappsilber of TU Berlin adds: “This partnership allows us to bridge the gap between fundamental research within the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence and industrial-scale application. By leveraging the principles of Green Chemistry, we are combining our world-leading peptide innovation with BIOWEG’s fermentation expertise to create a truly circular solution for Europe’s metals sector.”

Despite REE demand surging in Europe due to an explosion in demand for electric vehicles, wind turbines and consumer electronics, BIOWEG believes the EU faces dangerous supply risks due to geographically-concentrated global production.

Conventional REE recovery processes are highly energy-intensive, rely on solvents, and generate large quantities of toxic waste. These methods are also non-selective, environmentally harmful, and economically unsustainable for widespread circular use in Europe.

BIOWEG has made progress in developing an alternative to the current high-energy, waste-intensive and non-selective recovery platform.

The platform technology combines BIOWEG’s expertise in bioacid production from waste streams for bioleaching with TU Berlin’s peptide-based separation technology using column systems. The process operates in water at ambient temperature, applying green-chemistry bioleaching without the use of solvents or high heat.

The bio-based acids are generated as a secondary output of BIOWEG’s fermentation platform, requiring no additional downstream processing, resulting in a low-energy process with a reduced overall CO₂ footprint.

Alongside its established bacterial cellulose ingredients for cosmetics and personal care, the company applies the same waste-stream platform to additional applications where selective chemistry and low-energy processes can reportedly unlock significantly higher value.

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Voyager is an early-stage venture capital firm backing climate technology companies building the foundations of a decarbonised global economy. Founded four years ago by climate-tech investors and operators Sarah Sclarsic and Sierra Peterson, the fund was set up with an explicit ambition: to become the leading early-stage climate-tech VC operating across Europe and North America.

Today, Voyager manages $450 million across two announced funds. It invests from Seed through Series A, writing tickets of up to €9 million as lead or co-lead.

I spoke with Matthew Blaine, who leads Voyager’s European team, about how the firm has managed to raise and deploy significant amounts of capital while remaining deliberately lean.

The value of a flat, independent structure

Blaine said, there are different models for building a venture capital firm. “You can be very centralised, with one or two locations and a large junior team under a small number of partners,” he explained. “Or you can be flatter, with experienced hires who cover a lot of ground independently.” The firm has opted for the latter approach, operating with a fully remote team.

“We like that because it gives us strong geographic coverage with a relatively small team,” Blaine said.

Decarbonisation is a cross-sector “trillion-dollar commercial” opportunity 

Blaine is quick to push back on the idea of climate tech as a narrow or self-contained industry.

“I sometimes push back when people talk about “the climate-tech sector” or “the climate-tech industry,” because that conversation often very quickly narrows to carbon credits, carbon accounting, and what I’d call some of the more obvious or well-worn areas. That’s not really how we think about it.”

Instead, Voyager sees decarbonisation as a trillion-dollar commercial opportunity over the next 30 years. 

The firm invests broadly across sectors, from the future of compute to industrial and manufacturing applications. This includes areas such as novel chip designs as well as cooling, photonics, and AI for manufacturers. 

Rather than being narrowly focused on a single industry, the firm prefers to remain flexible, looking for situations where “an exceptional team, a huge market, the right timing, and excellent technology come together.” 

Where Europe stands out — and where it struggles

In Europe, Blaine sees particularly strong momentum in energy and renewables, some progress in hydrogen, and growing headwinds in more crowded areas like carbon credits. “Europe is incredibly strong in the future of compute,” he said.

“Across the geographies we look at — especially Switzerland and the ETH ecosystem — there’s fantastic innovation in photonics, chip design, and data-centre cooling.”

Across Voyager’s two core markets, Blaine notes that much of the most exciting innovation in these areas is coming out of Europe. The challenge, however, is commercialisation. “These companies often need to sell into the US market,” he said.

“That’s where we like to help as a transatlantic fund.”

Another area where Europe consistently excels is climate software, particularly in energy management and grid orchestration.

“When I reflect on the ten best deep-tech companies I’ve seen over the last three years at Voyager, probably eight or nine of the most impressive deep-tech companies were in the US,” Blaine said

. “But on the software side, it’s almost the reverse: probably eight or nine were European.”

He attributes this to Europe’s more complex and heavily regulated energy markets, which create fertile ground for sophisticated software solutions.

“You see that in large rounds in Germany, in the UK, and across Europe — companies helping industrial, commercial, and consumer customers procure energy more efficiently and balance the grid to manage the intermittency of renewables.”

Scale, ambition, and a mindset gap

However, Blaine notes that Europe is a much younger startup ecosystem than the US. 

“It’s easy to forget that Microsoft and Apple were founded in the 1970s, Amazon in the early 1990s. In Europe, the ecosystem only really got going around 2010. “

Even companies often seen as part of the old guard, like Monzo or Revolut, were only founded a decade later.

“Building enduring enterprise value takes a long time.”

He contends that Europe already leads in energy and grid-related software, as well as parts of the future-of-compute ecosystem.

“Orchestrating huge numbers of connected devices — smart meters, heat pumps, storage systems — to balance the grid is something European companies are particularly strong at.

What he’d like to see more of in Europe is ambition to build overwhelmingly dominant companies.

While historically, Europe has always produced foundational companies, ARM and ASML, for example, are central to how the global economy operates.  What he would like to see more of, however, is ambition at the very top end.

“Too often, success is framed as exiting at €1–2 billion. That’s a huge achievement, but I’d love to see more founders push beyond that.

When Google tried to acquire Wiz for around $23 billion, and the founders turned it down because they saw a $100 billion opportunity, that level of ambition is still rare in Europe.”

Part of the challenge, he argues, is structural. Many US investors invest globally, including heavily in Europe, while most European investors focus almost exclusively on their home market.

“That can create a more myopic worldview, where people haven’t necessarily built or invested at global scale before.

Sometimes the grass looks greener in the US, but there’s also less experience in taking companies from continental scale to truly global scale.”

That’s where funds like Voyager try to help — providing a global perspective from the earliest stages, so companies are built for worldwide dominance rather than just becoming the European winner and exiting. European portfolio highlights

Voyager’s European investments reflect this thesis across software, energy, and mobility. Some of the key examples:

ENAPI (Germany)

ENAPI is building a unified EV charging software platform that enables seamless data exchange and transaction clearing between charge point operators and eMobility service providers.

Packfleet (UK)

Carbon-neutral courier startup Packfleet is operating an all-electric fleet and purpose-built routing software to deliver parcels efficiently and sustainably across the city. 

InRange (UK)

InRange is creating a double-sided marketplace to enable the development and use of solar assets near load centres. InRange matches owners of property capable of hosting solar installations with buyers seeking reliable low-carbon electricity, and manages the asset development, power sales and operation.

ANNEA (Germany)

Starting with wind assets, ANNEA enables renewable operators to minimise downtime from predictable failures and maximise electricity generation through automated control inputs.

CarbonChain (UK)

From source to shipment, CarbonChain's software tracks the emissions intensity of commodities and industrial inputs across supply chains. CarbonChain provides asset-level and cargo-specific emissions data to enable accurate systemic decarbonization from the ground up.

Together, these investments underscore Voyager’s conviction that climate is not a niche — but the defining economic transformation of the coming decades.

Lead image: Freepik.

Akka, a Spanish FinTech company that allows anyone to invest in high-potential technology startups through a private investment club, has reached almost €9 million invested this year, and more than €11 million in its 20 months of operation.

During this time, the company has reportedly become the largest private investment club in the country and one of the most active communities of investors in startups in Europe.

“Our goal is no longer just to open the door to the best opportunities, but to help people build a sensible investment portfolio. Capital matters, but even more so does the combination of judgement, training and discipline,” explains Javier Desantes, CEO of Akka Spain.

In 2025, our coverage shows Akka appearing as an investor in several funding rounds.

One clear example of Akka shaping the European funding ecosystem in 2025 is our coverage of Orbital Paradigm, a Madrid-based SpaceTech startup that raised €1.5 million in a pre-Seed round, with Akka contributing €470k. This deal positions Akka within Europe’s early-stage DeepTech financing landscape, extending beyond consumer or FinTech-adjacent investments. Akka was also listed as an investor in QUIXOTIC’s 2024 raise of €1.3 million.

“Akka is a FinTech that operates with the logic of a fund, but the fund is built by a community of thousands of people who learn and invest together,” adds Desantes.

Founded in 2023, Akka is an investment club and FinTech ecosystem that makes investing in high-potential tech startups accessible through a mobile app and a community of thousands of investors.

Founded by Thomas Rebaud (founder of French unicorn Meero) and Pedro Buerbaum, and led by Javier Desantes, Akka analyses thousands of startups a year, selects a few opportunities and allows investors to invest small amounts in companies backed by experts.

Over the past 20 months, Akka has focused on three areas: access to good opportunities, rigorous training and community. The company says the result is a model that combines the logic of an investment fund with the strength of a retail community:

• More than €10 million channelled into high-growth technology startups.
• Thousands of members investing from small amounts, without the need for large fortunes.
• More than 15 hours of specific training to invest wisely in early stages.
• More than 50 events – after-work gatherings, pitch nights and private sessions – that have turned the club into a meeting point for founders and investors.

In recent months, the company has also developed the Fractal Investing Method, its own system to help members build diversified portfolios of startups in an orderly manner.

The method is based on a simple idea: when investing in startups, diversifying is no longer a recommendation, it is a necessity.

This approach is supported by training sessions, specific masterclasses and the Akkademy programme, Akka’s internal learning pathway so that anyone can start investing in startups without the need for a prior financial profile.

Another of this year’s major milestones has been the launch of Akka’s new mobile app, which brings together everything the club offers in one place: opportunity analysis, direct access to founders, portfolio tracking and training content.

“Akka was created so that investing in startups is no longer something reserved for funds,” says Desantes. “With this new app and the Fractal Investing Method, we want anyone to be able to build a portfolio of startups from their mobile phone, with the same logic and discipline that a professional fund would have.”

The company’s growth has also been supported at the corporate level. In March, Akka closed a €2.2 million round of funding aimed at boosting its growth, strengthening its technological infrastructure and continuing to expand the size of the club.

This operation has also served to accelerate the expansion of the model to other European markets, with the opening of new clubs in Italy and the Nordic countries.

The post Making startup investing accessible, Madrid’s Akka channeled near €9 million into tech companies in 2025 appeared first on EU-Startups.

Editor’s Note: This post was created in collaboration with and with financial support from EIT Food.

On 20 November 2025 concluded the six-month Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) programme concluded with Demo Day in North Macedonia. The event showcased the innovative ideas of women entrepreneurs who received support, training, mentorship, and financial backing to develop their agrifood innovations.

Now in its sixth edition, EWA 2025 is a six-month entrepreneurial programme designed to support aspiring and early-stage female entrepreneurs across 13 countries: Albania, Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

Backed by EIT Food and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, EWA helps participants build the skills, confidence and networks needed to develop and scale their ideas. Although women play a vital role in agriculture and rural innovation, their work often goes underrecognised. The programme helps address this gap by offering practical support, tailored training and access to a strong, long-lasting community.

Earlier in this interview series, we spoke with Anabel Millán Leiva, Co-founder of Cucare Diagnostics, whose science-based approach highlights the role of research and biotechnology in advancing sustainable agriculture. Today, we continue the series with yet another remarkable woman entrepreneur, whose work draws inspiration from natural processes to develop biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics and materials.

Interview with Nadica Desanova, Co-founder of MIMIC TECH

Can you start by sharing the inspiration behind Mimic Tech and how your journey into developing biomaterials from kombucha-based bacterial cellulose began?

The inspiration behind Mimic Tech is very personal and very organic. We come from a family where kombucha is part of everyday life; it is something we have been brewing and drinking for years. One day, my co-founder Bisera Popovska’s grandmother took the SCOBY out of the jar and left it aside. As it dried, it transformed into something completely unexpected. It became leather-like in texture, flexible, dense, and strong.

That moment sparked our curiosity. What we were seeing was not just a by-product of fermentation, but bacterial cellulose with real material potential. From there, our journey shifted from the kitchen to the lab. We began experimenting, researching, and testing how this natural structure could be developed into a scalable, sustainable biomaterial.

What motivated you to focus on biodegradable alternatives to plastic and leather, and how do you see these materials contributing to a more sustainable and circular food and materials system?

Seeing the gap between sustainability claims and reality. Conventional plastics and animal leather both come with high environmental costs: plastic persists for centuries and releases microplastics, while leather relies on resource-intensive processes and toxic chemicals. At the same time, we realised that many of these materials are used for short-lived products, which makes their impact even harder to justify.

In a circular food and materials economy, waste becomes a resource. We see these biomaterials as a bridge between the food system and material production, closing loops, reducing waste, and enabling industries to move towards truly sustainable, circular solutions.

Mimic Tech develops both bioleather and bioplastic solutions using kombucha-grown bacterial cellulose. Can you walk us through this process and explain what makes your materials different from conventional plastics and other bio-based alternatives?

We grow our materials using kombucha fermentation. During this process, bacteria naturally produce cellulose, forming a strong, flexible sheet. We harvest this sheet and then process it in different ways depending on the final product.

For bioleather, we dry and treat the material to make it soft, durable, and leather-like, without using animals or harmful chemicals. For bioplastics, we process the cellulose into thin films or shapes that can be used for packaging and other everyday products.

What makes our materials different is that they are grown, not made from oil or heavily processed chemicals. Unlike conventional plastics, they are fully bio-based and biodegradable, and they do not leave microplastics behind. Compared to other “bioplastics”, which often still contain synthetic components, our materials come from a natural fermentation process

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while developing Mimic Tech, particularly when moving from experimentation and research to real-world applications?

In the beginning, one of the main challenges was simply gaining access to a lab. Our work sits between food biotechnology and materials science, so it was not easy to find the right space and equipment to move beyond small experiments and start testing the material properly.

The second major challenge was funding. Turning research into a real product requires money for materials, testing, equipment, and time. At an early stage, we had to rely on small grants, competitions, and a lot of personal effort to keep moving forward.

These challenges forced us to be very resourceful, to experiment with what we had, apply to many programmes, and build step by step. While it slowed us down at times, it also helped us better understand our material and build a strong foundation for bringing Mimic Tech from research into real-world applications.

When did you first hear about the EWA programme, and what motivated you to apply and take part in it?

I first found the EWA programme on F6S and applied almost immediately. What motivated me was how well it matched what we were building, a science-based, sustainable solution in the agrifood and biomaterials space.

EWA stood out because it offered hands-on mentoring, business support, and access to an international network, which is exactly what we needed at that stage. As a woman founder working at the intersection of biotech and materials, it felt like a great opportunity to strengthen our business side and take Mimic Tech closer to real market applications.

How did the mentorship and training during the EWA programme influence the development of Mimic Tech? What would you identify as the three most valuable lessons you took from the programme?

It had a strong impact on the development of Mimic Tech. I was fortunate to work with a great mentor, Despina Popovska Stojanov, who helped me shift from thinking of Mimic Tech purely as a research idea to building it as a real and scalable business.

One of the most valuable lessons was learning how to focus and prioritise, and clearly define our first product and target market, instead of trying to do everything at once. Another key takeaway was the importance of validating our ideas through real customer needs, not assumptions. Finally, the programme helped me improve how we communicate our work, teaching me how to explain complex scientific concepts clearly and compellingly to investors, partners, and customers.

Sustainability is central to Mimic Tech’s mission. How do you ensure that your materials remain biodegradable, microplastic-free and suitable for real-world use across different industries?

Sustainability is built into our material from the very beginning. We work with bacterial cellulose grown through fermentation, which is a natural, pure polymer and not a blend with synthetic plastics. By keeping the material fully bio-based and fossil-free, we ensure it remains biodegradable and does not break down into microplastics.

Throughout development, we are very careful with any processing or finishing steps, choosing methods and additives that do not compromise biodegradability. At the same time, we test and adapt the material depending on its intended use, so it can meet real-world requirements like strength, flexibility, and durability for different industries.

How do you see biomaterials and nature-inspired manufacturing shaping the future of packaging, fashion and food-related industries over the next decade?

Companies like MycoWorks have been a big inspiration for us, showing that bio-grown materials can reach industrial quality, premium performance, and market acceptance. This proves that biomaterials are not just experimental and that they can compete with conventional materials at scale.

In packaging, this will mean truly biodegradable, microplastic-free alternatives replacing single-use plastics. In fashion, we will see a move towards animal-free, low-impact materials that do not rely on toxic processes. In food-related industries, biomaterials will increasingly come from fermentation and side streams, connecting food production with material manufacturing in a circular way.

To conclude, what advice would you offer to other women entrepreneurs who are interested in building science- or engineering-driven startups in the agrifood and sustainability space?

My biggest advice is to never try to do it alone. Support is incredibly important, whether it comes from mentors, programmes like EWA, peers, or your own community. Having people who believe in you, challenge you, and guide you makes a huge difference, especially in science- and engineering-driven startups, where the journey can be long and complex.

I would also say: do not give up. There will be moments when progress feels slow, when funding is difficult, or when your idea is questioned. Persistence matters. If you believe in the problem you are solving and stay committed to learning and improving, those challenges become part of the process rather than the end of the road.

Science-based innovation takes time, but with the right support and resilience, it can lead to meaningful and lasting impact.

More on the programme 

As part of EWA 2025, Nadica joined a growing #EWAProgramme community of more than 600 alumnae across Europe. This network continues to support and unlock the potential of early-stage female founders well beyond the duration of the programme.

She also had the opportunity to pitch her idea at the Next Bite Satellite event, Accelerating Innovation Through Women Leadership, held on 4 December in Warsaw. The event brought together nearly 350 innovators, founders, and investors to rethink the future of food and highlight women-led innovation across the agrifood ecosystem.

Registration for EWA 2026 opens soon! Stay tuned and help build a future of food powered by women. More information is available here

About EIT Food

EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. Backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, it works across the food value chain to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship, equipping changemakers with the skills, tools, and support they need to reshape the future of food.

EIT Food is one of nine innovation communities established by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.

Learn more at EIT Food or follow EIT Food on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

The post Empowering Women in Agrifood 2025: Interview with Nadica Desanova Co-founder of MIMIC TECH appeared first on EU-Startups.

Jyväskylä-based startup Aisti has secured €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand production of its bio-based noise-reducing tiles for buildings. 

The financing will support Aisti’s factory expansion in Kitee, a rural city in Eastern Finland. The loan will also be used for research and development to further enhance its product offering.

“With EIB’s support, we can move faster and further than our initial business plan. Doubling our capacity strengthens our ability to offer a natural, recyclable alternative to traditional acoustic tiles – at the scale the market now demands. This partnership brings us closer to our vision of changing construction for good by making healthier, lower-carbon materials the new industry standard,” said Mikko Paananen, founder and CEO of Aisti. 

Founded in 2019 by Mikko Paananen, Antti Fredrikson, and Petri Jetsu, Aisti is a material technology company manufacturing natural suspended ceiling acoustic tiles from renewable wood fibre. 

According to the company, it uses foam-forming technology to transform fibres into acoustic tiles that are safe, sustainable, recyclable, and competitively priced. The patented material offers a sustainable alternative to traditional mineral wool tiles. As these tiles don’t contain any mineral wool fibres, they don’t release mineral fibres into indoor air. The tiles are designed for use in commercial and public-sector buildings, including schools and office spaces.

The new large-scale production facility in Kitee will enable the company to double its planned production capacity of 2.5 million square metres. The factory is slated to begin tile manufacturing in the second half of 2026. According to EIB, the factory will itself have green features by using an energy-efficient production process powered by clean electricity

Aisti claims that its tiles have received global acoustics and indoor climate accreditations, and have been tested and achieved fire resistance class B-s1, d0.

The company noted the loan will allow it to step up research and development work to further enhance the tiles’ acoustic and fire-resistant properties. European market expansion is also on the cards, with a particular focus on the Nordic region.

In 2024, Aisti closed a €29 million Series A funding round, and in 2022, it picked up €1.6 million. It is backed by notable investors, including Voima Ventures, Maki.vc, Finnvra, and Valve Ventures. 

The financing falls under the InvestEU programme and involves venture debt, which is a long-term loan offering flexible conditions without diluting ownership. 

“Europe’s green transition depends on the emergence of innovative companies like Aisti. By backing this project, we are promoting the circular economy, supporting rural development, and reinforcing Europe’s capacity to produce sustainable construction materials at scale,” said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer. 

The project also contributes to the EIB’s TechEU initiative by accelerating innovation in sustainable, biomass-based solutions.

The post ‘Quietly’ scaling up: Finland’s Aisti secures €20 million EIB loan to accelerate bio-based acoustic tile production appeared first on EU-Startups.

Danish software company Omnidocs has acquired a majority stake in officeatwork, a Switzerland-based provider of document creation solutions with a strong foothold in the DACH region. 

Omnidocs is a document generation and automation solutions company focused on enhancing productivity, compliance, and quality across critical sectors such as public services, financial services, and legal firms. 

Founded in 1975 in Switzerland, officeatwork offers a comprehensive, Microsoft 365-integrated suite that enables organisations worldwide to streamline document creation, enhance content management, and maintain consistent branding across proposals, contracts, presentations, and emails.

 With more than 500 customers and a solid presence in Switzerland, as well as growing international revenues from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, officeatwork represents a strong strategic fit with Omnidocs. 

This transaction marks the fourth add-on acquisition for Omnidocs since partnering with Main Capital Partners and further strengthens the group’s global market position. Omnidocs already holds an established position in Denmark and continues to expand across the Nordic region.

This is supported by a strong international presence in the Benelux through the acquisition of Xential and in the UK via Presentation Solutions. 

Martin Seifert, Founder of officeatwork, commented:

“Joining forces with Omnidocs marks an exciting new chapter for officeatwork. Our shared vision for innovation and customer-centric solutions will allow us to accelerate growth and deliver even greater value to our clients across Europe and beyond.”

Jeppe Schytte-Hansen, CEO & Co-founder of Omnidocs, added:

“I am very happy that we are taking this step with adding officeatwork to Omnidocs Group. It will serve as a solid catalyst for our strategic approach in the DACH & Benelux region.

I am convinced that the team members that we will welcome and bring to our kick-off in Copenhagen in a few weeks will contribute with both strong domain knowledge and a solid market focus. We are looking to combine both teams and products during the first half of 2026.”

Wessel Ploegmakers, Partner and Head of Nordics at Main Capital Partners, concluded:

“The addition of officeatwork is a strong reflection of Omnidocs’ successful buy-and-build strategy.

The company brings a high-quality product, a loyal customer base, and a well-established presence in the DACH region. We are pleased to support this step as Omnidocs continues to build an internationally leading platform in document creation and automation.”

Netherlands-based Meatable, a startup specialising in cultivated meat technology, is winding down operations. The decision was announced by Agronomics, a key stakeholder in the company, on Friday, 19 December. It noted that Meatable was unable to secure funding. 

“Throughout 2025, Meatable has been subject to a variety of foreseeable and unforeseeable risks and uncertainties, which have had an impact on the company’s ability to execute its strategy and deliver its expected performance. In particular, the company was unable to obtain continued funding from either existing shareholders or from new investors,” the London-based VC mentioned in the press release. 

According to Agronomics, it has invested a total of nearly €9 million (£7.9 million) in Meatable. Before the announcement, the stake was valued at €13.6 million (£11.9 million) and will now be written down to zero. The investment accounted for around 8.1% of Agronomics’ net asset value as of 30 September 2025.

Commenting on the decision, Jim Mellon, Executive Chair of Agronomics, said, “While this outcome is disappointing, we believe the decision has been taken responsibly and in the best interests of all stakeholders. Agronomics continues to actively manage its portfolio and remains focused on supporting its wider portfolio of businesses with strong long-term growth potential.”

The announcement comes a few months after the Dutch-based startup announced the acquisition of UK-based Uncommon Bio’s cultivated meat platform, including key technology, several intellectual property assets and high-performing cell lines, and expert staff.

Meatable was founded in 2018 by Krijn de Nood, Daan Luining, and Dr Mark Kotter. According to the cultivated meat company, its patented technology is the only method to grow real muscle and fat cells from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) at speed and with 100% efficiency.

This year, it collaborated with TruMeat to build a cultivated meat facility in Singapore. In April last year, Meatable hosted the first-ever legally approved cultivated meat tasting in the European Union. And in May, it appointed US-based meat industry veteran Jeff Tripician as new CEO. 

According to Traxcn, Meatable has raised a total of over €85.3 million ($100 million) in funding. This included a €29.8 million ($35 million) round led by Agronomics in August 2023. In 2024, it was awarded €7.6 million under the Innovation Credit programme by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and partnered with Desmos Capital Partners to place €30 million of capital. It also secured strategic investment from Betagro Ventures, the venture capital arm of Thailand’s Betagro food group.

The post Dutch cultivated meat startup Meatable to shut down operations after failing to secure funding appeared first on EU-Startups.

This week, we tracked more than 75 tech funding deals worth over €1.3 billion and over 15 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.

Happy holidays!

As next week is a very short week before the festival season, it's a Merry Christmas and happy holidays for those who celebrate from all of us at Tech.eu. We won't be doing a round-up next week, but we still have some great stories coming out up until the new year, so check back onto the website. 

? Notable and big funding rounds

?? Lovable raises $330M at a $6.6B valuation to turn non-developers into software builders

?? Exein raises an additional €100M to expand its embedded cybersecurity platform

?? Neural Concept raises $100M to scale AI-native engineering

??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers

?? Swiss-US startup HomeBuddy acquired for $190M

?? Quantum Systems expands defence autonomy stack with FERNRIDE acquisition

??  Monzo buys digital mortgage broker Habito

?? Bought snaps up luxury rental platform Robes Rental in third acquisition of 2025

?? Tech giant ABB makes swoop for Manchester tech firm IPEC

? Interesting moves from investors

? MD One Ventures and Randox launch security and biotech accelerator for national resilience

? The rise of battery storage as an infrastructure asset

? Finland’s Cloudberry announces Europe-focused semiconductor venture fund

?? COFIDES will invest up to 10 million euros through the FIS in the Creas Impacto II fund

?  Early backer of unicorns Personio and Enpal, German VC Picus Capital closes €150 million preferred equity deal

?️ In other (important) news

? QuantumDiamonds invests over €150M for quantum chip inspection facility

?? Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics set up Europe’s first foreign drone production line for Ukraine

? Monzo wins European banking licence, as investors agitate for CEO return

?  Trade Republic confirms decacorn status, following secondary share sale

? N26 appoints new CEO amid sanctions hit

? Recommended reads and listens

?  From speed to defensibility: What OpenAI sees in the next generation of AI startups

? The pickup counter Is food delivery’s blind spot — Pickpad is fixing it

? Why Emmi AI spends €1,000 per person every month to bring its remote team together

??  From Kyiv to continental scale: Liki24’s unapologetically European ambition

?? The Seoul Statement paves the way for European AI standards

? European tech startups to watch 

?? Wodan AI closes a €2M round to advance sovereign AI development in Europe

?? NobodyWho raises €2M to challenge Big Tech’s cloud AI with SLMs for local devices

??  A&B Smart Materials raises £1.5M pre-seed for biodegradable absorbents

?? Nodu lands $1.45M to upgrade Europe’s payment rails as stablecoins surge

?? ÄIO wins €1.2M grant to scale fermentation-based flavoured fats for food