While innovation and ambition are not bound by gender, the systems that support early-stage business growth too often are. Securing investment is a critical milestone for a startup, but the pathway is often uneven for founders.

The landscape for growth-stage fundraising has fundamentally changed. Today’s Series C and D rounds, typically involving raises of $50–100 million or more, are significantly tougher than in recent years. Investors have become more selective, valuations more restrained, and expectations for business performance far more rigorous.

Orbit Capital is bringing venture debt to Central and Eastern Europe with its Growth Debt II fund. The fund will hold €100 million, allowing technology companies to accelerate further growth. This second fund follows on the success of Growth Debt I, which held €40 million.

Renow, the Nordic startup modernising how returned and second-hand goods are handled and resold, has raised €1.8 million in seed funding to expand its AI-powered recommerce platform across Northern Europe, opening new hubs in Sweden and Norway, and aiming to launch in the Danish and Beneluxian markets.

Swedish deeptech company Embedl has raised €5.5 million in a pre-series A funding round from Chalmers Ventures, Fairpoint Capital, SEB Greentech, Spintop Ventures,  and STOAF. 

Coralogix, a full-stack observability platform provider, has announced a $115 million Series E funding round.

Spring 2025 marks a turning point for the European venture capital market: the turbulence of previous years is giving way to a search for new points of stability.

Angel Academe, the angel network that has been investing in women leaders for over ten years, has launched the UK’s first female founder focused EIS fund in partnership with fund manager, SyndicateRoom.

UK Finance has released a new report on the progress made by banks following the introduction of the Disability Finance Code for Entrepreneurship (DFCE) in December 2024, which aims to improve the entrepreneurial landscape for disabled individuals.

biotope by VIB has secured €5 million in the first close of its second fund, marking a major step toward its €9 million target over the next 18 months. The fund will enable biotope to invest €250,000 in up to 30 international early-stage biotech startups.