The feature, announced at SXSW by co-CEO Gustav Söderström, lets Premium listeners see and shape the data model powering their recommendations, starting with a beta rollout in New Zealand For a decade, Spotify’s recommendation engine has worked largely in silence. It watched what you played, noted what you skipped, inferred meaning from the time of […]

We have all heard about model context protocol (MCP) in the context of artificial intelligence. In this article, we will dive into what MCP is and why it is becoming more important by the day. When APIs are already available then why do we need MCP? Although we have seen a large rise in popularity […]

The AI company he founded three years ago has lost six co-founders, is slashing staff, and trails badly in coding benchmarks. Musk’s remedy: rebuild from scratch, for the second time. In March 2023, Elon Musk launched xAI with 12 co-founders and a stated ambition to build “the most powerful AI in the world.” Three years […]

Ask Maps lets users query the world in natural language. Immersive Navigation rebuilds directions in 3D. Together, they mark the most significant overhaul of Google Maps since Street View. The question Google is now asking its users to ask Maps is: “My phone is dying, where can I charge it without a long wait for […]

The Uber founder re-emerges with Atoms, a stealth robotics venture that quietly employed thousands before going public, and a philosophy about ‘gainfully employed robots’ that sounds a lot like Uber, but for warehouses. For eight years, Travis Kalanick ran a company whose thousands of employees were not allowed to list their employer publicly. On March […]

Two years after a brutal restructuring gutted Motional’s workforce and halted its commercial operations, the Hyundai-backed AV company is back on the Strip, still with a safety operator for now, but promising to remove one by the end of 2026. Uber and Motional have relaunched a commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas, making all-electric Motional […]

This week, we tracked more than 85 tech funding deals worth over €4 billion and over 5 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.

Alongside the week’s top funding rounds, we’ve highlighted key industry developments, as well as notable trends in European venture activity, investor moves and emerging sectors shaping the current funding landscape.

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

?? Nvidia-backed Nscale raises $2B, appoints Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Clegg to board

??  Yann LeCun’s AI world model startup Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) raises more than $1B

??  Legaltech Legora raises $550M Series D at $5.55B valuation to accelerate US expansion

??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers

??  Legora makes first acquisition, as it expands North America presence

??  Energy Aspects to buy Paris-based Kayrros to add satellite and geospatial analytics capabilities

?? ŌURA acquires Helsinki-based gesture-tech startup Doublepoint to expand wearable AI capabilities

??  Expense management startup Ramp takes on rival Brex with European acquisition

? Interesting moves from investors

? Deep Science Ventures launches new doctoral cohort to turn science into startups

?. Elaia closes €134M fund DTS3 to back Europe’s next generation of breakthrough startups

?.Samaipata launches €110M Fund III to back Europe’s next generation of AI-native startups

?️ In other (important) news

? Here is what to expect at the Tech.eu Summit London 2026

??. EU–INC campaign warns: Without a pan-European standard, founders will keep choosing Delaware

?? February 2026's top 10 European tech deals you need to know about

??. Ukraine launches world-first programme giving startups access to real war data for AI training

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--egora and Tandem Health CEOs reject Anthropic and OpenAI threat

? Recommended reads and listens

.??. EIC Scaling Club companies double peer funding growth with 66% increase

? Why the future of audio may be built on a semiconductor chip

?. This open-source bet is paying off as United Manufacturing Hub takes on industrial giants

?. Chipmaker Axelera AI hoping to benefit from European businesses wanting to run AI locally

? European tech startups to watch 

?? Hosel raises £500,000 pre-seed to create the 'Vinted for golf'

??. Vasuqi received €500,000 in convertible loan funding from BioInnovation Institute through Venture Lab programme

??. Defencetech Black Forest Systems raises $400,000 to scale infantry drone platform

??  SignaCor Therapeutics lands €288,000 investment as pat of €1.1M seed round

??  Mental health startup Bliss raises $270,000 to build culturally intelligent AI for therapy

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The post Weekly funding round-up! All of the European startup funding rounds we tracked this week (Mar. 09-13) appeared first on EU-Startups.

Microsoft has launched Copilot Health, a dedicated, secure space within its Copilot AI assistant that aggregates personal health data from wearables, electronic health records, and laboratory results, then applies AI to surface what the company calls a “coherent story” of a user’s health. The product opened its waitlist on 12 March 2026 and is rolling […]

The $32 billion US spend management platform acquires a licensed payments provider to launch corporate cards and finance tools in the UK and EU this summer. The corporate spend management market just shifted its centre of gravity. On 13 March 2026, Ramp, the New York-based financial operations platform valued at $32 billion, announced the acquisition […]

US expense management startup Ramp today signified its European ambitions, acquiring a London and Stockholm-based payment outfit, as it takes on US rival Brex which is also making a play in Europe.

Ramp, valued at $32bn, has snapped up fintech Billhop, a deal that will see Ramp open its first international offices, in London and Stockholm.

Billhop, which employs around 15 people, is a payment infrastructure fintech operating across the EEA and UK. Billhop, founded in 2012, is headquartered in Stockholm. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Its tech allows the speedy payment of business invoices, even where suppliers do not accept cards

Billhop holds a Payment Institution licence from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen), which gives it passporting rights across the EEA. Ramp offers an all-in-one solution combining payments, corporate cards, vendor management, procurement, travel booking, and automated bookkeeping.

Nearly half of Ramp customers transact internationally across more than 180 countries every week. By acquiring Billhop, Ramp says it’s strengthening its ability to support businesses across the UK and EU. Ramp, which has 50,000 customers, says it will begin onboarding businesses headquartered in the UK and EU directly this summer.

Eric Glyman, co-founder and CEO of Ramp, said: “We’ve spent years building Ramp into something the most ambitious US companies rely on. This summer, for the first time, companies headquartered in the UK and EU will be able to use Ramp directly. In their first year, the median Ramp customer saves 5% and grows revenue 16%. Europe is home to extraordinary companies. We can't wait to get to work."

Niklas Bothén, CEO of Billhop, said: "Our mission at Billhop has always been to remove friction from B2B payments and make it easier for businesses to manage their spend. Joining Ramp allows us to realise that vision at a much larger scale. Together, we can help companies move money across countries and currencies faster, more intelligently, and with less complexity."

Ramp is pitching itself up against Brex, which was recently acquired by US financial services giant Capital One for $5.15bn.

Prior to being acquired by Capital One, Brex announced it was expanding into Europe, having bagged a licence that allows it to serve European-headquartered businesses and is planning to roll out its services across the EU and the UK.

Europe’s startup community is urging the European Commission to ensure that its upcoming proposal for a new pan-European company framework delivers on its promise of a true “28th regime”.

Today, EU–INC, Allied for Startups, and the European Startup Network released a joint statement on behalf of the European startup ecosystem calling for a genuine European corporate standard designed specifically for startups. The initiative stems from EU–INC, which began as a grassroots proposal from founders, investors and operators across the continent.

The European Commission is expected to publish its proposal on March 18, as part of a broader effort to make Europe “the best place in the world to build a company”.

However, according to the statement, documents leaked this week suggest that the current proposal may fall short of that ambition and goes entirely against the intention of the 28th regime.

The error of creating of "27 different variations of EU–INC,"

According to the organisations behind the statement, the leaked proposal appears to stop short of establishing a truly independent European company form.

Instead of creating a centralised system, the draft reportedly defers legal interpretation to national courts and company registration to national registries.

Such an approach would effectively produce 27 different variations of EU–INC, depending on national legal systems and administrative practices.

By routing disputes through national courts and filings through local registries, the framework risks entrenching the fragmentation it was meant to eliminate.

This approach may represent a political compromise designed to avoid the unanimity vote required among EU member states to establish a fully independent European regime.

The Delaware benchmark

For the startup ecosystem, the benchmark for success is straightforward: whether the new structure can provide the same level of legal certainty as a Delaware Inc, which has become the global default for venture-backed startups.

“The test was always simple: does it provide as much legal certainty as the Delaware Inc?” the statement notes.

“If not, founders and investors will continue to use Delaware Inc as a global investment standard. Europe needs a pan-European alternative to stay competitive in a world of giants.”

Today, many European startups choose to incorporate in the United States to access a widely recognised corporate framework familiar to global investors.

A pan-European structure could help keep more companies — and their economic value — within the European ecosystem.

More than 24,000 members of the startup ecosystem have signed on to support the idea of a single, autonomous corporate structure that would allow European companies to incorporate and scale across the EU without navigating a patchwork of national systems.

What a true EU–INC should look like

The letter urges the Commission to bring forward a real EU–INC that is a true, central, independent
European company form, with:

• A common EU registry and real-time database, rather than legacy software (BRIS)
  that duct-tapes together 27 nationally diverging systems.
• A central court for dispute resolution, rather than leaving dispute resolution to 27
  Member States and their different business practices.
• A true, new blank-sheet-of-paper solution for the future of Europe’s innovation
• An economy that can act as a standalone jurisdiction.

The document concludes:

"A true 28th regime would send an unmistakable signal to founders and investors everywhere:
Europe is serious and understands the power of pan-European standards.

We remain ready and willing to engage directly with the Commission to help shape a proposal
that delivers on that promise."

The statement is signed by EU–INC, Allied for Startups and the European Startup Network on behalf of the European startup ecosystem.

Stay tuned for more coverage next week. 

In another life, when I ran an NGO, one of my more arduous tasks was applying for tenders. While tenders can create huge financial opportunitiesffor startups, SMEs and NGOs, they are complex and incredibly time-consuming. It’s not only about filling in a form but also about providing project proposals, budgets, documentation, financial statements, timelines, and other items that may vary by provider. 

But now a startup has found a way to reduce complexity and eliminate the common errors that put your application at the bottom of the pile or exclude it altogether. 

Tendermore is a Norwegian startup building SaaS software that automates and simplifies the process of finding and applying for public and private tenders. The company focuses on helping businesses—particularly SMEs and startups—navigate the complex procurement landscape.

I spoke to CEO Sebastian Mandal and COO Eivind Wassend to learn more.

From door-to-door sales and coding to tackling the tender problem

Both founders come from different backgrounds. Wassend has been in sales since he was 12, starting with newspapers and later selling alarm systems door-to-door.  At one point, he was ranked the best alarm salesperson in Norway.

Mandal started coding at 12, which evolved into machine learning and AI —” before the hype cycle”, he stressed —  and building software.

Following a shared stint at a now-defunct startup, they decided to merge their complementary knowledge sets into a consulting practice. 

Mandal shared:

“We ended up running around 50 workshops with construction companies, examining their biggest pain points. Almost every single one mentioned responding to tenders.” 

In response, the duo decided to stop consulting and focus on solving the problem around tenders. 

The challenges of applying for tenders 

According to Mandal, the traditional tender process is often painstakingly slow and complex. “You have to understand every requirement before you even start writing,” he explains.

“If you miss one detail — even a small one buried deep in a long document — you can lose the entire tender after spending days or even weeks preparing the submission.”

Language and terminology add another layer of difficulty. Even when a company is technically qualified, the way responses are framed can determine the outcome.

“If you don’t respond in the right way, or use the right framing, you can still lose the bid,” Mandal says.

When Tendermore launched its MVP, the team discovered that writing proposals was only part of the challenge. Many companies also struggled to determine which tenders were actually worth pursuing.

“What we learned early on is that companies also need help identifying which tenders are relevant to them in the first place,” he adds.

“They don’t want to spend time preparing a bid for something they’re not pre-qualified for.”

In Mandal’s view, the core problems come down to two factors: the significant time and effort required to prepare bids, and the difficulty of identifying tenders that a company realistically has a chance of winning. On average, a tender today can take 30 to 40 hours. For larger organisations, it can be almost continuous work because different departments are handling different parts of it.

While its early days to measure win rates as the sales cycles and tender processes are often longer than the amount of time Tendermore has been working with some of these companies,  Wassend revealed that  “based on the beta and MVP, we’ve seen around a 60 per cent reduction in the time spent across the process — from analysing and refining through to responding.”

How Tendermore works

Tendermore was designed by closely observing how companies already manage tenders.

“We saw how customers structure their work — the spreadsheets, the requirement lists, the way they prepare answers,” Mandel said. “So we built AI into that existing workflow instead of forcing them into something unnatural.”

Tendermore connects to a company’s existing data sources — including Google Drive, SharePoint, previous tender submissions, pricing data, equipment lists, and other internal documents — and analyses them to build a structured knowledge base.

Accuracy is critical in tender applications, so the platform is built around a sophisticated retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system that ensures responses are grounded in verified company data rather than generic outputs.

Tendermore also structures responses using a requirement matrix, where each tender requirement is broken out and matched with a short factual answer. The platform’s analytics help companies discover tenders they are likely qualified for. It then analyses the tender requirements, highlights what is being asked, identifies relevant internal information, and flags any gaps that still need to be filled.

From there, the system generates the proposal. To avoid generic AI-sounding submissions, Tendermore uses a brand analysis engine that learns a company’s writing style so the final output reflects its voice, making the tool feel like an extension of the organisation rather than a generic AI writer.

A human-in-the-loop approach 

Accuracy is critical in tender submissions, so Tendermore was designed to minimise the risk of AI hallucinations.

Mandal explains that the company is strict about promoting its agents never to hallucinate. In the early days it had things like web search in the system, but that actually increased the risk because it could pull in outside information and confuse what belonged to the company and what didn’t.

So we removed that and made the system rely only on the company’s internal knowledge base. We also turn the temperature down so it has less creative freedom. If it can’t find a basis for a claim, it leaves that blank or flags it instead of making something up.

“If we can fill that in automatically, great. If not, the user can step in.

“Then the AI mainly helps turn that factual structure into polished language. So the focus is really on making facts shine, not inventing them.”

Despite the company’s long-term ambitions for automation, the founders believe human oversight remains essential.

“We’re very AI-first, and our long-term vision is to automate much more of the process,” said Wassend.

“But today, human-in-the-loop is the best approach. People still need to trust the system, and that trust has to be built step by step.”

The cross-sector opportunity

So far, the startup has gained the most traction with consultancies, contractors, and the hospitality sector. In sectors like construction, tenders form the basis of revenue, with some handling several each month. In hospitality, it depends on the season and the volume of events or development activity. In consulting, it can be for major client projects or government contracts.

According to Mandal, “Hotel groups also deal with large RFPs  (Requests for Proposals), for example, when developers are deciding which hotel brand to place in a new building or estate.”

The team was surprised by how big the private tender market is. It was initially thought that public tenders would be the main opportunity, but companies revealed they handle two to four times as many private tenders as public tenders. 

“That really changed how we thought about the market,” shared Mandal. 

According to Wassend, the startup is also seeing interest in API-based distribution.  “Some consulting firms want to embed our functionality into software they already provide to clients, rather than using a standalone platform. So that’s becoming a secondary offering for us.”

Tendermore raised $400,000 in a round led by Antler in October 2025. The company brought in Ymir Egilson as CTO, formerly the youngest tech lead in Visma’s history-

According to Mandal:

“He loves building. He wants to shape products and ship things with people who are hungry and moving fast. Eivind and I are very execution-focused, and I think that energy mattered.

We’re out there doing the outward-facing work, which means he can focus on what he does best.”

Tendermore is also looking beyond Europe to Asia because it has become clear that many companies don’t know what opportunities exist outside their own countries. 

“If we integrate with tender portals across different regions, we can help match companies with international tenders as well. That’s something we see as a really strong future differentiator,” shared Mandal.

Future features will enable discovery, evaluation, and management of both private and public tenders in one place.

Wassend contends, “So many people struggle with tenders, and smaller companies are at a real disadvantage comparedtz5e43w with large enterprises that can throw whole teams at the process. In a lot of smaller companies, the CEO is doing it all day and then all night, on top of everything else. My goal is to enable anyone to respond to tenders. Sebastian’s focus is on building the best AI in the world for that. We’re very aligned on that mission.”

Mandal agrees. “Accessibility is the driving force for us. No matter what kind of company we built, we wanted it to make opportunities more accessible. That’s really what motivates us.”

On May 7-8, the EU-Startups Summit will celebrate its 2026 edition at the iconic Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta. As one of Europe’s premier startup events, this gathering promises two days of networking, inspiration, and learning, bringing together top founders, investors, corporates, and startup enthusiasts from across Europe.

With two stages, a jam-packed agenda, a vibrant exhibition hall, and an exciting pitch competition, the event will also welcome up to 300 investors eager to discover Europe’s most promising startups. Below, we’re thrilled to introduce you to 100+ investors who have already secured their tickets.

Aarish Shah: Founder at VC firm EmergeOne, providing CFO support for venture-backed tech startups from Seed to Series B and beyond. They help manage capital, extend runway, track metrics that matter, and stay investor-ready. Fundraising, M&A, exit prep, board reporting, strategic finance – without the full-time cost.

Aiman Al Zakwani: Co-founder and CEO at Madarek Innovation. With a background in technology, startups, and management consulting, he focuses on driving digital transformation and open innovation initiatives across the GCC region. Earlier in his career, he held finance leadership roles at Halliburton.

Alan Darmanin: As CEO at ISB Technologies Alan focuses on helping businesses adopt modern digital solutions in the property and logistics sectors. He is an occasional business angel and has helped develop the PropTech sector in Malta, supporting the digital transformation of the local real estate industry.

Alberto De Nova: Founder at Midas, a global investment matchmaker for corporate clients, family offices, and wealthy individuals. An entrepreneur and business strategist with +25 years of experience in real estate, international business development, and high-net-worth client services. His work centres on helping startups and companies secure funding, enter new markets, and build strategic partnerships.

Alex Farcet: Co-founder and lead at Raspberry Ventures, a private syndicate co-investing in ClimateTech and AI, mostly in VC-led Seed rounds, in Europe, the US and Africa. He previously co-founded Rainmaking, a corporate innovation and venture development firm. He was also the initial spark behind Startupbootcamp, a global accelerator network which has supported & invested in 1000+ startups.

Alexander Zemlyak: Principal at Geek Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in pre-Seed and Seed-stage startups across various sectors. With nearly a decade of VC experience, he brings expertise in B2B software, data, and scaling businesses. Previously, he led investments at LETA Capital and held key roles at Founders Factory and Magical Capital.

Ana Fernandez: Venture Capital Investor at Nauta, a European VC firm with over €550 million AUM focused on early-stage B2B software startups. Based in London, she supports founders across sectors like AI, FinTech, and enterprise software. Nauta invests in high-growth companies across Europe, leveraging its expertise and network to scale innovative technologies.

Angelo Burgarello: Managing Partner at Look AI Ventures, a venture capital firm specialising in pre-Seed and Seed investments in AI-driven startups tackling global markets. Angelo is also actively involved as an Investor Director and Board Member in several innovative ventures, contributing his expertise in business development, IT, AI, and automation.

Ann-Christine Roope: Active business angel, and also the founder and Partner at Ethan Partners, an executive search and talent advisory company supporting startups, private equity-backed businesses, and multinational corporations. The firm specialises executive recruiting, and global expansion hiring across more than 50 markets.

Anna Badurska: Managing Partner at 42 Global Ventures. She focuses on supporting companies in the HealthTech, Life Sciences, and AgeTech sectors by helping them secure capital, build strategic partnerships, and scale internationally. Her work centres on developing innovation ecosystems and supporting startups with fundraising, growth strategy, and deal-making.

Arjun Sirohi: Operations and Acceleration Director at Soulmates Ventures, specialising in optimising processes, enhancing productivity, and driving scalability for portfolio companies. With over 20 years of experience in strategy and operations, he collaborates with founders and executive teams to develop tailored solutions, maximising growth and impact.

Betul Yucel: Founding Director at IF Consultancy. With more than 20 years of experience as a consultant, mentor, and coach, she works at the intersection of organisational psychology, human-centred AI, and impact investing. Her work focuses on supporting organisations and startups in driving cultural transformation, sustainable innovation, and measurable social and environmental impact.

Bianca Panchetti: Founder of La Casa, a co-living project for Seed stage founders in Italy that offers mentorships, co-living spaces and community events for members. She is a polymer and materials scientist with an interest in entrepreneurship and in developing solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. She is focused on contributing to the growth of the Italian startup ecosystem.

Bjoern Schaettgen: Chief Growth Officer at Match-Maker Ventures. With more than 20 years of experience in international corporate environments, including roles at Samsung and Philips, he focuses on enabling successful collaborations between corporates and scale-ups. Over the years, he has helped enable more than 200 partnerships and influenced over €500 million in pipeline or revenue.

Bosco Amann: Head of Marketing & Business Development at Acurio Ventures, an early-stage VC. He leads brand strategy, business growth initiatives, and strategic partnerships across the firm’s European ecosystem. He works closely with founders, LPs, and corporate partners to strengthen collaboration, increase portfolio visibility, and support long-term value creation.

Charles Sidman: Founder and Managing Partner at ECS Capital Partners, investing in Seed and growth-stage tech companies. After an early career in tech and biomed research, he spent more than four decades working across fields including immunology, genetic engineering, genomics, and complex systems science.

Chrissie Masters: An entrepreneur and art market specialist with more than two decades of experience in the valuation and sale of 19th and 20th-century design, she has overseen transactions worth over £4 million. She is the founder of Palladium Vaults, a platform combining AI and expert insight to appraise and facilitate the sale of high-value tangible assets.

Clara Reich: Senior Associate | Platform & Investments at Antler, where she leads the Antler Platform and Investments in Denmark, and works across scouting, residency and portfolio. Antler is one of the world’s most active early-stage investors. They operate in 30+ cities worldwide and have supported over 8,000 entrepreneurs to date.

Clément Sauvage: Associate Principal at Aquilae Ventures, investing between €10k-50k 4 to 5 times a year in promising businesses all around the world. An entrepreneur and active business angel, he has more than 12 years of experience supporting startups in the design and development of innovative digital products, including mobile and web applications.

Dmitry Firskin is a Partner at the venture capital firm AltaIR Capital. Dmitry has 15+ years of experience in tech and venture capital and has been deeply involved in our investments across B2B SaaS, FinTech, and Future of Work, working closely with founders across the US, Europe, and Israel.

Elena Casolari: Co-founder and Executive President of the Fondazione Opes-Lcef, an early-stage impact fund providing patient capital investment. She previously served as CEO of ACRA for 10 years and spent over a decade working on emerging markets at investment banks, including HSBC, Dresdner Bank, and Nikko Securities.

Elie Zemmour: Founding Partner at Awake Partners, a consulting firm specialising in fundraising. They support startups in their growth journey through their expertise and network. They craft your fundraising documents (pitch deck and business plan) before connecting startups with a qualified network of VC firms and family offices.

Elisa Vrieze: Startup Lead at Lely, an AgTech company focused on dairy farm innovation. They focus on collaborating with startups developing solutions for the future of farming. Through partnerships that combine industry knowledge, funding, and access to testing facilities and a global network, they support startups in validating and scaling innovations for the dairy sector.

Elisabet Nyquist: General Manager at Opes-Lcef, an early-stage impact investor that provides patient capital and management support to social enterprises that improve the lives of low-income people. Opes-Lcef uses a gender lens investing approach in deploying capital. She previously worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Elna Bisha: She works in the Innovation Network Development team at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Centre, supporting collaboration across startup ecosystems, corporates, and research institutions. Her work focuses on emerging technologies and innovation trends across sectors such as life sciences, the space economy, and the circular economy.

Emmie van Halder: Emmie is an angel investor and business development professional focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With more than 25 years of experience in foreign direct investment and international business development, she supports companies in accessing funding and expanding into new markets.

Ena Uffelmann: Investment Associate at G+D Ventures, a TrustTech fund investing predominantly in early-stage European TrustTech startups developing solutions for greater security and trust in the digital world. G+D shapes trust in the digital age, with built-in security technology in three segments: Digital Security, Financial Platforms and Currency Technology.

Ewa Chronowska: CEO and founder of Vestbee, a leading platform empowering startup founders, VC funds, angels, accelerators and corporates with the right community, infrastructure, and tools to succeed. Entrepreneur, startup mentor and investor with 15+ years of experience in consulting and investments.

Fabiana Pompermaier: EU Project Manager at EBAN – European Business Angel Network, the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community gathering over 150 member organisations in more than 50 countries. EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest €11.4 billion a year.

Florian Kandler: Startup fundraising consultant and educator at GetFunding.how. Florian has raised €3 million+ for two of his own startups. Since 2012, he has been teaching and advising 3000+ founders, who went on to raise over €1 million, on how to find the right investors, have better investor conversations, and raise faster.

Friedrich von Wulffen: Principal at Burda Principal Investments, providing long-term growth equity for fast-growing digital technology and media companies. BPI invests early growth capital (Series A, B, C) in scalable technology businesses with the potential to become global category leaders.

Hanim Dogan: Partner at Prime Advantage Capital Partners. She serves as a board advisor to startups, supporting founders with growth strategy, business planning, operational optimisation, and fundraising. Her work focuses on helping companies secure equity capital and scale successfully across sectors such as ClimateTech, health and wellness, consumer products, AI, FinTech, and EdTech.

Hans Peter Blahowsky: Startup catalyst at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria’s largest research and technology organisation. He works on supporting the creation and development of research-based spin-offs. The institute’s entrepreneurship programme helps transform R&D results into startups by guiding business models, market validation, and technology transfer.

Hynek Sochor: Founder at Soulmate Ventures, a sustainable innovations accelerator and venture capital firm. Their focus is on investing in Seed-stage companies with strong environmental, social, and governance values and global growth potential. The firm combines hands-on startup development with investment, committing up to €1 million per project and often leading funding rounds.

Igor Madzov: Investment Director and co-founder at Nest. He is an entrepreneur and angel investor actively supporting the development of the startup ecosystem in Southeast Europe. He has facilitated more than €25 million in investments across nearly 30 startups through angel syndication and community initiatives.

Iwona Safi: Founder at Niemeyer Heritage Foundation, Tripoli. A strategist, evaluator, and policy analyst with more than two decades of experience in international development and humanitarian programmes, she has worked with institutions including the EU and several UN agencies.

Iwona Anna Biernat: COO at Project Europe and Co-Lead at EU-INC. She works at the intersection of law, venture, and policy, focusing on improving the environment for startups and investors across Europe. Earlier in her career, she helped build global legal processes at Entrepreneur First and later advised emerging fund managers, family offices, and venture capital firms on fund operations and strategy.

James E. Mister: Venture Partner at Beyond Earth Ventures. With more than 15 years of experience across product, growth, and investment strategy, he advises VC firms, governments, and technology companies on applied AI, R&D partnerships, and scaling DeepTech innovation. He previously led the investment and innovation office of the Bavarian government in Silicon Valley.

Jaren Schippert: Associate at identity.vc, a fund backing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The €50 million impact fund invests in startups with LGBTQ+ representation in the leadership team, targeting early-stage companies across all sectors from pre-Seed to Series A in Europe and beyond.

Jens C. Schneiders: Managing Partner at Schneiders Ventures, an entrepreneurial management and investment platform to support selected companies in phases of transformation, growth, or realignment. An executive leader with more than 27 years of experience as CEO, COO, and Managing Director, he has led and scaled organisations across scale-ups, mid-sized companies, and corporate environments.

Joe Seager-Dupuy: VC Director at True, a consumer and retail sector-specialist investment and advisory firm. Joe’s focus is on investments from pre-Seed to Series A. His work centres on consumer and retail startups, particularly tech and tech-enabled business models. In addition to capital, he supports founders through sector expertise and access to a global network of more than 200 corporate partners.

Jonathan Ramaci: Managing General Partner at Great Product Ventures, accelerating client companies in the US by providing funding, governance and commercialisation services. With more than 20 years of experience in technology innovation, product design, and business development, he focuses on sectors including consumer products, IoT, green energy, healthcare, and micro-mobility.

Joseph Taliana: Director and Co-Founder at ISB Technologies. A systems engineer and ICT infrastructure strategist with more than 25 years in enterprise IT, he specialises in designing and managing complex technology environments. He has led ICT infrastructure projects for major hospitality groups and property developers, with a focus on improving operational efficiency and smart building integration.

Karmen Kutnjak: Director at Centar za poduzetništvo d.o.o., an organisation dedicated to supporting the development of SME in Croatia. The centre provides services such as business planning, mentoring, training, and support for national and EU-funded projects. It also manages a network of business incubators in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, helping entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

Kim Balle: Co-founder and CEO of Global Startup Awards and XO group, driving global innovation by connecting startups, corporates, and governments. As an entrepreneur and investor (GSA Ventures), he specialises in strategic funding, ecosystem building, and brand development, helping startups scale and thrive.

Kirsten Borggreve: As the Head of her Family Office, she manages their existing investments while actively pursuing strategic opportunities for growth. They are an international family with deep roots in Germany and a longstanding history in the logistics industry in Ecuador. She brings over a decade of experience in the shipping sector, complemented by a background in startups.

Kyrylo Goncharuk: CEO and Founder at CheckEye, an AI-driven platform for mass screening of chronic diseases to enable preventive healthcare. With a background in IT, he focuses on advancing digital transformation in healthcare, particularly through initiatives aimed at the early detection and prevention of diabetes.

Leyla F Karaha: Founding Partner at Equisscore. An entrepreneur and social innovation advocate, she focuses on building ecosystems that support women-led technology ventures and social impact initiatives. Her work centres on empowering underrepresented founders, fostering global collaboration, and using technology as a force for social good.

Lia Hruby: Investor at Futury Capital. She focuses on investing in early-stage tech companies and supporting their development and growth. Launched in cooperation with the State of Hesse, the fund provides capital and strategic support to promising startups. Through the Futury Growth Fund, the organisation also backs scale-ups and international companies expanding into Germany.

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-352145 alignleft" src="https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1631110229685-300x300.jpeg" alt="Lianne-Bergeron" width="120" height="120" srcset="https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1631110229685-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1631110229685-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1631110229685-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1631110229685-120x120.jpeg 120w, http

The trade finance platform made the commitment alongside 14 other Irish firms as PM Starmer and Taoiseach Martin unveiled £937 million in Irish investment into the UK. The second UK-Ireland Summit, held in Cork on 13 March 2026, produced the sort of headline figures that governments like to announce at diplomatic gatherings. Among them was […]

Dutch chipmaker Axelera AI is hoping to benefit from European businesses wanting to run AI systems locally, amid data security concerns, a push towards European sovereignty, and geopolitical tensions.

Axelera AI, founded in 2021, is one of the few European challengers challenging the dominance of US chip market leader Nvidia. In the US, the likes of Amazon and Google also design their own chips.

Axelera AI makes chips and software for inference, the computing process of running an AI model, as opposed to training an AI model, which has become increasingly important as more enterprises embrace AI. Nvidia last year acquired assets from Groq, a key player in the inference market.

Axelera AI’s chips are designed for use on edge devices, such as mobile phones and smart cameras, as it looks to make AI more energy efficient by processing data directly on devices rather than relying on large data centres.

Axelera AI recently announced that it had raised more than $250m, with backing from new investor BlackRock. It has raised more than $450m to date, from a mix of European and US investors, and employs more than 200 people. It has two chips on the market, one called Metis, another called Europa, and a third to come called Titania.

Fabrizio Del Maffeo, CEO and co-founder of Axelera AI, said: “Sovereignty is extremely important, because we can answer the needs of Europe. But I started this company not because of sovereignty. A company can’t survive only on the concept of sovereignty. Definitely, we want to play in this sovereignty moment, particularly with a lot of tension around the world and the need for local technology.”

But he said Axelera AI wants to be a global player, pointing to its growing presence in North America and footprint in India and China. The startup’s 350 enterprise customers encompass sectors including defence, retail, robotics and agriculture. Sectors like defence, robotics and cyber lend themselves to processing data locally.

Axelera AI says it’s a must in defence, for privacy, security and resilience reasons. Del Maffeo said: “There are some sectors where there is more sensitivity, like the defence sector.   

“It’s a sector, where more and more companies want to be free, have local technology, stay close to customers; it is considered very important.”

In defence, for instance, edge computing means that military units can operate when major communication links are jammed or cut and allows anonymous teams, such as drone swarms, to coordinate manoeuvres without relying on distant servers.

Meanwhile, Del Maffeo has called on European governments and European businesses to be more willing to buy emerging tech, taking a lead from the US. He said: "It is the fact that new technologies are adopted immediately by the government. It was the first customer of Intel, it was the first customer of SpaceX. The government is the first customer. Without the commitment of NASA, SpaceX would fail, it would just crash. We miss this in Europe. We don’t have the European DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency). We don’t have the government as a first customer. And we don’t have corporations as the second customer. Corporations in Europe wait for the technology to mature. American corporations adopt technologies."

While a future IPO is not imminent, Del Maffeo would not want to be wedded to a particular IPO market.

He said: “I think we should be very pragmatic and understand where we can create more value for our shareholders, create more value for the community, and have more access to capital. I don’t buy this idea that we are European, we go in Europe, we should be open.”

The Claude Partner Network launches as Anthropic fights the Pentagon in court, and doubles down on the commercial relationships that matter most. There is a particular kind of defiance in the timing. On the same week that Anthropic was seeking an emergency stay from a US appeals court over the Pentagon’s decision to label it […]