Europe has emerged as a hub for food tech innovation, with a growing number of companies transforming the way we produce, consume, and think about food. These forward-thinking companies are leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as plant-based ingredients, fermentation, artificial intelligence, and sustainable production methods to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the food industry today, including sustainability, food security, and health.

This wave of innovation is not only creating exciting new business opportunities but also offering more sustainable, healthy, and accessible food options for consumers across the globe.

Here are 10 food tech companies that raised the most in the first three quarters 2024. 

Mosa Meat is a food technology company pioneering a cleaner and kinder way of producing real beef through cultured meat technology. The company focuses on creating sustainable beef burgers by cultivating muscle and fat tissue from a small sample of cow cells, eliminating the need for traditional livestock farming. The mission of the company is to fundamentally reshape the global food system by rethinking meat production processes, aiming to make high-quality beef available worldwide without harming animals or the environment. In April, the company raised €40 million to help bring cultivated beef to consumers.

Heura Foods is a mission-driven company dedicated to revolutionizing the food system by developing 100% plant-based meat and fish alternatives. Their products are inspired by Mediterranean heritage, utilizing high-quality ingredients like olive oil to create sustainable, healthy, and flavorful options. The company emphasizes sustainability and nutrition, aiming to provide alternatives that are more nutritious and environmentally friendly compared to traditional meat. Heura's offerings include plant-based chicken, beef, and pork products, all designed to closely mimic the taste and texture of animal meat. In February, the company raised €40 million to pursue profitability, foster innovation, and expand its tech patent portfolio, addressing key consumer challenges on a global scale.

THIS is a UK-based company specializing in plant-based meat alternatives that closely replicate the taste and texture of traditional meat. The company aims to provide realistic meat substitutes for meat lovers seeking plant-based options. Their mission is to "force animals into retirement," promoting a shift away from animal farming. Since its launch, THIS has reportedly saved over a million animals. Their product range includes plant-based chicken and bacon alternatives, available in various supermarkets and food service outlets across the UK. The company recently raised €23.6 million to fuel growth in the UK by launching new product ranges aligned with consumer health trends and enhancing profitability in its core offerings.

MATR Foods specializes in creating innovative plant-based foods through traditional fungi fermentation. By combining Nordic organic vegetables, legumes, and grains—specifically oats, split peas, lupins, beetroot, and potatoes—with natural fungi spores, MATR crafts healthy, climate-friendly ingredients rich in umami flavour and a juicy, tender texture. The company's mission is to make planet-friendly eating accessible to all, supporting local farmers and reducing the environmental impact of food production. With their latest €20 million round from EIB, the company plans to expand production of its plant-based meat alternatives.

Vegetarian Express is a leading UK-based supplier specializing in plant-based and vegetarian ingredients for the foodservice industry. With a diverse product range that includes meat alternatives, dairy substitutes, grains, pulses, and a variety of herbs and spices, the company caters to the evolving needs of chefs and caterers seeking innovative and sustainable menu options. The company secured £15M earlier this year to expand into Ireland, improve operations, support its growing customer base, and enhance its digital services.

NOVAMEAT is a food technology startup specializing in the development of plant-based meat alternatives. Utilizing advanced 3D printing technology, the company creates sustainable meat substitutes designed to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of whole muscle cuts, such as beef steaks. NOVAMEAT's innovative approach involves using plant-based ingredients like pea protein and beetroot juice to replicate the fibrous structure of animal meat. This technology enables the production of plant-based whole cuts at a rate of up to 500 kilograms per hour, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient food production system. In September, the company raised €17.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to drive growth and commercialize its plant-based meat products.

ProteinDistillery is a forward-thinking food technology company dedicated to revolutionizing the vegan protein market. The company specializes in creating customizable vegan proteins that can fully replace animal proteins in various food products, addressing a significant gap in the food industry where true vegan protein alternatives matching the functionality of animal proteins are lacking. ProteinDistillery's innovative approach involves using create healthy protein ingredients for meat alternatives, enabling customers to experience sustainable, animal-free food alternatives. The company is committed to leading the second wave of alternative protein products, aiming to elevate plant-based options to the same level as their animal counterparts in terms of taste, texture, and nutritional value. In March, the company raised €15 million.

Planet A Foods is a company pioneering sustainable food ingredients. They specialize in producing the world's first 100% cocoa-free chocolate using proprietary fermentation technology. This innovative approach allows them to recreate the flavours and fats of traditional chocolate without relying on limited resources like cocoa, aiming to reduce carbon emissions and deforestation associated with cocoa production. The company's mission is to develop food products decoupled from constrained land and labour resources, striving to produce food locally with minimal environmental impact. By utilizing fermentation, Planet A Foods can create ingredients sustainably, offering a more eco-friendly alternative to conventional chocolate. In February, the company secured $15.4 million in funding to boost production of eco-friendly cocoa alternatives.

GeoSalmo is a company specializing in land-based salmon farming. Leveraging Iceland's abundant natural resources, including geothermal and hydroelectric energy, GeoSalmo aims to produce high-quality salmon sustainably. The company is constructing a 24,000 metric ton hybrid flow-through land-based salmon farm, integrating an on-site smolt facility, grow-out, and processing plant to ensure full control over the production process. GeoSalmo's operations utilize geothermal and hydroelectric energy, aligning with the company's commitment to sustainability. The company secured €13.4 million in January, for the land-based salmon farming venture in Iceland.

Jow is a company that simplifies meal planning and grocery shopping by offering personalized recipes and automated shopping lists. Users input their household details, dietary preferences, and kitchen equipment, and Jow recommends tailored menus. The platform automatically adds the necessary ingredients to a shopping cart, which can be delivered to the user's home or picked up from a drive-through. By focusing on sustainability and innovation, Jow addresses global challenges such as food waste and environmental impact, offering consumers a convenient and eco-friendly solution for meal planning and grocery shopping. Earlier this year, the company attracted a $13 million investment for US expansion.

Launching a travel bank right before a global pandemic grounded planes and shuttered borders could have been the unluckiest start in fintech history. But for Raman Korneu, CEO of myTU, what began as a case of rotten timing turned into an opportunity to redefine Europe's digital banking sector.

Originally a travel-centric bank, myTU pivoted to become an AI-driven neobank, focusing on underbanked customers and catering to families and digital nomads alike.

By building a fully proprietary system and sidestepping the pitfalls that sank many “marketing-driven” fintechs, myTU found its stride, proving that the best ideas are often born from bad luck.

Originally launched as "Travel Union" in 2019 with a focus on travel and loyalty banking, myTU’s initial niche was hit hard by pandemic restrictions that halted travel worldwide. "With COVID-19, there was no interest in anything travel-related, making it difficult to gain investor attention,” Korneu explained. The team swiftly pivoted, rebranding as myTU and expanding their offerings to include family-oriented banking, starting with kid-friendly accounts and financial tools for parents.

MyTU’s customer base is largely comprised of underserved demographics that traditional banks tend to overlook. "We’re serving digital nomads, migrants, and other individuals needing flexible, secure financial tools," Korneu notes. Their diverse clientele includes holders of 120 different passports worldwide.

"A lot of neo-banks were ‘marketing projects,’ relying heavily on external tech stacks and licenses," Korneu remarked. MyTU focused on maintaining its own tech stack in order to be flexible and reduce dependencies.

The company remains focused on assuring secure, convenient transaction management to its customers and aims to expand to provide travel now pay later loans in future.

Anglo-Portuguese energy tech Arborea has secured €5M in new funding. The round was led by Indico Capital Partners and supported by Banco Português de Fomento (BPF). The investment will fund the preparation of Arborea’s first facility for commercial-scale protein production, aiming to mass produce nutrient-rich food products with a carbon-negative footprint.

Arborea's Biosolar Leaf technology helps to cultivate microorganisms and other microscopic plants in a more cost-effective and in a carbon-negative manner, without the need for agricultural land or agriculture-deriving feedstock.

If successful, technologies such as this will reduce pressure on arable land whilst allowing cultivation to take place on diverse settings, including in urban surfaces.

Additionally, by capturing CO2 and using sunlight as an unlimited raw feedstock, the system effectively contributes to mitigating climate change, while releasing oxygen during the photosynthesis process. 

Stephan de Moraes, Managing General Partner at Indico Capital Partners, commented on the raise:

 "We believe that the investment in Arborea will have a transformative impact on the food industry, particularly in replacing animal protein. The Biosolar Leaf cultivation system from microalgae enables the production of a higher quantity of protein compared to any other food production method, including agriculture and animal production. This investment will be crucial in consolidating Arborea's position as a leader in creating innovative solutions for a more sustainable and resilient future."

UK-based VC Fuel Ventures has raised a £20M round from Chinese investors including Shijingshan Industrial Fund and Zhongguancun Development Group.

The fund specialises in early-stage "high growth" startups with a portfolio that includes Volt, ContentCAl and Capdesk.

According to Fuel Ventures, these partnerships confirm that ‘the UK is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for Chinese investors’.

Fuel's founder Mark Pearson commented: “We’ve been working closely with our Chinese partners to direct investments into UK startups, focusing on exciting areas like fintech, AI, and SaaS. This growing UK-China partnership is part of a broader push for international collaboration as we see more cash directed from the US to the UK following Trump’s election. Together, we’re creating opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs in both countries, building a strong connection between their tech ecosystems."

“Strategic investors from China bring immense potential to unlock new opportunities for UK and European-founded tech companies, enabling them to enter and succeed in the vast Chinese market—one of the largest and most dynamic in the world. By fostering these relationships, Fuel Ventures positions itself as an attractive fund for entrepreneurs and founders with ambitions of achieving true global domination, offering access to both Western and Eastern markets and a pathway to long-term international success.”

Security AI startup Mindgard, has raised $8 million funding and appointed a new Head of Product and VP of Marketing. 

Many AI products are being launched without adequate security assurances, leaving organisations vulnerable to risks such as LLM prompt injection and jailbreaks, which exploit the probabilistic and opaque nature of AI systems and only manifest at runtime. Securing these risks, unique to AI models and toolchains, requires a fundamentally new approach.

Spun out of Lancaster University, Mindgard’s Dynamic Application Security Testing for AI (DAST-AI) solution identifies and resolves AI-specific vulnerabilities that can only be detected during runtime. For organisations adopting AI or establishing guardrails, continuous security testing is essential for gaining risk visibility across the AI lifecycle. 

"All software has security risks, and AI is no exception,” said Dr Peter Garraghan, CEO of Mindgard and Professor at Lancaster University:

“The challenge is that the way these risks manifest within AI is fundamentally different from other software. 

Drawing on our 10 years of experience in AI security research, Mindgard was created to tackle this challenge. We’re proud to lead the charge toward creating a safer, more secure future for AI."

Mindgard’s solution integrates into existing automation, empowering security teams, developers, AI red teamers and pentesters to secure AI without disrupting established workflows.

406 Ventures led the funding, with participation from Atlantic Bridge, Willowtree Investments and existing investors IQ Capital and Lakestar. The new executives, Dave Ganly, a former Director of Product at Twilio, and Fergal Glynn, who most recently served as CMO at Next DLP (acquired by Fortinet), will play a critical role in the company’s product development and launch Mindgard’s expansion into the North American market with a leadership presence in Boston.

According to Greg Dracon, Partner at .406 Ventures, the rapid adoption of AI has introduced new and complex security risks that traditional tools cannot address:

“Mindgard’s approach, born out of the distinct challenges of securing AI, equips security teams and developers with the tools they need to deliver secure AI systems.”

Lead image: Mindguard. Photo: uncredited. 

VC firm 360 Capital has closed its new climate tech fund, 360 LIFE II for the first time at €140M.

CDP Venture Capital committed €44M as an anchor investor for the new fund, alongside De Nora as anchor investor and industrial partner with a commitment of €10 million and Bpifrance as institutional partner.

At the helm of 360 LIFE II will be partners Cesare Maifredi, Alexandre Mordacq, Alessandro Zaccaria and Thomas Nivard A2A, as anchor investor and industrial partner. Their investment strategy is to advance new technologies in the circular economy and energy transition. 

360 LIFE II aims to invest in pan-european Series A and B startups focused on three areas: energy transition (e.g. renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen), circular economy (e.g. waste reduction, blue economy, natural resource protection) and urban sustainability (e.g. pollution reduction, net-zero solutions, smart infrastructure).

Cesare Maifredi, Partner at 360 Capital, commented: "Multidisciplinary deeptech startups offer the best chance to deliver truly transformative solutions to climate change. At 360, we’ve spent over a decade making bold investments in frontier technologies, never shying away from hardware or complex engineering challenges. We’re proud to back visionary founders leading the ecological transition through breakthrough innovations. Investing in these sectors requires solid expertise, which is why we collaborate with industrial partners like A2A and now De Nora. This new fund represents another opportunity to pair our pursuit of strong financial returns with a tangible commitment to building a sustainable and resilient future."

“With this initiative, A2A establishes itself as a leader in Italy in Corporate Venture Capital dedicated to climate tech. Our CVC program oversees approximately €80 million and six funds that have collectively invested in over 60 Italian and European startups,” added Renato Riservato, CEO of A2A.

“Innovation is essential for business growth, as highlighted in the recent report on the future of European competitiveness presented by Mario Draghi to the European Commission. For our Group, it serves as a strategic pillar across all our business areas, alongside decarbonization and energy autonomy. Our Industrial Plan extends to 2035, and to execute it effectively, we must continuously monitor and invest in emerging technologies. This new fund will provide further momentum for startups to develop projects that can make a tangible contribution to the ecological transition of the country—an effort that A2A is fully committed to supporting.”

360 Capital focuses mainly on the deeptech and climate tech domains. With a portfolio that includes high-growth companies like Exotec (France’s first industrial unicorn), Preligens (acquired by Safran), and Alsid (acquired by Tenable), the firm has completed 28 exits since 2018. 

Europe prides itself on a 'work-to-live' ethos, a stark contrast to the perceived hustle culture elsewhere. 

Long annual holidays, away from your desk lunch breaks, and down tools at 6 pm — and god forbid you send an email after hours in France.

But in the fast-paced world of tech startups, the idea flies out the window. 

A survey by early-stage VC firm Antler of 63 startup founders reveals that a third of founders surveyed expect to take less than two days off during the holidays.

Whilst many founders (38 per cent) are planning to take a week off during the holidays, a third (32 per cent) expect to take only two days or less to ensure they can finalise funding rounds or continue growing their companies. 

One in ten are planning to take no time off at all and work through the festive season.

And why are they doing this? Despite Christmas having a reputation for being a quiet time for fundraising, many founders will continue negotiating rounds over the holiday season.

According to Jeroen van Velzen, Dutch serial entrepreneur building in stealth: 

“Signed a term sheet on Christmas eve. If you raise it's actually the perfect time. People are much more in closing mode at the end of the year.”

Alan Poensgen, Partner at Antler, admits that being a founder is hard work, and everyone needs to take a break during the festive season to decompress and reconnect with their loved ones. 

“However, whilst many VCs will also be taking a break, deals are still being made. 

Our founders show that Term Sheets will be signed as late as Christmas Eve. So whilst it doesn’t suit everyone, some will be securing multi-million Christmas presents this year.”

Dean Hastie, co-founder of German fintech, Tapline revealed: 

“December 2022: After weeks of intense negotiations and legal wrangling with multiple stakeholders, we closed and signed a €30M debt facility literally on Christmas Eve (14:19PM CET to be exact). An unforgettable—and stressful—period.”

It's not a unique experience. Cristiano Coretti, co-founder of Norwegian proptech startup, Laioutm, calls this time of year the lucky charm period, admitting, "our first fundraise was closed in the week before Christmas and signed after NYE.”

For Max Teichert, co-founder of British gaming startup Track Titan, it has been a consistent trend:“First signature for one of our rounds on 23 Dec, last on the 30th, so full closing over this period in 2022.”

But it's not for everyone. Mads Emil Dalsgaard, co-founder of Danish climate tech startup, Klimate shared his experience of closing their first funding round over the Christmas holidays:

“I was sitting in a kids room at my mother-in-law's house in Estonia. Would NOT recommend.”

According to Nish Agrawal, co-founder of German AI food waste startup, SkoneLabs: 

“We are experiencing that VCs and Angels are trying to rush everything before Christmas Eve. The Due Dilligence is much faster, calls are scheduled back to back.” 

Sounds like a definite improvement in German efficiency. 

Honestly, I’m of two minds. I’m not religious, and my family lives on the other side of the world, so the festive season is genuinely pretty quiet for my household, especially as most of our friends visit their families throughout Europe. Christmas is also not a holiday for our Turkish parent company Webrazzi — and a lot of other parts of the world. 

A lot of us without kids would rather choose to holiday at times less congested with merrymakers and well, hoards of kids on school holidays. But I want founders to be able to take a break. 

Us journos and those in startup land are already guilty of keeping one eye on our phone during social events. Doing it in a room full of relatives is the ultimate f-you to their festive season.

And, of course, what about Europe’s startup migrant founders whose connectivity is marred by long flights to the other side of the world to be with their families in other time zones? 

Burnout is a very real stress for those in startups as VCs are recognising. This year we saw Cherry Ventures introduce mandatory coaching for founders, connecting them with a supportive ecosystem of professionals. We also saw Balderton become the first VC firm to introduce parental support for founders. 

While those of us in tech may be less wedded to the festive season, what about our families? 

Besides, women founders and those working at VCs already carry a heavy load as a report in October by WVC:E showcased. They’re already taking calls from the maternity ward, do they now have to disrupt their kids' gift unwrapping to close a deal? 

And while calls from VC may be a very welcome distraction from your racist Uncle and your niece's thoughtfully gifted drum kit, most of our parents would love for us to not only be there but be present. 

The pressure to close deals over the holidays reveals a tension at the heart of the European tech scene: the desire for work-life balance clashing with the relentless demands of growth.

While some founders may seize the opportunity of a less congested business landscape during the holidays, the industry must be mindful of the potential for burnout and the unequal burden placed on certain groups. 

This week we tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €1.5 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.

We’ll be taking a break next Friday for the seasonal holidays, but stay tuned for our December and bumper (FREE!) annual report.

Either way, let's get you up to speed.

? Notable and big funding rounds

?? Hostaway receives $365M strategic growth investment

?? Gaming group Aonic surpasses €150M revenue in 2024 and expands with €152M investment

?? Energy unicorn 1KOMMA5° secures €150M pre-IPO

?? Oura, which develops smart rings, received $125M in investment

?? Greenvolt completes €125M capital increase with KKR backing

??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers

?? Swedish sportstech Spiideo acquires Signality for a new era in sports analytics

?? Cologne-based HR tech company talentsconnect is taking over Leverkusen-based startup PitchYou

?? FIS set to buy Demica

?? Amsterdam’s climate tech startup Skytree acquires Dutch-based ReCarbn

? Interesting moves from investors

? Robin Capital closes Robin Fund One, building a Partner for founders from Zero to IPO

? Voima Ventures closes €100M+ Fund III for Nordic and Baltic deeptech startups

? Hashgraph sets up $100 million Web3 venture fund

?️ In other (important) news

? A16Z-backed 11x to launch 20 "digital workers" as hunts “killer engineering teams”

?? The EU law strikes - gambling influencers are charged more

?? Amsterdam’s marketing talent platform HelloMaaS to wind down operations despite being profitable

? Recommended reads and listens

? baCta’s “Docker for cells” creates biosynthetic, carbon-negative rubber

?? BoxBox: the Estonian startup turning spare space rental into a profitable digital business

? Empowering learning: Transforming education with innovation

? Privacy-first emotion AI: How Wayvee Analytics tracks customer engagement without creeping you out

? Ravineo is the next big thing in digital media analytics by serial entrepreneur Jan Rezab

? Voicemod leads the charge in voice tech for gaming and streaming

? European tech startups to watch

??  El-Monde raises €192,500 seed funding to expand EV Charger sharing platform

??  Freya Cultivation Systems secures €500,000 seed to boost greenhouse cultivation

?? Hologram technology startup HoloxOne receives $250,000 investment from CBOT

?? Kloutit raises €540,000 for AI-driven chargeback management

?? GEHECO raises €350,000 in funding from UNIIQ

Student-focused fintech, Habacus, which offers integrated services to students, including sustainable access to student loans, has closed a €5 million investment round.

Founded in 2017 by Paolo Cuniberti, Italian startup Habacus acts as a bridge between students, educational institutions, financial operators, and companies, promoting personal and professional development pathways. 

Paolo Cuniberti, founder and CEO of Habacus, commented: 

"Our goal is to build an integrated ecosystem that supports students' growth, while strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the national economic system."

P101 led the round, which also included CDP Venture Capital. 

"We are thrilled to support Habacus in this new phase of technological and commercial expansion," said Andrea Di Camillo, Managing Partner at P101.

 "Habacus is a pioneer in student financing in Italy—a sector with high social impact that remains underdeveloped compared to the US, UK, France, and Germany.

Investing in Habacus means supporting the development of this market, the edtech sector, and, most importantly, human capital and future talent potential. 

According to Caterina Siclari, Senior Partner and Head of the Startup Relaunch Fund at CDP Venture Capital:

"Making academic education more accessible and inclusive has a transformative impact on thousands of students' personal and professional development."

 The funding will enable Habacus to enhance its proprietary AI-driven technology and expand its service offering, allowing the company to scale its market reach—including new B2B opportunities.

Image: Freepik. 

TBC Bank Uzbekistan (TBC UZ), the country’s largest digital bank, raised $37 million equity investment from its majority shareholder TBC Bank Group PLC. This capital brings the total new equity funding secured in 2024 to $75 million.

Uzbekistan’s largest digital bank, TBC UZ, is part of TBC Uzbekistan, which also includes Payme digital payments app and Payme Nasiya instalment credit business.

According to Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC Group:

“TBC Uzbekistan is now contributing 9 per cent of the Group’s net profit and 44 per cent of our unsecured consumer loans portfolio, its role within our Group is pivotal and it is set to increase.”

In 2024, TBC Uzbekistan significantly expanded its presence, reaching 17 million unique registered users as of September 2024. This means that over 40 per cent of Uzbekistan's population uses the ecosystem’s services, solidifying TBC Uzbekistan’s position as the leading digital banking ecosystem in Central Asia.

In addition to securing new equity funding, TBC UZ has also secured $105 million in wholesale financing over the course of 2024 as the digital bank continues to diversify its sources of funding. The digital bank’s loan portfolio has demonstrated strong growth, increasing by 99 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2024 to reach $460 million.

Earöer this year, the company launched TBC Business – the country’s first fully digital banking service, catering to the country’s SMEs and individual entrepreneurs.

TBC Bank Uzbekistan also developed a proprietary speech tech stack and the deployment of AI-powered agents to handle payment reminder calls for customers with loans up to 30 days overdue. In the third quarter of 2024 they handled over 40 per cent of loans in early-stage delinquency, delivering efficiency gains while maintaining a human-like conversational experience that most customers couldn’t distinguish from real people. 

Additionally, TBC Uzbekistan entered into strategic partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, enabling the delivery of an expanded range of services and strengthening its ability to offer innovative and customer-centric financial solutions. 

 TBC Uzbekistan already has 17 million unique registered users and will leverage this new capital for further development as it continues to scale profitably and diversify its offering. 

Voima Ventures has announced the final closing of its €100 million+ Fund III, an Article 8-compliant deep tech fund. Based in both Helsinki and Stockholm, the fund has already begun deploying capital with 8 finalised investments from its first closing to accelerate breakthrough innovations across the Nordic and Baltic deeptech landscape.

The new Fund will support the next generation of science-driven unicorns. Initial investment tickets range from €200,000 to €3 million, with the capacity for significant follow-on investments. 

The firm aims further to grow its presence in the Nordic and Baltic regions while being the go-to and long-term partner for early-stage university spinouts and startups. 

Since its foundation in 2019, Voima Ventures has established itself as a trusted partner for early-stage founders, leveraging deep expertise and networks within academia and industry to bridge the gap between research and commercial success. Over 70 per cent of its portfolio companies originate directly from university spin-offs or research ecosystems. The Firm was an early investor in success stories like Solar Foods, Dispelix, MVision, Betolar and EniferBio.

According to Inka Mero, Founder and Managing Partner of Voima Ventures, "In deeptech, pushing the boundaries of science-driven entrepreneurship isn’t just about innovation, it’s about delivering meaningful global impact alongside strong returns," said. 

"Our recent Impact Report highlights this commitment, showing that Voima Ventures Fund III achieves a net impact score of +48 per cent, compared to the average -8 per cent impact of US Fortune 500 companies.

This means that every Euro we invest creates significant positive change, driven by more sustainable practices and transformative technologies."

 Investors of the Voima Ventures Fund III include among others, European Investment Fund EIF, Finnish Tesi and its fund of funds KRR, VTT of Finland, Saminvest from Sweden, and pension funds Nordea Life and Elo, as well as established foundations, and family offices.

The fund will make 25-30 investments, having already completed 8 in startps such as ÄIO,  Liquid sun, and Avenue Biosciences.

Lead image: Voima Ventures Partners From Left to Right: Jussi Sainiemi, Jenny Engerfelt, Inka Mero, Pontus Stråhlman. Photo: uncredited. 

When I get contacted by a highly successful serial entrepreneur with a new endeavour coming out of stealth mode, I get interested. 

Jan Rezab is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the tech industry. He is currently the CEO and Co-founder of Ravineo, a digital marketing analytics platform focused on making digital media safer and more transparent. 

Before Ravineo, Rezab founded and led several successful companies. His entrepreneurial journey began with the mobile entertainment and games company Redboss, which he founded at age 14 and led as CEO for 7 years.

He also founded the employee experience and engagement SaaS platform Time is Ltd. Still, he is probably most well known for Socialbaker which Rezab grew into one of the world's largest social media analytics companies. Under his leadership, Socialbakers secured $34 million in funding and acquired over 2,500 clients. It was sold to bEmplifi in 2021. 

Ravineo is engaged in various projects—both commercial and for NGOs—related to media research, transparency in digital media, and social media platforms. 

According to Rezab: 

"Social media has become less transparent than ever before. Regulations around spreading false information and fake content make it more important to understand digital media than ever before."

This is particularly crucial in the realm of advertising and marketing.

Rezab asserts:

"We wanted to revisit the space because everybody stopped innovating analytics around social media about four years ago. 

The best influencer analytics tools out there can track brand mentions, the number of follows, and the number of impressions that a piece of sponsored content received. But none of this really matters.

We want to bring in and build a new Nielsen 2 0 that creates and writes the book on standards in social media."

The opportunities around this are vast. Remember when Elon Musk brought X and he started manipulating the algorithms to ensure that his posts were visible to the most number of viewers? 

And then there's population profiling. I remember when I first saw Alexander Nym speak about his work at Cambridge Analytica a few years back at a conference in Ukraine.

He went into such great detail, displaying slides and metrics, about how his company was able to created targeting political campaigns,  that when the whole scandal involved the unauthorised collection and misuse of personal data from millions of Facebook users went public, I was surprised, assuming everyone knew about the practice. 

For Rezab, one of the key focus areas is social media influencers. He asserts, only 20 per cent of brands partnerships are publicly declared by the influencers.

Many existing influencer analytics tools are cumbersome, requiring significant time and effort to extract meaningful insights. 

"In contrast, we've developed the first plug-and-play influencer analytics solution. By simply uploading a list of influencers, brands and campaign managers gain immediate access to all necessary data. This system provides near real-time data, updating within hours."

Detecting the seemingly undetectable

Ravineo uses AI to detect these partnerships in videos, photos, and text.

Generative video AI analytics can process visual and audible mentions of brands frame by frame, but up until now has never really been used in media and content research.

For example, the AI can detect a brand's presence in a video and assign an "index of prominence." Simply wearing a Nike shirt might result in a low index, while actively displaying and discussing Nike products would yield a high index. This distinction is crucial for understanding the true impact of brand placements, especially in subtly paid partnerships.

This technology is particularly valuable for monitoring influencers, even those with whom brands have existing relationships. It helps ensure alignment with brand values and detects any potentially damaging behaviour. 

According to Rezab, 

"Two key questions drive influencer analysis: First, are the chosen influencers delivering the anticipated impact? This is typically measured using standard metrics like views and engagement. However, relying solely on these "vanity metrics" is insufficient." 

Savvy marketers also track sales through methods like test promotions with sign-ups or discounts. 

While ROI-driven campaigns shouldn't be the sole focus—as this can devalue influencers — a balanced approach is recommended. Depending on the influencer's size, a small portion (e.g., 10 per cent) of their activity should be dedicated to conversion-focused initiatives. This provides valuable data on ROI and helps establish a more accurate media value for influencer collaborations.

Given the constant evolution of influencer trends, continuous monitoring is essential.

Transparency in the rise of virtual AI influencers 

This is also important with the rise of the use of AI-generated social media influencers in marketing. One of the most popular is Lu do Magalu (@magazineluiza), the Brazillian creation of Frederico Trajano, the CEO of Magazine, whose reach includes 14 million followers on Facebook, 7.3 million followers on TikTok, 7.1 million followers on Instagram.

She even partnered with Intel  and Microsoft.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Lu do Magalu ? (@magazineluiza)

Fellow contemporaries have partnered in campaigns with brands including Ikea, and H&M.

A cheaper option than human influencers, AI influencers can offer global appeal, transcending language barriers. An AI influence can be programmed to produce content tailored to specific audiences, demographics, and interests, increasing their relevance and engagement.

While most of us can identify an AI-generated influencer— especially those that are closer to resembling avatars than videos — it's certainly not  a universal reality with the rise of deepfake videos and images.  

According to Rezzab, the public's perception of AI influencers is complex. 

"Some view them with scepticism and scrutiny, while others accept them without much thought. This acceptance is likely due to the shift in social media usage, where people now spend significantly more time engaging with strangers and celebrities than with their own social circles."

This normalisation of interacting with unfamiliar figures, coupled with the content strategies employed to game social media algorithms, may lead people to view AI influencers as a form of entertainment, similar to reality TV.

For example, Mr Beast, known for his outlandish stunts, launched a chocolate bar last year that quickly captured 20 per cent of Hershey's market share — a testament to the power of influencer marketing. This demonstrates a shift in how brands view influencers.

Previously seen as campaign tools, influencers are now capable of building entire private labels, as seen with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's partnership with Under Armour.

But at the other end of the spectrum, nefarious campaigns can use AI-generated content without proper disclosure, reporting fake news as real. An influence can purchase fake followers, inflate its user follower counts and engagement rates, deceive brands, and skew campaign performance metrics. 

As a company, Raveno plans to enhance its software and offer it to non-profits, researchers, and journalists to study the impact of social media. 

Rezab asserts: 

"That's always been my dream at Socialbakers, to build a platform that can guard the system a little bit. But previously, you would have needed thousands of researchers and journalists to not only do the work but build it. AI makes it possible.""

Ultimately, while there's plenty to be cautious about when it comes to social media challenges, Rezab believes that "to address the problem, we start with really understanding the ecosystem."