The event took place on 15th October in STATION F, the business incubator campus for startups in Paris. The annual flagship summit welcomed the best founders to pitch in front of the exclusive network of venture capitalists for its Founders Connect initiative.

Only one in 10 founders who received venture capital between 2011 and 2021 was a woman, with all-female startup teams securing just 2% of total VC funding. Founders Connect was introduced to open pathways for promising female-founded startups in a male-dominated market.

This initiative provides founders with direct access to decision-makers from top funds and mentorship from experienced female founders and operators. Additionally, they'll gain ongoing access to a community of women in venture capital.

Sophie Winwood, Co-Founder and CEO at unlock VC, said: “We've seen firsthand how women-led teams approach problems differently and create solutions that tap into overlooked markets worth billions. The goal of Founders Connect is to create meaningful connections and funding opportunities for female founders that prioritise quality interactions over rushed pitches.”

The 18 startups featured at the summit included:

1. 52 North Health (Cambridge, UK – Seed): making urgent care safer for cancer patients, through the use of diagnostic and digital solutions built with patients and doctors
2. Asterisk Women’s Health (Berlin, Germany – MVP): the first women’s non-reproductive health tracking app that helps researchers and femtech slam shut the health data gap
3. CUR8 (London, UK – Seed): an enterprise platform that helps corporates and financial institutions buy, manage, and finance high-quality carbon removals with confidence
4. EcoComply (Heilbronn, Germany – Pre-Seed): an AI-native compliance operating system for manufacturers
5. Infiniti Recycling (Cambridge, UK – Pre-Seed): closing the loop on EV batteries – extracting and remanufacturing active materials from lithium-ion battery waste
6. InReality (Copenhagen, Denmark – Pre-Seed): InReality is a cryptographic defence against AI. Certifying real content at the point of capture
7. Klara AI (Alicante, Spain – MVP): the new agentic interface for fincrime teams
8. Kokoon (London, UK – MVP): Kokoon helps Gen Z build essential soft skills like time management and problem-solving through daily, AI-powered training delivered seamlessly in Slack
9. Marveri (USA – Pre-Seed): helping law firms with transactional due diligence review
10. Ponterra (London, UK – Seed): Ponterra develops and operates large-scale forest restoration projects in the tropics, delivering high-integrity carbon and biodiversity credits while driving climate, ecological, and economic impact
11. PulpaTronics (London, UK – Pre-Seed): PulpaTronics develops fully recyclable metal-free RFID tags that can cut CO2 emissions and costs for product identification and tracking
12. Punto Health (London, UK – Seed): Punto Health is the first AI-driven platform that transforms cognitive care by providing early detection, daily support, and coordinated clinical insights for patients with dementia and related conditions
13. Recupere Metals (Paris, France – Pre-Seed): a deeptech company unlocking secondary copper for the western world by enhancing the conductivity of copper scrap
14. Rhevia (London, UK – MVP): combine proprietary radar technology with AI to reveal how and why people and vehicles move through complex environments.  Making operations safer, more efficient, and more responsive
15. Tova (USA – Seed): empowering climate-smart water management through deep learning
16. VASH (USA – Pre-Seed) VASH transforms how organizations review third-party compliance data – turning slow, manual processes into AI-powered workflows
17. Xena (Mannheim, Germany – Pre-Seed): AI-powered copilot for precision gynecology surgeries, transforming MRIs into sub-millimetre 3D digital twins
18. Shareback (London, UK – Seed): building a unique AI work platform for every person, with proactive agents, tailored prompts, and agentic workflows

The unlock VC summit brought together over 350 female venture capital professionals, founders, and industry leaders from across Europe and the US. Driving action through networking, learning, and growth opportunities.

Speakers included Olivia Jacobsson, BizOps at Lovable, Eileen Burbidge, Founding Partner at  NFG Ventures, Jyoti Hirani Driver, CEO at NATO DIANA, Itxaso Del Palacio, General Partner at Notion Capital, Sara Rywe, Partner at byFounders, Reshma Sohoni, Founding Partner at Seedcamp, Kitty Mayo, CEO at Project Europe, Luna Schmid, Partner at Google Ventures, and many more.

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