Funding

Stockholm-based Buddywise platform, transforming workplace safety with AI across Europe, has announced a new €3.5 million seed round.

Global Screening Services (GSS), a foremost RegTech innovator, announced the successful closure of its Series A2 funding round, securing over $47 million (around £37 million).

Ascension VC, an early-stage venture capital fund, has announced a £17 million first close of its new institutional impact fund which will back talented founders leveraging technology to build more resilient societies.

My SMASH Media, a disruptive AI matchmaking platform for the creative industries, is nearing half a million pounds of investment as it targets the fast-growing global content streaming market.

Belong, a new wealth-building platform, has launched after securing £2.95m in pre-seed funding – the largest pre-seed round ever raised by female founders in Europe.

Frontline Ventures, specialising in B2B software companies, has launched $200 million across two investment vehicles: Frontline Growth and Frontline Seed. These funds are poised to drive the transatlantic development of B2B software enterprises, encouraging innovation across North America and Europe.

Sweden, recognised as the top climate tech ecosystem in the EU by investment volume in 2023, maintains its position into the current year. In the most significant green cement seed round known thus far, Swedish Cemvision has collaborated with fellow Swedish investors Polar Structure and BackingMinds, alongside SF-based Zacua Ventures.

Securing funding for your startup marks a pivotal moment, but the true measure of success lies in the growth and scale achieved thereafter. This is driven by the investors’ return target, which for institutional investors is typically 5-10x. Therefore, raising investment from a venture capital (VC) fund is not appropriate for all businesses.

The Czech fintech startup Flowpay has leveraged predictive AI models, automation, and Embedded Finance to enhance access to operational funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Nordensa, a fan-driven platform dedicated to uncovering football talent, has successfully closed a €1.65 million Seed funding round. This influx of capital is set to bolster the platform’s development and enhance its ability to draw top-tier talent to its already distinguished lineup.

Automated Architecture (AUAR), a pioneering construction tech startup, has secured a £2.6 million Seed investment to propel its vision of crafting sustainable and affordable homes through its unique micro-factories.

Stanhope AI, a company harnessing decades of neuroscience research for training machines to make decisions akin to humans in real-world scenarios, has successfully bagged £2.3 million in seed investment.

NeuReality, a company with a mission of redefining AI inference and data centre infrastructure for the AI era, announced it secured $20 million in fresh funding.

If you own a small and growing company, there will usually be a need for new capital to expand and continue to grow. Once you have exhausted early-stage equity investments, starting with family, fools, and friends, your company will likely turn to convertible loan notes.

Moove, the global mobility fintech that democratises access to vehicle ownership for mobility entrepreneurs, has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round, valuing the company at $750 million. Uber invested in the round alongside Mubadala, who led Moove’s previous funding round in 2023.

Candela, a maker of sustainable electric hydrofoil boats, has successfully completed its most substantial funding round to date, securing €24.5 million to boost the production of its P-12 ferry. Among the investors is Groupe Beneteau.

Zone, Africa’s rapidly expanding payment infrastructure firm, recently announced that it secured $8.5 million in a seed funding round that exceeded expectations.

Mission Zero Technologies, a developer of innovative modular direct air capture (DAC) technology, has successfully secured £21.8 million in Series A funding.

CryoLogyx, a University of Warwick spinout redefining cell technology through cryopreservation, has concluded an oversubscribed seed funding round, amassing an investment of £500,000.

Nanonets, an AI-based workflow automation platform, raised $29 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel. The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Elevation Capital, YCombinator and others. This takes the total funding raised to date to $42 million.