Exploring the SaaS Universe

European venture capital is doubling down on artificial intelligence, with a new wave of specialist funds emerging to back the next generation of AI-powered software companies. The latest entrant is Vendep Capital, which has closed €80 million to support founders building AI-native SaaS solutions across Europe and beyond. The timing reflects a maturing European AI ecosystem, where early-stage companies are moving beyond proof-of-concept to demonstrable market traction. Vendep’s fund size positions it competitively within the crowded European AI investment landscape, offering substantial capital for companies navigating the expensive development cycles typical of sophisticated AI products. Strategic Focus on AI-Era SaaS Investment Vendep Capital’s investment thesis centres on the fundamental shift happening in enterprise software, where traditional SaaS models are being reimagined through artificial intelligence capabilities. The fund targets companies that aren’t simply adding AI features to existing products, but are built from the ground up with AI as their core differentiator. This approach reflects broader trends across European venture capital, where investors are becoming increasingly discerning about AI investments. Rather than backing every company mentioning machine learning, funds like Vendep are seeking businesses with defensible AI advantages and clear paths to market dominance within specific verticals. The €80 million fund size allows Vendep to lead seed and Series A rounds, typically investing between €1-5 million per company. This positioning is strategic within Europe’s fragmented markets, where companies often require additional capital to expand across multiple regulatory jurisdictions compared to their US counterparts. European AI SaaS Market Dynamics European AI startups face unique opportunities and challenges that Vendep’s specialisation addresses. Regulatory frameworks like the EU AI Act, whilst creating compliance complexity, also establish competitive moats that favour well-funded, compliant European players over international competitors. The fragmented nature of European markets—with different languages, business cultures, and procurement processes—typically requires AI SaaS companies to develop more sophisticated localisation strategies. This complexity demands patient capital and sector expertise, both areas where specialist funds like Vendep can provide value beyond pure financing. Recent European AI SaaS successes, including companies like Typeform’s AI evolution and emerging players in vertical-specific AI solutions, demonstrate the sector’s potential. However, the capital intensity required for AI development and market expansion has created a funding gap that generalist VCs often struggle to fill adequately. Vendep’s emergence signals growing confidence in European AI capabilities, particularly in enterprise software where European companies have historically competed successfully against Silicon Valley rivals. The fund’s focus on AI-native approaches positions it to capitalise on the next wave of European unicorns emerging from the intersection of artificial intelligence and business software.

Europe’s proptech sector is experiencing a renaissance, with artificial intelligence increasingly reshaping how we design, build, and inhabit spaces. Leading this transformation is CHAOS, which has raised €2 million in funding to scale its AI-powered platform that’s reinventing the real estate development process across European markets. The funding round signals growing investor confidence in European proptech solutions that leverage artificial intelligence to address the continent’s complex urban planning challenges. With housing shortages plaguing major European cities from London to Berlin, AI-driven platforms like CHAOS are positioned to streamline development processes while navigating the intricate regulatory frameworks that define European real estate markets. AI real estate funding attracts strategic investors The €2 million investment round was led by a consortium of European venture capital firms specialising in proptech and artificial intelligence applications. The strategic nature of the funding reflects investors’ recognition that real estate technology represents one of Europe’s most promising sectors for AI implementation, particularly given the regulatory clarity emerging around AI applications in construction and urban planning. “The European real estate market is ripe for AI disruption, and CHAOS has demonstrated the technical sophistication and regulatory awareness needed to succeed in this complex environment,” noted a lead investor. The funding structure suggests investors see significant potential in platforms that can navigate Europe’s fragmented property markets while delivering standardised AI-driven insights. This investment aligns with broader European venture capital trends, where proptech startups securing Series A rounds have averaged €3.2 million in 2024. The CHAOS funding, while below this average, reflects the company’s early-stage positioning and the investors’ confidence in the platform’s scalability across multiple European jurisdictions. Platform addresses European urban development challenges CHAOS differentiates itself by focusing specifically on European market dynamics, where regulatory compliance and sustainable development standards create unique requirements for real estate technology. The platform’s AI algorithms are designed to integrate with European Building Information Modelling (BIM) standards and comply with the EU’s forthcoming AI Act requirements for construction applications. The company’s approach addresses critical pain points in European real estate development: lengthy approval processes, complex zoning regulations, and sustainability mandates that vary significantly between member states. By automating compliance checks and optimising designs for local requirements, CHAOS enables developers to accelerate project timelines while maintaining regulatory adherence. “We’re not just digitising existing processes – we’re fundamentally reimagining how AI can solve Europe’s urban development challenges while respecting local architectural heritage and environmental standards,” explained the CHAOS leadership team. The platform’s focus on sustainability aligns with European investors’ increasing emphasis on ESG-compliant technology solutions. The funding will primarily support platform development and market expansion across key European cities, with particular emphasis on markets where regulatory frameworks are most conducive to AI-driven construction technologies. CHAOS plans to leverage this investment to build strategic partnerships with European construction firms and municipal planning authorities. This funding round positions CHAOS within Europe’s evolving proptech ecosystem, where AI applications are increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure rather than experimental technology. The company’s European-first approach and regulatory focus suggest strong potential for sustained growth in markets where compliance and sustainability are paramount concerns.

European biotech is experiencing a renaissance, with AI-driven drug discovery becoming the sector’s most compelling investment thesis. Against this backdrop, Oxford-based Scripta Therapeutics has secured €10.3 million in seed funding to revolutionise how pharmaceuticals approach early-stage drug development. The round, led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Apollo Health Ventures, signals growing European investor confidence in computational biology platforms that can compress traditional drug discovery timelines from decades to years. What makes this particularly noteworthy is the European provenance of both the technology and the capital. While Silicon Valley often dominates biotech headlines, Scripta’s approach demonstrates how European research institutions can spawn commercially viable ventures that compete on the global stage. Strategic investors back biotech seed funding innovation Oxford Science Enterprises, the University of Oxford’s venture arm, co-leading this round represents more than institutional backing—it’s a validation of academic-to-commercial translation potential. Their investment thesis centres on technologies that emerge from world-class research environments and can scale to address global pharmaceutical challenges. Apollo Health Ventures, known for backing European healthtech companies through complex regulatory landscapes, brings complementary expertise in navigating the intricate path from laboratory to market. Their portfolio strategy focuses on companies that leverage computational approaches to traditional life sciences problems. “Scripta represents the next generation of drug discovery platforms,” noted a representative from Oxford Science Enterprises. “Their computational approach to identifying novel therapeutic targets aligns with our investment focus on companies that can fundamentally reshape how we approach medical innovation.” The investor combination suggests this isn’t merely a technology play—it’s a strategic bet on European biotech’s ability to compete with established US platforms while navigating Europe’s distinct regulatory and commercial environment. Computational drug discovery targets European pharma market Scripta’s platform addresses a critical bottleneck in pharmaceutical development: the time and cost required to identify viable drug targets. Traditional approaches can take 10-15 years and cost billions, with high failure rates. Their computational methodology aims to compress these timelines while improving success probability. The European pharmaceutical landscape presents both opportunities and challenges for platforms like Scripta’s. While the region hosts major pharmaceutical companies like Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi, it also maintains complex regulatory frameworks through the European Medicines Agency that require sophisticated navigation. Founder statements suggest the funding will accelerate platform development and enable partnerships with European pharmaceutical companies seeking to enhance their early-stage discovery capabilities. This positions Scripta to capture value from the growing trend of big pharma outsourcing computational discovery to specialised platforms. The timing proves fortuitous, as European pharmaceutical companies increasingly seek AI-driven solutions to maintain competitive advantage against US and Asian rivals. Recent studies indicate European pharma R&D spending reached record levels in 2024, creating expanded market opportunities for innovative discovery platforms. This funding round exemplifies European biotech’s maturation—sophisticated computational platforms emerging from world-class research institutions, backed by investors who understand both the technology and the complex commercial landscape. For Scripta, the real test begins now: translating computational promise into therapeutic reality.