London-based VC firm Hiro Capital has snapped up two high-profile individuals from the European tech scene, as it launches a new fund targeting the European scaleup gap.

Nick Clegg, the former deputy PM and former Meta executive, is joining as general partner and Meta's outgoing chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, is joining Hiro Capital’s advisory board.

The pair join as the VC firm launches a new UK and Europe-focused fund targeting the scaleup gap, a long-standing issue which sees European founders struggle to get scaling up capital across the continent.

The London and Luxembourg-based firm’s new fund, called Hiro lll, is a multi-stage fund deploying cheques of between €5m and €50m.

It will focus on an array of sectors including spatial AI, robotics, immersive computing and defence. The fund aims to have more than $582m to deploy, according to reports.

The VC, founded in 2018, has previously invested in gaming and metaverse companies in the UK, Europe and North America.

Hiro Capital was founded by Luke Alvarez, the co-founder of Inspire Entertainment, the Nasdaq-listed games and virtual sports firm, Sir Ian Livingstone, former chairman of the studio behind the game Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Cherry Freeman, the co-founder of crafts marketplace LoveCrafts.

It is unclear how many hours Clegg, who served as Meta's president of global affairs, will be dedicating to the role.

Clegg said: “I joined Hiro because I share with the founders a belief in the rise of immersive computing and Spatial AI. We will move from staring at the internet, to living in the internet.

"We are right in the early stages of that platform shift with the convergence of spatial technologies and next-generation world model AIs. Unlike other funds, Hiro is wholly focused on those themes, entirely within Europe.

"This is an amazing moment of opportunity for the UK/Europe’s tech ecosystem. We have some of the most outstanding researchers and universities on the planet, and great engineers and entrepreneurs, too. Our problem is not a lack of innovation, it is a lack of capital at scale.

"Europe may have its critics, but we have a vibrant start-up scene which is now ready to accelerate – I believe the Hiro team has the unique geographic and technological reach to help make that happen.”

LeCun, who is French, said: "I am delighted to be joining the Hiro advisory board. We are entering a new phase of AI – an era of systems which can understand the physical world, have persistent memory and which can reason and plan complex actions.

"Hiro's track record of investing in spatial technologies, 3D tech, wearables and gaming means they are exceptionally well placed to capitalise on this new wave of opportunity in Europe."

EpilepsyGTx, a Cambridge-based BioTech startup focused on research and development of  gene therapies to treat refractory epilepsy, today announced it has raised €28 million ($33 million) in Series A financing to advance its lead programme EPY201 through Phase 1/2a clinical trials.

The round included investment from XGEN Venture, the British Business Bank (who invested €12 million (£10.5 million)), and a global biopharmaceutical company.

Nicolas Koebel, Chief Executive Officer of EpilepsyGTx, says: “Refractory epilepsy is a devastating condition causing unpredictable and life-threatening seizures, and affecting millions of patients worldwide. Our novel gene therapy EPY201 delivered directly to the seizure focus has the potential to stop seizures with a single, minimally invasive administration. In doing so, it will change the way refractory epilepsy has been treated for decades. We are proud to have the support of such high calibre investors as we progress into clinical trials.”

For context: European funding activity in 2025 shows sustained investor interest in neurological and CNS-focused therapeutics, with companies such as EG 427 securing €27 million to advance pinpoint genetic medicines for chronic neurological conditions, Aerska raising €17 million to develop RNAi therapeutics for brain diseases, TRIMTECH Therapeutics collecting €28.6 million to progress CNS-penetrant degrader therapies, and Augustine Therapeutics raising €77.7 million to develop treatments for neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases.

Together, these rounds represent around €150 million of new capital entering the sector this year.

Within this landscape, EpilepsyGTx’s Series A aligns with a wider European push towards precision neurology and advanced genetic or molecular technologies. The presence of another UK-based company in this group (TRIMTECH Therapeutics) highlights the country’s growing concentration of CNS-focused biotech R&D, situating EpilepsyGTx’s progress within an active and well-funded innovation ecosystem.

Leandros Kalisperas, Chief Investment Officer, British Business Bank, adds: “The UK’s life sciences sector continues to produce world-class innovation, and the Bank is committed to building that momentum. Through cornerstone commitments to leading sector funds and by being the UK’s most active late-stage investor, the Bank is helping IP-rich companies access the capital they need to scale in the UK.” 

Founded in 2021, EpilepsyGTx’s mission is to make patients with refractory epilepsy seizure-free. We are developing a portfolio of cutting-edge gene therapies which are based on research from the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

EpilepsyGTx raised €8.5 million ($10 million) last year in pre-Seed and Seed funding led by the UCL Technology Fund, managed by AlbionVC in collaboration with UCL Business, the commercialisation company of UCL with participation from Zcube, the venture capital arm of Zambon.

Federica Draghi, Managing Partner of XGEN Venture, adds: “EpilepsyGTx is pioneering a novel, locally administered gene therapy approach designed to achieve targeted modulation of epileptogenic brain regions. We believe that localiwed gene delivery offers a powerful avenue for durable and disease-modifying interventions in severe neurological disorders and are excited to support the company as EPY201 progresses toward clinical evaluation.”

The funding will enable the delivery of first-in-human Phase 1/2a clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the company’s lead gene therapy programme EPY201 in a broad population of patients with focal refractory epilepsy (FRE). EPY201 is an adeno-associated viral (AAV) gene therapy designed to reduce neuronal hyperexcitability.

It is delivered locally to the epileptogenic focus of the patient and therefore avoids the complications of systemic delivery. EPY201 offers FRE patients the prospect of seizure freedom in a single intervention without resection or ablation of brain tissue and without the chronic use of multiple antiseizure medicines.

FRE describes a group of disorders in which patients experience seizures that arise from a specific part of the brain, leading to recurrent disabling events, cognitive impairment and psychosocial burden. This reportedly affects about 10 million patients worldwide, including 2 million patients in the US, UK and EU.

EPY201 offers the potential to eradicate seizures in patients with FRE with a single intervention, dramatically improving survival and quality of life. This offers FRE patients the prospect of seizure freedom without resection or ablation of brain tissue and without the chronic use of multiple antiseizure medicines.

EpilepsyGTx will also advance a pipeline of gene therapies targeting refractory epilepsy and disorders of neuronal hyperexcitability.

Carmine Circelli, Investment Director, British Business Bank, says: “Epilepsy GTx is built on world leading expertise from UCL, pursuing an innovative approach to modulating neurons in epilepsy and backed by compelling preclinical data. If this mechanism is validated in clinical trials, the company has the potential to be category-defining in epilepsy treatment, addressing substantial unmet patient need and presenting a significant commercial opportunity.”

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Living in Germany, rubbish sorting is a big part of daily life. Do it incorrectly and your neighbours won’t hesitate to correct you, and repeat offenders may even risk a fine. 

But even in cities with collection systems, huge volumes of plastic, glass, metal, paper and cardboard end up in mixed waste and go straight to landfills or incineration. In fact, the European Environment Agency reports that the overall waste recycling rate in Europe remains below 50 per cent, meaning most municipal waste is still treated by landfill or incineration rather than recycling.​

Further, PlasticsEurope estimates that about 65 per cent of post‑consumer plastic waste collected in Europe is sent to landfill or incineration instead of being recycled, despite widespread separate collection systems.​ It’s bad.

But now a Ukrainian startup called Recycle has found a way to turn trash into cash.

It runs a platform (and app) called Recycle that helps people, businesses and estate/condominium associations turn sorted waste into income by selling recyclable materials.

I met the company at a recent trip to Ukraine for TechChill Kyiv, where I sat down with co-founder Anton Ustimenko.  

How an office sorting problem sparked Recycle

Ustimenko originally comes from the game-development sector. In 2010, he launched an outsourcing company and secured several major contracts over the years. 

Recycle is the consequence of a problem his team faced. He recalled:

“We opened a very cool office in the city centre in Kyiv. And of course, we tried to sort our waste, and we couldn’t manage it efficiently.  But every problem for the IT sector is an opportunity. We started to investigate how the market works, and this is how Recycle was started.”

Sell sorted waste in a few taps

Recycle incentivises people to sort waste by paying them money. 

“People buy packaging, so why should they have to pay again when they sort it? It’s real goods — they can sell it. But right now, people pay again, just for removal. But it has real value, and they can earn money,” shared Ustimenko.

And it’s done through a simple, intuitive process. Ustimenko explained:

“We make the process of selling recyclables very simple —it’s completed in just a few taps. You create an order, and all the recycling companies that want to buy it make bids.

You choose the best price and agree. A  certified recycler then picks up the sorted waste and pays you for it.

It’s very easy. They don’t have to deal with the complexity. We take that away.”

Recycle currently has over 300 active clients. An example is homeware retailer Jysk, which has over 100 stores across Ukraine, and sells its recyclables through the app. The startup takes a commission from the transaction.

Focusing on high-value streams: paper, PET, HDPE, metal and glass

Because some materials are far easier and more profitable to recover than others, Recycle zeroes in on the highest-value streams first.

“We work with waste paper and plastics — at the moment, two main types: PET (type 1) and HDPE (type 2) — as well as metal cans and glass. Essentially, anything that can be recycled,” he explained.

“Polypropylene (PP) is a challenge. There are many different grades of PP, and it’s quite difficult for recycling companies to process. That’s why we’re currently looking for a solution.

But even if people simply start sorting the two most common plastics separately from the start, it already makes a big difference.”

In addition, Recycle aims to convince recycling companies that buying well-sorted waste is much cheaper than post-sorting. 

“Even the 'yellow bins,’  where people put all plastics together, are too expensive to sort. So, separate sorting is key to real recycling. Anything else is not really recycling,” asserts Ustimenko.

“Good traction and a good pace”

Ustimenko admits, “I’ve never heard of a model like this either, but it works. And we gained traction very quickly. We’ve been operating for more than half a year, and I think we have good traction and a good pace. Our steady growth is around 20 per cent per month, sometimes even higher.”

He plans that Recycle will become profitable in a year, and after that, "I think we’ll be interesting for investors. Every investor wants traction — real paying customers — not endless pilots that never convert. We have real clients. And we almost don’t have churn — maybe one or two clients stopped using us, but not because of any bad story. Their circumstances just changed.”

The startup is currently operational only in Ukraine due to regulatory requirements. Ustimenko explained that going to another market will take a few months of preparation:

“For every transaction and every deal, we have to generate all the documentation, ecological compliance and accounting compliance and adjust our app to local legislative requirements. It’s not a tough task, but it takes time."

However, Recycle’s next goal is Poland, and then Bulgaria. The company also plans to keep scaling in the Ukrainian market. 

Further, through its charity arm, Recycle has partnered with TiKO fund to launch a program called “Sort for the Children of Ukraine.” This initiative sets up sorting stations in schools and kindergartens. The waste collected is sold, and proceeds go to support children in orphanages, boarding homes, as well as children with disabilities or in palliative care.

Lead image: freepik

Mondu, the Berlin-based innovator in B2B payments, today announced it has secured a €100 million debt facility from J.P. Morgan Payments to scale their B2B payment solutions and support its expansion across Europe.

This collaboration is aimed at providing J.P. Morgan Payments’ clients with seamless access to Mondu’s flexible payment options, helping them to improve cash flow, increase sales, and streamline their payment processes.

Philipp Povel, co-CEO of Mondu, says: “We are thrilled to be working with a world-class institution like J.P. Morgan Payments. This debt facility and strategic collaboration are a significant validation of our business model and our vision to simplify the financial lives of businesses. The capital will allow us to accelerate our growth and support more businesses across Europe with our innovative B2B payment solutions.”

In 2025, several European FinTech and B2B-payment startups have secured new funding rounds that help contextualise Mondu’s €100 million debt facility.

Norway’s Two raised €13 million to scale its B2B payments infrastructure, while the UK–Nordic startup Mimo secured €7.7 million to develop its payments platform for SMBs and accountants. Sweden’s Open Payments added €3 million to expand its open-banking-enabled B2B payments and integration tools, and Germany-based Donnerstag.ai raised €4.3 million to grow its AI-driven accounts-receivable management platform. In December, UK FinTech Sokin secured €42.9 million to enhance its global payments and treasury infrastructure.

Altogether, these 2025 equity rounds total roughly €70–75 million. Compared with these early- and growth-stage raises, Mondu’s €100 million debt facility – also notable as another German entrant – represents a larger capital commitment and reflects a more mature financing structure supported by its collaboration with J.P. Morgan Payments.

In addition, Mondu has become part of the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network. As part of the network, Mondu has a referral programme to provide its innovative deferred payment solutions for accounts payables and receivables to J.P. Morgan Payments’ network of corporate clients in Europe.

“Joining the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network will be a great driver of our expansion in Europe, and we look forward to working with their team and customers,” adds Povel.

Founded in 2021 by entrepreneurs Malte Huffmann, Philipp Povel and Gil Danziger to simplify B2B payment transactions, Mondu is a FinTech focusing on flexibility, convenience, and security, dedicated to enhancing the B2B payment experience both online and offline, supporting businesses in their growth and operational efficiency.

Looking to capitalise on the growth of the B2B e-commerce market, the partnership between Mondu and J.P. Morgan Payments looks to offer businesses the financial flexibility needed to thrive in a digital-first economy.

The B2B e-commerce market is rapidly growing, with the European market alone projected to reach €1.5 trillion ($1.8 trillion) in 2025. With this growth, the demand for modern and flexible payment methods is also surging. The European Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is forecasted to continue its strong growth, projected to increase from €164.4 billion ($191.3 billion) in 2025 to approximately €252.5 billion ($293.7 billion) by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0%.

Heather Crowley, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital Product, J.P. Morgan Payments, adds: “We’re excited to support Mondu’s growth and to collaborate with them in bringing their innovative B2B payment solutions to our clients. The B2B payments landscape is undergoing significant transformation, and Mondu is leading the way in Europe. Their unique suite of payment solutions and pan-European coverage can help our clients improve working capital management and grow their businesses. We look forward to a successful collaboration.”

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APEX, a Oeiras-based investment firm specialising in sports assets, has announced the launch of a new private equity fund targeting €300 million ($350 million) to back minority investments in European sports teams, leagues, and related businesses, with a focus on small to mid-size assets historically ignored by larger institutional investors.

The new fund will focus on acquiring stakes ranging from 20% to 49% in ventures with valuations between €51 million ($60 million) and €510 million ($600 million). With ticket sizes between €12.8 million ($15 million) and €42 million ($50 million), APEX aims to execute 10 to 20 deals over the next decade.

“I believe there is a real opportunity in teams, leagues, and assets that want to grow without giving up control,” says António Caçorino, founder and CEO of APEX.

APEX’s launch of a new fund comes against a 2025 European sports and SportsTech landscape in which funding rounds remain relatively modest.

Startups such as ReSpo.Vision (€4.2 million, Poland), ScorePlay (€12.5 million Series A), SponsWatch (€1 million Seed, Sweden), Sports Impact Technologies (€650k pre-Seed, Ireland), and Model Health (≈€800k, Belgium/US hybrid).

These startups have together totalled just over €19 million in disclosed 2025 capital.

EU-Startups has also covered APEX itself as an investor, noting its participation in aforementioned Model Health and ScorePlay, as well as Output Sports (€4.5 million), highlighting its established role in SportsTech venture investment.

Against this backdrop, APEX’s new fund represents a shift in scale and focus: rather than backing early-stage technology companies, it aims at minority or selective majority stakes in European sports teams and leagues.

The contrast between the sector’s early-stage funding levels and APEX’s €300 million vehicle underscores how the firm is positioning itself between startup-driven innovation and institutional-level ownership of sports assets, a space EU-Startups coverage suggests remains relatively open in 2025.

Founded in 2020, APEX initially built its track record through a €51 million ($60 million) venture capital fund launched three years ago. That fund has attracted over 100 professional athletes from 17 sports, including Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. In September, Red Bull’s investment arm also joined as an investor.

The firm’s past investments include stakes in Formula 1 team Alpine and Italian football club Venezia FC. However, with its previous deals capped at under 20% ownership, Caçorino says the firm is now looking for more meaningful influence and governance in its future targets.

“We feel that we can deploy even more,” Caçorino says. “But I think it’s always good to have your target a little bit below where your realistic pipeline is so you make sure that you’re really investing in the best deals.”

The firm is focusing heavily on the European market, which Caçorino sees as rich in untapped potential.

Compared to the highly commercialised US market, Europe’s smaller clubs and leagues often suffer from limited access to growth capital and structural obstacles. But according to APEX, these conditions also make them less volatile, with fewer regulatory risks and a lower overall cost of entry.

Beyond minority equity, the fund has allocated 15% of its capital for U.S.-based opportunities – possibly including a stake in an NBA franchise – and another 15% for outright buyouts. This would mark APEX’s first foray into controlling stakes, though Caçorino noted this would likely be restricted to smaller European properties in football or motorsport.

Caçorino believes APEX is strategically positioned between sellers of niche assets and large buyers who typically enter at scale. “There’s still a big disparity between people that will potentially sell and the bigger investors,” he says. “So that puts us in a beautiful sweet spot.”

Alongside its sports equity strategy, APEX sees synergies with its venture portfolio, which includes companies such as TMRW Sports (founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy), performance analytics firm Output, and AI media platform ScorePlay. This dual-pronged model may also allow the firm to experiment with cross-pollination between tech and team investments.

Looking forward, Caçorino hinted at ambitions beyond Europe, including Asia and South America, and is already laying plans for another venture fund next year.

“I think with sports generally, whoever’s been reading the news and just been in the sector and looking at the opportunities in the pipeline, the time is now,” Caçorino says. “We’re a five-year-old business, and the last five years have been critical for sports.”

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Barclays is investing in United Fintech, joining four other big banks, which have invested in the fintech group. Barclays is joining Citi, Danske Bank, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered which have invested in United Fintech.

London-headquartered United Fintech, founded in 2020, acquires and scales fintechs across commercial banking and capital markets, as it looks to serve the needs of its financial clients. In total, it has acquired seven fintechs, including Cobalt, FairXchange, TTMZero, Athena Systems and NetDania. This year, it said it made its biggest purchase to date.

Financial details of the strategic investment by Barclays in United Fintech, in which it will take a stake, were not disclosed. Barclays will now join United Fintech’s board of directors. The investment by Barclays will be used to fund further acquisitions.

United Fintech has 11 offices including in London, New York, Copenhagen, Singapore and the UAE and employs more than 200 people. Christian Frahm, CEO, founder, United Fintech, said: “We are very excited to welcome Barclays as our fifth global bank investor.

“With AI accelerating across financial services, industry-wide collaboration has never been more important. "With Barclays now onboard, we further strengthen our industry-wide adoption, and United Fintech is well on its way to becoming the trusted ecosystem for enabling that collaboration."

Berlin-based Mondu, a provider of B2B payment solutions, has secured a €100 million debt facility from J.P. Morgan Payments to scale its offering and support its expansion across Europe.

Founded in 2021 by Malte Huffmann, Philipp Povel, and Gil Danziger, Mondu provides B2B payment solutions designed to simplify business transactions across Europe. With a focus on flexibility, convenience, and security, the company supports both online and offline payments, helping businesses improve growth and operational efficiency. Mondu holds an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license, enabling it to operate in all EU markets.

Mondu has also joined the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, through which it will offer its deferred payment solutions for accounts payable and receivable to J.P. Morgan Payments’ corporate clients in Europe via a referral program. The collaboration is intended to give these clients easier access to flexible payment options that can support cash flow, sales, and payment process efficiency.

Philipp Povel, co-CEO of Mondu, said the company is excited to be partnering with an industry-leading institution like J.P. Morgan Payments:

This debt facility and strategic collaboration are a significant validation of our business model and our vision to simplify the financial lives of businesses. The capital will allow us to accelerate our growth and support more businesses across Europe with our innovative B2B payment solutions. Joining the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network will be a great driver of our expansion in Europe, and we look forward to working with their team and customers.

The B2B e-commerce market is expanding rapidly, with the European segment alone expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2025. Alongside this growth, demand for modern and flexible payment methods is increasing. The European Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is projected to grow from $191.3 billion in 2025 to around $293.7 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0 per cent.

The collaboration between Mondu and J.P. Morgan Payments aims to address this trend by offering businesses enhanced financial flexibility and improved access to flexible B2B payment options throughout Europe.

A University of Cambridge quantum computing spinout, which is building the infrastructure needed for scaling quantum computers, says it has raised the largest ever quantum Series A in the UK.

Nu Quantum has raised $60m in a funding round led by National Grid Partners, the VC unit of National Grid, with participation from Gresham House Ventures and Morpheus Ventures.

Existing investors, including Amadeus Capital Partners, IQ Capital, Ahren Capital and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures also took part.

Nu Quantum says the round was the largest quantum Series A in the UK to date. 

Quantum computing has long been touted as the next big technology wave. It can solve problems too difficult for normal computers and makes it possible to carry out complex calculations very quickly.

Founded in 2018, Nu Quantum is a spinout of the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory.

In 2023, the company raised £8.5 million pre-series A round.

The company says quantum applications require systems that are thousands of times more powerful than those available today and that its networking architecture will unlock data centre-scale quantum computing by weaving together quantum processors to accelerate the path to transformational utility.

It says it will use the funding for future product development and international expansion, including expanding its presence in Europe and the US.

Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, founder, CEO, Nu Quantum, said: “When we launched seven years ago, very few were thinking about networked or distributed quantum computing as a strategy for scaling, but we saw it as one of the most urgent and challenging outstanding problems in the industry, and set out to solve it.

“We’ve made great strides in shaping the market and the technology since then. As we’ve grown, I’m proud we have created a culture defined by fearless innovation, and fuelled by collaboration and diversity under a shared mission to accelerate quantum computing for good.

“This investment validates our vision and the maturity of our solution as the path to scaling. I’d like to warmly thank the Nu Quantum team for their achievements, and our investors for their support.”

Steve Smith, chief strategy and regulation officer, National Grid and president of National Grid Partners, said: “We are closer to quantum computing having an impact on businesses and lives than many people think.”

London-based Matta, an industrial AI spin-out from the University of Cambridge, has raised $14M in seed funding to transform how products are designed and manufactured. The round was led by Lakestar, with participation from Giant Ventures, RedSeed VC, InMotion Ventures, 1st Kind (Peugeot family), Unruly Capital, and Boost VC, alongside grant support from Innovate UK and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

After decades of deindustrialisation, many factories are now exposed to geopolitical shocks and under pressure to deliver more with fewer resources. At the same time, energy costs are rising, supply chains remain fragile, and workforces are ageing. Manufacturers are being asked to reshore, decarbonise, and operate with fewer skilled workers. Workforce gaps and increasing operational costs are becoming common across Europe, and the US.

Matta offers a practical way to improve productivity, quality, and resilience on today’s shop floors. The company develops AI that learns the physical rules of production and applies them directly on the line. Its first product uses unsupervised and self-supervised computer vision to automate quality control and anomaly detection, perform measurements, diagnose root causes, and recommend corrective actions in real time.

A central platform allows teams to monitor every camera, analyse results, and trace parts across the factory, giving live visibility into issues and bottlenecks. Matta delivers this as a plug-and-play system that combines hardware, factory integration, AI research, and software. Most deployments become operational within hours, with cameras inspecting automatically after a short learning period.

Manufacturing still runs on human know-how, the kind that lets someone on the line kick a machine just right, or run a finger over a scratch, and say, ‘that’s thirty-four microns wide.’ We’re using AI to capture and scale that tacit knowledge, so engineers can design things that actually work in the real world. It’s time to manufacture the impossible,

explains Doug Brion, Co-founder and CEO of Matta.

Matta’s AI enables factories to monitor, analyse, and optimise their operations in real time, learning any production line within days. It detects defects, identifies root causes, and helps teams address issues before they become costly.

The technology is general-purpose and highly adaptable, operating across sectors such as electronics, automotive, defence, and apparel, and integrating with manual inspection stations, conveyor lines, and robotic systems. Beyond defect detection, Matta also collaborates with OEMs to enable machines to adjust their own settings.

The new investment will accelerate the rollout of Matta’s technology, enhance its AI capabilities, expand self-serve deployment, and support the company’s entry into key manufacturing regions in Europe and the US as it pursues increasingly autonomous, end-to-end production.

European venture capital firm U2V (University2Ventures) has announced the first closing of its €60 million Fund I. With this fund, the spin-off from Earlybird-X aims to back early-stage DeepTech startups from European tech universities. 

It will invest in pre-Seed and Seed-stage startups across Europe, focusing on AI novel computing, IndustrialTech and CleanTech, with up to 25 investments planned.

The first closing was backed by professional investors, including anchor-LP Jungheinrich via Uplift Ventures, family offices, serial founders and industry managers. The VC firm aims to establish Europe’s most effective DeepTech spin-off platform, scaling university-born technologies into global industrial solutions.

“Europe is world-class at creating scientific breakthroughs, but still struggles to turn them into global companies. With U2V, we’re fostering a substantial change here: we help scientists become entrepreneurs, linking research, capital, and corporate partners to build Europe’s next generation of category-defining Deep Tech startups,” said Dr Philipp Semmer, founding partner at U2V. 

Founded in 2025 by Philipp Semmer, Michael Schmitt, and Johannes Triebs, the U2V’s model is built upon its team’s experience leading Earlybird-X, one of Europe’s first DeepTech spin-off funds. According to the firm, its partners bring more than 30 years of combined venture experience with over 50 investments and more than 10 exits across previous funds, including Earlybird-X and Motu Ventures. Their earlier portfolio includes Quantum Diamonds, Greenlyte, Ncodin, Certivity, Twaice and LiveEO.

Beyond capital, U2V provides strategic support, industry connections and hands-on operational guidance to the startups it backs.

The firm operates from offices in Berlin, Aachen and London. Its modus operandi includes combining proprietary access to leading European tech universities, including TU Munich, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, École Polytechnique, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London, DTU Denmark and Politecnico di Milano, with an industrial network of more than 500 corporate partners. 

This approach enables portfolio companies to secure early pilot customers and benefit from structured go-to-market pathways.

“Our industrial network gives founders what most early Deep Tech startups lack: direct access to customers and real-world validation. Whether it’s an AI application, a quantum-sensing chip, or a carbon-capture process – we connect technology to traction,” commented Dr Johannes Triebs, founding partner at U2V

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Amplifold, a Munich-based BioTech startup developing rapid diagnostic tests using DNA-origami nanotechnology, has announced the closing of an oversubscribed €5 million Seed round. This spin-off from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) aims to use this capital to industrialise its DNA-origami–based signal amplification platform for lateral flow assays (LFAs). 

The round was co-led by Matterwave Ventures and XISTA Science Ventures, with participation from Bayern Kapital, b2venture, and Becker Ventures (part of Labor Becker Group).

“What makes Amplifold unique is that we can deliver up to roughly 100-fold higher analytical sensitivity at essentially the same cost of goods as conventional LFAs. Our architecture is designed to plug into existing manufacturing workflows, which means partners can rapidly upgrade their assays instead of redeveloping their product lines from scratch,” said Dr Enzo Kopperger, co-founder and managing director of Amplifold. 

The in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and life sciences sector is challenging to navigate due to the substantial upfront investments required, driven by the high costs of R&D, clinical trials, and regulatory compliance. However, despite the challenges, the industry has continued to attract strong investor confidence and interest, especially since the pandemic. 

Just last month, arcoris bio, a Swiss life science research tools and in vitro diagnostics company, secured €6.7 million to advance its biomarker detection platform. Similarly, earlier this year, Cologne-based BioTech startup Detechgene raised €3.2 million in its second Seed round to make lab diagnostics mobile. 

It’s interesting to note that the investors are increasingly stepping in at the Seed stage to provide the essential early capital needed for startups to survive and progress in this highly capital-intensive sector.

Circling back to Amplifold, its technology was developed by Dr Maximilian Urban and colleagues in the lab of Prof Dr Tim Liedl, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU and head of the nanoengineering lab. To realise their goal of combining high sensitivity with low-cost testing, the team has developed DNA-origami nanostructures, tiny structures made from DNA designed to detect specific molecules with extremely high accuracy. They have demonstrated that DNA-origami nanostructures can enhance the sensitivity of standard LFAs by up to two orders of magnitude, while remaining simple and affordable.

“Lateral flow tests have transformed access to diagnostics, but their sensitivity has traditionally lagged behind central lab systems. DNA-origami signal amplification allows low-cost rapid tests to approach instrument-level sensitivity without changing the basic format,” said Dr Maximilian Urban, Amplifold co-founder, co-inventor and managing director. 

The company will use the capital to expand product development and regulatory activities and to bring Amplifold’s first in vitro diagnostic product to IVDR approval in Europe. With this funding, the company will relocate to the Innovation and Start-Up Centre for Biotechnology (IZB) in Martinsried, a key hub for European life science startups. 

It has also garnered support from GoBio Initial, the Medical Valley Award, and EXIST Forschungstransfer. 

In a leadership update, Amplifold has also announced that Dr Federico Bürsgens, who has held senior leadership roles in the in vitro diagnostics space for more than 15 years, will join the company as CEO next year. 

Additionally, Benedikt Kronberger of Matterwave Ventures and Stephan Huber of XISTA Ventures will join Amplifold’s board of directors.

The post Germany’s Amplifold raises €5 million to unfold rapid, affordable diagnostics using DNA-origami nanotechnology appeared first on EU-Startups.

U2V (University2Ventures) has completed the first closing of its €60 million Fund I, with support from corporates including anchor LP Jungheinrich via Uplift Ventures, alongside family offices, serial entrepreneurs and industry executives.

The fund aims to support teams turning Europe’s research into commercially viable deeptech companies, helping to bridge academia and industry while contributing to Europe’s technological sovereignty and resilience.

Founded by Philipp Semmer, Michael Schmitt and Johannes Triebs, U2V brings together scientific, technical and commercial expertise, providing capital, strategic support, industry connections and operational guidance to help companies scale. The founding team has more than 30 years of combined venture experience and a track record of backing over 50 startups and achieving more than 10 exits across previous funds (Earlybird-X and Motu Ventures), with portfolio companies including Quantum Diamonds, Greenlyte, Ncodin, Certivity, Twaice and LiveEO.

U2V has proprietary access to leading European tech universities and ecosystems, including TU Munich, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, École Polytechnique, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London, DTU Denmark and Politecnico di Milano, alongside an industrial network of more than 500 corporate partners. This combination enables structured go-to-market pathways and early pilot customers for portfolio companies. Through close collaboration with technology transfer offices and corporate innovation units, U2V aims to accelerate commercialisation and follow-on funding rounds.

According to Dr. Philipp Semmer, Founding Partner at U2V, Europe excels at generating scientific breakthroughs but still faces challenges in turning them into global companies.

With U2V we’re fostering a substantial change here: we help scientists become entrepreneurs, linking research, capital and corporate partners to build Europe’s next generation of category-defining deeptech startups.

U2V, with Fund I, aims to back up to 25 pre-seed and seed startups across Europe in AI and novel computing, industrial technologies and cleantech, building a deeptech spin-off platform that helps turn university-originated technologies into commercially viable industrial solutions.

Amsterdam-based coffee company Wakuli has closed a Series A round of €5 million in debt and equity from ECBF and Rabobank. Including earlier participation from the ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund and Icecat Capital, the company has now raised a total of €9.25 million.

Founded in 2019 by Yorick Bruins and Lukas Grosfeld, Wakuli focuses on giving farmers greater control and reducing exploitation in the coffee supply chain. Initially launched as an online subscription brand, it now operates 20 coffee bars across the Netherlands while continuing to grow its digital business.

Wakuli’s model is based on the view that farmer income and climate impact are closely linked. The company maintains that farmers can only adopt regenerative agricultural practices if they have access to a stable, long-term living income from committed buyers.

Over the past five years, Wakuli has worked with more than 16,000 farmers across 13 countries, paying among the highest prices in their respective regions. It has maintained relationships with most of these farmers throughout this period, including in challenging regions such as the DRC, Myanmar and East Timor, providing a more reliable and sustainable income stream. This financial stability enables farmers to invest in climate-friendly methods.

Recent research by the nova-Institute indicates that Wakuli’s regenerative approach results in emissions of just 0.30–0.60 kg CO₂ per kg of green coffee, representing a reduction of 57–89 per cent compared with conventional agriculture. Some partner farms even achieve net-negative emissions through carbon sequestration in trees and soil.

These reductions are achieved by phasing out synthetic fertilisers, implementing shade-grown agroforestry systems, restoring soil health through organic management and minimising pesticide use. According to Wakuli, such practices are feasible because farmers have the financial capacity to prioritise long-term soil health over short-term yield maximisation.

The company plans to use the funding to accelerate the opening of new locations in the Netherlands and to launch its first international outposts.

Berlin-based cleantech startup FION Energy has closed a €1.4 million pre-seed funding round, led by HTGF and Norrsken Evolve, with participation from experienced business angels.

Most industrial companies want to reduce their energy costs but face significant technical complexity and high operational effort. FION addresses this by offering an end-to-end solution, from site analysis and system sizing to procurement and installation of turnkey battery systems, followed by ongoing operation.

Founded in 2025 in Berlin, FION Energy focuses on making industrial battery storage systems economical and easy to use through manufacturer-independent project development and AI-optimised real-time operation. FION uses battery storage systems to increase flexibility in industrial energy demand, providing manufacturer-agnostic, AI-controlled solutions designed for economically optimised operation.

The company’s proprietary AI dispatch engine learns consumption patterns, reads tariffs and market prices, and autonomously controls the battery. This helps smooth load peaks, reduce grid fees and enable price arbitrage without additional effort for plant operators, resulting in potential electricity cost reductions of up to 50 per cent.

According to Philipp Hamm, co-founder and Managing Director of FION Energy, Europe’s industrial sector is increasingly disadvantaged by high electricity costs:

With FION, energy becomes predictable and profitable again – our AI turns battery storage into a real competitive advantage.

FION targets industrial companies with an annual electricity consumption of more than 2 GWh. Several battery systems are already installed at industrial customer sites, with further projects in Germany and across the EU in development.

The new capital will be used to accelerate roll-out, further develop the platform and expand the team, with the goal of lowering energy costs and strengthening industrial sites. FION’s broader mission is to turn energy into a competitive advantage for industry and help make production in Europe economically attractive again.

Ignite Next today announced its launch as Europe’s new scaleup program for deep tech innovation, designed to bridge the gap between early-stage founders and industrial-scale success.

Headquartered in Dresden, the heart of Silicon Saxony, and created by the team behind the renowned Intel Ignite program, now independently operated, Ignite Next introduces a new collaborative model that brings together leading global technology players, including Infineon and Intel, to support the continent’s most ambitious deep tech founders.

I spoke to Markus Bohl, CEO and co-founder of Ignite, to learn about it.

Bridging the gap between science and industry to solve Europe’s scaleup problem

Europe’s deep tech startups face a persistent challenge: strong scientific foundations and early funding, but limited industrial collaboration and scaleup support. Ignite Next directly addresses this gap between innovation and market success, enabling founders to reach commercial scale faster through direct access to relevant industry expertise and decision makers from strategic partners.

Rather than operating as a traditional accelerator, Ignite Next positions itself as the missing link between startups and industry — a hands-on, non-dilutive program helping founders scale IP-heavy breakthrough technologies from Pre-Seed to Series B and beyond.

Each three-month cohort provides deep technical mentorship, commercial validation, and investor engagement, helping startups reach product-market fit, go-to-market readiness, and Series A and B funding faster.

“We’re building the bridge that Europe’s deep tech founders have long needed,” shared Bohl. 

A multi-partner model built for frontier tech Ignite Next’s independent structure allows the team to work with multiple partners and engage far more deeply across frontier technologies — from semiconductors, photonics and advanced manufacturing to robotics, AI and quantum computing.

Although operating independently, Ignite Next has the support of key partners, including Intel and Synopsys, enabling the programme to stay closely connected to the industry while maintaining full strategic flexibility.

According to Bohl:

The blueprint stays the same: it’s non-dilutive, we don’t take equity, we don’t charge, we don’t sell. Our North Star is founder success.”

The only metric that matters: progress

Bohl says the clearest proxy for success at this stage—anything from seed to Series A — is whether startups secure follow-on funding and continue to progress.

“Because we only work with breakthrough, IP-heavy innovation, it takes years to judge commercial success,” he explained.

“So the best proxy is simple: did they get funded, and did they move forward?”

A smaller conversion metric is whether the startups make it to the next round — graduation from seed to Series A.  Currently Ignite Next graduates are north of 70 per cent. 

“The market average is maybe 25–30 per cent. Not all our companies are due for a Series A yet, but that’s how we track it. Eventually, it’s also about how the startups themselves assess it — whether they say it was successful, ” explained Bohl.

The model has already proven itself. Alumni from the Ignite model include Black Semiconductor, Proxima Fusion, Corintis, Quantum Diamonds, Cerabyte, and Space Forge - each proving Europe’s outstanding capabilities in frontier technologies.

Ignite Next’s investment mode

Ignite Next’s non-dilutive, founder-first structure ensures startups can scale without sacrificing ownership, while its high-touch approach - guided by more than 300 senior industry mentors - gives founders direct access to technical expertise, market insight, and investor readiness support.

In contrast to the classic accelerator model, Ignite Next’s new fund won’t operate on small cheques exchanged for automatic equity stakes.

“We’re not doing the usual ‘give me 7 per cent, and I give you €20k or €50k,’” Bohl explained.

“We will invest real money at the valuation after the program.”

Because Ignite Next sources its companies directly from deep-tech research ecosystems, the pipeline is “already highly curated,” he said. The fund won’t lead rounds, but will act as a de-risking or conviction ticket alongside other investors. And despite working with major corporates, Bohl stresses it is not a corporate venture arm.

“CVCs invest either for strategic or purely financial reasons. We are independent. But corporates are free to invest in the fund if they want to benefit from the work they’re already doing with the startups — that’s up to them.”

Fast decisions, high standards

Each cohort is highly selective, typically drawing over 300 applications for just ten places. Startups are mostly referred to the program by leading venture capital investors and chosen for their potential to become Europe’s next scaleup success stories. 

And applicants aren’t left waiting for a decision. According to Bohl, “it’s basically a fast-track yes/no. We couldn’t do this at Intel due to the internal structure. Now we can. It’s exciting.”

Cooling, compute, and the infrastructure frontier

Beyond the program mechanics, Bohl sees macro-level opportunities emerging across the deep-tech stack. He believes some of the most transformative opportunities sit far below the application layer — in the physics of infrastructure.  

“If you do anything with cooling in a data centre today, you are the king of the hill — and you will be for the foreseeable future,” he said.

It’s why Ignite Next focuses on breakthrough IP rather than incremental improvements.

“When you have four or five of the eight world experts in a field, defensibility is high, and competition is low,” Bohl explained.

“It’s a hard journey, but if these companies make it, they become wildly successful.”

Breakthrough innovation doesn’t happen over a beer

Most of the startups entering the programme are the product of years — often decades — of research.

“They come from university labs, research institutions, or operators,” he said.

“We had a Philips spinout where the technology had been developed for 15 years. It’s people’s life’s work. These technologies don’t get invented over a beer. They come from the lab.”

Bringing these founders together can be intimidating. “You’re in a room with PhDs who have multiple PhDs,” he joked.

“But the technology is rarely the problem. The real challenge is turning that technology into a solution someone will pay for.”

Foundational technologies often have dozens of potential applications — automotive, robotics, industrial automation — and that breadth can be fatal for young teams.

“If you’re 10–20 people with €5 million, trying to chase everything will kill you,” Bohl said. Part of Ignite Next’s role is helping founders make disciplined choices. “We bring in industry experts who can say, ‘Go this direction, not automotive,’ or, ‘Go automotive, but with this angle,’” he explained.

“They understand the bottlenecks, the pricing, the hidden dynamics. They also know what corporates are building internally — and sometimes the founders realise a startup has already outperformed the internal team.”

The ‘end of the beginning’: where the real work happens

One of my frustrations as a journalist with a history of writing about industrial tech is that while there are an abundance of pilots partnering startups with OEMs, few translate to commercial opportunities.

Bohl is familiar with this pain point and, as a result, during the 12-week program, teams identify several concrete opportunities:

“After the program — the “end of the beginning”—the real work starts. We call it value creation. Most of the work is strategic: building new business units, unlocking new joint opportunities, not cost-saving projects.

When things work well, it’s a combination of startup tech + corporate tech + an end customer urgently needing the joint solution. Everyone wins.

That's when scale happens, because these companies need a lot of capital and must grow on the shoulders of giants.

We also help them understand precisely where they fit in the value chain — what they do, what they don’t do, what their right to exist is.”

Coachability is a competitive advantage

According to Bohl, the best founders are super-technical, straight from the lab, geeks — and they want to commercialise. 

“But you don’t always get that. So you augment the team.  That creates culture clashes. Bringing in a seasoned sales veteran with industry expectations can be difficult.

Chemistry is critical. We insist on a chemistry check before adding senior hires. If it doesn’t click, nothing works.”

Further, he contends that “Senior hires—especially sales—are good at selling themselves. Scientists can’t always evaluate that.” 

He shared that founders must also think ahead: 

“What will be my job in two years? In five years? What do I need to learn to stay a CEO? Roles change. The roadmap is long — fusion companies, for example, will spend decades together. We look for coachability.”

Additional corporate and institutional partners are set to join in the coming months, further strengthening Ignite Next’s value proposition to founders. All partnerships are long-term, offering startups sustained support while reinforcing a lasting commitment to Europe’s deep tech ecosystem and supply chain resilience.