European startup news, funding rounds and events
Fundraising intelligence, founder interviews and the events that actually move the ecosystem.
Agenda – next 30 days
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Creative tech in Europe runs on grants. San Sebastián’s finalists prove it
Ten startups pitched at the San Sebastián Film Festival on 24 September. I went through every one of them afterward and couldn’t find a single disclosed…
Ben Costantini
AI replaced 3D printing in composites pitches
In 2019, 3D printing was the loudest thing in composites. Across that year’s JEC Composites Startup Booster applications it ran at 24.7 mentions per 10,000 words…
Ben Costantini
IFA 2026: the twenty startups who pitched, and the one who won
A company that prints implantable human tissue won a pitch competition at a consumer electronics fair. Cellbricks Therapeutics took the IFA Pitch Battle 2026 on the…
Ben CostantiniThe Selected podcast
Tips & advice
The empty startup area: why tradeshows fail at startup sales
Picture this. A strategy director at a major exhibition calls with six weeks to go before the show. The brand new startup area has sold exactly…
Ben Costantini
Why events are lying about their metrics
This week I read about a hackathon claiming 6,000 attendees over a single weekend. The venues hosting it can’t accommodate more than 1,000 people. Nobody in…
Ben Costantini
The hidden costs of events: Why founders get the math wrong
Most startup founders treat events like they’re going travelling: count the days, block the calendar, done. But event tickets don’t come cheap, and the actual affair…
Ben CostantiniSpotlight
Besso
AI-powered trade regulation intelligence that helps multinationals spot duty overpayments and preferential tariff opportunities.
Latest
VoltR raises €22M to industrialise second life lithium batteries
Angers-based VoltR has secured €22M from Bpifrance's SPI 2 fund, Decathlon PULSE and Première Usine grants to double its factory and take second life lithium batteries to industrial scale.
Rivercell raises €22M seed to build an AI virtual cell
Rivercell leaves stealth with a €22M seed led by HV Capital to generate cell-response data in a Paris wet lab and train an AI virtual cell – the third European…
Universal Quantum raises $100M Series A for utility-scale quantum
A Sussex spinout just closed the largest Series A a UK quantum company has ever raised: $100M co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures, with sovereign and pension money at the…
Finmid raises €17M to take embedded lending into vehicles
finmid adds €17M from Big Pi Ventures and Mainset and takes embedded lending beyond cash advances: vehicle finance for Bolt fleets, balance-sheet loans for Skroutz merchants.
Noah raises $38M seed to move cross-border payments onto stablecoins
London's Noah closed its seed at $38M from Endeit, FJ Labs, LocalGlobe and Felix Capital. Revenue is up 538% this year; the bet is enterprises settling cross-border payments on stablecoin…
Latest funding
| Company | Round | Lead | Sector | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besso Unclassified · Switzerland | Undisclosed European family office (named anonymous by the company) | Unclassified | €4.3M | |
| Klarent Unclassified · Switzerland | Seed | Mosaic Ventures | Unclassified | €7.2M |
| Sava Unclassified · United Kingdom | Series B | Ascensia | Unclassified | €32.2M |
| Autentic AI Unclassified · Spain | Pre-seed | – | Unclassified | €1.5M |
| OllyGarden Unclassified · Germany | Next Frontier Capital, Grand Ventures, ACTAI Ventures | Unclassified | €3.6M | |
| SpectaCell Unclassified · Belgium | Seed | imec.xpand | Unclassified | €6M |
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Call for startups
Google for Startups Immersion EMEA 2026
Google for Startups Immersion is a hands-on technical programme for active founders, CTOs and technical leads who already have a live product and demonstrable…
JEC Composites Startup Booster 2027
The JEC Composites Startup Booster is a pitch contest for startups, entrepreneurs and academic spin-offs working in composites and advanced materials, covering raw materials,…
JEC Composites Innovation Awards 2027
Advanced materials and composites work is judged here, with a trophy and a showcase at JEC World in Paris for the winners. Notably it…
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