Among the many highlights of the Summit, the Pitch Competition stands out as one of the most exciting moments! This year, we received over 1,600 applications from exceptionally promising early-stage startups across Europe. After a thorough evaluation process, 15 finalists have been selected and will take the stage in Malta to present their startups in front of our audience and a jury of well-known investors.

Meet the Finalists

Agilica: Founded in 2023 and based in Belgium, Agilica delivers a patented multi-modal resilient positioning and GPS-independent navigation technology for enabling autonomous drone operations. Their onboard positioning system utilises ultra-wideband technology to enable precise, autonomous drone navigation and landing, even within GPS-denied or dynamic environments.

Agnia Aerospace: Founded in 2025 and based in the UK, Agnia Aerospace is developing a dual-mode electrospray thruster for low-Earth-orbit satellites that integrates ultra-high efficiency and high-thrust capabilities into a single, pump-free architecture. Their innovative technology promises to ensure that the next generation of space infrastructure remains manoeuvrable, profitable, and 100% debris-free.

AlterEcho: Founded in 2025 in Denmark, AlterEcho is developing a system of robotic avatars and AI agents that seeks to revolutionise the pharmaceutical and medical industries by removing the risk of human contamination from cleanrooms. Their solutions promise to reduce the industry’s biggest cost drain and operational hazard, resulting in cleaner, more efficient, and more profitable operations.

Arclight Aerospace: Founded in 2025 in Malta, Arclight Aerospace is developing a regulatory-grade airspace operating system that enables safe, scalable, low-altitude operations for drones and future Urban Air Mobility services. Their ambitious team seeks to provide governments with the tools to open urban airspace while giving operators predictable and scalable access.

Asvel: Founded in 2023 in Estonia, Asvel is developing an AI-powered robotic endoscopy system that controls the surgical camera using real-time instrument tracking, soft-robotic actuation, and voice to improve precision and reduce surgeon workload. By enhancing minimally invasive procedures and reducing dependence on manual assistance, they help enable safer and more efficient operations.

Cooled Motors: Founded in 2025 and based in the UK, Cooled Motors is developing a new type of magnetless EV motor that reduces the cost of EV motors by up to 70% while matching the performance of standard magnet motors. Their ambitious team aims to deliver highly efficient, sustainable, and economically viable motors for vehicular transport and power generation worldwide.

DAITABLE: Founded in 2023 in Slovakia, this startup leverages AI to monitor, predict, and optimise energy consumption in real time. By combining advanced analytics with seamless integration into existing systems, their system identifies inefficiencies early and supports sustainable, future-ready operations across energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, commercial buildings, and infrastructure.

eMomentum: Founded in 2025 and based in Italy, eMomentum delivers an IoT solution focused on maximising performance and minimising waste in industrial and infrastructural operations. Their turnkey solution continuously monitors motor systems, helping to reduce energy costs and cut CO₂ emissions thanks to predictive maintenance alerts and AI-powered expert support.

Entrelacs: Founded in 2025 and based in France, Entrelacs aims to end one-size-fits-all mental health assessment by building AI that understands each person’s mental health beyond standardised tests. Combining conversational AI with adaptive psychometrics, its platform tailors evaluations to individuals and improves over time, enabling earlier detection of mental health deterioration.

Muun Health: Founded in 2023 in Estonia, Muun Health is developing the first wearable real-time hormone monitoring device for women’s health. The innovative startup aims to fill the gap in women’s hormonal health tracking for a better quality of life with their non-invasive tech solutions, with insights accessible through their mobile application for better management of reproductive health.

Snoika: Founded in 2024 in Estonia, this B2B SaaS startup helps companies become visible, cited, and recommended in AI search engines. Their technology fine-tunes AI models and turns AI search into a predictable inbound growth channel by analysing how brands appear in real AI-generated answers and systematically injecting authoritative context until target visibility KPIs are reached.

Systellar Space: Founded in 2024 in Spain, Systellar Space is enabling AI for the design of complex physical systems such as satellites, aircraft, trains or cars. Currently supported by Techstars Global Accelerator Program, the Systellar Space team is now further developing its innovative platform synapse and expanding its commercial reach to accelerate physical engineering.

Vecify: Founded in 2026 in Spain, Vecify is developing an AI engineering compliance platform that helps teams move faster without compromising safety. By connecting requirements, verification, and certification through continuous traceability, the Vecify platform reduces manual overhead, catches issues earlier, and helps teams stay audit-ready throughout product development.

Warden Machinery: Founded in 2023 in Luxembourg, Warden Machinery is developing AI and computer vision to make critical processes in metals and mining more predictable and efficient. They seek to support the transition from intuition-driven operations to data by deploying industrial AI agents at critical decision points, helping to enable real-time control and loss prevention.

Xydra Labs: Founded in 2025 in Germany, Xydra Labs is a frontier applied AI lab that has developed an architecture allowing LLMs to reason over structured enterprise data while mathematically preserving its topology. They turn LLMs from purely linguistic systems into verifiable reasoning engines for real-world structures, and aim to scale across financial services, insurance, and beyond.

The Prize Package

The stakes are high! Valued at over €1 Million, the prize is juicier than ever! Packed with funding opportunities and credits for great tools and services to supercharge your startup’s growth, this prize could truly transform your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s see what is in it:

• €250k Funding Opportunity with Look AI Ventures. The winner will get fast-tracked and invited to pitch directly in front of Look AI Ventures‘ investment committee, and after the due diligence process, there will be a funding opportunity of up to €250k.
• $220k Funding Opportunity with Techstars. The winner will be fast-tracked for a priority interview to join Techstars. This ensures that the startups’ business plan will be reviewed by the Techstars investment team and the most relevant program managing director. Following a positive due diligence process, the startup will have the opportunity to join a Techstars accelerator programme, including a $220k investment.
• Up to €434k in Funding from Malta Venture Capital, matching the investment of Look AI Ventures and/or Techstars, if the winning startup is either based in Malta, open to relocating to Malta or considering a subsidiary in Malta.
• Up to €100k in Cloud Credits from IONOS to support your startups’ hosting and scaling needs with a trusted European cloud provider.
• $24k in Credits from Cyscale. The winning startup will receive cloud security credits to monitor and secure its cloud environment, helping to detect misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and potential threats.
• $24k Draper University scholarship (up to 2 co-founders, $12k per founder), including a guaranteed interview with the Draper University selection committee and investment fund and, upon selection, a full scholarship covering the programme costs, with accommodation and co-working space in the heart of Silicon Valley. Flights, visas, and personal expenses not included.
• $12k in Credits from LUA AI to build an AI agent that helps automate tasks and interactions.
• Gain €12k in value at Make, including €6k in Credits (Make Teams, 3.6m credits) and €6k in consultation services, to build no-code automated workflows using Make’s visual automation platform.
• Up to $12k in Credits from Notion (6 months free Business Plan with unlimited AI), access to Notion Perks (exclusive discounts on other software) and to Notion Champions Community.
• 90% discount on HubSpot for Startups Pro Suite (worth up to $25k), including access to HubSpot’s Free CRM and Sales, Marketing, and Operations tools. The prize also includes a $1,000 matched credit for LinkedIn and Google Ads via HubSpot, as well as up to $150,000 in savings from HubSpot partners. T&C apply.
• €10k in JetBrains licenses for essential development and team tools, including award-winning tools such as IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and JetBrains AI, trusted by 50,000+ startups worldwide.
• €10k in Remote Credits to support international hiring and help teams access global talent. Credits are valid for 12 months.
• €9,900 D-ID Video Maker Enterprise plan, 5-user package with one year of free use.
• €5k in value for an exhibition table at the EU-Startups Summit 2027, including 3 event tickets, and a 3-year CLUB membership.

The Jury 

• Angelo Burgarello, Managing Partner at Look AI Ventures
• Miguel Borg, CEO at Malta Venture Capital
• Piotr Godzinski, Director of Partnerships EMEA at Techstars

Secure your ticket today and stay tuned for exciting updates on our event page!

OUR EVENT SPONSORS

Malta Enterprise is Malta’s economic development agency, facilitating economic growth, investment, and innovation by offering a range of support services for local and foreign enterprises setting up a productive presence in Malta. As a key player in Malta’s economic landscape, it contributes to the nation’s prosperity by attracting investments, supporting businesses, and driving innovation, thereby reinforcing Malta’s position as an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Malta Enterprise actively cultivates a vibrant startup ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in fostering a conducive environment for startups and offering tailored support and incentives to empower emerging businesses.

M. Demajo Group is a leading business player in Malta, with a successful history spanning 115 years. The Group’s growth and diversification have resulted in a wide coverage of business sectors through a commitment to long-term results.

M. Demajo Group’s workforce is 500 strong, and their various activities have been developed through organic growth, acquisitions, partnerships, and startups. Its strong financial situation and ethical standards, its business reputation, and its renowned track record as a business partner are all key factors in its continued expansion.

The IONOS Cloud Start-up Program provides young companies with up to €100,000 in cloud credits for up to five years after their founding. Start-ups benefit from a sovereign IT infrastructure “Made in Germany,” offering 100% GDPR compliance and full legal certainty. IONOS Cloud guarantees technological freedom without vendor lock-in. Long-term support is also ensured: exclusive discounts after the first year enable a seamless transition into the IONOS Cloud ISV Partner Program. In this way, digital sovereignty becomes a strategic competitive advantage from founding to scaling.

The post Meet the Pitch Competition finalists of the EU-Startups Summit 2026! appeared first on EU-Startups.

The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, IVP, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Vine Ventures. In November 2025, the company raised €86.5 million ($100 million) Series A led by Index Ventures,  just three months after raising €29.4 million ($34 million) Seed round. 

“In 2026, enterprises will be deciding who to partner with to operationalise AI across their organisations, and those decisions will hinge on who can deliver deep integrations across complex infrastructures and tailor solutions to each organisation’s unique environment. We built our platform and operating model around that reality, and the demand we’re seeing globally reflects it. This capital allows us to expand our ability to support enterprises to do what they want with AI,” said Bar Winkler, CEO and co-founder of Wonderful. 

Founded in 2025 by Bar Winkler (CEO) and Roey Lalazar (CTO), Wonderful enables enterprises to run human-grade agents in some of the world’s most complex environments and use cases.

Wonderful merges a powerful AI platform with local deployment, delivering enterprise-grade AI agents worldwide. It enables building, monitoring, and optimising AI agents to serve customers and streamline workflows across all offices.

According to the company, enterprise AI will not scale through technology alone. It requires an agentic platform paired with locally embedded teams that can deploy agents inside complex organisations.

It states that by building full-stack teams that are co-located and forward-deployed into customer environments, Wonderful can enable direct collaboration with enterprise stakeholders, accelerate system integration, and sustain post-deployment optimisation long after go-live. Wonderful notes that, as a result, agents can transition from pilot to full production within days and weeks instead of months, even in highly regulated, operationally complex environments.

The Dutch company is building a horizontal enterprise foundation that can be activated across multiple use cases and workflows, rather than delivering isolated point solutions. 

“The architecture is model-agnostic by design, continuously benchmarking and selecting the best-performing models for each use case while remaining flexible as the model landscape evolves. It incorporates state-of-the-art engineering practices, including harness-based evaluation and self-healing system design, to ensure agents remain reliable in production,” mentioned the company in the press release. 

As enterprises activate additional use cases on the same underlying architecture, the value increases over time. Organisations can partner with Wonderful to deploy quickly while maintaining the ability to extend, build on, and ultimately own their AI capabilities in the long run.

“Over 70% of enterprises that begin with a single use case expand into additional workflows within the first three months. That expansion is possible because we built a shared foundation across core systems from day one. Once that architecture is in place, activating new use cases becomes faster, more predictable, and increasingly owned by the enterprise itself,” added Winkler.

Wonderful’s operating model can be applied consistently across various industries. Whether in telecommunications, financial services, healthcare, or manufacturing, companies are automating both customer interactions and internal processes. 

The company reports that across deployments, agents have delivered measurable impact, reducing handling times by up to 60%, achieving containment rates above 80%, and enabling organisations to replace legacy automation vendors while unlocking multi-million-euro annual efficiency gains.

With the fresh capital, Wonderful plans to continue investing in its agentic platform and accelerate global expansion, scaling headcount from 350 to approximately 900 by year-end to serve more enterprises with locally embedded deployment teams. 

In the eight months since emerging from stealth, Wonderful has quickly expanded, reaching over 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, and deploying production-grade agents for enterprises in telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare.

The post Amsterdam-based enterprise AI agent platform Wonderful raises €129.8 million Series B at €1.7 billion valuation appeared first on EU-Startups.

This week on the EU-Startups Podcast, we sit down with Kilian Kaminski, Co-founder of refurbed, the Vienna-based marketplace helping reshape how Europeans buy electronics and other consumer goods through refurbished products.

Founded in 2017, refurbed has grown into one of Europe’s leading platforms for sustainable consumption, offering professionally refurbished devices that provide a more affordable and environmentally friendly alternative to buying new products. Instead of sending used devices to landfills or limiting solutions to recycling, refurbed focuses on extending the lifecycle of electronics by refurbishing and reselling them through a curated marketplace.

In this episode, Kilian shares the story behind refurbed’s journey from a startup idea to one of Europe’s fastest-growing refurbished product marketplaces. Headquartered in Vienna, the company now operates across several European markets and has raised more than €120 million in funding to scale its operations and expand its mission of promoting a circular economy. He also discusses the evolution of the refurbishment sector, the challenges of building trust in second-life electronics, and how circular economy models are gaining traction across Europe, and much more.

Kilian is also a guest contributor to EU-Startups, where he shares insights on sustainability, circular economy, and entrepreneurship. You can find his articles here.

Tune in to the episode to hear Kilian’s insights on building a mission-driven company, scaling a marketplace across Europe, and why extending the lifecycle of products may become one of the most important levers in the transition towards a more sustainable economy.

 

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This episode of the EU-Startups Podcast is brought to you by Vanta. The trust management platform helps more than 12k companies, including Nando’s, Allica Bank and Granola, start and scale their security programmes while building trust with buyers. It saves security teams time and improves programme visibility by automating over 35 compliance frameworks, such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, as well as GRC workflows like risk management. Click here to learn more!

The post The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Refurbed founder Kilian Kaminski appeared first on EU-Startups.

The round includes new investment from Vox Capital/COPEL. Existing investors also participated, including Headline, Contrarian Ventures, DOMO VC and EDP Ventures. Delfos Energy has now raised a total of €10 million to date.

The Spanish startup states that the Seed extension was raised in response to continued investor demand and will support its ongoing consolidation across Europe. The company expects to pursue a Series A fundraising round within the next 12-18 months to support its next phase of growth.

Guilherme Studart, CEO and co-founder of Delfos Energy, said, “The energy transition will only succeed if existing infrastructure runs far more efficiently and reliably than it does today. Delfos Energy uses AI to capture and scale the knowledge of experienced engineers – translating complex operational signals into clear priorities and actions at a time when expertise is being lost. This funding allows us to consolidate our presence and continue building AI that is purpose-built for real-world energy operations.”

Founded in 2017 by Guilherme Studart and Samuel Lima, Delfos Energy is an EnergyTech company focused on predictive maintenance solutions and digital transformation, using AI to improve performance in renewable energy generation.

The company develops applied AI solutions for renewable and energy infrastructure operators, assisting them in managing assets more efficiently, reliably, and at scale. Its platform functions as a constantly operating virtual engineer, ingesting operational data in real time, detecting abnormal behaviour and early-stage failures, interpreting complex signals in context, and converting them into prioritised, actionable recommendations for engineering, operations, and executive teams.

According to the company, rather than simply surfacing data or triggering alerts, it is designed to solve an execution and decision-making problem. 

Unlike traditional monitoring and analytics tools that stop at dashboards, alarms or generic anomaly flags, Delfos Energy claims to replicate the work of an experienced performance engineer. The platform detects and interprets operational signals, provides context and prioritisation across sites and assets, suggests recommended actions, and helps teams move from “something looks off” to “here’s the likely cause and the best next step” faster. 

The company also offers natural-language interfaces, like WhatsApp, allowing teams to query complex operational data using plain language, thereby reducing the adoption barrier across organisations.

Delfos Energy’s platform is built as a two-layer AI system for energy operations. At its core is a proprietary machine-learning engine that performs continuous performance and reliability analysis in real time, identifying abnormal patterns, early-stage failures and efficiency losses across energy systems.

On top of this, the company is expanding a second AI layer focused on automating engineering workflows. This includes generating reports, supporting maintenance planning, and turning insights into operational decisions across asset types, particularly as the energy transition introduces new technologies such as energy storage alongside existing infrastructure.

Delfos Energy claims that it has created an AI system designed specifically for energy operations and not a generic AI interface adapted to the sector. It has managed to do so by combining open-source large language models with its proprietary guardrails, domain logic and operational data

Over time, Delfos Energy anticipates this workflow layer developing into agents capable of performing specified engineering tasks, enabling lean teams to manage larger, more complex asset portfolios.

With this capital, the company plans to consolidate its AI Suite, deepening deployments across key energy transition markets, and continue expanding into adjacent energy transition verticals, including energy storage. 

It also expects to enter the US market once it reaches sufficient scale and maturity in Europe. Delfos Energy is consolidating its presence across Europe, where it now supports more than 1,000 energy sites in over 10 countries. Europe is expected to make up 35–40% of Delfos’s global revenues this year, with the company’s existing European customer base projected to generate over 4–5 times revenue growth as deployments expand across multi-site operators.

In 2024, the company announced its €6.3 million Seed round, led by Contrarian Ventures and Headline.

The post Barcelona’s Delfos Energy raises €3 million to build AI “virtual engineer” for the energy industry as it charges up for Series A appeared first on EU-Startups.

Designed as a week of focused discussions and strategic meetings, the event aims to connect those developing deep technologies with the organisations capable of financing, deploying and scaling them across Europe. The programme will culminate with the Deeptech Summit, an invitation-only gathering expected to host around 2,500 decision-makers.

Please note that this is an invitation-only event. If you wish to attend, you can register here or through the official website above. 

What to expect from the European Deeptech Week

The event is expected to attract around 2,500 participants, largely senior decision-makers from across Europe’s innovation ecosystem. Rather than operating as a traditional trade show, the week is structured around closed-door sessions, one-to-one meetings and smaller strategic discussions. These formats are designed to encourage practical conversations around partnerships, procurement, funding and industrial deployment.

To create an environment where meaningful conversations can happen between those building deep technologies and those who can help bring them to market, the programme will also include:

• Investor-founder meetings
• Pitch sessions
• Curated networking opportunities
• VIP dinners
• Side events across the city

Who’s it for?

The European Deeptech Week is designed for decision-makers from across Europe’s deeptech ecosystem. This includes executives from large European corporates and industrial groups, many of whom attend as potential buyers or strategic partners for emerging technologies, as well as venture capital firms, private equity investors and corporate venture teams focused on deeptech.

The event will also bring together founders and executives from European deeptech startups and scaleups looking for partnerships, investment or industrial collaborations. In addition, delegations from European institutions, national innovation agencies and policymakers will take part, reflecting the growing role of public funding and policy in shaping the future of deep technologies.

Please remember that this is an invitation-only event! If you wish to attend, you need to register here or click on the banner above.

Key topics and the broader European context

Deeptech Week brings together organisations working across several strategic sectors, including space and defence, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, Industry 4.0 technologies such as robotics and advanced manufacturing, energy and climate solutions, and life sciences and healthtech innovations. While these industries might differ, they often face similar challenges, from securing long-term financing to scaling production and accessing global markets.

Beyond the meetings and sessions taking place during the week, the event also reflects a wider discussion happening across Europe. The continent has strong research institutions and a growing number of deeptech startups, but turning scientific breakthroughs into large industrial companies remains a challenge.

By bringing together investors, companies and public institutions in one place, the European Deeptech Week aims to encourage greater coordination and collaboration across borders, helping strengthen the foundations of Europe’s deeptech ecosystem. If you would like to be part of the conversation, you can register for the event or visit the official website to explore the programme and learn more.

The post European Deeptech Week 2026: An invitation-only event bringing Europe’s deeptech leaders to Paris (Sponsored) appeared first on EU-Startups.

The round was led by Ananda Impact Ventures, alongside Unconventional Ventures, kopa ventures, Desai Ventures, Hypernova / New Venture Securities and two EQT Partners acting as strategic investors (Matthias Fackler and Francesco Starace). Existing investors, including Antler, Findus Ventures, E2MC and Pilabs, also participated in this round. 

“AIRMO has a simple mission: to help operators find and stop greenhouse gas losses, starting with methane. We have developed this unique instrument to achieve this goal. With this funding, we are moving beyond validation into continuous monitoring that will solve this problem. And launching our first satellite mission is a major step towards realising our ambition to monitor 12 million energy assets worldwide,” said Daria Stepanova, CEO of AIRMO. 

AIRMO was founded in 2022 by Daria Stepanova, a rocket scientist and serial entrepreneur who has already completed 12 successful satellite launches. The company designs, builds, and operates proprietary methane monitoring tools. 

Some of its offerings include drone-based methane monitoring for targeted leak detection for site-level precision, aircraft-mounted methane monitoring system for wide-area methane mapping at scale, Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) for real-time thermal visual leak detection, Flame Ionisation Detector (FID) for high-sensitivity methane verification, and Continuous Methane Monitoring System (CMS) for fixed-site, real-time methane surveillance. 

Backed by the European Space Agency, the company has built the world’s first active spaceborne greenhouse gas monitoring instrument, combining a Short-wave infrared (SWIR) imager with micro-LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). AIRMO claims that this is the first time such a high-powered sensor has been miniaturised to fit a small satellite. The technology is twice as accurate as any existing systems – in practice, this means the ability to detect a methane leak the size of a car from 500 km in space.

According to the company, methane emissions are responsible for 30% of the Earth’s warming, yet 70% of leaks remain unreported. 

It states that methane leaks also pose a major challenge for energy companies, costing the industry around €86.6 billion ($100 billion) annually. This is equivalent to 15% of upstream oil and gas investment. This includes €25.9 billion ($30 billion) in direct revenue loss.

AIRMO technology is already being used in commercial operations on drones and aeroplanes for monitoring missions in Europe, Central Asia and MENA. Its existing customers include leading energy companies, such as Uniper, Total and ESCE. 

“Methane leakage reduction is the most effective way to decarbonise the energy industry today. AIRMO’s ability to quantify GHG emissions from space with such high precision is a game-changer, finally solving a significant transparency problem for the energy sector. Having backed the team since inception, we are proud to continue supporting their journey as they move toward their first satellite launch,” said Alina Bassi, Principal at Ananda Impact Ventures. 

The company plans to use this fresh capital to move itself from successful pilots to scaled commercial operations. AIRMO will be launching its first satellites into space in 2027 to begin operational data delivery. It will be scaling airborne monitoring campaigns across Europe, MENA, and Central Asia, moving into routine operational monitoring and funding full payload-satellite integration. The funding will also be used to drive international expansion, with AIRMO establishing a local presence in MENA.

In 2023, the company announced a Pre-Seed round of €5.2 million from leading space and impact investors, as well as a large contract by the European Space Agency.

The post Germany’s AIRMO raises €5 million to detect methane leaks from space with satellite launch planned for 2027 appeared first on EU-Startups.

DTS3’s final closing includes support from longtime partners and new investors, including PSL Université, INRIA, Bpifrance under France 2030, MGEN, Famille C Participations, BNP Paribas, MACSF, Institut Pasteur, and others. The Lazard Frères Gestion team also provided support throughout the fundraising process.

“Deep tech investing is in Elaia’s DNA; our track record across our previous funds validates that this is the moment to scale. DTS3 reflects our international ambition: we’re backing founders across Europe, and our growing investor network reflects this geographic mix. The strong presence of repeat investors confirms our approach is working. We’re in an intense deployment phase and eager to meet ambitious entrepreneurs building Europe’s next generation of deep tech companies,” said Xavier Lazarus, Managing Partner at Elaia.

Founded in 2002, Elaia is a European full-stack tech and DeepTech investor. It invests from Pre-Seed to Series B in B2B Tech companies, with its first check starting at €300k and can invest up to €15 million per company. The VC firm focuses on high-potential B2B startups in the digital, DeepTech, and BioTech sectors.

DTS3 was developed in partnership with leading European research institutions, including PSL, INRIA, CNRS, the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, and the Max Planck Foundation. According to the VC firm, DTS3 will invest from €1M to €13M in pre-Seed and Seed-stage B2B startups across Europe, partnering with founders at the earliest stages.

Since its initial close of €60 million in March 2024, DTS3 has already allocated capital to 11 portfolio companies in sectors such as computing, life sciences, and industrial innovation. These include Munich-based fusion energy firm Proxima Fusion, Paris-based GetVocal, an AI company developing hybrid human-AI agents for enterprise customer experience, and Biophta, another Paris-based startup assisting patients with chronic eye diseases.

DTS3’s initial deployment spans DeepTech innovation across France, Germany, Spain, the UK, Switzerland, and other European markets.

Anne-Sophie Carrese, Partner at Elaia, said, “DTS3 builds on a partnership model we pioneered through the PSL Innovation Fund and Elaia Alpha II Fund, which has already produced notable outcomes, including Aqemia, Alice&Bob, and Mablink Bioscience, acquired by Eli Lilly.

“These partnerships with Europe’s top research institutions give us early visibility into breakthrough technologies and exceptional founding teams. After nearly two decades backing deep tech founders, we’re seeing an acceleration of innovation that rivals any ecosystem in the world. From Zurich to Paris with hubs emerging across the continent, European DeepTech is reaching escape velocity.”

DTS3 will continue deploying capital throughout 2026 across three core pillars: the future of computing (AI, cybersecurity, semiconductor/photonics, quantum), the future of industry (physical AI, robotics, material, energy), and the future of life sciences (BioTech, digital health, medical devices).

Earlier this year, in February, Elaia announced the first close of its fifth Digital Venture Fund (DV5) at €120 million, with ambitions to scale to €300 million. 

Elaia manages €1 billion in assets and has partnered with more than 100 startups, including Criteo, Mirakl, Shift Technology, Alice & Bob, Aqemia, Vibe and iBanFirst. The firm also operates a joint venture with Lazard, known as Lazard Elaia Capital, through which it supports “exceptional founders” at any stage. Elaia has offices in Paris, Barcelona and Tel Aviv. 

The post Elaia closes third DeepTech Seed fund at €134 million as “European DeepTech is reaching escape velocity” appeared first on EU-Startups.

For Brussels, the implications go far beyond tariffs. With EU–US trade surpassing €1.6 trillion annually, rising legal uncertainty and renewed tariff threats amid geopolitical crises have strained not only economic ties but also the broader traditional alliance.

Implications for European startups

Amid this geoeconomic upheaval, and with President Trump previously threatening to impose additional tariffs on several European countries in his bid to take Greenland, how has the new EU–US trade deal and the ongoing uncertainty impacted transatlantic trade and, specifically, European startups?

Since July 2025, EU exports to the US have taken a hit, weighed down by higher US tariffs and a stronger euro, making European goods more expensive for US consumers. UN Comtrade data shows that in the third quarter of 2025, EU exports to the US fell sharply by 25% to €147.1 billion compared to the previous quarter. That figure had been temporarily inflated by a March surge, as US firms rushed to import European goods ahead of new tariffs taking effect on 1 August. The overall impact of the tariff agreement is stark: the EU’s goods surplus with the US has almost halved, dropping from €81 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to €41 billion in the third quarter.

Irish and European exporters to the US are impacted by the tariffs in several ways, with startups in trade-dependent sectors, including hardware, machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, being particularly vulnerable. Tariffs increase costs, squeezing profit margins and disrupting supply chains, which in turn can impact cash flow, as Enterprise Ireland has warned. Rising prices and uncertainty may prompt US buyers to seek alternative suppliers, leaving European companies at a disadvantage compared to non-tariffed competitors. In response, Enterprise Ireland has introduced targeted grants for Irish exporters, both for market research and new market validation, to help them adapt strategically and diversify their markets.

Trade tensions have also revealed that access to critical technologies is no longer a given. The EU’s growing AI market, characterised by a proliferation of startups, is heavily dependent on US hyperscalers for cloud and AI services, representing a structural vulnerability. Moreover, the EU has faced an aggressive response as it has sought to regulate big tech platforms under the EU’s Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act and the AI Act. This has resulted in additional US tariff threats, with European regulators and service providers, including tech companies, also being targeted.

A climate of investment uncertainty

This volatile environment creates uncertainty, leading venture capital (VC) funds to make more cautious decisions, delay investments or even withdraw from Europe. In the first quarter of 2025, the US share of total European deal value fell to 46.9%, down nearly 4% from the previous quarter, according to PitchBook data. The overall volume of VC deals in Europe dropped to its second-lowest level in a decade in 2025, according to KPMG.

This particularly affects startups in less mature ecosystems that rely on external capital, especially from the US, to close funding gaps, often in the later financing stages. With the US already investing at least four times more VC per capita than Europe, there is a real risk of a widening innovation gap.

Against this backdrop, initiatives for greater harmonisation across EU member states are critical to alleviating the impact of trade tensions and tariffs. The Capital Markets Union aims to expand financing options for European startups and make the EU a safer and more attractive place to invest in the long term. Meanwhile, the €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund, expected to launch in spring 2026, seeks to address shortages in late-stage growth capital for strategic deep-tech companies.

Transatlantic relationship no longer assured

The transatlantic relationship remains economically vital, but this once close relationship can no longer be taken as a given. This is a stark and painful lesson for Europe. Diversification is sensible, but it comes with its own political and economic trade-offs, and this was acutely reflected in the Mercosur Partnership Agreement negotiations.

A thriving startup ecosystem is crucial to Europe’s economic growth, competitiveness and resilience to global trade shocks. In its Startup and Scaleup Strategy from May 2025, the European Commission set out its role, together with the European External Action Service and Member States, in supporting startups to access global markets through trade agreements, EU Delegations and dedicated EU tools such as the Access2Markets portal. Innovative startup solutions also need to be integrated into the value chains of Global Gateway.

The moment is ripe for startups to consider the opportunities of diversification and how they can gain a strategic edge in Europe.

As Ireland prepares to host its eighth Presidency of the Council of the EU in the latter half of this year, trade relations are set to dominate the agenda. Given Ireland’s unique relationship with the US, it will have to continue to balance strained US relations within a broader European agenda as it assumes EU leadership. If Ireland’s approach is politically shrewd, it may well achieve this for the benefit of all Europeans.

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The round was co-led by Venturefriends and Semapa Next. This announcement comes just months after their €517k ($600k) pre-Seed round, co-led by Vanagon Ventures and EWOR.

“Industrial companies do not lack data,” says Dr Bjol R. Frenkenberger, CEO and co-founder of Sybilion. “They lack clarity about which signals truly matter and when to commit. Our goal is to give decision-makers the information advantage so they can turn external world dynamics into confident action before uncertainty becomes cost.”

Sybilion’s Seed round comes amid a broader wave of European investment in AI-driven platforms designed to improve procurement, supply chain visibility and operational decision-making.

In 2025, Magentic, based in London, raised €4.6 million to scale autonomous AI agents that automate procurement and supply-chain operations, while fellow London startup Procure AI secured €11 million to build AI-native tools aimed at helping enterprises stabilise sourcing and supply chains. Another UK company, Monq, raised €2.5 million in pre-Seed funding to develop an AI-driven strategic negotiation platform designed to improve procurement outcomes.

Elsewhere in Europe, Berlin-based Freshflow secured €6.5 million to expand its AI platform for automated ordering and inventory optimisation in grocery supply chains, while London-based Treefera raised €26.2 million in a Series B round to scale its supply-chain transparency and risk intelligence platform.

More recently, Berlin startup Andercore secured €33.5 million in equity and debt financing to expand its AI-enabled industrial trade platform across Europe.

Together, these financings represent roughly €84 million invested across adjacent segments of industrial decision intelligence and supply-chain software over the past year.

Within this landscape, Sybilion’s approach – linking external signals such as commodity markets, logistics data and macroeconomic indicators directly to procurement, pricing and operational decisions – reflects a growing focus on AI systems that move beyond forecasting dashboards toward structuring and guiding real-time business decisions in volatile industrial environments.

“Industrial companies are being forced to make larger decisions on shorter timelines as volatility becomes the norm. We’re excited to support Bjol and the team as they become the decision layer for manufacturing,” adds Apostolos Apostolakis, Founding Partner at VentureFriends.

Founded in 2021, Sybilion connects external world dynamics – commodity markets, energy, weather, logistics and macro signals – to the decisions that shape margin, working on top of systems companies already run.

According to the company, a few weeks of mistimed procurement in manufacturing can erase millions in margin. Yet most of the industry still makes billion-euro decisions using spreadsheets, fragmented analyst reports, and instinct.

Most manufacturers today have access to historical data feeds, analyst reports, and internal forecasts – but Sybilion believes they still struggle to answer which risk factors actually matter for a company, for a product set, at this moment.

Procurement, sales, and finance often work from different inputs and reach different conclusions. By the time alignment happens, markets have usually already moved and margins are diminished. This cost is detrimental; even a three to five percent timing error on a €172 millions ($200 million) cost base can reportedly translate into millions in margin erosion.

Sybilion approaches the problem from the outside in. The system identifies which signals materially affect a company’s exposure and links them directly to cost structures and product portfolios. Rather than delivering another isolated forecast number, Sybilion structures the decision moment itself, clarifying realistic options, trade-offs, and quantified risk boundaries so companies can commit earlier.

Its platform filters more than one trillion external risk factors, including weather anomalies, trade flows, freight rates, electricity futures, commodity prices, port congestion, industrial utilization, and macroeconomic indicators.

Grégoire Viat, Principal at Semapa Next says: “We were impressed by what Bjol and the team at Sybilion have built in a short period of time. Sybilion delivers clear, measurable value to industrial customers, addressing a fundamental need for decision confidence in an increasingly volatile supply chain environment. We are pleased to support the founders as a long-term partner as they continue to scale the business.”

Over the past twelve months, Sybilion has grown annual recurring revenue to high six-figures, with zero churn and no sales team.

Use cases:

• K.D. Feddersen, an international distributor of engineering plastics, used Sybilion to align earlier on critical pricing and purchase decisions around global polymer trade flows and feedstock dynamics.
• At Jobachem, the platform enabled timely commitment with integrated energy futures and upstream commodity signals to frame procurement decisions with quantified risk boundaries.
• For Maral Overseas, forward trade flow analysis made it possible to take informed export allocation decisions by identifying regions where demand was strengthening.

Looking ahead, Sybilion plans to deepen its mapping from external signals to product-level exposure and decision recommendations, broaden “Sybilion Connect” integrations so actions land directly inside client workflows, and expand from insight delivery into agentic planning support that helps teams determine the next best move under uncertainty.

The long-term goal is to give industrial decision-makers an advantage that compounds, turning uncertainty from a threat into an edge.

“Bjol is one of the most fascinating founders I’ve been fortunate enough to meet. He is a piano prodigy, a builder, an academic, a leader,” says Daniel Dippold, CEO and Founder of EWOR. “With Sybilion, he managed to build the largest dataset of time-series data I have seen to date and orchestrates it in a way that gives industrial teams a decision advantage no one else can offer. Similar to Bjol, Sybilion is one of a kind. Their technology is built like a musical masterpiece, they are growing fast, and Bjol has assembled a unique team that would have never come together were it not for his leadership.”

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This year’s agenda will feature insights from some of Europe’s most successful entrepreneurs and explore the founder journey in depth. Across two stages, attendees can expect inspiring talks, valuable networking opportunities, hands-on workshops, and a buzzing exhibition hall. For the first time, the Summit will also host the Global Startup Awards Grand Finale, bringing the world’s largest independent startup ecosystem platform into the programme for a special celebration of leading founders, startups, investors, and ecosystem players from across the globe.

A global competition reaches its final stage

Following the conclusion of regional competitions across six continents, the Global Startup Awards has announced the global finalists for its 11th edition. After processing more than 71,000 nominations, collecting over 403,000 public votes, and completing jury evaluations across its international network, the organisation has now confirmed the founders, startups, investors, and ecosystem leaders advancing to the global stage.

Operating across 154 countries, the Global Startup Awards works with regional partners, governments, ecosystem leaders, and industry experts to identify standout innovators and contributors from startup ecosystems around the world. This year’s finalists come from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, and Oceania, reflecting the breadth and diversity of global entrepreneurship today.

Kim Balle, CEO and Co-founder of XO Group, said: “After more than a decade expanding the GSA to 154 countries worldwide, we are now refocusing on Europe. Our goal is to strengthen the European startup ecosystem by creating innovation bridges to the rest of the world through our global platform.”

Competing for 13 Global Titles

The global finalists will compete for 13 prestigious titles during the Global Grand Finale. The awards recognise both startups and key ecosystem contributors across the following categories:

Startup of the Year
Best Newcomer
Best Greentech Startup
Best Health Tech Startup
Best Fintech Startup
Best Youth Startup
Investor of the Year
Best Accelerator or Incubator Program
Best Co-working Space
Founder of the Year
Diversity Role Model of the Year
Ecosystem Hero of the Year

Unlike the other categories, the People’s Choice title is open to all global finalists, regardless of their primary category, and is determined entirely by public votes. The full list of global finalists for edition 11 is available here

The road to the global grand finale!

This year’s edition also marks a notable first for the organisation. For the first time, the Global Grand Finale will be held as part of the EU-Startups Summit, bringing the awards to one of Europe’s leading annual gatherings for founders, investors, and startup ecosystem players.

The collaboration has been made possible through MeOut Group, the investor behind the Global Startup Awards and parent company of EU-Startups. As part of the Summit programme, finalists will be showcased in front of an international audience before the global winners are announced during the awards ceremony.

By integrating the Global Startup Awards into the EU-Startups Summit, edition 11 creates a stronger link between GSA’s worldwide network and the European startup scene, while opening the door to new international connections and collaborations.

Kim Balle added: “Europe has all the ingredients to lead in this new era of innovation. What we need to see is less friction and stronger alignment between founders, capital, and policy so that innovation can scale faster across the continent. The Global Startup Awards Grand Finale days, as part of the EU-Startups Summit, will not only celebrate the achievements of our finalists. They will also bring together innovation leaders from across Europe and help build innovation bridges between the European ecosystem and the rest of the world.”

Tickets and access

As the Global Grand Finale will take place within the EU-Startups Summit, attendees are required to hold a Summit ticket. Global finalists will receive one complimentary ticket, while other attendees can use the discount code GSA25 to receive 25% off their ticket purchase.

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