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Executives at the AI startup say companies paused deal talks after the Trump administration labeled it a supply-chain risk, warning the fallout could cause a major revenue hit.
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OpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US Government
The acquisition of Promptfoo, which counts more than 125,000 developers and 30-plus Fortune 500 companies among its users, is OpenAI’s most direct move yet into AI application security. Its technology will go into Frontier, the company’s enterprise agent platform launched just a month ago. When Ian Webster was leading the LLM engineering team at Discord, […]
A Puglia-based startup founded by the man behind aircraft maker Blackshape has closed a pre-seed round to build software-defined ships and maritime AI. The ocean, it argues, is the last major physical environment not yet governed by software. Mirai Robotics, a startup headquartered in Puglia, southern Italy, wants to change that. The company has closed […]
Belfast-based HealthTech startup SignaCor Therapeutics has €288k (£250k) in funding from VC firm Zinc in order to advance the development of a new treatment designed to repair heart damage and slow the progression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
Today’s investment is part of the winning package for being named the winner of Discovery Park’s startup growth programme for innovations in cardiovascular health. It will form part of a €1.1 million (£1 million) Seed round expected to close in April.
Darach Neeson, CEO at SignaCor, says: “The Spark programme’s content was exceptional – value-filled insights from UK life science industry experts and meaningful investor engagement. The lessons learned have influenced our strategy, and we would absolutely recommend it to other founders. We are excited to now join Zinc’s portfolio of innovative life science companies. This funding will allow us to execute our Phase 2a trial plans and advance our regulatory strategy, bringing us closer to delivering a new treatment for patients with limited treatment options.”
Analysis shows continued investor activity across the cardiovascular innovation space, spanning therapeutics, diagnostics, and AI-driven cardiology tools, providing context to SignaCor’s funding and aim.
In one of the largest rounds, NanoPhoria Bioscience, a Milan-based BioTech company, secured €83.5 million in a Series A to advance its lung-to-heart drug delivery platform and progress a heart-failure therapeutic candidate into early clinical development. In the UK, Oxford-based Ultromics raised €48 million in a Series C to scale its AI-powered echocardiography platform designed to detect complex forms of heart failure earlier, including HFpEF and cardiac amyloidosis. Meanwhile in France, Bordeaux-based DESKi secured €5.2 million in Seed funding to support the international rollout and development of its AI-driven cardiac imaging software, HeartFocus.
Taken together, these announcements represent over €136 million in funding across the European cardiovascular innovation sector in 2025–2026. Although the companies span different approaches – from therapeutics to imaging and diagnostic AI – the rounds illustrate continued investment interest in technologies addressing cardiovascular disease.
Within this context, the €288k investment in Belfast-based SignaCor Therapeutics, part of a €1.1 million Seed round, reflects ongoing support for early-stage companies developing new treatments for heart conditions.
Programme Lead Renos Savva, Head of Innovation and Venture Development at Discovery Park, adds: “SignaCor’s success is a testament to what’s possible when you combine scientific rigour with the right support network. Discovery Spark is designed to bridge the gap between a great idea and a credible business, and seeing that translate into real investment is enormously rewarding. The cardiovascular space is ripe for innovation, and we’re proud that Discovery Spark is helping to drive it forward.”
Founded in 2024, SignaCor is a clinical stage, drug development company, spun-out from Queen’s University Belfast, dedicated to the treatment of cardiac disease.
They are developing medicines for HCM, where thickening of the heart muscle makes it harder for blood to be pumped around the body. According to the company, this genetically inherited cardiac disorder affects around 1 in 500 people in the UK.
Led by CEO Darach Neeson and CSO Dr Chris Watson, SignaCor is working on a new first-in-class treatment to reverse heart damage and prevent further deterioration of heart muscles.
SignaCor aims to address the underlying disease pathology for the first time, leading to better quality of life and longer life expectancies for patients.
Natalie Pankova, Partner, Health and Life Science at Zinc, says: “Zinc’s partnership with Discovery Spark helped surface some really exciting companies capable of delivering meaningful advances for patient impact, and we’re thrilled to have been able to make this investment in SignaCor. Cardiovascular disease continues to represent one of the greatest unmet challenges in global health.
The company is pioneering a first-in-class therapeutic approach to symptomatic HCM – one that goes beyond symptom management to target the underlying disease pathology.
According to the company, ‘Cardiaza’ is the first and only treatment that harnesses DNA methylation to address multiple underlying causes of symptomatic HCM, including established fibrosis, a key driver of disease progression.
“What stood out about SignaCor was the strength of the science combined with a clear, executable path to clinical impact. SignaCor’s progress and success through the programme demonstrates the power of combining science with the right venture and ecosystem support,” adds Natalie.
The funding was delivered through Discovery Spark, a business growth programme for founders working in life sciences, with specialist-led sessions and mentoring spread over seven weeks. A cohort of eight promising cardiovascular and cardiometabolic companies took part, culminating in a pitch day with investors at Zinc’s London offices at the end of 2025.
SignaCor was recognised as the overall winner for their standout pitch presentation, experienced team and clear market need.
As the fifth iteration of the Spark programme, the cohort’s focus on heart health was selected for its high burden on lives, with cardiovascular diseases accounting for 1 in 4 of all deaths in the UK.
A sixth cohort of Discovery Spark is starting in mid-March, with an open tech focus.
On May 7-8, 2026, the EU-Startups Summit returns to sunny Malta, bringing together around 2,500 founders, investors, and startup ecosystem leaders for two days of networking, inspiration, and knowledge-sharing.
Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as a combination of talent, strategy, and hard work, but many founders know that timing and unexpected events can play an equally important role. In our panel “The role of luck in entrepreneurship, and how to deal with bad luck and keep going”, we bring together founders who have experienced both the highs and the setbacks of building companies. They will share honest insights on navigating uncertainty, dealing with failure, and continuing to move forward when things do not go according to plan.
Karl Sjöblomis the CEO of Eicorn and a serial entrepreneur with first-hand experience of the unpredictable journey of building startups. Previously, he founded Iplay Sport, a sports tech platform that raised €1 million in funding and became the most downloaded app on the App Store in its category. Despite its early traction and success, the company ultimately had to file for bankruptcy, giving Karl a unique perspective on the realities founders face when market conditions, timing, or circumstances shift. Today, he brings those lessons into his work with new ventures and shares candid insights on resilience, persistence, and learning from difficult moments in entrepreneurship.
Karolina Pelc is an entrepreneur, investor, and author of the upcoming book “Her Play: Make Your Own Luck”. She has more than two decades of experience across the global gaming and technology industries. In 2021, Karolina founded BeyondPlay, a B2B engagement SaaS company that raised over €7 million in venture funding and was acquired by FanDuel in 2024, where she later served as VP, focusing on product integration and strategy. She is also the author of Her Play: Make Your Own Luck, a business memoir exploring ambition, resilience, and the realities behind what many call “luck” in entrepreneurship.
Stephanie Melodiais a a serial entrepreneur, speaker, media host and the founder and former CEO of Bloom, an award-winning brand marketing agency that worked with ambitious tech scale-ups and high-growth startups across the UK and Europe, helping them build strong brand strategies and creative marketing campaigns. Alongside her entrepreneurial work, Stephanie is also the host of The Top 20 Business Show podcast and a keynote speaker known for her talk “Hacking Luck,” where she explores how founders can create opportunities through strategy, positioning, and persistence rather than relying on chance.
If you are a founder navigating uncertainty, setbacks, or difficult decisions, this panel will offer a candid discussion about perseverance, mindset, and what it really takes to keep going in entrepreneurship. Secure your ticket today and stay tuned for further updates on our event page.
OUR EVENT SPONSORS
Malta Enterpriseis Malta’s economic development agency, facilitating economic growth, investment, and innovation by offering a range of support services for local and foreign enterprises setting up a productive presence in Malta. As a key player in Malta’s economic landscape, it contributes to the nation’s prosperiety by attracting investments, supporting businesses, and driving innovation, thereby reinforcing Malta’s position as an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Malta Enterprise actively cultivates a vibrant startup ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in fostering a conducive environment for startups and offering tailored support and incentives to empower emerging businesses.
M. Demajo Groupis a leading business player in Malta, with a successful history spanning 115 years. The Group’s growth and diversification have resulted in a wide coverage of business sectors through a commitment to long-term results. M. Demajo Group’s workforce is 500 strong and their various activities have been developed through organic growth, acquisitions, partnerships, and startups. Its strong financial situation and ethical standards, its business reputation, and its renowned track record as a business partner are all key factors in its continued expansion.
The IONOS Cloud Start-up Program provides young companies with up to €100,000 in cloud credits for up to five years after their founding. Start-ups benefit from a sovereign IT infrastructure “Made in Germany,” offering 100% GDPR compliance and full legal certainty. IONOS Cloud guarantees technological freedom without vendor lock-in. Long-term support is also ensured: exclusive discounts after the first year enable a seamless transition into the IONOS Cloud ISV Partner Program. In this way, digital sovereignty becomes a strategic competitive advantage from founding to scaling.
London’sIsembard today announced that it has raised €43 million ($50 million) in Series A funding, less than 12 months after its Seed round in order to open 25 factories by the end of 2026, expand its engineering teams while launching into Germany, France and Ukraine.
The round was led by Union Square Ventures. New investors Tamarack Global and IQ Capital joined the round alongside existing investors Notion Capital and CIV. Angel investors include Alex Bouaziz (Founder and CEO of Deel), Andrei Danescu (Founder and CEO of Dexory Robotics) and Matt Briers (former CFO of Wise).
Alexander Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO of Isembard, said: “Manufacturing is the origin of our security, prosperity and sense of purpose as nations. This Series A enables us to open more factories, invest in MasonOS, support exceptional franchisees and recruit the best engineers across Europe and the United States. Our mission is to forge industrial acceleration.”
Recent funding activity reported by EU-Startups highlights growing investor interest in advanced manufacturing infrastructure, factory software and industrial automation across Europe.
In Switzerland, SAEKI raised €6.4 million in Seed funding to develop autonomous factories and automate digital manufacturing workflows. Also in Switzerland, Forgis secured €3.8 million in pre-Seed funding to automate industrial machines and increase production throughput using physical AI. In Germany, Cologne-based United Manufacturing Hub raised €5 million to develop an open-source data infrastructure layer for modern factories.
In industrial operations software, Cerrion secured €15.6 million in Series A funding to scale an AI video-agent platform designed to reduce factory downtime and improve operational efficiency. Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, Holdson raised €1.7 million to expand its electroform surface-finishing technology used in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and fusion energy.
Taken together, these rounds amount to over €32 million in funding across advanced manufacturing software, automation and industrial tooling platforms during 2025–2026.
Against this backdrop, London-based Isembard’s €43 million Series A represents one of the larger rounds in this emerging segment, reflecting investor interest in technologies that modernise factory operations, strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and support the digitisation and automation of industrial production.
Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures, adds: “Isembard is redefining the process of owning and running a factory. By embedding deep operational expertise into an agentic OS, MasonOS lowers the barrier to operating high-performance manufacturing businesses and enables a networked, capital-efficient path to scale.”
Founded in 2024, Isembard is a British manufacturing company that produces high-precision components and assemblies for industries such as aerospace, defence and energy. Using advanced CNC machining and automation, the company helps hardware startups and industrial firms move quickly from prototype to production while avoiding the delays and complexity of traditional supply chains.
Its factories run on MasonOS, Isembard’s proprietary software platform that manages quoting, scheduling, production and quality control. By combining precision machining with a software-driven factory network, Isembard aims to speed up manufacturing and strengthen Western industrial supply chains.
While Isembard positions itself as a manufacturing and industrial infrastructure company, its focus places it close to sectors often associated with strategic and defence-related technologies. The company produces high-precision components and assemblies used in advanced hardware, including applications in aerospace, energy systems and other industries where reliability.
Its distributed factory model, supported by the MasonOS software platform, is designed to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and reduce reliance on global supply chains.
“At a moment when demand for advanced manufacturing is accelerating and interest in SMB ownership is rising, Isembard brings both forces together. We’re excited to partner with Alexander and his team as they expand access to factory ownership and rebuild industrial capacity across the West,” adds Rebecca.
According to figures provided by the company, component manufacturing is a market worth €1.5 trillion ($1.8 trillion) a year. Yet small businesses account for 95% of production and they are rapidly disappearing. The average owner is over 65 years old and 40% plan to retire within five years.
This erosion of industrial capacity is colliding with surging demand from aerospace, defence, energy and robotics companies given re-shoring and spending increases on critical industries.
Without decisive action, the company believes that the widening gap between supply of factories and demand from customers risks hollowing out the industrial base of Europe and North America.
Isembard’s MasonOS integrates quoting, scheduling, supply chain, manufacturing, quality control and delivery into a single intelligent agentic operating layer, automating and optimising factory performance.
The company identifies exceptional operators – from manufacturing, the military, franchising and the wider economy – and equips them with its technology, brand, engineering standards and access to customer demand.
Franchisees can launch new Isembard factories from the ground up or convert existing businesses into an Isembard factory. This approach enables rapid expansion of high-quality manufacturing capacity while preserving local ownership and strengthening sovereign industrial capability across the United Kingdom, United States and Europe.
The Claude chatbot developer says the Trump administration overstepped by escalating a contract dispute into a federal ban on the company’s technology.
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Scale on Cloud with the OVHcloud Startup Program 2026 – No Equity Taken!
Looking to scale your startup while keeping infrastructure costs predictable and your data secure? The OVHcloud Startup Program 2026 supports startups building digital products on scalable cloud infrastructure — without taking any equity.
With up to €100,000 in cloud credits in Europe and up to $150,000 CAD in Canada, plus expert technical guidance and ecosystem visibility, OVHcloud helps startups scale confidently on their own terms.
If you’re building AI, SaaS, blockchain, cybersecurity, medtech, or data-intensive platforms — this program is designed for you.
Why Scaling Startups Are Migrating to OVHcloud
As startups grow, infrastructure stops being just a backend tool — it becomes a strategic lever. Hence, founders consistently prioritize:
Predictable and transparent pricing
No vendor lock-in
High-performance compute for AI and data workloads
Built-in compliance and security
Strong data sovereignty positioning
For many European startups, relying on US-based cloud providers introduces data sovereignty and compliance concerns, particularly under GDPR.
OVHcloud offers a distinctly sovereign alternative. Your data stays under regional jurisdiction, giving startups a competitive advantage when working with enterprise or public-sector clients.
A compelling real-world example comes from Hopsworks’ migration case study, where the company documented its transition from AWS to a European cloud provider. After migrating, Hopsworks reported reducing cloud costs by 62% — while maintaining performance and gaining stronger infrastructure control.
The takeaway? Infrastructure strategy directly impacts margins, scalability, and long-term independence.
Whether you’re optimizing costs, migrating infrastructure, or scaling across markets, the program provides structured support to accelerate growth.
Explore the Regional Tracks
The program operates through dedicated regional entities, ensuring local compliance, sovereignty, and ecosystem relevance.
Austria and Switzerland
Startups in Austria and Switzerland can receive up to €100,000 in cloud credits.
OVHcloud’s European infrastructure is particularly suited for startups in the following domains:
DeepTech
Healthcare
Blockchain
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Cybersecurity
For founders expanding across the EU, infrastructure sovereignty is increasingly a competitive advantage — especially in industries where GDPR compliance is critical.
Startups in Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine can also access up to €100,000 in cloud credits.
This regional track is ideal for startups building solutions in the following domains:
DeepTech
Healthcare
Blockchain
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Cybersecurity
For scaling startups in these ecosystems, infrastructure decisions increasingly determine international expansion capability and operational cost control.
Canadian startups can receive up to $150,000 CAD in cloud credits.
With sovereign infrastructure hosted in Canada, OVHcloud is especially relevant for:
Medtech & Healthtech startups requiring data residency
Geotech platforms processing satellite imagery
AI & machine learning companies
Streaming, 3D, and video-heavy platforms
SaaS B2B enterprise solutions
A common concern for scaling startups is migration effort. OVHcloud addresses this with a standardized stack and technical support designed to simplify transitions and reduce operational disruption.
For Canadian startups handling sensitive data, local sovereignty combined with scalability is a powerful differentiator.
OVHcloud is not just about storage and compute; it also supports advanced, real-time AI innovation. It highlights how startups are deploying AI models closer to where data is generated — enabling:
Lower latency
Reduced bandwidth usage
Faster real-time processing
More efficient embedded AI performance
For AI startups, geotech platforms, video-processing companies, and data-heavy SaaS businesses, infrastructure performance directly affects product capability.
OVHcloud’s architecture is built to support these advanced workloads, making it a strong foundation for innovation at scale.
Ready to Scale with Confidence?
Infrastructure choices define how fast and how securely your startup can grow.
The OVHcloud Startup Program 2026 gives you the cloud credits, technical support, and sovereign infrastructure needed to scale without giving up equity or control.
If your product is cloud-ready and built for growth, now is the time to act!
Explore your regional track (see above) and apply today using event code STARTUS2026.
February 2026 saw a notable increase in funding compared
with January, driven mainly by larger capital inflows rather than a sharp rise
in the number of deals.
Deal activity reached 296 transactions, up 11.7 per
cent from 265 in January, indicating steady but moderate growth in deal volume.
The more significant change was in total capital raised, which increased from
€5 billion in January to €7.8 billion in February, representing a 56 per cent
month-over-month rise.
Geographically, funding became more concentrated, with the
UK accounting for €3.8 billion, or about 48.7 per cent of total funding in
February. At the sector level, transportation attracted €1.5 billion, approximately
19.2 per cent of total funding for the month.
Tech.eu’s
Cate Lawrence commented on the February numbers within the European tech
investment landscape in our February Tech.eu Pulse, a compact version of the
monthly report:
In
February, startups across the continent raised €7.8 billion across 296 deals,
up from €5 billion the previous month. But the most telling trend is not the
deal count - it is the growing concentration of capital into large, strategic
rounds. Still, Europe’s startup ecosystem has never been solely
about speed. Increasingly, it is about strategic depth — building technologies
that underpin energy systems, mobility networks, healthcare platforms, and
digital infrastructure. If February’s numbers tell us anything, it is this: European
tech is still scaling - but increasingly, it is scaling the systems that
matter.
For her more detailed review and more in-depth analyses of
the European tech ecosystem, including industry and country performance, exit
activities, and more, check out our February report.
Here are the 10 largest tech deals in Europe from February, accounting for 61.5 per cent of the month’s total funding.
Amount raised: €$1.4B
Nscale is a technology company that provides AI-focused cloud and computing infrastructure designed to support large-scale artificial intelligence workloads.
Headquartered in London, the company develops and operates high-performance GPU cloud platforms and data centres that enable organisations to train, fine-tune, and deploy AI models efficiently.
Nscale has secured a $1.4 billion delayed draw term loan backed by GPUs to fund the purchase of GPU systems linked to multiple signed customer contracts.
Amount raised: $1.2B
Wayve is a London-based artificial intelligence company developing software for autonomous driving.
Founded in 2017, the company builds AI foundation models that enable vehicles to learn how to drive from real-world data rather than relying on detailed maps or hand-coded rules. Its technology, known as an “AI Driver,” uses camera-based perception and machine learning to deliver scalable automated driving capabilities for passenger vehicles, robotaxis, and other mobility applications.
Wayve raised $1.2 billion in a Series D round at $8.6B valuation to scale embodied AI for autonomous driving.
Amount raised: €975M
Eutelsat is a satellite communications company that provides connectivity and broadcasting services worldwide.
The company operates a fleet of geostationary satellites and a low-Earth-orbit constellation through its subsidiary OneWeb, delivering video distribution, broadband connectivity, and data services to broadcasters, telecom operators, businesses, and governments across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Eutelsat has signed €975 million in Export Credit Agency (ECA) financing to fund the procurement of new LEO satellites for its OneWeb constellation.
Amount raised: $500M
ElevenLabs is an AI research and technology company that develops advanced audio and voice generation models.
Its platform enables users to create realistic, human-like speech, clone voices, and build conversational voice agents using generative AI. The company’s tools are used by developers, businesses, and content creators for applications such as voiceovers, dubbing, audiobooks, and customer-service automation across multiple languages.
ElevenLabs has raised $500 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $11 billion.
Amount raised: $400M
Polestar is an automotive manufacturer focused on electric vehicles and performance-oriented design.
Founded as a standalone brand in 2017, the company develops and sells battery-electric cars that combine Scandinavian design, advanced technology, and sustainability. Polestar operates globally and aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility through innovative electric vehicle products and digital-first sales and service models.
Polestar has secured $400 million in new equity funding to strengthen its balance sheet and improve liquidity.
Amount raised: $250M
Axelera AI is a Netherlands-based semiconductor company that develops hardware and software platforms to accelerate artificial intelligence applications.
Founded in 2021, the company designs AI processing units (AIPUs) and inference accelerators that enable efficient AI deployment at the edge for applications such as computer vision, robotics, industrial automation, and smart devices. Its technology focuses on high-performance and energy-efficient AI computing using proprietary digital in-memory computing architectures.
Axelera AI raised more than $250 million in a funding round led by Innovation Industries, with participation from new investor BlackRock.
Amount raised: $250M
Wayflyer is a fintech company that provides revenue-based financing and analytics tools to e-commerce and consumer brands.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Dublin, the company uses data-driven technology to assess business performance and offer fast, flexible funding that helps companies manage cash flow, purchase inventory, and scale operations. Wayflyer’s platform enables businesses to access capital without giving up equity, with repayments linked to future revenues.
Wayflyer secured a $250 million two-year credit facility from ATLAS SP Partners to provide financing directly to founders of small businesses.
Amount raised: $220M
Olix is a semiconductor startup developing next-generation AI chips designed to improve the efficiency of running artificial intelligence models.
The company is building a new class of AI accelerator that integrates SRAM-based architecture with photonics to deliver higher throughput, lower energy use, and reduced costs for AI inference workloads. Olix aims to address the growing compute demands of advanced AI systems by creating alternatives to traditional GPU-based architectures.
Olix secured $220 million in new funding, bringing its total funding to approximately $250 million since its launch in 2024.
Amount raised: €150M
ICEYE is a space technology company that designs, builds, and operates constellations of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for Earth observation.
The company provides high-resolution radar imagery and analytics that can capture images of the Earth day or night and through cloud cover. ICEYE’s data and satellite solutions are used by governments and commercial customers for applications such as disaster response, environmental monitoring, maritime tracking, and security.
ICEYE raised €150 million in Series E funding.
Amount raised: €150M
Quantum Systems is an aerospace and technology company that develops and manufactures autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and aerial intelligence solutions.
The company produces electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) drones equipped with advanced sensors and software for data collection and real-time analysis. Its systems are used by government agencies and commercial customers for applications including defence, security, mapping, and geospatial intelligence.
Quantum Systems received a financing package of a total value of €150 million to support their continued growth and industrial scaling in Europe.
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Cytotrait raises £3M for agricultural gene-editing technology
Cytotrait, a
spinout from The University of Manchester focused on developing new traits for
food and agricultural applications, has closed a £3 million seed funding round.
The round was led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from the UK
Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed by Future Planet Capital,
and the Northern Universities Ventures Fund, managed by Parkwalk in
collaboration with Northern Gritstone.
Cytotrait
develops technologies aimed at improving crop traits. Its proprietary platform,
MOSS (Mutant Organelle Selection System), enables the introduction of genes and
gene edits into plant organelles, including chloroplasts and mitochondria. The
approach allows researchers to rapidly achieve homoplasmy, meaning the desired
genetic change is present across all organelles within a cell or plant.
The
technology enables gene edits or insertions in plant organelles, supporting the
development of new crop traits while addressing technical challenges in plant
engineering. It can be applied to both endogenous gene editing and the
introduction of transgenes.
Cytotrait’s
technology has potential applications in areas such as improving crop yield,
enhancing resistance to pests and diseases, supporting hybrid crop development,
and introducing new food-related traits. It may also contribute to agricultural
approaches aimed at improving carbon capture.
Dr Junwei Ji, co-founder and executive director of Cytotrait, said the company developed
MOSS to help address challenges related to food security and agricultural
sustainability. He noted that the technology is designed to support the
development of crops with new and enhanced traits while potentially
streamlining regulatory pathways.
The company plans to use the
new funding to expand research programmes focused on wheat, maize, potato, and
canola in European and North American markets. These programmes will apply the
MOSS platform to explore improvements in crop yield and resilience, the
development of new food traits, and approaches that may support more
sustainable agricultural practices, including improved carbon sequestration.
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ILS secures seed funding to expand ProVision legal workflow platform
Intelligent Legal Solutions (ILS), a global
legal technology company building automation software for investment fund
lawyers, has secured a seed funding round led by Chicago Ventures, bringing its
total funding to more than $3 million.
Founded in 2024, ILS was established to
address the largely manual nature of post-close fund workflows, an area that
has historically seen limited support from modern software. While working in
the investment funds teams at firms including Goodwin and Proskauer,
co-founders Fergus Plant and Jack McCarthy identified this gap and, together
with Stefano Benigni, developed ProVision to introduce greater structure and
automation to these processes.
ProVision enables private funds teams to
manage side letters, and MFN processes more efficiently by consolidating side
letters into a single system of record and converting negotiated terms into
structured, searchable obligations and elections. The platform also streamlines
MFN workflows by generating election forms that automatically track selections.
By incorporating AI capabilities and complying
with SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR standards, ProVision is designed to reduce manual
tracking across emails and spreadsheets while supporting more consistent
workflows. It also provides greater visibility into side letter obligations and
elections throughout a fund’s lifecycle.
Since its launch, ILS has been adopted by more
than 10 of the world’s largest law firms. ProVision has processed over 5,000
side letters across more than 450 matters and supported over $150 billion in
fundraises.
The new investment will support further
development of the ProVision platform as the company works toward its product
roadmap for 2026.
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Saltz raises €20M to build global chef-supplier marketplace
Saltz, a digital marketplace for the food
supply industry, has raised €20 million in Series A funding. The round included
investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
Inovo, Lifeline Ventures, and Change Ventures, along with participation from
Mantas Mikuckas (founder of Vinted), Miki Kuusi (founder of Wolt), several
Shopify executives, and other strategic angel investors.
The company was founded after its team
identified how fragmented and largely offline the food distribution sector
remains. Restaurants often rely on multiple distributors, face limited pricing
transparency, and place orders through manual and time-consuming processes. At
the same time, suppliers can struggle to efficiently reach customers or provide
additional services such as payment terms and logistics.
Saltz aims to address these challenges through
a digital marketplace that connects professional kitchens directly with
verified food suppliers. Available through a browser and mobile app, the
platform consolidates supplier catalogues, ordering, payments, and logistics
into a single interface, helping replace fragmented procurement processes.
Saltz co-founder Andrius Slimas said the team
previously built global B2B marketplaces at Oberlo and Shopify and identified a
lack of infrastructure supporting direct cross-border transactions in food
distribution.
Restaurants and suppliers still rely heavily
on intermediaries, wasting time and inflating margins. Saltz is building a
transparent, simple marketplace that connects chefs directly with suppliers
across Europe and beyond,
Slimas added.
The platform currently operates across 20
countries, providing chefs with access to thousands of fresh and frozen meat
and seafood products. By bringing together suppliers and kitchens on a single
platform, Saltz seeks to streamline sourcing and improve transparency in food
distribution.
With the new funding, the company plans to
accelerate its expansion across Europe and further develop the technology
supporting cross-border food trade.
Over the next year, Saltz also plans to
grow its team across engineering, product, sales, and operations as it
continues scaling the platform.
A UK startup which has developed software to automate the manufacturing of key component parts for industries, including space, defence and robotics, has raised $50m in a Series A funding round, less than 12 months after its $9m seed round.
Isembard, founded by entrepreneur and former army reservist Alexander Fitzgerald in 2024, is creating a network of factories serving key industries, with the aim of showing that Britain can revive its manufacturing prowess.
The startup is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the well-known civil engineer. The startup runs its own and franchise factories, leveraging proprietary software, and aims to deploy dozens of software-driven factories across the UK.
Its software integrates quoting, scheduling, supply chain, manufacturing, quality control and delivery into what it calls a “single intelligent agentic operating layer”.
The capital from the funding round will speed up the startup’s plan to open 25 factories by the end of 2026, expand its engineering teams while launching into Germany, France and Ukraine.
The round was led by Union Square Ventures, an early backer of Twitter and Coinbase. New investors Tamarack Global and IQ Capital participated along with exiting investors Notion Capital and CIV. Angel investors in the round include Alex Bouaziz, founder and CEO of Deel, and Matt Briers, the former Wise CFO.
Fitzgerald, founder and CEO, who previously founded challenger broadband provider Cuckoo, said: “Manufacturing is the origin of our security, prosperity and sense of purpose as nations.
“This Series A enables us to open more factories, invest in MasonOS, support exceptional franchisees and recruit the best engineers across Europe and the United States. Our mission is to forge industrial acceleration.”
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09/03/2026 11:20 AM
Vilnius-based food supply marketplace Saltz raises €20 million Series A, plans 100+ hires as it expands across Europe
Saltz, a Vilnius-based digital marketplace for the food supply industry, has raised €20 million in Series A funding to accelerate expansion across Europe, invest heavily in cross-border food trade technology, and grow its team by over 100 people by the end of 2026
The round was supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inovo, Lifeline Ventures, and Change Ventures, with participation from Mantas Mikuckas (founder of Vinted), Miki Kuusi (founder of Wolt), several Shopify executives, and other strategic angels.
“We see a clear path to establishing Saltz as the leading infrastructure for food distribution in Europe and beyond. This funding will allow us to build at speed, invest in better experiences for both chefs and suppliers, and set higher standards for transparency and efficiency in the food supply industry,” said Andrius Šlimas, co-founder of Saltz.
Founded by Andrius Šlimas, Tomas Šlimas, Reinis Štrodahs, Saltz is a digital marketplace for the food supply industry, connecting professional kitchens directly with verified food suppliers. It is available via browser and mobile app, and the platform claims to consolidate supplier catalogues, ordering, payments, and logistics into a single interface, replacing manual and fragmented food distribution processes.
According to the company, it was founded after the team realised how fragmented and offline the food distribution sector remains. Saltz notes that most restaurants rely on multiple distributors, face hidden pricing issues, and utilise time-consuming, manual ordering processes. Meanwhile, suppliers struggle to reach their customers efficiently or to provide additional services like payment terms and logistics.
“Our team spent years building global B2B marketplaces, first at Oberlo and later at Shopify. When we looked at food distribution, we were surprised by how little infrastructure exists for direct cross-border transactions. Restaurants and suppliers still rely heavily on intermediaries, wasting time and inflating margins. Saltz is building a transparent, simple marketplace that connects chefs directly with suppliers across Europe and beyond,” said Andrius.
Having observed how marketplace technology could transform global retail, the founding team now aims to redefine food sourcing on the same scale. Their goal is for Saltz to become the main platform where professional kitchens and suppliers collaborate across Europe, with plans to expand worldwide.
Saltz currently operates in 20 countries, providing chefs with access to a range of fresh and frozen meat and seafood products.
Over the next year, the company plans to focus on scaling its operations. With the fresh capital, the company will expand into more European markets, add a wider range of suppliers, and grow its team across engineering, product, sales, and operations.
“We see a clear path to establishing Saltz as the leading infrastructure for food distribution in Europe and beyond. This funding will allow us to build at speed, invest in better experiences for both chefs and suppliers, and set higher standards for transparency and efficiency in the food supply industry,” added Andrius.
University of Edinburgh spin-out BIOCAPTIVA has raised £1.58 million in a new funding round and launched its first product in the US.
BIOCAPTIVA’s novel magnetic bead technology is designed to solve one of liquid biopsy’s biggest bottlenecks: preparing blood samples for cancer research and diagnostics.
By improving how cell-free DNA is captured from blood, the technology aims to make liquid biopsy testing more reliable, scalable, and accessible.
The company's patented msX platform extracts DNA directly from whole blood without the need for centrifugation or additional reagents, delivering higher-quality samples with simpler, faster processing. The technology has the potential to accelerate and scale cancer research by addressing a long-standing bottleneck in liquid biopsy sample preparation, a growing market in non-invasive genetic testing.
BIOCAPTIVA launched its msX kits for research use in Boston earlier this month to build a body of evidence across a range of applications.
The raise was led by existing investor Archangels, with support from Old College Capital, BBI, Scottish Enterprise, and new investor EverQuest Capital Partners.
To further cement its growth, the company has appointed Alan Schafer as Chief Technology Officer. Schafer brings more than 30 years' experience in genetics technologies and molecular diagnostics, including roles as CTO at Inivata (acquired by NeoGenomics in 2021 for $415 million), CEO at Population Genetics Technologies and 14M Genomics, and former VP Technology Development (Global) at GlaxoSmithKline.
According to Jeremy Wheeler, CEO of BIOCAPTIVA, while oncology scientists and technologists have been doing incredible work with the samples they’re given, there hasn’t been any significant progress in how the samples are prepared for years.
"Our msX platform has the potential to revolutionise how samples are collected, allowing for larger samples, faster extraction, simpler processing, and fully automatable capabilities.
In practice, that means faster, better and deeper iteration and research on cancer, leading to better outcomes for potentially millions of people globally. This new funding brings us closer to achieving that goal.”
Sarah Hardy, Director and Head of New Investment at Archangels, said:
“BIOCAPTIVA is at an inflexion point in its growth trajectory with the launch of its new msX beads. The market potential for the technology is remarkable, and with the products, the senior leadership and the research and development capability within the business, we’re confident about the future success of the BIOCAPTIVA.”
Derek Shaw, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said:
“Our investment in BIOCAPTIVA highlights our commitment to helping increase the scale of capital investment by businesses in Scotland to support our economy, drive productivity and create higher-value jobs.
Company growth and productivity can lead to optimised operations, expanded export capabilities and move jobs up the value chain.”
The funding will also support R&D investment to expand BIOCAPTIVA's product range and potential applications.
09/03/2026 11:10 AM
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09/03/2026 10:55 AM
Nscale secures €1.7 billion Series C to build global AI compute infrastructure
British AI infrastructure hyperscaler Nscale today announced its €1.7 billion ($2 billion) in Series C funding, to further accelerate Nscale’s global development of vertically integrated AI infrastructure – from GPU compute and networking to data services and orchestration software – across Europe, North America, and Asia.
The round was led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries. This round values Nscale at €12.6 billion ($14.6 billion). The funding round was supported by Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Point72.
“This is the fourth industrial revolution; the world is changing at a rapid pace. Over the next 5 years, Artificial Intelligence will be integrated into every industry, every product, and every job. Accelerating drug discovery, extending human life, autonomising travel and robotics, lifting productivity, and driving massive growth. This is leading to the largest infrastructure buildout in human history,” says Josh Payne, CEO and Founder of Nscale. “Nscale is leading this buildout. We are building this foundation that the market sits on, the engine of superintelligence.”
Nscale’s €1.7 billion Series C places it among the largest funding rounds in Europe’s emerging AI infrastructure sector, which has seen a series of investments across different layers of the compute stack during 2025 and 2026.
Other notable deals include Helsinki-based DataCrunch, which secured €55 million in Series A funding to scale its high-performance AI cloud infrastructure; London-based NexGen Cloud, which raised €41 million to expand sovereign GPU cloud capacity; and Cannes-based PoliCloud, which secured €7.5 million in Seed funding to build next-generation sovereign HPC cloud infrastructure.
Investment has also flowed into enabling technologies supporting large-scale AI deployment, including Lausanne-based Corintis, which raised €20 million to advance chip-cooling technology aimed at easing AI compute bottlenecks, and Berlin-based Cognee, which secured €7.5 million to scale enterprise AI memory infrastructure.
In the UK, London-based Encord also raised €50 million in Series C funding to expand its AI-native data infrastructure platform.
Altogether, these rounds – combined with Nscale’s €1.7 billion Series C – represent roughly €1.88 billion in funding directed towards Europe’s AI infrastructure and enabling technologies ecosystem.
Øyvind Eriksen, President and CEO of Aker ASA adds, “This step strengthens execution by putting delivery and governance under one roof, while keeping continuity for the people and projects already underway. We have full confidence in Nscale’s ability to deliver responsibly in Norway over the long term, and we believe this positions the work for faster progress and durable value creation.”
Founded in 2024, Nscale is a global hyperscaler engineered for AI infrastructure. Through vertically integrated AI solutions and modular, first-principles data center design across Europe, North America, and beyond, Nscale delivers the compute foundation for enterprise AI training, fine-tuning, and inference at scale.
Today’s capital deepens Nscale’s infrastructure footprint, expands its engineering and operations teams, and strengthens the platform, enabling Nscale to continue to deliver real, production-grade AI deployments at massive scale.
Nscale is purpose-built to accelerate AI deployments, addressing the constraint on market scaling due to deploy capacity reliable functioning in production.
Rayyan Islam, the co-founder and General Partner of 8090 Industries says, “We are living through a new era defined by AI, and the limiting factor is infrastructure. Compute, energy, and industrial-scale deployment capacity will determine which nations and companies lead the next generation of technological and economic progress.
“Nscale has built a platform uniquely capable of solving this challenge by vertically integrating the critical layers of AI infrastructure – from energy and data centers to compute and orchestration. At 8090 Industries, we invest in the systems that enable entire industries to scale and are proud to partner with Josh and the Nscale team as they build the foundational backbone for the global AI economy.”
Nscale has appointed three new Directors to its Board: Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg. The additions bring significant experience across technology, policy, operations, and governance. Sandberg, currently co-founder of Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners and former COO of Meta Platforms and executive at Google, offers deep expertise in scaling global technology companies. Decker, CEO and co-founder of Raftr and former President of Yahoo!, contributes strong financial and governance experience. Clegg, now a General Partner at Hiro Capital and former President of Global Affairs at Meta, adds insight at the intersection of technology, regulation, and global policy.
They join the existing board members Josh Payne, Rael Nurick, Jacob Leschly, and Øyvind Eriksen.
Alongside this Series C funding and its new Directors, Nscale has reached an agreement with Aker to roll the Aker Nscale joint venture — announced in July 2025 — fully into Nscale. Going forward, Aker will remain a leading shareholder in Nscale with its CEO Øyvind Eriksen continuing to serve on the Nscale Board.
This decision consolidates delivery and governance under one entity, while ensuring all existing projects under the joint venture continue and remain fully operational as part of Nscale.
Nscale’s firm pledge to waste heat reuse, local skills development, and investment in regional infrastructure remains unchanged.
Continuing with our series highlighting promising startups across Europe, it’s time to turn our eye to Slovenia — a country that isn’t typically the first name that comes up in conversations about major innovation hubs. Compared to ecosystems like Germany, France or the Nordics, Slovenia tends to fly under the radar. Whether that’s due to scale, visibility, or simply less international communication, the reality is that its startup scene is quieter — but not absent.
Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find a focused group of ambitious companies building in robotics, Web3 infrastructure, clean energy, SaaS, mobility and even gene research. From Ljubljana to Kranj and Koper, Slovenian founders are tackling niche but globally relevant problems. Here are 10 promising startups putting Slovenia on the innovation map.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Ljubljana, Apillon is a Web3 development platform designed to simplify blockchain infrastructure for developers and businesses. The platform provides plug-and-play tools for decentralised storage, hosting, smart contracts, NFTs, embedded wallets, RPC access and multichain support, enabling users to build and scale decentralised applications without deep blockchain expertise.
With more than 150,000 builders onboarded and over 67,000 Web3 projects supported, Apillon positions itself as a full-stack infrastructure for both developers and brands. In addition to backend services, it offers tools such as Simplets, a no-code NFT campaign solution aimed at community engagement and brand growth. By abstracting technical complexity and providing unified pricing and APIs, Apillon aims to reduce time-to-market for Web3 products. Apillon raised its latest funding round in 2021 and has secured €3.1 million in funding to date.
Founded in 2021 and based in Ljubljana, Confiva Global provides a digital platform for hosting online and hybrid events. The company offers a webinar and virtual event solution designed to support conferences, congresses, educational seminars and B2B gatherings, combining software tools with platform management support.
Confiva’s platform includes features such as live streaming, interactive sessions, exhibition spaces and on-demand access, with optional assistance from a dedicated platform manager. The company serves event organisers across various industries and operates under ISO 27001 certification, with infrastructure powered by AWS and compliance with GDPR standards. Confiva Global raised its latest funding round in 2021 and has secured €300K in funding to date.
Founded in 2019 and based in Ljubljana, Epidemic is an influencer marketing platform that helps brands manage and scale campaigns across multiple social media channels. The company provides end-to-end campaign services, including strategy, influencer selection, performance tracking and market expansion support.
Epidemic works primarily with nano- and micro-influencers and combines campaign management with proprietary data analytics to support targeting and optimisation. The platform operates across more than 20 countries and has collaborated with hundreds of brands across industries. Epidemic raised its latest funding round in 2021 and has secured €400K in funding to date.
Founded in 2021 and based in Koper, Flux Motorcycles develops electric off-road motorcycles focused on performance and lightweight design. The company builds its vehicles in-house, developing core components internally to optimise durability, suspension systems and overall riding dynamics.
Its prototype platform, Primo, has been tested by riders to validate performance and technical direction, with further product development underway. Flux Motorcycles aims to combine traditional motocross and enduro riding characteristics with electric propulsion technology. The company has been supported by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Flux Motorcycles raised its latest funding round in 2022 and has secured €103K in funding to date.
Founded in 2023 and based in Ljubljana, Play123 operates a browser-based casual gaming platform offering free-to-play games accessible without downloads or installation. The platform provides a catalogue of more than 7,500 games across multiple categories, designed to be playable on any device with a web browser.
Play123 runs across 25 regional domain names, serving over one million monthly users worldwide. The company collaborates with game developers and technology partners to distribute casual games across its international network. Play123 raised its latest funding round in 2017 and has secured €102K in funding to date.
Founded in 2021 and based in Ljubljana, ReCatalyst develops platinum-based catalysts for use in hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysers. The company focuses on improving catalyst efficiency while reducing the amount of precious metals, such as platinum, required in these systems, addressing cost and material constraints within hydrogen technologies.
ReCatalyst uses a proprietary nanotechnology production process and supplies customised catalyst solutions to customers internationally. Its production scalability has been validated, and the company operates under ISO 9001:2015 certification. ReCatalyst raised its latest funding round in 2023 and has secured €1.7 million in funding to date.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Škofja Loka, SaleSqueze is a SaaS platform that provides visual CPQ solutions for manufacturers and sellers of configurable physical products. The platform enables businesses to present products in 3D, calculate pricing automatically and generate quotes in real time, reducing manual administrative work in the sales process.
Primarily serving sectors such as outdoor living, home improvement and industrial equipment, SaleSqueze offers prebuilt 3D configurators that can be customised to individual brands and product ranges. The system is designed to help sales teams respond faster to inquiries while filtering unqualified leads through transparent pricing and automated quoting. With its latest funding round in 2024, they have secured a total of €1.4 million.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Ljubljana, Sunrise Robotics develops intelligent, autonomous robotic cells designed to transform industrial manufacturing. The company combines advanced AI software with purpose-built hardware to create flexible robotic systems trained in simulation before deployment, allowing manufacturers to automate processes with reduced integration friction.
Each robotic cell operates with built-in perception and real-time decision-making capabilities, enabling it to adapt to dynamic factory environments originally designed for human operators. Designed for scalability, Sunrise’s systems allow manufacturers to expand capacity without heavy upfront infrastructure investments, while retraining units for new tasks with minimal downtime. Sunrise Robotics raised its latest funding round in 2025 and has secured €7.2 million in funding to date.
Founded in 2019 and based in Kranj, StoringCargo operates an online platform that connects businesses with available warehouse space worldwide. The company enables warehouse owners to monetise unused capacity while helping companies find storage solutions across multiple countries.
Through its platform, users can search for warehousing options based on location and requirements, with listings currently covering hundreds of facilities globally. StoringCargo focuses on simplifying warehouse discovery and improving the utilisation of existing logistics infrastructure. The company raised its latest funding round in 2021 and has secured €350K in funding to date.
Founded in 2021 and based in Ljubljana, CTNNB1 Foundation is not a startup in the traditional sense, but a research-driven non-profit organisation focused on developing gene-related treatments for CTNNB1 syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. They support scientific research, clinical development and international collaboration aimed at advancing therapeutic options for affected patients.
Its lead programme, URBAGEN, is a gene replacement therapy designed to restore CTNNB1 gene function. The therapy has received Orphan Drug Designation from the European Medicines Agency and is progressing towards clinical trials following preclinical development and regulatory-enabling studies conducted with international research partners. With its latest funding round being in 2025, they have secured €1 million to date.
By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!
Nscale, the Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure startup, has raised $2bn in a Series C funding round, valuing it at $14.6bn, and appointed Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg to its board.
The round, which Nscale says is the largest Series C ever in Europe, was led by existing investor Aker ASA, the Norwegian investment firm, and VC firm 8090 Industries.
Astra Capital, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia, Nvidia and Point72 also participated in the round.
The latest funding round follows the London-headquartered startup securing a $1.4bn loan to fund the purchase of GPUs earlier this year, and months after it secured a $1.1bn Series B.
Nscale, which pitches itself as a "hyperscaler engineered for AI", is a key local AI infrastructure partner for OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, which have announced significant investments into the UK AI ecosystem. The startup develops data centres and provides cloud services.
The startup is providing AI infrastructure for OpenAI’s AI data centre in Norway, called Stargate Norway, and its UK equivalent, Stargate UK.
Nscale, which only emerged from stealth in 2024, said it will use the funds to speed up the buildout of its AI infrastructure, including its data centre offering, and expanding in overseas markets.
Nscale has also appointed former Meta leaders Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg, the former UK deputy prime minister, and Susan Decker, a former president of Yahoo, to its board.
Josh Payne, CEO and founder of Nscale, said: “This is the fourth industrial revolution; the world is changing at a rapid pace. Over the next 5 years, artificial intelligence will be integrated into every industry, every product, and every job.
"Accelerating drug discovery, extending human life, autonomizing travel and robotics, lifting productivity, and driving massive growth.
"This is leading to the largest infrastructure buildout in human history. Nscale is leading this buildout. We are building this foundation that the market sits on, the engine of superintelligence.”
09/03/2026 10:10 AM
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09/03/2026 09:26 AM
Mirai Robotics raises $4.2M Pre-Seed to build autonomous dual defence maritime systems
Mirai Robotics has raised $4.2 million Pre-Seed, one of the largest in Italy in the robotics and deep-tech sector, to build autonomous and intelligent maritime systems to master every sea.
Primo Ventures, Techshop and 40Jemz Ventures led the round, with participation from leading Italian and international angel investors. The sea is one of the most critical infrastructures on the planet.
Over 80 per cent of global trade moves by sea, more than 90 per cent of Europe’s foreign trade depends on maritime routes, and around 95 per cent of international internet traffic flows through subsea cables.
But despite its economic and geopolitical centrality, the maritime domain remains one of the most complex and least digitised environments in the world: high operational costs, limited continuous observability, significant exposure to risk, and a strong reliance on human operators.
This is compounded by an increasingly structural trend: a shortage of qualified professionals, with thousands of operational roles difficult to fill and a steadily rising average age among captains and operators. A fully human-centric model is struggling to sustain continuous, safe, and scalable operations.
Mirai Robotics aims to build the robotic infrastructure needed to make the sea more governable, safe, and observable. Mirai Robotics’ systems are designed to enable persistent surveillance, patrolling, monitoring, and control, reducing human exposure to risk and significantly lowering operational costs compared to traditional models.
The company focuses on the deep integration of autonomous vehicles, advanced sensing, artificial intelligence, and control systems, approaching autonomy first and foremost as an engineering and industrial challenge — not merely a software one.
The company was founded by Luciano Belviso (CEO), Luca Mascaro (Chief Product & Technology Officer), and Davide Dattoli, board member. Luciano Belviso has previously built and led highly complex industrial companies, including Blackshape, a benchmark player in aircraft design and manufacturing, later acquired by Angel Holding.
Luca Mascaro is an entrepreneur and technological designer, founder of Sketchin, later acquired by the BIP Group, where he served as Chief Innovation Officer, with extensive experience in building digital products and technology platforms at international scale.
Davide Dattoli is an entrepreneur, founder of Talent Garden, and an investor in the tech and education ecosystem, with a long track record in scaling innovative companies across Europe.
From a product perspective, Mirai Robotics has already developed two autonomous vehicles designed for different operational needs, targeting ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and patrolling scenarios in both coastal and offshore environments.
The vehicles integrate advanced perception systems, autonomous navigation, remote control, and safety features, and are designed to operate either as standalone units or as part of distributed systems.
Alongside its proprietary platforms, Mirai Robotics also develops autonomy, navigation, and control solutions that can be integrated into third-party vehicles, enabling industrial and institutional operators to adopt autonomous technologies without fully redesigning their existing fleets. This approach makes Mirai’s technology applicable across multiple civil and institutional use cases, following a dual-use-by-design logic.
Italy is historically a global leader in shipbuilding and maritime engineering, with internationally recognised excellence in defence, yachting, offshore, and marine infrastructure. Mirai Robotics was born at the intersection of this industrial heritage and a new generation of technologies based on advanced robotics, AI, and autonomous systems.
“The sea is one of the last major physical infrastructures not yet governed by software,” says Luciano Belviso, CEO of Mirai Robotics.
“Autonomy is the key to finally making the oceans safe and usable, unlocking enormous resources and addressing critical security challenges.
But it must be implemented through systems capable of operating continuously and safely in extreme environments. This is a technological and industrial challenge that requires a true robotics-lab approach.”
According to Gianluca Dettori, Partner at Primo Capital, the maritime domain is at an inflexion point.
“We're looking at a huge economy that still relies on operational models designed decades ago. The human capital gap alone — thousands of unfilled roles, ageing workforces, increasing operational risk — makes the status quo unsustainable.
What Mirai Robotics is building isn't just automation; it's the fundamental infrastructure layer that will allow the blue economy to scale safely and efficiently.”
The capital raised will be used to accelerate technology development, strengthen the team, and launch new pilot projects with industrial and institutional partners.
Lead image: Luciano Belviso and Luca Mascaro. Photo: uncredited.
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Exclusive: emagine completes acquisition of Dutch consultancy Waada The Movement, adding €40 million in annual revenue
Copenhagen-based business and IT consulting company emagine, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Waada The Movement, a Netherlands-based consultancy specialising in business transformation, data and software development.
Earlier this year, in January, emagine announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the Dutch company.
“Our clients are investing heavily in transformation, and they expect to see results. They want fewer handoffs, clearer accountability, and faster movement from strategy to live solutions and improved outcomes. This transaction strengthens how we execute complex programs with discipline and impact. It reinforces a model defined by seniority across our teams, close client partnership, and disciplined delivery at scale,” said Anders Gratte, CEO of emagine.
Founded in 1989, emagine is one of Europe’s leading high-end business and IT consulting firms. The company offers consulting services to organisations in all major industries through its own consultants and a community of experts. It is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with offices across France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, the UK, the UAE and India. emagine is owned by Nordic private equity firm Axcel and a group of senior executives and board members.
Founded in 2004 and based in Delft, Waada employs more than 400 professionals and partners with enterprise organisations to deliver large-scale, high-impact digital transformation initiatives, including AI adoption, data and software engineering.
Waada operates through two distinct brands: Prowareness, a senior-led transformation advisory firm, and DevOn, a premium engineering and technology delivery organisation. This transaction fully integrates both capabilities into emagine’s unified global operational model.
“Joining emagine is an important milestone for our teams and our clients. As part of a larger international network, we can bring our advisory and engineering expertise to a broader set of complex, global programs. Our customers will benefit from greater scale, deeper coordination, and the ability to execute with the same discipline and high standards,” said Vikram Kapoor, CEO of Waada.
Waada is expected to contribute approximately €40 million in annual revenue, adding further scale to emagine’s global business. Currently, emagine reports serving over 500 enterprise clients globally, with approximately 5,000 consultants on active assignments across 13 countries and a professional network of over 500,000 specialists worldwide.
“The acquisition reinforces emagine’s focus on complex, large-scale transformation programs where strategic direction and technical execution must operate seamlessly. It comes at a time when enterprises are placing greater emphasis on execution speed, accountability, and measurable outcomes,” emagine mentioned in the press release.
Following integration, emagine triples its engineering capacity in India while maintaining its practitioner-led approach. Clients work directly with experienced professionals across advisory and delivery functions, supported by a globally integrated operating framework.
