For founders, investors, and professionals across the startup ecosystem, time is the most valuable resource. Yet, many spend hours every week buried in their inbox, sifting through newsletters, notifications, and low-priority updates. According to several productivity studies, email remains one of the biggest daily distractions in the modern workplace. This is where SaneBox steps in.

An AI-powered email management platform designed to bring order to chaotic inboxes. Instead of manually sorting messages, users can automatically organise incoming emails into relevant folders. The tool identifies what is important and moves everything else out of sight, allowing users to focus on communication that matters.

It requires no installation and works across all major email clients, including Gmail, Outlook and Hotmail. With positive reviews from TechCrunch, Forbes and The New York Times, SaneBox has built a reputation for simplicity and effectiveness, reportedly saving the average user around 2.5 hours per week.

Designed for professionals who value efficiency

If you are reading this, you operate in a fast-paced environment where every minute counts. SaneBox recognises this and offers a suite of features designed to help professionals reclaim their time. Its signature feature, SaneLater, moves unimportant emails into a separate folder, ensuring that only critical messages appear in the inbox.

Additional tools include:

• SaneBlackHole: Permanently remove unwanted senders.
• SaneReminders: Automatically prompt follow-ups if an email goes unanswered for several days.
• Snooze Folders: Temporarily hide an email until the user is ready to deal with it.
• DoNotDisturb: Pause incoming emails during focus periods or time off.
• Email Deep Clean: Remove outdated or unnecessary emails in bulk.
• SaneAttachments: Store attachments securely in cloud storage.
• SaneDigest: Provide a daily summary of email activity for better oversight.

Each feature is designed to help users focus on meaningful work while reducing the mental load of constant notifications and digital clutter. Want to give it a try? They have a 14-day free trial, after which subscription plans start at $7 per month and go up to $36 per month, depending on the number of accounts and features selected

A practical solution for startup teams

Email overload is a universal problem, but it can be particularly disruptive in startup environments where multitasking and quick decision-making are part of daily life. Founders, early-stage employees, investors, etc, receive over a hundred emails per day, ranging from investor updates to partnership proposals.

SaneBox enables them to prioritise effectively, ensuring that important communications from clients, colleagues or investors are never lost in the noise. It also adapts to individual workflows, allowing users to customise rules and folders according to their needs.

The company even offers a one-to-one concierge service during the trial period, where users can consult with an email expert to configure SaneBox for their specific habits and objectives.

The post Outsmart your inbox with SaneBox: The AI-powered secret to startup productivity (Sponsored) appeared first on EU-Startups.

GitLaw, an AI legal companion built for businesses, has raised a $3 million pre-seed round led by Jackson Square Ventures, with participation from Flex Capital, Background Capital, and several angel investors.

Founded in 2025 by serial entrepreneur Nick Holzherr, GitLaw’s mission is to make legal documents radically more accessible through AI-driven automation.

GitLaw’s agent enables startups to draft, redline, and review agreements, including NDAs, SaaS contracts, and investor terms, using a library of more than 1,000 lawyer-reviewed templates. It generates ready-to-use contracts in minutes and can review or compare incoming documents against trusted legal standards.

Unlike generic AI tools, GitLaw’s agent combines community-built legal knowledge with multi-model AI reasoning that mirrors how lawyers work.

Commercially minded lawyers won’t be out of work, but most day-to-day contract tasks can now be done faster, cheaper, and often more accurately by automation,

said Nick Holzherr, GitLaw’s founder and CEO.

Over 80 per cent of US small businesses lack in-house legal support, and outsourcing can cost growth-stage startups more than $20,000 per year for contracts, compliance, and investor paperwork. GitLaw aims to automate 80–90 per cent of this work to reduce costs while maintaining high accuracy and security.

While many founders turn to general-purpose AI tools to generate or review contracts, Holzherr warns that this approach can be risky:

“Generic AI tools speak with extreme confidence, but their answers often have serious flaws. For example, some only read a fraction of a contract, but still claim to have read it all. I’ve been really surprised at how lazy some of the tools are, probably because they’re trying to save tokens (their cost), and that’s dangerous when legal precision matters.” 

GitLaw takes a structured approach. Its agent coordinates multiple AI models and workflows to handle tasks comprehensively and methodically. Drawing on an expanding set of lawyer-approved templates that cover NDAs, contractor agreements, shareholder terms, and SaaS licenses, it pairs professional-grade accuracy with AI speed. Built for businesses rather than law firms, GitLaw enables teams to prepare agreements efficiently with minimal oversight and legal expertise.

Legal work shouldn’t take six weeks for a three-day project, and businesses shouldn’t have to choose between moving fast and staying legally safe. GitLaw is my way of fixing that, helping founders get professional-quality contracts instantly without needing a big budget,

Holzherr added.

The funding will support the launch of GitLaw’s AI agent, enabling businesses to draft, review, and negotiate contracts in minutes at no cost, while accelerating product development and expanding the platform across the US and UK.

octonomy, the German-founded AI company building agentic systems for complex enterprise support and service workflows, has completed a new seed round totalling $20 million. The round was led by Macquarie Capital Venture Capital, with participation from Capnamic, NRW.Bank, and the TechVision Fund. This brings octonomy’s total funding to $25 million since its founding 15 months ago.

Octonomy provides agentic AI “digital coworkers” that handle complex, technical support tasks with human-like accuracy. The company develops AI systems for heavy-equipment industries that ingest and process diverse technical sources such as manuals, schematics, SOPs, live maintenance logs, and ERP data. These systems achieve around 95 per cent accuracy, helping reduce unplanned downtime, accelerate service response, and improve scalability.

Unlike many assistants that struggle with complex or unstructured inputs and are limited to simple FAQs or text queries, octonomy’s proprietary agentic architecture is designed to let technical teams interpret and act on a wide range of documentation.

Beyond its accuracy and data capabilities, octonomy can be deployed in under 20 days, integrating directly into existing enterprise systems without migration. 

According to Octonomy founder and CEO Sushel Bijganath, around 80 per cent of AI projects fail once they encounter real complexity, precisely the challenge the company aims to solve.

Our agents deliver verified 95+ per cent response quality, empowering teams often accustomed to 50 per cent accuracy rates with standard AI platforms. With Macquarie Capital Venture Capital at our side, we gain an international partner to make octonomy broadly available across Europe and the USA.

The new funding will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of Octonomy’s agentic AI platform for complex service workflows. 

The Icon League, a five‑a‑side soccer competition co‑founded by Toni Kroos (German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder) and Elias Nerlich (German livestreamer, YouTuber, and former e-sports athlete), has raised €15 million in Series A financing. 

What is The Icon League?

The 14‑team competition uses a US‑style franchise model. Players were drafted centrally in the inaugural season; teams now assemble rosters within defined transfer windows and can market themselves and their athletes independently. The top four playoff teams share €500,000 in prize money, including €300,000 for the champion.

Several franchises have raised seven‑figure investments, and some have reported six‑figure profits since Season 1.

League revenue streams include ticketing, sponsorships, media rights and merchandise.

Icon League games are played indoors in a five‑on‑five format with two 12‑minute halves and “Rulebreaker” features designed to increase attacking play. 

Former Bundesliga professionals compete alongside top amateurs, aiming to deliver tight contests and reduce the odds of scoreless draws.

Launched in 2024, Icon League has become one of the most‑followed sports formats in German‑speaking markets among younger audiences. 

Season one generated more than 1.3 billion social‑media impressions; current‑season. Matchdays draw up to 3 million viewers across platforms, with livestreams averaging around 1.4 million. 

Live events have sold out with as many as 20,000 spectators. Follower counts on Instagram and TikTok are on par with clubs such as Union Berlin 1. FC Köln, and Hamburger SV, and engagement rates exceed those of other leagues, according to Icon League.

HV Capital led the funding,  with former HV partner David Fischer appointed as group CEO to oversee the next phase of growth.

Existing investors are staying on, including Jürgen Klopp (via his family office), entrepreneur Thomas Hagedorn and Luigi Berlusconi’s H14 S.p.A. David Fischer, who joins from HV Capital, will oversee the next phase of growth.

Proceeds will be used to professionalise league operations, strengthen team rosters and support expansion across Europe. The long‑term goal is to build Icon League into an international sports company with strong competitive integrity and a fan‑first culture, according to the statement.

Lead image: The Icon League.

This week, we tracked more than 60 tech funding deals worth over €2.4 billion, and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe., 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

?? Nvidia makes $1BN investment in Nokia

?? Bending Spoons raises $710M at $11BN, one day after buying AOL

?? Legaltech Legora raises $150M Series C

??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers

?? BMLL acquired by Nordic Capital

?? The Danish VC sourcing startup Evertrace is acquiring the Berlin-based deal sourcing startup Morphais

?? Amsterdam unicorn Mews continues acquisition spree with US-based AI company DataChat

? Interesting moves from investors

? Sequoia launches two early-stage funds, says Europe's founder pool “never been stronger”

? Earlybird Health promotes two new partners as firm deepens biotech and analytics focus

? VC-backed Antidote accelerator launches to fuel the UK’s next fintech and Bitcoin wave

?️ In other (important) news

? Ukrainian startups can raise external funding during “hard war”, says country’s newest unicorn

? Soft landing in Silicon Valley: how the European Startup Embassy helps CEE founders go global

☀️ Meet the 18-year-old founder behind three Top-100 AI powered Apps — and a 100-hour work week

? Recommended reads and listens

? Hyperdrives cracks the ‘holy grail’ of EV motor cooling with manufacturable direct-conductor tech

⏱ Beyond death: how Lyfeguard is building a platform for everyday life — and life after

? Intercom expands to Berlin with new AI R&D Hub and 100 jobs

? European tech startups to watch

?? Desktop Commander lands €1.1M pre-seed for AI desktop automation ?? 

?? CityLegends raises €1.7M ?? 

?? Scavenger AI lands €2.5M to bring company data to every employee

?? MoleSense secures €156,000 to pioneer molecular wearables in maternity care

?? SAGES receives £190,000 funding to scale sustainable dye made from food waste

Paris-based deeptech Altrove has raised $10 million in seed funding to scale production of AI-designed, sustainable alternatives to critical materials such as rare earths.

The round was led by Alven, with participation from Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund, Contrarian Ventures, and Emblem, bringing Altrove’s total funding to $14 million.

Existing investors include Entrepreneurs First and notable angels such as Thomas Clozel (Owkin), Julien Chaumond (Hugging Face), Thomas Plantenga (Vinted), and Michal Valko (formerly at Meta).

Founded in 2024 by Martin and Laulainen, Altrove plans to use the funding to expand its laboratories, grow its team, and scale production of AI-designed materials from grams to industrial volumes within two years.

Altrove is developing AI-predicted materials that aim to reduce reliance on imported resources and strengthen industrial sovereignty in Europe. Its proprietary platform combines artificial intelligence, automated lab synthesis, and self-learning characterisation to accelerate material discovery from years to weeks.

“Western nations cannot afford to be dependent on imports for the very materials that power electrification,” said Thibaud Martin, co-founder and CEO of Altrove.

Altrove has already reached several technical milestones, including the development of rare-earth-free and cobalt-free magnetic materials for high-performance motors and non-toxic, lead-free compounds for sensors and actuators. The company has secured more than a dozen partnerships with major players in automotive, energy, and heavy industry, with the first products expected to launch within two years.

“Our technology ensures that our AI-designed materials consume the resources we want them to consume, without dependence on other nations' resources,” said Dr Joonatan Laulainen, co-founder and CTO.

Photo by Takemaru Hirai on Unsplash

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The post Weekly funding round-up! All of the European startup funding rounds we tracked this week (Oct. 27-31) appeared first on EU-Startups.

In this episode of the EU-Startups Podcast, we sit down with Julio Martinez, Co-founder and CEO of Abacum, a platform that helps CFOs and finance teams forecast revenue, plan headcount, and model financial scenarios to drive efficient growth. Founded in 2020, the company has raised a total of $105 million to date and now serves hundreds of mid-market companies across 31 countries.

Julio is an experienced entrepreneur with a background in fintech and a passion for building tools that simplify complex financial operations. Under his leadership, Abacum has expanded globally, with a team of more than 100 employees across Barcelona, New York, and London.

In our conversation, we talk about how Abacum transforms traditional spreadsheet-heavy workflows into real-time, collaborative planning, how finance teams adopt the platform in practice, Spain’s growing tech scene, and why the company is doubling down on U.S. expansion. We also dive into Julio’s personal operating system: Vipassana, Stoicism (Epictetus), journaling, family-first values, and even his near-career as a paella cook (though he hasn’t said his last word on that yet).

Video version of episode 142:

Audio version of episode 142:



Key Takeaways:

• Excel works… until scale, collaboration, and cadence break it.
• One live model for revenue, headcount, and OPEX equals forecasts you can defend.
• Headcount discipline covering role, timing, ramp, and ROI beats top-down totals.
• AI enhances productivity; decisions remain human.
• EU vs US: The EU optimises for control, the U.S. for speed. Abacum serves both.

The post EU-Startups Podcast | Episode 142: Julio Martinez, Co-founder and CEO of Abacum appeared first on EU-Startups.

At just 18 years old, Robert Mukhametov has already built a mini app empire from his base in Cyprus. He’s founded RM Company, built a team, and created three AI-powered apps that have each climbed into the Top 100 of the App Store — spanning health, finance, and consumer transparency. 

What’s more, he’s done it all without a cent of investor funding. And, this is his first job. 

I spoke to him to find out how he did it. 

No funding, no problem

Mukhametov admits, “When I started at 16, nobody wanted to invest in a teenager,” he recalls.

“They probably thought I’d spend the money on designer clothes. So I asked myself, ‘Why do I even need funding if I can build and market apps myself?’”

He bootstrapped every project, reinvesting revenue from one app into the next. 

“When you bootstrap, you learn to spend wisely. You focus on what truly matters — improving user value — instead of wasting money on vanity ads like billboards in Times Square,” he says.

His story shows that high-impact AI products can come from the most unexpected places — and that speed, experimentation, and an obsessive focus on user experience can sometimes rival the resources of much larger, well-funded te ams.

After teaching himself to code and market apps, Mukhametov began experimenting with everyday problems he could solve using AI — starting with nutrition.

“I tried another calorie-tracking app from the App Store and found it outdated and clunky,” he recalls. 

“I thought, I can make this ten times better — and cheaper.”

That insight led to CalSnap, which lets users photograph their meals to get instant calorie and nutrition estimates powered by AI.

It’s designed for those who want to lose weight or eat more mindfully without manual entry. The app provides progress tracking, visual meal logs, and daily summaries, making it a quick and user-friendly alternative to traditional calorie counters. It’s currently ranked around 76th in the Health category.

The company’s second effort is Lumin, a shopping-companion app designed to help you decode the ingredient lists on food and beauty products.
 By scanning a barcode (or product label) the app generates an easy-to-understand “health score” that reflects ingredient quality, additive risk, and nutritional balance. 

It also offers plain-English definitions of every ingredient, explains potential concerns, and suggests healthier alternatives when a product rates poorly. The makers emphasise their independence (no brand tie-ins), so the advice is intended to be unbiased. It’s currently ranked 36th out of 100 in the Apple App Store.

The third app is TradeGenius, which focuses on stock trading and tracks explicit trades made by US politicians and shares that data with regular users.  The app offers instant alerts when new filings are published, provides ranked lists of insider performance, and uses AI to simplify complex market data into bite-sized summaries. 
Mukhametov discovered that US politicians have historically outperformed the S&P 500, and since the data is public, he thought,  “‘Why isn’t there an app that makes this easy to access?”’

According to Mukhametov, “People love it. We’ve even had some conflicts with politicians trying to hide their trades. But

it’s all publicly available data — it doesn’t violate any laws — and we comply with all sector policies. We’re not censoring anything.” It’s currently ranked 52nd in the Finance category.

Beyond that, Mukhametov is particularly excited about expanding into the mental health space — a sector he believes is underrated and full of potential. 

The team’s first step is an AI psychologist app developed with input from a professional psychologist.

“There’s a growing need for mental health tools, and not enough good ones.”

What makes a good app?

Mukhametov asserts that apps built solely for profit fail to impress. He believes the right path is to focus on what people actually need — and to maximise perceived value.

“If you do that well, users will come, and some will pay for premium features.”

When launching new products, he believes in releasing them for free first to gauge user interest, noting that “if retention is low, adding subscriptions or premium features won’t help.”

Like many developers, AI has provided a boost in productivity, as according to Mukhametov, “We use AI extensively. For example, we use OpenAI’s Codex models — one of the best on the LLM leaderboard. Every employee has access to ChatGPT. We follow an AI-first approach.”

Mukhametov admits he’s been interested in AI long before ChatGPT “I used to train small models on my home computer just for fun — that’s actually how this company started,” he shared.

“When ChatGPT came out, I immediately saw it as a paradigm shift. I didn’t plan a formal AI integration strategy — I just started using it.

If I saw a task that AI could make faster or easier, I’d show my team how to do it. That’s how it spread internally.”

Crafting UX that keeps users coming back

From a UX perspective, several features appear across all of the company’s apps — for example, streaks, which have proven effective in helping users stay consistent and are frequently mentioned in reviews.

However, each app is tailored to its specific sector. The team prefers to spend additional time perfecting the design for each product rather than applying a one-size-fits-all template.

According to Mukhametov, app building is not all fun. Building an app that reaches the top 100 is hard — “there are endless bugs to fix and constant updates to make.”

Until recently, all marketing and design were done by Mukhametov, with the team only hiring a marketing team this October.

The company primarily markets on Meta and TikTok, using their ad platforms.  “We test as many creatives as possible to see what resonates with users,” shared Mukhametov.

Behind the screens:  how to get and stay in the App Store’s Top 100

When asked how the team manages to get and keep its apps in the top 100, Mukhametov explained that it comes down to a mix of factors: strong product quality, high user retention, frequent weekly updates, and continuous AI model improvements across all apps.

“We use AI in all our products and are constantly working to make it better,” he said, adding that keeping prices low is also a key part of their strategy to make the apps accessible to everyone.

From here on, the company aims to elevate its top 100 apps to the top 10 in their respective categories, with the ultimate goal of having at least one app ranked in the top 10 of every primary App Store sector.

It's also expanding into gaming, recently launching into the new territory of Roblox games, where it currently has a 99th percentile click-to-play rate and an average playtime of 50 minutes, which is well above industry averages.
Mukhametov admits he doesn’t do much outside work, working around 100 hours a week.

“Building products is what motivates me most. I’ve tried going to parties or playing games, but I always come back to creating things. I enjoy making people’s lives easier.”

He attributes his success to passion, asserting,“I try to encourage others — especially young people — to just build something. Whether it’s a website, an app, or a game, start small and learn by doing.”

He also mentors young founders. 

Ultimately, Robert Mukhametov represents a new generation of founders who move fast, think globally, and build with purpose — often without waiting for permission or funding.

Lead image: Robert Mukhametov. Photo: uncredited. 

The eighth edition of VDS brought the global tech community together in the City of Arts and Sciences, turning Valencia into the focal point of European innovation. Over two days, the event gathered more than 12,000 founders, investors, and business leaders from 120 countries under the theme “Collaborate Today. Transform Tomorrow.” Organised by Startup Valencia, VDS 2025 showcased how collaboration, purpose, and technology can drive positive impact across industries and borders.

A record-breaking gathering of global innovators

This year’s summit set a new milestone for international participation, with 45% of attendees coming from abroad, a 41% increase compared to 2024. More than 3,000 startups, 1,500 corporations, and 800 investors managing over €300 billion in assets joined a program that featured 600 speakers across seven themed stages. From DeepTech and AI to sustainability, health, and space innovation, the sessions explored how Europe can lead the next decade of technological progress.

Innovation with a human heart

The 2025 edition was inspired by the solidarity shown after Storm DANA, which hit Valencia in 2024. Reflecting on how the local tech community responded with initiatives such as DANA Help and Adopt a School, Juan Luis Hortelano, President of Startup Valencia, said the experience proved that innovation can be both resilient and compassionate.

This human-first perspective was present throughout the event. Scientist and entrepreneur Pilar Mateo presented “Women Paint Too”, an initiative encouraging women to transform challenges into creativity. Diversity, inclusion, and sustainability were recurring themes, with more than one-third of speakers being women and many sessions dedicated to social and environmental progress.

Global voices and bold ideas

VDS 2025 hosted an extraordinary mix of global innovators and cultural figures. Actor and investor Kelly Rutherford spoke about aligning purpose and business, while former England captain Sol Campbell shared insights on leadership and resilience. Longevity researcher Aubrey de Grey discussed advances in rejuvenation science, and Minh Le, creator of Counter-Strike, reflected on the evolution of gaming and digital creativity.

Unicorn founders from Creditas, Glovo, Remote, letgo, Mews, Exoticca, Qonto, and ElevenLabs joined leaders from Booking.com, Adyen, and Just Eat Takeaway.com to illustrate Europe’s capacity to build and scale globally relevant startups. Gillian Tans (Booking.com), Sacha Michaud (Glovo), and Enrique Linares (letgo, Plus Partners) offered practical insights into what it takes to grow from early stage to global scale. Ana Peleteiro (Preply) explored how artificial intelligence is transforming education through a “human first, AI-enabled” approach.

AI, DeepTech and smarter scaling

Artificial intelligence was one of the central themes of the summit. Christian Teichmann (Burda Principal Investments) and Iñaki Berenguer (LifeX Ventures, Coverwallet) examined how AI is reshaping investment, healthcare, and innovation infrastructure. Blockchain, cybersecurity, and defence were also in focus, highlighting Europe’s growing influence across emerging technologies.

Scalability Day, organised by Adigital and EsTech with the support of ICEX, brought together international founders and investors to share lessons on sustainable growth. The event highlighted 22 European scaleups achieving annual growth above 20%, underlining the maturity and ambition of Europe’s tech ecosystem.

Valencia’s growing tech momentum

During the opening ceremony, Mayor Mª José Catalá announced that the City Council will continue supporting VDS for two more years, calling the summit a defining moment in Valencia’s rise as a European tech capital. The renewed partnership between Startup Valencia and Estonia’s e-Residency programme further deepened cross-border cooperation across Europe’s digital ecosystems.

The Valencian Startup Observatory 2025 report confirmed this momentum. The region now counts 1,689 active startups, up 11.3% year on year, with €160 million raised in 2025, a 66% increase over 2024. More than 70% of Valencian startups secured investment this year, solidifying the city’s reputation as one of Europe’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial communities.

Celebrating excellence and impact

Innovation and collaboration took centre stage at the VDS International Startup Competition, where Spacebackend from Luxembourg and Zibra AI from Ukraine were named winners in the Early and Growth Stage categories. Special recognition went to Marina de Empresas for its post-DANA recovery project “Alcem-se,” to Espai Aero CV for advancing aerospace innovation, and to Iñaki Berenguer, who received the VDS 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award for his global entrepreneurial impact.

Institutional and corporate backing

VDS 2025 was backed by Banco Santander as the main sponsor, Valencia Innovation Capital as the host partner, and the e-Residency of Estonia as the partnering country. A broad alliance of partners, including Wayra Telefónica, EY, Fundación LAB, CaixaBank DayOne, PowerCo, Volkswagen Group Services, IBM, OVHcloud, Mobile World Capital, Bit2Me, Adigital, EsTech, Opentop (Valenciaport), and MAPFRE, played a vital role in the event’s success. Key technology partners such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google for Startups, and HubSpot for Startups further amplified the summit’s international reach. Institutional supporters, including Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Generalitat Valenciana, ICEX, CDTI, ENISA, Renfe, and several leading universities, reinforced VDS’s standing as a European benchmark for innovation and technology.

Europe’s collaborative spirit on display

Closing the summit, Spain’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, highlighted how shared effort drives progress: “VDS shows what happens when Europe’s innovators work together: we accelerate ideas that make the world better.” From renewed partnerships and record participation to tangible progress in sustainability and inclusion, VDS 2025 once again demonstrated that Europe’s future of innovation is collaborative – and Valencia is leading the way.

The post VDS 2025: Valencia strengthens its position as Europe’s leading hub for innovation (Sponsored) appeared first on EU-Startups.

Sofia-based EnduroSat has closed a $104 million funding round. Riot Ventures, Google Ventures, Lux Capital, the European Innovation Council Fund, and Shrug Capital participated as the company advances its mission to streamline access to space data.

EnduroSat is an aerospace company dedicated to making space more accessible. The team designs, builds, and operates advanced small satellites and satellite modules, enabling organisations to deploy and manage space missions more efficiently.

The funding coincides with the official opening of EnduroSat’s state-of-the-art Space Center in Sofia, addressing accelerating global demand for small- to mid-sized satellite constellations.

The new 188,340-square-foot facility gives EnduroSat the capability to manufacture up to two 200-500kg satellites daily and features advanced RF labs, hardware and mechanical labs, ISO-classified clean rooms, and comprehensive space qualification facilities, delivering speed, reliability, and cost efficiency in satellite manufacturing.

Raycho Raychev, EnduroSat CEO and founder, said:

This latest investment, combined with the launch of our new Space Center, marks a pivotal moment. It not only validates our strong market traction but significantly accelerates our ability to deliver highly capable, cost-effective satellite constellations at an unprecedented scale, moving us closer to a future where space data will become universally accessible and instantly available.

The new funding will enable EnduroSat to scale its production capacity for advanced constellation customers, accelerating time-to-orbit by supporting the manufacturing of up to two ESPA-class satellites per day.

Bending Spoons, the Italian tech conglomerate which typically acquires and tries to revive tech brands, has raised $710m in an equity fundraising round at an $11 billion valuation, it said today.

The announcement follows just a day after Bending Spoons said it was acquiring AOL, one of the internet’s most well known early companies.

The equity round was led by T Rowe Price with participation from Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, Durable Capital Partners, Fidelity and others.

Luca Ferrari, co-founder and CEO of Bending Spoons, said “This moment is a validation of a decade’s worth of work and it serves as an important recognition of what we’ve accomplished at Bending Spoons so far.

“We remain early in our journey and have ambitious plans for continued investment and growth."

The $770m funding comprises $270m in new funding and a $440m secondary share sale by existing investors in Bending Spoons.

The funding complements a $2.8bn debt facility the Italian company has also secured, as it hunts out new acquisitions and develops its AI chops.

Along with AOL, Bending Spoons has also acquired Vimeo, WeTransfer and Evernote, among other tech firms.

Legal technology company Legora has raised $150 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at $1.8 billion.

The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors ICONIQ, General Catalyst, Redpoint Ventures, Benchmark, and Y Combinator. The company plans to more than double its headcount over the next year while establishing new global hubs.

The company is now headquartered in New York and the investment will support Legora’s global expansion and continued development of its AI-powered platform for legal professionals.

The UK is now among the companys fastest-growing markets, with clients including Linklaters, Deloitte Legal, and Bird & Bird.

“We are seeing astronomical demand for our product. Legal professionals across the globe are adopting AI into their work at an unprecedented rate, and I could not be more proud of supporting our customers on this journey,"

said Max Junestrand, CEO and co-founder of Legora.

Legora’s platform is used by tens of thousands of legal professionals for document review, research, drafting, and collaboration. The company works closely with major law firms such as Linklaters, Cleary Gottlieb, Goodwin, and MinterEllison, positioning itself as a partner in digital transformation rather than a simple software vendor.

Headquartered in New York, Legora operates offices in Stockholm, London, Denver, and Sydney.