Accel, the Silicon Valley investor known for backing Monzo, GoCardless, and Synthesia, has raised a $650 million European startup fund.

Phlux Technology, a manufacturer of avalanche photodiode (APD) infrared sensors, Airbus Defence and Space, and The University of Sheffield have embarked on a €500,000 project to build more efficient free-space optical communications (FSOC) satellite terminals.

ABB announced a minority investment in Ndustrial, a US-based clean technology startup that developed an AI-powered energy management platform.

Qomodo, the Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity company, announced it had raised a £1.3 million pre-seed funding round led by Expeditions Fund, with participation from Amadeus Capital Partners, Auriga Cyber Ventures, Nio Advisors, McNally Capital, Ventures Together, and previous investor Techstars.

New data from the Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA) showed that its members invested £505 million in early-stage companies across the UK during 2023.

Artisan AI, a startup developing AI employees and software for enterprise companies, raised $7.3 million in a round led by Oliver Jung, an early investor in Airbnb, Rippling, and Revolut.

Life science startup Limula has announced it has raised £5.4 million to advance its solution for automating cell therapy manufacturing.

Zen Educate, an online marketplace connecting schools with top substitute teachers and teaching assistants, has closed a $37 million Series B funding round.

Cellugy, a Danish industrial biotechnology startup, has raised €4.9M in seed funding to scale up production of its EcoFLEXY dry cellulose product to industrial volumes. The round was led by Germany’s ICIG Ventures and Denmark’s Unconventional Ventures, with new US-based investor Joyance Partners joining, along with existing investors PSV DeepTech, The Footprint Firm, and EIFO.

KARRI, a startup developing a smart walkie-talkie for children, has raised £775,000 in pre-seed funding.

Nory, the AI-powered operating system for hospitality businesses, secured $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, bringing its total raised to $25 million, following a 400% revenue growth in 2023. Existing investors Cavalry, Playfair, Samaipata, and Triplepoint also participated in the round.

Gresham House Ventures, a growth equity investor specialising in software and digitally-driven businesses, made a £6.3 million investment into data governance leader ActiveNav and cyber incident solutions provider Actfore, two divisions of Data Discovery Solutions (DDS).

NEC X, the Silicon Valley innovation accelerator backed by NEC’s advanced technologies, announced a new investment in Verdi Expeditions, the world’s first scalable platform for farm automation and personalised plant healthcare.

Finnish mycoprotein company Enifer announced the completion of a funding package to start constructing a unique food-grade mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland.

Northstar Ventures invested £300,000 in Polybox to support the development of its innovative AI marketing technology and team expansion.

Orca AI, the AI-based operational platform for ships, has raised $23 million in new funding, led by OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures, taking its total raised to nearly $40 million.

Eneryield, one of Chalmers Ventures’ portfolio companies, has successfully closed a seed funding round with investment from technology leaders in electrification and automation, ABB and Chalmers Ventures.

European venture firm Rialto, has publicly announced its first fund, established by AVM Gestioni SGR Spa, has secured funding for more than €55 million and is more than halfway deployed, with eight investments to date already completed.

Inspeq AI, a full-stack AI Ops platform, has secured $1.1 million in funding, led by Sure Valley Ventures.

Vizcab, a SaaS platform that calculates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to reduce the carbon impact of construction projects, has raised an additional €4.5 million in Series A funding, bringing their total round to €9 million. The funding will support its rapid growth and expand its operations into new international markets.