Fuvex, a Navarra-based drone startup developing long-range autonomous aerial systems, has secured €1.7 million in the first phase of its Series A funding round to grow into new verticals such as gas pipelines, agriculture, and security/defence, while also supporting international expansion across Europe and Latin America.

The raise is bolstered by an additional €1.5 million in public financing, with Sodena, the investment arm of the Government of Navarra, taking the lead by injecting €500k into the round.

“This was our first real round after more than a decade of development and production. We have managed to sign the largest drone inspection contract for the UFD-Naturgy electricity network, we have exceeded 25,000 km inspected, and we have generated interest from strategic investors that has pleasantly surprised us. This is just the beginning: we are already scaling up to gas pipelines, agriculture, and security/defense,” said Carlos Matilla Codesal, CEO and Co-founder of Fuvex.

Similar activity has been seen across Europe this year: Zurich-based Voliro raised €19.8 million to expand its aerial robots for infrastructure maintenance; fellow Swiss startup Flybotix secured €8.5 million to scale its confined-space drone inspections; and Germany’s Energy Robotics closed an €11.5 million Series A to advance its autonomous inspection software for energy and utilities.

Against this backdrop, Fuvex’s funding is smaller but strategically significant – marking Spain’s contribution to the growing European ecosystem of drone and robotic infrastructure inspection startups.

While its Swiss and German counterparts focus on industrial sites and confined environments, Fuvex differentiates itself through long-range aerial systems tailored to energy grids, pipelines, and security applications, expanding both the geographic and operational scope of Europe’s autonomous inspection capabilities.

Founded in 2013, the company specialises in drone-based inspection of critical infrastructure and has already logged more than 25,000 kilometres of power line inspections across Spain.

This marks Fuvex’s first external funding round following more than a decade of development and operations in a highly regulated and technologically demanding sector.

The company’s technology looks to replace traditional helicopter inspections with electric-powered, long-range drones capable of autonomous operations. Fuvex claims its aircraft deliver up to 92% cost savings while improving safety and data resolution – up to 1,000 times more detailed than satellite imaging.

These innovations have already attracted contracts from major energy players like UFD-Naturgy and Endesa.

“Supporting Fuvex in its growth is a clear example of how Sodena backs companies at all stages, reaffirming its commitment to establishing roots and generating value in Navarre through dual-use projects, both civil and defense, that apply technology and innovation to the development of high added-value solutions,” noted Iñaki Larraya Garayalde, managing director at Sodena.

The funding will enable Fuvex to cut operational costs by 33% this year, with projections to reach a 70% reduction by 2027. The startup aims to reach an annual inspection volume of 40,000 kilometres by 2026 and target a 71% market share in Spain by 2028.

Current expansion plans include entering the Portuguese, French, Italian, and Latin American markets.

Employing over 50 people, Fuvex expects to grow its team by an additional 15 to 25 hires in the next 18 months. These roles will focus on R&D, engineering, and drone operations.

The company’s strategic vision is to become the European leader in fully autonomous, long-range drones by 2030 – positioning itself at the crossroads of infrastructure safety, environmental sustainability, and wildfire prevention.

With seven patents under its belt and increasing institutional support – evidenced by a recent visit from Mikel Irujo, the Navarra Minister for Industry, Ecological Transition and Digital Business – Fuvex is shaping up as a notable player in Europe’s drone-based infrastructure inspection landscape.

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A UK startup which is developing brain monitoring and treatment technology which avoids drilling a hole into a patient’s skull has raised more than $100m in funding in total, it has announced.

Led by “generational founder” James Dacombe, the $102.5m funding includes a $60m Series A funding round in London-based CoMind which was led by Plural, the VC firm set up by Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and other founders.

Other investors in CoMind include Angelini Ventures, LocalGlobe, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First.

Dacombe, who is now 25, founded CoMind when he was just 17.

CoMind's tech can measure core brain health indicators, such as cerebral blood flow, through non-invasive measures, as opposed to existing brain monitoring techniques, which require drilling a hole into a patient's skull, or "rely on inaccurate non-invasive monitoring that can compromise treatment decisions", CoMind said.

It claims its tech “has never been done before”.

CoMind says: “In the US alone, three million patients suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) every year, but only 5 per cent receive an intracranial pressure test, which requires drilling a hole in the skull and carries a 15 per cent complication rate.

"The rest are treated with limited information, leading to worse data, worse outcomes and higher costs.”

CoMind aims to get approval for its tech from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within two years, which it says will unlock access to "the huge ICU (intensive care unit) market in the US".

It also plans to expand its product portfolio with an AI platform that transforms sensor data into predictive insights, identifying complications early and personalising treatment.

Julia Hawkins, general partner at LocalGlobe said: ”James is truly a generational founder and partnering with him and his team has been one of our great privileges as investors. We couldn’t be more excited to continue supporting them as they redefine how the brain is measured, and, ultimately, how it’s treated.

“At LocalGlobe, we’ve always believed that the next wave of European technology will be defined not only by software, but by science and engineering breakthroughs that fundamentally reshape industries.

“CoMind is one of those companies, a pioneer redefining how the brain is monitored, entirely non-invasively, through breakthroughs in photonics.”

Plural said: “The company’s technology has the potential to dramatically improve how we monitor our brains, giving doctors better information and more choices for treating patients, building out a whole extra market by providing a far more affordable and safe alternative to existing solutions.

"This makes CoMind a classic Plural investment: a startup that can make a huge global impact, built in Europe.”

Heidelberg-based Enzo, a startup protecting homes from water damage, has closed a €4 million Seed extension, bringing its total Seed funding to €6.2 million to develop Enzo’s AI platform, expand partnerships with insurers, and prepare for international expansion.

The round was co-led by EquityPitcher Ventures and the Start-up BW Innovation Fund & MBG BW, with additional participation from Silence VC and the impact angel network better ventures, including business angels Gloria Seibert, Martina Steiner-Samwer, Peter Krachten, and Robert Levenhagen.

“Our solution delivers dual value: economic efficiency through massive claim cost reductions, and ecological impact by preventing unnecessary repairs and CO₂ emissions,” says Sascha Wolf, Co-founder and CEO of Enzo. “With this new funding, we’ll continue advancing our technology, expanding existing partnerships, and preparing for international rollout.”

Enzo’s Seed funding follows comparable early-stage rounds such as muffintech’s €3.5 million Seed and Afori’s €4 million pre-Seed, both in Germany, highlighting strong domestic momentum in the sector. Larger rounds, such as Baobab Insurance’s €12 million Series A in Berlin and Seyna’s €10 million raise in France, indicate continued investor confidence across Europe.

Enzo’s focus on AI-powered IoT sensors for property insurance complements these developments by addressing risk prevention rather than claims management or brokerage.

“Enzo demonstrates how technological innovation can solve a billion-euro problem – while delivering measurable environmental and economic impact. The team combines deep industry expertise with a strong entrepreneurial drive. These are exactly the kind of Founders we look for at better ventures,” says Tina Dreimann, Co-founder and Managing Director of better ventures.

Founded in 2021 by Sascha Wolf and Marvin Follmann, Enzo is is a brand of SafeHome developing IoT- and AI-based solutions for the safe and sustainable use of drinking water in buildings. With its one.drop technology, Enzo digitally monitors water systems and reports defects to minimise damage and water loss.

Its solutions help residential insurers lower claim ratios and promote long-term sustainable water management.

“Water is one of the largest insured risks – and Enzo offers a unique technological and strategic solution to dramatically reduce the enormous volume of claims,” adds Andrea Silberschmidt-Buhofer of EquityPitcher Ventures.

According to the company, water damage is the costliest category in residential property insurance: in Germany alone, such incidents cause €5 billion in damage annually. Repairs also carry a significant burden, involving energy-intensive drying processes, material replacement, and high resource consumption.

Enzo’s proprietary, patented sensors can be retrofitted within minutes without professional  installation, reportedly achieving 40 times higher precision in water damage detection compared to conventional water meters. Insurers benefit from up to 70% lower claim costs, while property owners and the environment see significantly reduced resource use.

Enzo collaborates with leading insurers such as BarmeniaGothaer, Alte Leipziger, INTER, Hiscox, and SV SparkassenVersicherung. The technology is already being deployed in several countries.

Frank Hummler, Investment Manager at Start-up BW Innovation Fund, emphasises: “Enzo delivers a smart, end-to-end solution for a pressing challenge – especially for insurers. The combination of patented sensor technology and AI analytics creates clear differentiation and enormous growth potential. Enzo has what it takes to become a leading player in the market.”

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Cluj-Napoca-based DeepTech startup .lumen, known for its AI-powered glasses for the blind, has secured an €11 million grant for the project “PABLO – Autonomous Robots for Urban Delivery”, funded under the Intelligent Growth, Digitalization, and Financial Instruments Programme 2021–2027.

.lumen was also included in the weekly roundup of our sister publication HealthHack for its January €5 million funding round.

“We’ve proven that PAD AI technology can help visually impaired individuals move independently. Now, we’re extending it to reimagine how goods move in cities. Imagine humanoid and quadruped robots walking on sidewalks, delivering your food or groceries,”said Cornel Amariei, CEO and founder of .lumen.

While this is public grant funding rather than venture capital, it aligns with a wider European trend in 2025 of financing robotics and automation for logistics and inspection.

Across Europe, several robotics and AI ventures have attracted private funding this year. Warsaw-based Nomagic raised €41.5 million to expand AI-driven robotic arms; Munich’s Filics secured €13.5 million for autonomous load-carrying robots; Energy Robotics from Darmstadt raised €11.5 million Series A for inspection robots and drones; and London startup Synkka secured pre-Seed backing (c. €0.5–1 million) to develop an autonomous workforce for parcel delivery.

Within this landscape, .lumen’s publicly funded initiative is distinctive. Its €11 million project – driven by a research-industry consortium – positions Romania among the few European countries advancing humanoid and quadruped robotics for urban logistics.

Compared with the VC-backed rounds in Germany, Poland, and the UK, .lumen’s funding highlights how EU-supported R&D can complement private investment in building Europe’s autonomous mobility ecosystem.

“The PABLO project reflects our mission to turn fundamental research into real technological applications, through close collaboration between academia and industry. This synergy is an essential step in strengthening Romania’s ability to develop intelligent, sustainable, and competitive systems at a European level in robotics and autonomous mobility,” said Alexandru Gal, Researcher at IMSAR.

Founded in 2020, .lumen is a research startup developing Pedestrian Autonomous Driving (PAD AI), a technology first showcased through the .lumen Glasses for the Blind. Founded by Cornel Amariei, the company creates AI-powered mobility solutions that restore independence to the visually impaired – and now, autonomy to urban logistics.

The project will run from Sept. 2025 to Sept. 2028, bringing together a consortium led by .lumen, alongside the Institute of Solid Mechanics of the Romanian Academy (IMSAR), BreadCrumbs Interactive (fleet management software), and Linnify (responsible for the development of the delivery app).

Together, the teams are developing a new generation of humanoid and quadruped robots for urban delivery, designed to navigate autonomously on sidewalks and through crowded areas, offering a sustainable, efficient alternative to traditional delivery fleets.

The goal of the project is to develop an autonomous urban delivery solution, powered by intelligent humanoid and quadruped robots capable of reducing delivery costs and times, minimising environmental impact, and meeting the growing demand for fast, flexible, and sustainable services.

Expected outcomes include a complete software and hardware system for autonomous robots, the creation of three new R&D positions, a family of national and international patents, and copyright protection for AI-based pedestrian navigation software.

By automating last-mile delivery, the project could offer Europe a strategic advantage and transform Romanian DeepTech into a model of sustainable urban logistics.

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CoMind, a British neurological HealthTech startup, has secured over €85 million in total funding as it scales its neuromonitoring technology that measures critical brain parameters without the need for drilling into the skull.

The company’s most recent round brought in €51 million, led by Plural, with participation from longstanding backers including LocalGlobe, Latitude, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Angelini Ventures, and Lord David Prior. This investment will support the company’s US clinical trials, regulatory approval journey, and manufacturing partnerships, as CoMind prepares to scale globally.

“James is truly a generational Founder and partnering with him and his team has been one of our great privileges as investors. We couldn’t be more excited to continue supporting them as they redefine how the brain is measured, and, ultimately, how it’s treated,” said Julia Hawkins, General Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude, in a public statement. Hawkins previously appeared in a 2024 episode of the EU-Startups podcast, where CoMind was mentioned among her portfolio companies.

Recent examples of similar funding in this sector include Switzerland’s Rhovica Neuroimaging, which raised €2.5 million to advance an emergency neurosurgical navigation tool; Spain’s Quibim, securing €47.9 million to expand its imaging biomarker and “human digital twin” platform; and the UK’s Neu Health, which closed €1.9 million for its AI-based Parkinson’s and dementia care app. Belgium’s Koios Care also joined the wave with €1 million to enhance passive neurology monitoring through smartphones and wearables.

Compared with these, CoMind’s €51 million round – bringing its total above €85 million – stands out as one of the largest in European neuro-device funding this year, underscoring both investor confidence in non-invasive brain technologies and the UK’s growing role in the continent’s HealthTech innovation landscape.

“CoMind is redefining how the brain is measured, entirely non-invasively, using breakthroughs in photonics, replacing a puncture through the skull,” added Hawkins.

Founded in 2018 by 25-year old James Dacombe, CoMind is aiming to revolutionise how clinicians monitor the brain – entirely non-invasively. Its flagship product, CoMind One, utilises low-power laser light to measure critical brain parameters such as cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure without the need for drilling into the skull.

The device marks a leap in brain monitoring, especially for use in intensive care units, surgical theatres, and neuro-critical settings.

The company’s leadership team includes Frank Fischer (Chair), a Silicon Valley MedTech Founder, Dr Michael Tarnoff (Board Member), former CEO of Tufts Medical Center, and Professor Marc Bloom (CMO), Chief of Neuroanesthesia at the University of Miami.

In addition, CoMind is advised by clinical experts from Johns Hopkins, Harvard Medical School, and the Cleveland Clinic, lending credibility and depth to its medical ambitions.

The latest round follows a commercial collaboration with GE Healthcare in the US – an early signal of demand from major medical device players. Regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration is expected by 2027.

CoMind’s initial market focus is traumatic brain injury (TBI), a space where current practice still relies on invasive procedures. With the potential to replace these techniques entirely, CoMind One could positively impact millions of patients annually.

The addressable market in neuro-critical care, including surgery and intensive care, reportedly exceeds 50 million patients per year in the US alone.

If Intuitive Surgical made robotic surgery mainstream, CoMind seems poised to do the same for non-invasive brain monitoring. The startup’s first-mover advantage, ability to create high-value medical datasets, and platform scalability are all factors that could propel it into similar territory, with the added benefit of enabling personalised medicine through AI.

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Toulouse-based Certificall, a trusttech company, has closed a €1 million seed round led by TomCat, Groupama, and InsurAngels.

Founded in 2022 by insurtech specialists Guillaume Laurent and Nicolas Chabauty, Certificall provides fast, certified, and cost-efficient visual evidence solutions for insurers, brokers, and large industrial clients.

In France, insurance fraud is estimated at about 5 per cent of P&C premiums, with over €695 million identified in 2023 and rising to €902 million in 2024, according to the French Insurance Fraud Prevention Agency. This is largely due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence tools.

Certificall addresses this issue with a technological architecture designed to guarantee the probative value of each piece of evidence from the moment it is captured. The architecture is based on four complementary pillars: geolocation, a tamper-proof certificate, qualified time stamping, and the eIDAS signature seal.

According to the company, each report takes about 90 seconds on average, and more than 3 million photos have been certified to date.

Guillaume Laurent, president and co-founder, explained:

The increase in fraud in 2021-2022 was just the beginning. Over the past two years, generative AI has become increasingly sophisticated and accessible to everyone. Today, our priority is to block fraud at the source.

As the EU targets 80 per cent adoption of a digital identity wallet by 2030, Certificall positions itself as a trusted third party fully compliant with eIDAS, the European regulation for electronic identification and trust services.

This compliance ensures that every digital proof issued by Certificall is legally valid across the EU, giving companies in document-sensitive sectors a reliable and compliant way to guarantee the integrity of their digital evidence.

The new funding will support further technology development and accelerate commercial expansion in Europe.

Across Europe, more people are choosing to drink less or not at all. Health, clarity, and balance have become priorities, and the rise of the “sober curious” movement is changing how we think about social drinking. Younger generations, in particular, are driving this shift, with many moving away from alcohol entirely; the reason probably lies in favour of mindfulness and well-being.

Personally, I have now gone a full year without drinking. Maybe I had three glasses of wine along the way on super special occasions, but that’s about it. What started as a personal experiment became a habit, and I’m far from alone; some friends joined, some judged, and many applauded the decision. The shift away from alcohol is no longer a quiet lifestyle; it’s becoming a broader cultural movement that values well-being, self-control, and connection without the hangover.

And, of course, there’s no shift without evolution. Throughout this journey, I’ve seen many traditional brands adapt to these changes and launch their own non-alcoholic beverages to continue serving people like me, because one thing is clear: we might not be drinking, but we’re still showing up at the bar.

For this article, I wanted to highlight 10 European startups reshaping what it means to raise a glass. These companies are crafting refined, flavourful, and modern non-alcoholic drinks that rival their traditional counterparts. Cheers to it!

Founded in 2021, Bemuse is a London-based company reimagining mead for modern tastes through its range of non-alcoholic sparkling honey wines. Crafted with natural, sustainably sourced ingredients, Bemuse combines the complexity of traditional mead with the lightness of a contemporary sparkling drink. Each variety, including Pomona Ginger & Cardamom Brut, Fiora Wild Raspberry Rosé, and Origo Original Brut, is low in sugar, low in calories, and gluten-free. Produced and canned in the UK, Bemuse offers an elegant alternative for those seeking a dry, refreshing beverage that pairs well with food or cocktails.

Inspired by the vital role of bees in biodiversity, Bemuse aims to promote sustainability and environmental awareness through its products and initiatives such as Pollinator Trails. The brand has received multiple awards and critical acclaim from publications. With €369K in funding, Bemuse continues to grow its presence across Europe, bringing a naturally inspired, alcohol-free fizz to the table.

Founded in 2024, Bolle Drinks offers non-alcoholic sparkling wines made using natural flavours and aromas. Based in London, the company employs an advanced de-alcoholisation process that maintains the sensory qualities of traditional sparkling wine while providing a healthier option for mindful consumers.

Bolle’s exceptional quality has earned its place at some of the world’s most prestigious establishments, including The Fat Duck, A. Wong, and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. The company’s focus on craftsmanship and sensory precision has positioned it as a leader in the emerging alcohol-free sparkling wine market. With its wines now served at Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe and the United States, Bolle continues to redefine luxury drinking experiences for the modern era.

Founded in 2020, French Bloom is a Paris-based company producing premium, alcohol-free sparkling wines that blend French craftsmanship with a focus on wellness. Created by friends Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski, the brand was born from their shared desire to offer sophisticated, celebratory drinks for every occasion. Crafted from organic Chardonnay wines that are dealcoholised to 0.0% alcohol, French Bloom’s cuvées combine natural and organic ingredients, including lemon, and are free from added sugar and sulphites.

French Bloom’s award-winning range includes Le Blanc, Le Rosé, L’Extra Brut, and La Cuvée Vintage 2022, each reflecting the brand’s dedication to quality and French savoir-faire. With €8 million in funding, the company has gained international recognition, earning multiple titles at the World Sparkling Wine Awards, including “World’s Best Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine.” French Bloom continues to redefine the art of conviviality, offering a fresh, elegant alternative that celebrates inclusivity and the modern French lifestyle.

Founded in 2020, JNPR Spirits is a Normandy-based company developing alcohol-free drinks inspired by classic gins and cocktails. Created by Valérie de Sutter after a trip to the United States, the idea was to craft refined, sugar-free alternatives that celebrate flavour, craftsmanship, and choice. Partnering with bartender Flavio Angiolillo, she aimed to create complex, aromatic spirits that stand proudly alongside their alcoholic counterparts. The company’s name comes from juniper berries, gin’s signature ingredient, and JNPR has planted over 500 juniper shrubs in Normandy to promote biodiversity and secure its future supply.

Produced in small batches using a copper Charentais still, JNPR’s alcohol-free spirits combine traditional distillation methods with modern innovation. The result is a collection of sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free beverages known for their depth and balance. Having raised €1.1 million, JNPR has become one of France’s leading brands in the 0.0% spirits category, recognised by Gault & Millau, Le Figaro Magazine, and Forbes for redefining the apéritif experience.

Founded in 2021, Mahala Botanical is a London-headquartered company producing non-alcoholic, triple-distilled spirits made with nine hand-sourced botanicals. Created by South African Master Distiller Danielle Schoeman, Mahala was born from her experiments at the Dona craft distillery in the Western Cape, where she developed a vacuum infusion process that preserves rich, natural flavours. The name “Mahala,” meaning “free” in Zulu slang, reflects the brand’s ethos — free from sugar, alcohol, colourants, and artificial flavours, while also being vegan and gluten-free.

Distilled in custom-built stills, Mahala’s range includes the award-winning Mahala Botanical Classic and the smoky, oak-infused Mahala Botanical Amber. The brand has earned international recognition, winning top prizes at the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, the World Alcohol-Free Awards, and the Great Taste Awards. With €172K in funding, Mahala continues to expand its presence across Europe, offering consumers a sophisticated, all-natural alternative to traditional spirits.

Founded in 2020, NietsCo is a Brussels-based company crafting premium alcohol-free alternatives to traditional spirits. The brand combines innovation with authenticity, producing triple-distilled beverages that retain the depth and balance of their alcoholic counterparts. Its portfolio includes Botaniets, a 0.0% London-style spirit, Havaniets, a barrel-aged dark spirit made from sugarcane molasses and aged in oak barrels, and Aperiniets, a modern Italian-style aperitivo made with Sicilian oranges and aromatic herbs.

Positioned at the intersection of tradition and innovation, NietsCo has earned multiple international awards, including recognition from the IWSC in New York and Bartender London. The company has raised €1.94 million to expand its portfolio and strengthen its footprint across Europe. With its focus on craftsmanship, low-calorie recipes, and sophisticated flavours, NietsCo is redefining the art of alcohol-free distillation for a new generation of mindful drinkers.

Established in 2020, REBELS 0.0% is a Zurich-based company producing award-winning, alcohol-free spirits that celebrate freedom of choice. Handmade in Switzerland, its collection includes innovative alternatives such as Botanical Dry, Dolce Spritz, Sweet Amaretti, Malt Blend, Dark Spice, and Rosso. Each beverage is crafted from natural botanicals and double-distilled to preserve the depth, aroma, and complexity found in traditional spirits, offering a sophisticated drinking experience without alcohol or compromise.

Having raised €2.98 million, REBELS 0.0% has become one of Switzerland’s leading voices in the alcohol-free movement. The brand’s mission is to challenge conventional drinking norms and create inclusivity through mindful consumption. With multiple international awards and collaborations with top bartenders, REBELS 0.0% continues to expand across Europe, inviting consumers to join what it calls the “Cheers Revolution.”

Founded in 2020, Edinburgh-based Talonmore Drinks is a family-owned company creating alcohol-free spirits inspired by Scotland’s natural surroundings and festival culture. Its signature product is a fiery, ginger-infused blend crafted from rooted and plant-based ingredients to replicate the depth and warmth of traditional spirits. Talonmore is vegan, gluten-free, caffeine-free, and produced at a SALSA-certified site, offering a complex and versatile base for cocktails or a bold serve on the rocks.

Recognised by both Good Housekeeping and Men’s Health as the number one non-alcoholic spirit in blind taste tests, Talonmore has gained attention for its balance of spice, malt, and sweetness. With €88K in funding, the company continues to expand its partnerships and product range while promoting mindful drinking through natural ingredients and refined flavour.

Founded in 2021, Thrive is a Ghent-based company producing alcohol-free beers designed for active lifestyles. Developed in collaboration with scientists from KU Leuven University, Thrive combines brewing tradition with sports nutrition to create functional beers enriched with protein, vitamins, and magnesium. Each variant is crafted from natural ingredients to support recovery, health, and relaxation while maintaining the full flavour of traditional beer.

With €1 million in funding, Thrive has already sold more than three million beers and earned the endorsement of world-class athletes such as Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno and Belgian climber Chloé Caulier. Brewed in Belgium and praised for its refreshing, citrusy taste, Thrive continues to bridge the gap between wellness and enjoyment, proving that beer can be both rewarding and good for you.

Founded in 2024, zerolabs is a Munich-based company redefining non-alcoholic beer through craftsmanship, technology, and a commitment to purity. Brewed in partnership with a historic Bavarian brewery, zerolabs produces sugar-free, low-calorie beers made only from water, barley, hops, and yeast. Its two varieties, Unfiltered 0.0 and Future Pilsner, follow the German Purity Law and use vacuum distillation to achieve a true 0.0% alcohol content without compromising flavour or aroma. Both are crafted using Hallertau hops, locally sourced barley malt, and spring water from Bavaria.

The company’s approach combines centuries-old brewing expertise with cutting-edge techniques, resulting in a full-bodied, refreshing taste that rivals traditional beer. Brewed over a six-week process for maximum quality, they prioritise transparency and sustainability, offering products that are entirely natural and free from artificial additives. With a growing community of mindful drinkers, the brand is quickly gaining recognition across Europe as a benchmark for next-generation alcohol-free brewing.

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!

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Copenhagen-based Jabbr.ai, an AI analytics innovator for combat sports, has announced a €4.3 million Seed round to accelerate their mission of becoming the ‘de facto’ OS for combat sports – bringing Silicon Valley-grade AI to an industry “still reliant on 1980s tech“.

The round led by Buckley Ventures, the fund of Josh Buckley, with participation from Seven Seven Six, the fund by Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), John Zimmer (Lyft), and Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, alongside early backers like PSV Tech.

“Jabbr is basically a plug-and-play streaming and transparent live-scoring solution for combat sports. We let users record and live-stream all their fights and sparring, complete with highlights, stats, AI live scoring, and overlay graphics. It’s like a professional TV production, except better and at a 100x cost reduction,” said Allan Svejstrup, CEO.

Jabbr’s Seed round places it within a broader 2025 trend of European startups combining AI, computer vision, and sports technology.

Across the continent, funding rounds of similar scale have emerged – such as ReSpo.Vision’s €4.2 million to enhance football tracking and ScorePlay’s €12.5 million Series A for AI-driven media automation.

Smaller but notable raises include SponsWatch’s €1 million Seed in Sweden for AI-based sponsorship analytics, Sports Impact Technologies’ €650k pre-Seed in Ireland for impact detection wearables, and Model Health’s €800k pre-Seed in Belgium for video-based movement analysis.

Together, these rounds indicate steady investor confidence in AI-powered sports analytics and media automationacross Europe. While most focus on football, general sports performance, or content management, Jabbr distinguishes itself by targeting the combat sports segment, merging automated video production, real-time scoring, and analytics into one platform.

With backing from Silicon Valley and sports-industry investors, the company’s position reflects both technological maturity and recognition of an underserved market within sports tech.

Alexis Ohanian, Reddit Co-founder and Founder of VC firm Seven Seven Six, has seeded AI pioneers like Flock Safety and with founding control owner of Angel City FC, the most valuable women’s soccer team in the US adds: “I back Founders who break old systems. Jabbr isn’t just disrupting – it’s rebuilding the sweet science from the ground up.”

Founded in 2022, Jabbr is an AI startup building the future of combat sports. After years of R&D, Jabbr built the world’s first computer vision AI dedicated to combat sports: DeepStrike.

DeepStrike tracks every punch, block, and movement in realtime to deliver automated highlights, accurate analytics and transparent judging to the world. Since its public release Deepstrike has been trusted on the world’s largest stage, debuting its signature stats and highlights to millions on DAZN and TNT Sports. ​

EU-Startups previously covered Jabbr’s €685k Seed funding in 2023.

Lyft co-founder John Zimmer, who has long championed tech that increases access to opportunity, adds: “This is bigger than stats and video. It’s leveling the playing field, increasing accountability and giving fighters all over the world a fair shot.”

While other successful startups like VEO changed football by giving every club and team access to pro-grade video streaming and analytics, Jabbr targets combat sports’ €1.7 billion analytics and content creation gap. Their proprietary computer vision AI watches the fight like a coach, scores it like a judge, and produces it like a broadcast crew, automating streaming, highlights, stats, scoring, and overlays in real time.

Josh Buckley, whose early bets include Applied Intuition and AI safety pioneer Flock Safety, foresees how Jabbr: “seamlessly integrates hardware, software, and AI to create a new category experience for combat sports. Much like how Twitch unlocked a community-driven revolution in gaming, Jabbr’s platform can redefine how fighters, trainers, and fans connect and engage.”​

The funding round positions Jabbr at the intersection of Silicon Valley’s tech elite and combat sports royalty, and follows a series of viral moments where Jabbr’s tech and stats surfaced after controversial bouts, racking up millions of views and fueling global debate on judging fairness.

“Jabbr is like Plaid for combat sports, their hardware and API will power everything from automated broadcasts to betting. We’re backing the category king,” says Christian Dalsgaard, who first recognised Jabbr’s potential when their very first AI-generated fight metric tech demo went viral during late 2022.

The post Backed by Reddit and and Lyft Founders, Danish startup Jabbr.ai raises €4.3 million to bring transparency to combat sports appeared first on EU-Startups.

Leuven-based AI Planet, a DeepTech company specialising in enterprise Generative AI and Agentic AI platforms, today announced a strategic joint venture with InfoDrive Analytics who is also backing the move with a €2.5 million investment.

The move will establish an AI and digital transformation powerhouse in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Chanukya Patnaik, Founder & CEO of AI Planet, said: “The Middle East is at a defining moment in its digital and AI evolution. The region has consistently leapfrogged traditional transformation cycles through bold investments in innovation and AI will be the next major leap.

“Through this joint venture, we want to empower​ enterprises and governments to harness AI to transform sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services among others, making AI a true force for progress across the region.”

In Belgium, several startups have recently raised capital to advance AI-driven and agentic technologies.

For instance, Bizzy secured €4 million to expand its AI sales agent platform across Europe, while Eagl raised €825,000 to automate finance operations through AI agents. Another Ghent-based startup, Dalton, obtained €1 million in pre-Seed funding to develop its AI-powered optimisation engine for websites.

Across Europe, funding continues to support both application-layer and infrastructure-layer innovation. For example, Italy’s Lexroom raised €16.2 million to expand its Generative AI legal platform internationally, while Berlin-based Peec AI attracted €7 million for its “Generative Engine Optimisation” product. At the infrastructure level, DataCrunch in Finland raised €55 million to scale GPU and cloud resources across Europe.

Within this context, AI Planet’s €2.5 million UAE expansion aligns with Belgium’s broader push in enterprise and agentic AI, representing a mid-range yet strategically significant investment. It also highlights how European AI startups are increasingly coupling domestic R&D strength with international growth initiatives, particularly in high-demand regions such as the Middle East.

The official signing took place at GITEX Global’s MOU room in the presence of the Ambassador of Belgium & Flanders Investment & Trade team, marking a significant milestone in expanding AI innovation across the Middle East.

On the MOU signing Rino Sabatino, Group Chairman of InfoDrive Analytics and Vardan Global Group added: “We’re excited to partner with AI Planet to build the next chapter of digital innovation. The Middle East and more specifically the UAE’s – momentum in AI is extraordinary, driven by visionary leadership and strong government investment. Together, we’ll bring world-class expertise to help organisations and public institutions accelerate AI adoption, drive operational efficiency, and unlock new opportunities for growth.”

Founded in 2020, AI Planet is a DeepTech Generative AI and Agentic AI platform that enables enterprises to build, deploy, and scale autonomous AI solutions securely. With a strong footprint across manufacturing, finance, education, and public sectors.

Earlier this year, AI Planet built LuxLLama, the first of its kind LLM developed to preserve the culture and history of Luxembourgish language. The project was undertaken with support from Luxembourg’s sovereign cloud and a government innovation grant, marking a national milestone in linguistic AI innovation.

This JV marks AI Planet’s first official presence in the UAE, beyond its established entities in Belgium, Luxembourg, and India, reinforcing its commitment to building global AI ecosystems that enable large-scale digital transformation.

The JV will serve as AI Planet’s regional base in Dubai, focusing on enabling governments and large enterprises in their AI and digital transformation journeys. The investment will be directed toward accelerating market development efforts, strengthening customer acquisition strategies, setting up operations, and hiring regional talent.

In addition, the focus will be on building industry-specific Agentic AI solutions powered by AI Planet’s proprietary platform.

The partnership combines AI Planet’s deep expertise in enterprise-grade AI orchestration with InfoDrive Analytics regional reach and business acumen, setting the stage for scalable impact in enterprise and government ecosystems.

EU-Startups previously covered AI Planet (formerly DPhi) in 2022 when it raised €300k to develop a global community-based AI marketplace.

The post Belgium’s AI Planet announces joint venture with InfoDrive Analytics backed by €2.5 million investment appeared first on EU-Startups.

This week, we tracked more than 85 tech funding deals worth over €2.2 billion, and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.

In addition to this week's top financials, we've also indexed the most important/industry-related news items you need to know about.

If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter and receive a more robust version of this round-up delivered to your inbox. Either way, let's get you up to speed.

? Notable and big funding rounds

?? Oura raises over $900M, valuing it at "approximately $11B”

?? Biotech Tubulis secures record-breaking €308M Series C

?? Energy innovator Return raises €300M in growth capital to scale battery storage capacity

??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers

?? The Indian company KPIT Technologies (KPIT) is acquiring the Swiss in-car gaming startup AirConsole

??  The Archer Aviation is acquiring the remnants of the insolvent Munich-based air taxi startup Lilium

?? Cooltra has acquired the business operations of urban cycling startup Kleta Mobility

? Interesting moves from investors

?Invalda INVL Private Equity Fund II raises €410M to invest in high-growth companies across the Baltics, Poland, and EU

?Maia Ventures launches €55M Fund to back early-stage agrifood tech entrepreneurs

? Odyssey Ventures comes out of stealth to close the transatlantic valuation gap

?️ In other (important) news

?? Europe’s biggest seed rounds of Q3 2025: Top tech startups to watch

?️ Startups embracing "AI roll-up" strategies

? Waymo to launch in London

? The biggest European gaming deals in H1 2025

? Sort A Brick launches world’s first AI-powered LEGO sorting system

? Recommended reads and listens

Profile: The Serbian maths whizz aiming to crack voice AI

?? Autumn and Arduino Bring Out the Best of Italy

?? Breaking the cybersecurity poverty line: How Stackbob is transforming enterprise IAM

?? Dwarf Engineering is building the universal infrastructure layer for Ukraine’s defence sector

? European tech startups to watch 

?? Fuel Ventures leads $1.3M pre-seed for Theodosian to reinvent cybersecurity

?? Finanz secures €700,000 to expand financial education across Europe

?? Northsea raises €660,000 pre-seed to reinvent customer research with AI

?? Supernaut AI bags €530,000 to help developers resolve stalled tickets and reduce technical debt

?? Orbiri secures £320,000 for community-powered solution to end screen-time nightmare

Lithuania-based tech startup Sort A Brick has launched the world’s first automated industrial-grade system for recognising and sorting pre-owned LEGO® bricks, setting a new standard for the reuse and upcycling of one of the world’s most popular toys. 

This launch comes as the company aims to raise €3 million in its next seed round to scale up its operations.

Sort A Brick is on a mission to bring billions of neglected toy-building bricks back to life! Using AI-powered computer vision and sorting technology, the company cleans, sorts, and repackages the customers’ used bricks into ready-to-build sets, helping them have fun while saving time, money, and the environment.

Check out our earlier interview with Sort A Brick co-founder Ilya Malkin.

Sort A Brick automates LEGO sorting with 99 per cent precision

The company’s inaugural system combines custom-built hardware, software and proprietary AI to tackle a long-standing challenge in the toy reuse sector: processing mixed piles of LEGO bricks quickly, reliably, and at scale. 

Previously, the sorting process required careful manual handling and multiple scans per brick to achieve accurate results

The new system can accurately identify and sort more than 25,000 unique bricks across over 4,000 shapes and the 40 most popular colours, achieving greater than 99 per cent precision. It can also match recognised bricks to over 10,000 unique LEGO sets, organising mixed bricks into selected, build-ready sets in a fraction of the time required by manual sorting. 

With its new system in operation and more than 420 orders totalling over 5,000 kilograms of bricks from 16 countries, Sort A Brick is leveraging advanced engineering to improve families’ access to sustainable play.
Unlocking precision and speed in automated sorting

At the heart of the new patent-pending system is a custom-engineered conveyor that recognises and sorts LEGO bricks automatically using computer vision trained on data from tens of thousands of bricks.  

Loose bricks are poured into a feeder that separates them one by one. 

Each brick then moves into a recognition chamber where AI identifies its specific shape, colour and other distinctive parameters, thus building a precise inventory for each customer’s collection. 

The system can pick out even lookalike pieces with subtle differences while keeping the process moving quickly.

Once the full inventory of a customer’s brick collection is created, it is matched against parts-lists of already existing LEGO sets to find which sets can be rebuilt completely from the available bricks. If some bricks are missing, they will be added to make a set assembly-ready.

“The conveyor we’ve built is the first of its kind — an industrial-grade machine with exceptionally high accuracy that can process around 1,000 parts per hour,” says Ilya Malkin, Sort A Brick’s co-founder. 

According to Malkin, the new conveyor can process up to three times the volume per hour while requiring less than a tenth of the human labour.

Rising demand for second-hand toys

The burgeoning growth in second-hand goods includes affordable toys, especially in the face of rising costs and changing consumption habits. 

“We are seeing faster growth in the market for used toys, as families want options that balance affordability, quality, and a personal connection to what they already own,” says Malkin. 

“We estimate that the secondary LEGO market has outpaced retail for the past five years, reaching around €1 billion in 2024.

Still, only a small fraction of LEGO bricks re-enter the resale market, with the majority confined to fan communities. With the right technology and services, we can unlock massive untapped demand for quality used sets in the mainstream market.”

The recent rise of collection schemes, like LEGO’s own Replay and Brick Take-Back programs, Magic Brix and Fairy Bricks in the UK, and BrickRecycler.com in the US, points to broader support for circular options.

These approaches focus on cleaning and redistributing loose bricks in partly pre-sorted arrangements. In contrast, Sort A Brick’s automated system makes it possible to return customer’s own bricks sorted into 100 per cent complete sets that are ready for rebuilding, thereby moving the industry closer to closed-loop use.

“We are now working on a next-generation conveyor that will operate at 20 times the speed of the current, to deliver unparalleled accuracy and throughput,” says Malkin.

“With every iteration of AI training, we are moving closer to our ultimate goal — recognising all LEGO parts in all colours ever produced.”

Plans are also underway to launch two pilot sorting centres in Western Europe to serve as a foundation for further expansion.

“Enhancing capacity means serving more families and meeting the growing interest in sustainable brick play across Europe and beyond.”

Lead image: Sort A Brick. Photo: uncredited. 

General Intuition, a New York and Geneva-based AI startup has raised approximately €114 million in a Seed funding round – making it one of 2025’s largest early-stage investments in AI.

The round was led by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, with participation from Raine.

“This next frontier in AI requires large scale interaction data, but is severely data constrained. Meanwhile, nearly 1 billion videos are posted to Medal each year. Each of them represents the conclusion of a series of actions and events that players find unique – across tens of thousands of environments. The only other platform of comparable upload scale is YouTube,” said Pim de Witte, CEO and Co-founder.

By comparison, most European startups working in embodied AI, agentic systems, or robotics have raised significantly smaller amounts.

For instance, Energy Robotics (Germany) secured €11.5 million in a Series A round to advance its autonomous robot and drone inspection software. Similarly, Unchained Robotics (Germany) raised €8.5 million in an extended Series A to make industrial automation more accessible.

In Southern Europe, Cyberwave (Italy) closed a €7 million early-stage round to build a connective operating layer linking AI agents with real-world machines and sensors. Meanwhile, Omnia (Spain) raised €3.5 million in pre-Seed funding for its agentic AI platform aimed at helping brands interact with AI systems.

Against this backdrop, General Intuition’s Seed funding far exceeds typical European deal sizes in adjacent sectors.

While most 2025 AI and robotics rounds reported by EU-Startups have ranged between €3 million and €12 million, General Intuition’s raise underscores a sharp contrast in both scale and ambition – particularly notable given its early stage and cross-continental structure spanning New York and Geneva.

“When you play video games, you essentially transfer your perception, usually through a first-person view of the camera, to different environments,” added de Witte. “You get this selection bias towards precisely the kind of data you actually want to use for training work.”

Founded in 2025 as a spin-off from the Dutch video platform Medal, General Intuition emerged from Medal’s extensive user base and content pool, which includes over 2 billion gameplay clips annually from 10 million monthly active users. Unlike typical AI startups that rely on curated training data, the company leverages organically uploaded content featuring dramatic successes and failures – ideal edge cases for training systems with spatial and temporal awareness.

It’s able to do this purely through visual input; agents only see what a human player would see, and they move through space by following controller inputs. This approach, the company says, can transfer naturally to physical systems like robotic arms, drones, and autonomous vehicles, which are often manipulated by humans using video game controllers.

The startup will use the funding to scale its research team and advance development of AI agents designed to perform in both virtual and real-world environments.

The company’s research targets include agentic systems capable of learning from unstructured video, world models that simulate dynamic environments for training, and video understanding that applies beyond gaming.

The company is structured as a public-benefit corporation and aims to enhance, not replace, creative roles in the gaming industry.

Commercially, it plans to launch AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) and simulation tools by the first half of 2026. These NPCs are expected to offer a level of interactivity and adaptability that exceeds the capabilities of deterministic, rule-based bots.

General Intuition’s emphasis on embodied AI also has real-world applications, including search-and-rescue drones that can interpret and navigate unfamiliar terrains without relying on GPS.

This versatility stems from the startup’s belief that LLMs alone are insufficient for achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), due to their lack of understanding of physical and spatial dynamics

The post Swiss AI startup General Intuition secures €114 million to bridge gaming, robotics, and drones appeared first on EU-Startups.

The UK government is launching a “concierge” service designed to make the UK more appealing to overseas financial services investors.

The UK Treasury said its “one-stop shop” service will help global financial services firms pick locations, navigate regulation and “get to grips with Britain’s business environment”.

The service, which is free of charge, is a partnership between the Treasury, regulators and the City of London.

The move comes amid international investors bemoaning the absence of a dedicated UK resource, unlike in other countries, to help speed up investment in the UK.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We said we would make it easier to create jobs and grow a business in our country and we’re delivering. This service will drive investment across our United Kingdom, making sure that the world’s most innovative businesses can access the talent found in every corner of our country and that working people feel better off.”

Financial services employ 1.2 million people across the UK, with more than half of those jobs outside London. 

The “concierge” service will draw on the strengths of the UK’s financial services clusters, such as Leeds, Liverpool, Belfast and Bristol, to promote investment opportunities and help deliver the infrastructure, the government said.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: "This marks a defining moment in the United Kingdom’s approach to foreign direct investment. Co-located in Westminster and the City of London, this important step moves us from ambition to action in less than six months.

"The service embodies the strength of public–private partnership, harnessing industry, government, and regulatory expertise to create a streamlined and fully integrated offer. It will make the UK the most attractive destination in the world for financial services.

"For investors worldwide, this represents an unparalleled opportunity to engage with a world-class ecosystem built for growth, innovation, and long-term success."

IMAGE: PIXABAY

You know when you talk to an interviewee about transcribing interviewees and they admit they use AI to summarise notes from a meeting in archaic English, it's going to be a fun interview. 

Dave Colwell, is VP of AI & ML at Tricentis. He also admits that some people he talks to at meetings “are very boring people. They always want an interview, and I’m like: “What are you going to talk about? Same thing as the last call.”

"So once, before anyone else joined, I set the transcript to be written in Shakespearean English. Everyone’s lines came out like “thou so-and-so.” It was hilarious. Prompt injection at its finest.”

He also recommends doing the same in gangster rap. 

But speaking of AI, Tricentis provides a continuous testing platform designed to help large organisations automate and accelerate software testing as part of their DevOps and CI/CD pipelines. Its main goal is to help companies deliver software faster, with fewer defects, by replacing slow, manual testing with AI-powered, model-based, and low-code automation tools.

From testing software to testing AI itself

This week Tricentis unveiled its vision for the future of AI-powered quality engineering at Tricentis Transform, its flagship global event in London, marking a defining moment in how enterprises will build, test and deliver software in the AI era.

This announcement introduces a unified AI workspace and agentic ecosystem that brings together Tricentis’ portfolio of AI agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and AI platform services, creating a centralised hub for managing quality at the speed and scale of modern innovation.

Testing at the speed (and chaos) of AI

As software creation accelerates through generative AI, organisations face an exponential rise in both code volume and complexity. Traditional testing models can no longer keep pace. Tricentis’ vision reframes quality engineering as a strategic discipline powered by intelligent, autonomous systems where agents work alongside skilled professionals to ensure every release is faster, safer and more reliable. “We give enterprises the ability to test everything."

According to Dave Colwell, VP of AI & ML at Tricentis, the company began with automated testing, performance testing, and test management — essentially making testing easier to create and maintain. 

“Today, we work with companies that run on incredibly complex technology stacks. Some of their systems were built in the 1970s, others were rolled out yesterday.

If any piece of that stack fails, customers feel the pain immediately. That’s where Tricentis comes in: we give enterprises the ability to test everything, across old and new technologies alike.”

Colwell likes to joke that “I’m an ‘AI hipster’ — I joined before large language models were even on the scene. “

His background is in computer vision and natural language processing, and he recounts that early on, Tricentis used computer vision models to analyse user interfaces and figure out how to test them organically, rather than mechanically. 

“That was our first foray into applying AI to testing.

Over the past eight years, we’ve invested heavily in AI, with the main goal of reducing the human effort needed to build and maintain tests. Ideally, the tests build and maintain themselves. That’s the future we’re working toward.

The AI testing paradox: when ‘wrong’ isn’t a bug

I was curious, what makes testing AI solutions so difficult?

According to the 2025 Tricentis Quality Transformation Report, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of organisikju65ations deploy code without fully testing it, and over 8 in 10 (81 per cent) report financial impacts from software defects exceeding $500k annually.

As AI accelerates development and delivery, the need for adaptive, autonomous testing becomes critical.  

Tricentis’ agentic AI technologies address this challenge directly, enabling systems that not only generate and execute tests but learn continuously from outcomes to enhance reliability and reduce risk over time.

Colwell detailed that the biggest challenge in AI is that a “wrong” response isn’t necessarily a bug — it’s just another data point. With traditional software, you fix a bug and it won’t reappear if fixed correctly. With AI, you can’t guarantee that:

“Take a customer-support chatbot as an example,” shared Colwell. 

“During testing, someone might ask a question and the bot answers incorrectly.  In a traditional workflow, testers would raise a bug. Suddenly you have thousands of “bugs” — but they’re not fixable in the usual sense because AI is probabilistic. It’s a big ball of math making guesses.”

When not to use AI

The first filter Tricentis teaches customers is: should you use AI at all? According to Colwell, if your use case can’t tolerate persistent error, then AI isn’t the right tool. 

“In drug discovery or hiring, even a single mistake can have catastrophic consequences. By contrast, AI-generated code is a safer use case because humans review it, pipelines catch errors, and the system is designed with verification in mind.”

AI turns startups into giants

Tricentis’ customer base is primarily large enterprises with sprawling, complicated tech stacks and the most to lose when things go wrong.

They’re also the ones most anxious about being disrupted by nimble AI startups. Colwell argues that many large enterprises are intimidated by three-person startups.

“AI makes it possible for a tiny team to look like a big company almost overnight. We’ve seen billion-dollar organisations losing customers to these newcomers because the speed and polish of what they deliver is suddenly competitive.”

The problem for enterprises is that they’re weighed down by technical debt and legacy systems. They’ve never seen customers churn so quickly to younger competitors. Even though most AI startups won’t survive long-term, the disruption they cause is real.

“Vibe coding”: good idea, terrible name

And, of course, I wanted to get Colwell’s stake on vibe coding. He laughs that while it's a terrible name, the concept is real:

“We’ve run AI coding programs internally, and we’ve seen two very different outcomes. One engineer handed almost everything to the AI. He looked highly productive — shipping massive amounts of code.

But when we reviewed it, much of the code was low-quality, because he had surrendered too much control.

On the other hand, teams that built processes around AI coding — with feedback loops, documentation, and review — saw far better results. 

They made the AI explain its reasoning, documented acceptance criteria, and looped back to check whether the outputs matched the original plan. That produced reliable outcomes.”

So the lesson is this: AI coding is about changing how you work — focusing on process, documentation, and validation.  Colwell asserts:

“Done this way, it’s powerful, but done badly, it’s a disaster.”

The “stolen generation” of developers

I’m always interested in what AI means for young developers entering the workforce, especially in many cities in Europe where there are high unemployment rates for early-career roles.

According to Colwell, right now, we have a delicate balance.

"Younger engineers adapt quickly to new tools, but they don’t always recognize what “good” code looks like. Experienced engineers know quality, but can struggle to adapt to the new paradigm. Pairing the two creates strong outcomes.”

He believes that looking further ahead, we’ll flip the traditional learning path:

“Today, junior developers spend years learning by fixing bugs and writing small features before they’re trusted with design.

In the future, people may learn design patterns and architecture first, because AI will handle much of the low-level coding.

However, Colwell also raised concern about what he calls a “stolen generation” — developers trained on coding skills that AI makes less relevant, but who haven’t learned higher-level design thinking. 

“They’ll need to re-skill, which won’t be easy. At Tricentis, we’ve realised that defensibility no longer lies in code — AI makes code almost disposable.

The moat is data, delivery, and customer trust. Code can be reproduced quickly, but real-world data and trusted customer relationships cannot. That’s why enterprises are incredibly protective of their data and why we focus heavily on transparency.”

From ERP overhauls to agentic AI workflows

In terms of AI-first evolution, Tricentis has three main focuses: 

Autonomous testing — essentially, letting users guide the process while AI handles the execution. “We want 'hands on the keyboard' testing to disappear.”

ERP replacement and validation: “Many enterprises are moving to cloud ERP systems while grappling with massive technical debt and vendor lock-in. We see a huge opportunity in helping them test and validate those transitions,” shared Colwell.

Agentic coding and validation — Colwell asserts that the gap in the market is not just in AI coding but in AI validation. 

“You can’t let the same AI that writes code also test it, because it will inherit the same false assumptions. We’ve developed approaches using separate AIs — one to write code, another to test it — communicating through protocols like Model Context Protocol. That separation creates the same dynamic you get in human teams, where developers and testers think differently.”

Tricentis AI workspace offers an enterprise-grade environment for managing AI agents, workflows and governance across the entire software lifecycle.

Coming in 2026, this intelligent workspace allows organisations to:

• Onboard and orchestrate AI agents from Tricentis, partners or third parties;
• Define governance and security policies for responsible AI operations;
• Integrate directly into SDLC workflows using tools like Jira, GitHub and ServiceNow;
• Monitor agent performance and compliance through unified dashboards; and
• Scale quality engineering autonomously, empowering teams to manage agentic AI “workforces” while focusing on higher value initiatives.

The AI workspace unites Tricentis’ agentic portfolio, including Agentic Test Automation (Tosca), Quality Intelligence (SeaLights), Test Management (qTest) and Performance Engineering (NeoLoad), all connected through Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that enable secure, flexible interoperability across AI systems and enterprise toolchains.