In Newnex Fortnight, we tracked $762m funding rounds in the past 2 weeks in European Venture Capital. The highlights:

14 December 2023

Huboo, UK-based technology firm specializing in full-stack, software-driven eCommerce fulfillment, has secured £29 million in new funding from existing investors such as Ada Ventures and Maersk Growth, as well as lenders HSBC and Blackrock. This latest capital injection brings the total funds raised by the company to £122 million as it works towards achieving profitability.

Enfuce, a provider of embedded finance solutions based in Espoo, has disclosed securing €8.5 million in a new follow-on investment round. This funding follows Enfuce's €45 million Series C funding round initiated in 2021, resulting in a total raised capital of €62 million. Vitruvian Partners led the latest investment, joined by Maki.vc and Visa, a prominent global player in digital payments.

Braincube, a France-based smart Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform suite featuring expert and business apps for manufacturers, has revealed the completion of an €83 million growth round of funding. Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and Bpifrance led the investment to bolster Braincube's position as a global leader in manufacturing software.

Fintech company Banxware, based in Berlin and specializing in embedded lending solutions, has successfully concluded an equity round that exceeded €15 million. UniCredit and the European Open Finance pioneer, Fabrick, with support from Sella Investment Banking, participated in the funding round. Additionally, Banxware's existing investors, including 13books Capital (formerly Element Ventures), VR Ventures, D4 Ventures, and Force over Mass, also contributed. This funding round creates an opportunity for Banxware and UniCredit's German bank, HypoVereinsbank, to explore a strategic partnership aimed at expanding business with SME clients in Germany and internationally.

Rentman, a Dutch-based software company providing SaaS solutions for the events and media production industry, is making headlines. The company has just received a $22 million growth equity investment from Expedition Growth Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, that focuses on investing in and supporting technology companies in their growth stage, similar to Kontent.ai.

Paris-based company Wakeo has disclosed its recent funding round, securing €18 million and bringing its total funding to over €30 million. Statkraft Ventures led this round, with ongoing investments from existing backers including Promus Ventures, 360 Capital, 50 Partners, and Techstars.

Lignovations, a pioneering startup in the field of lignin biomaterial innovation, has successfully concluded a new financing round of €2.2 million. This includes a minority investment from Borregaard, a global leader in lignocellulosic solutions. The investment signifies a significant advancement in Lignovations' mission to promote the growth of the biomaterial industry through sustainable, lignin-based alternatives. Additional funding comes from co-investor Valnon Holding, existing investors, and non-dilutive public grants from AWS and FFG. All shareholders share a commitment to pushing the boundaries of biomaterial innovation and reducing the environmental impact of industries globally.

UP Catalyst, a pioneering Estonian company in sustainable carbon material production, has recently concluded a successful €4 million Seed investment round. The company has achieved a breakthrough by developing the world's first scalable solution for extracting graphite from CO2 gases, a critical raw material central to e-mobility, particularly as a crucial ingredient in batteries. Extantia, a Berlin-based climate tech venture capital fund, took the lead in the funding round, supported by Estonia's state fund SmartCap. Additionally, existing investors, including Sunly, Little Green Fund, Scottish Baltic Invest, and UniTartu Ventures, continued their participation in this round.

Strong by Form, a leading Spanish bio-composite technology company, is delighted to announce the successful completion of its seed funding round, securing $5.2 million. The round, oversubscribed by over 25%, was led by CMPC Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of CMPC, one of the world's largest pulp and paper producers. In addition to CMPC Ventures, the seed funding includes investments from CiRi Ventures, MAIF Avenir Ventures, Teampact Ventures, Climate Insiders, Core Angels, Savia Ventures, Family Offices, and corporate venture capitals Symbia VC, FINSA, and VX Ventures.

Paris-based climatetech startup Carbon Maps, specializing in solutions for the food industry, has revealed an additional €3 million in its Pre-Seed funding round. In a prior Pre-Seed round earlier this year, the company secured €4 million from investors Breega and Samaipata. The latest addition to the funding round includes participation from Back Market and HCVC backer Daphni.

Eligo Bioscience, a gene-editing company, has disclosed the successful completion of a $30 million Series B funding round, with Sanofi Ventures leading the investment. The funding, which includes contributions from new investor Bpifrance (via its InnoBio 2 fund) and existing supporters Khosla Ventures and Seventure Partners, positions Eligo Bioscience on a trajectory to transition into a clinical-stage biotech.

Pimento a new French Gen AI startup that utilizes GenAI to transform creative briefs into visual mood boards, has recently secured $3.2 million in funding. The seed financing round was spearheaded by French early-stage investor Partech, recognized for its recent investments in Orus and scnd, with participation from Cygni Capital. The round also saw contributions from various angel investors, including Julien Chaumond (Hugging Face), Stanislas Polu (Dust), Thibaud Elzière (Hexa), Jean-Charles Samuelian (Alan), Igor Manceau (creative director, ex-Ubisoft), Jonathan Widawski (Maze), Alessandro Sabatelli (ex-Apple), and Nicolas Steegmann (ex-Stupeflix).

Paris-based Tomorro, formerly known as Leeway, is making a significant impact in the contract management market with its collaborative and automated solution tailored for legal and operational teams. The company recently revealed that it secured €11 million in funding from Resonance, with Financière Saint James (Lydia, Spendesk), Motier Ventures (Mistral.ai, Alma), and its longstanding investors HenQ also reinvesting.

Harriet , the HR AI startup, has disclosed the successful completion of a £1.2 million Pre-Seed round. Pioneering a 'full stack' solution, Harriet scans and streamlines company documentation for HR teams, and subsequently serves as a personal AI assistant for individual employees. The funding round is spearheaded by Concept Ventures and supported by Frontline Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, and Notion Capital.

QuantaMap, a Dutch startup specializing in quantum technologies, has successfully raised €1.4 million in early-stage funding to enhance the manufacturing of quantum computer chips. The funding round is headed by QDNL Participations, a Dutch quantum fund supporting Quantum Delta NL and QuantWare. Additionally, the startup will receive a grant for SMEs from the Quantum Delta NL foundation, aimed at advancing technology development and scaling up production capabilities in preparation for market entry.

Paris-based cybersecurity firm ProvenRun has raised €15 million in a Series A funding round, with a specific focus on enhancing security solutions for connected vehicles and smart devices. Tikehau Capital led the €15 million Series A round through its new cybersecurity-focused fund, touted as the largest of its kind dedicated to digital security in Europe. The French Ministry of Defence's Definvest fund, managed by Bpifrance, also participated in the Series A round.

Farmless, an Amsterdam-based startup focusing on converting renewable energy and CO2 into carbon-negative food ingredients, has raised €4.8 million in a seed funding round. In May 2023, the company emerged from stealth mode after securing €1.2 million in a pre-seed round led by investors such as Revent, Nucleus Capital, and Possible Ventures. The recent seed round was co-led by World Fund and Vorwerk Ventures, with the participation of Revent.

Semiconductor firm Pragmatic , based in Cambridge, has revealed the first closing of its Series D funding round, amounting to £162 million. The company indicates that a second closing is in progress, with £20 million already designated for key investors. M&G's Catalyst and the UK infrastructure Bank, a British state-owned entity, co-led the £162 million investment round for Pragmatic. New investors such as Northern Gritstone, Latitude, and MVolution Partners participated, alongside renewed commitments from existing investors British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Saudi VC firm Prosperity7 Ventures.

Klarytee, a startup based in the UK, has completed a pre-seed funding round, securing £700,000 in support. The startup's software platform seamlessly integrates security into data processes, specifically designed for large organizations handling sensitive information. Concept Ventures, an early-stage VC fund, played a key role in backing Klarytee in this funding round. Noteworthy angel investors contributing to the round include Michael Coates, former CISO of Twitter, Evelyn Bourke, former Group CEO of Bupa, the founders of Digital Shadows, Brad Cable, former Managing Director of Accenture, and Desigan Chinniah, Board Member of The Tor Project.

HomeCooks, the inaugural marketplace for independent food creators in the UK, has secured $3.1 million in a Seed round to support its expansion across the country. The funding round was spearheaded by Speedinvest, with contributions from DFF (including Lauren Groenendijk, the founder of Just Eat), Love Ventures, Rianta, and various prominent UK angels associated with the Ventures Together Consortium.

Finexos, a London-based AI-driven SaaS solution focusing on credit and affordability risk analytics, has successfully secured a £690,000 seed round. The funding was led by UK-based Growth Capital Ventures (GCV), with participation from the data-driven angel fund SyndicateRoom, as well as existing angel and VC investors. This oversubscribed round is poised to expedite the company's go-to-market strategy.

Cradle , a startup at the intersection of biotech and AI, is experiencing notable achievements with its innovative approach to protein design, attracting major clients and securing a substantial $24 million in new investment. This funding comes on the heels of a $5.5 million seed round last year. The latest A round was spearheaded by previous investor Index Ventures, with participation from Kindred Capital, another initial seed investor, as well as individual backers including Chris Gibson, Tom Glocer, and others.

Scotland-based pharmaceutical device developer 1nhaler has secured £2 million in funding to advance its distinctive single-use dry powder inhaler (DPI). The investment was spearheaded by Archangels, a supporter of Cytomos and Bioliberty, and received backing from Dr. Yusuf Hamied, British Business Investments (BBI), and initial seed investors.

WeRoad, a travel technology scaleup headquartered in Milan, has successfully raised €18 million in a Series B funding round led by H14. This round, which includes participation from a consortium of investors, brings the total funds raised by WeRoad to €36 million.

QuantumDiamonds, a quantum sensing company, has secured €7 million in Seed funding with IQ Capital and Earlybird leading the investment. A consortium comprising IQ Capital, Earlybird, Onsight Ventures, First Momentum, Creator Fund, UnternehmerTUM, and several angel investors from the semiconductor industry have collectively invested €3 million. Additionally, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator and the Bavarian state are contributing €4 million in grant funding.

Lassie, the pioneer in preventive pet insurance, has successfully secured €23 million in Series B funding. The funding round is led by Balderton Capital, with participation from previous investors including Felix Capital, Inventure, Passion Capital, and Philian. This latest round brings Lassie's total funding to €36.5 million.

PhysicsX, a deep-tech startup headquartered in London, specializing in the development of artificial intelligence for engineering applications, has successfully raised $32 million in a Series A funding round. General Catalyst led the investment, with participation from notable contributors including Standard Industries, NGP Energy, Radius Capital, and Henry Kravis, co-founder and co-executive chairman of KKR.

Hololight, an Austrian startup focused on extended reality (XR) solutions for enterprise applications, has revealed the acquisition of an additional $12 million in funding. This financing is intended to expedite the advancement of its XR streaming platform, Hololight Hub. The funding round is spearheaded by Flatz Hoffmann, a European growth equity investor, along with continued support from existing investors EnBW New Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and Future Energy Ventures.

LegalFly, a legaltech startup based in Belgium, has recently concluded its Seed funding round, securing over €2 million. The round was spearheaded by Redalpine, with Mehdi Ghissassi, Director of Product at Google DeepMind, also contributing. Ghissassi's involvement highlights the confidence of the artificial intelligence industry in LegalFly's mission.

Cloudsmith, a software supply chain management firm based in Belfast, has disclosed $11 million in Series A2 financing. The funding round is spearheaded by MMC Ventures, and with this investment, the total funding raised by the company reaches $28.9 million.

ZeroAvia, a company dedicated to clean aviation solutions, has successfully concluded its Series C funding round, securing a total of $116 million. The investment was contributed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Alaska Airlines, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, AP Ventures, and the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. The UK Infrastructure Bank has also joined as a cornerstone-level investor, alongside co-leads Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, and NEOM Investment Fund (NIF).

Modo Energy, headquartered in London and specializing in data analytics for renewable energy assets, has secured $15 million in Series A funding. The funding round, which was led by MMC Ventures, renowned for investments in TreasurySpring and Qflow, also saw participation from existing investors Triple Point Ventures, Fred Olsen Limited, and Catalyst Capital.

Unchained Robotics, a German startup aiming to democratize plug-and-play robotics in the industrial sector, has raised €5.5 million in its latest funding round. This brings the total funding for the company to €7.7 million. The round was led by Future Industry Ventures, a collaboration between SBI Holdings and Redstone. Other contributors include Teklas Ventures, vent.io, and existing investors BORN2GROW, Archimedes New Ventures, the OWL technology fund managed by EnjoyVenture, and various business angels such as Christian Hülsewig (Schüttflix), Marek Lehmann, Eike Klein (both u+i ventures), and Reinhard Rabenstein.

Evidose, headquartered in Warsaw, has successfully raised $500,000 in funding from Inovo VC and 500 Emerging Europe. The company specializes in organizing decentralized efficacy trials for dietary supplements and wellness products.

Envirly, a tech company based in Lublin and experiencing rapid growth, has disclosed a €1.3 million seed round. Key investors in this funding round include BNP Paribas Bank Poland, Tangent Line Ventures investment fund, along with the continued support of previous investor Aligo VC and contributions from four Business Angels. Notably, this seed investment is among the largest in ESG compliance products in Central and Eastern Europe.

HULO.ai, a Dutch startup focused on developing advanced AI algorithms to address water loss, has raised €800,000 in a recent funding round. The investment comes from LUMO Labs and the Netherlands Enabling Water Technology (NEW) Fund.

Cytidel, an Irish cybersecurity startup, has secured €1.3 million in funding as it aims to expand its product offerings and increase its workforce. Elkstone Ventures led the seed funding round, with participation from Enterprise Ireland.

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