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The official channel of V3V Ventures. We share updates on our investments, portfolio companies, and fund activities. Buy Ads: @strategy (this is our only account).
🌱BGF Pledges £3B to Back UK Life Sciences, Deep Tech & Women-Led Ventures
British Growth Fund (BGF) is committing £3 billion over five years to support innovation across the UK—focusing on life sciences, deep tech, and at least £300 million for women-led businesses.
✅ Inclusive capital, nationwide focus
• £300M minimum for female-led and female-powered companies
• 74% of investments will target regions outside London and the South East
• Typical ticket size: £3M–30M for growth-stage, £3M–10M for early-stage
⚙️ Long-term, founder-friendly model
• Provides minority equity without debt or leverage
• Builds on £4.5B deployed since 2011 across 370+ companies
• Focus areas: life sciences, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure
📈 Scaling innovation amid market challenges
• Invested £500M in 50+ businesses in 2024 alone
• Leveraging pension fund capital as part of UK economic reforms
• Prioritizing underserved regions like the North West, Midlands, and Wales
BGF’s £3B plan aims to unlock growth across the UK—fueling deep-tech, boosting female-led ventures, and backing innovation beyond the usual hubs.
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🦗 Proteine Resources Raises €9.5M to Build AI-Driven Insect Protein Factory for Pet Food
Polish biotech startup Proteine Resources has secured €9.5 million in funding to launch a fully autonomous insect protein factory and bring its beef-alternative pet food to market. Backers include the European Innovation Council, SMOK Ventures, Bitspiration Booster VC, and others.
✅ Inside the round
• €9.5M total: grant + equity from EU and private investors
• Funds to build AI-powered, carbon-negative protein facility
• Supports launch of 1:1 beef analog for cats and dogs
⚙️ What Proteine is building
• Converts mushroom by-products into taurine-rich insect protein
• Factory is modular, off-grid, and remotely managed via AI
• Product is cost-competitive, allergy-safe, and highly palatable
• Factory cuts over 13,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually
🌱 Why it matters
• Pet food drives 20% of meat emissions—alt-protein demand is rising
• Circular model transforms food waste into nutrition and income
• Global expansion planned via modular factory rollout by 2027
Proteine Resources is reimagining pet nutrition with autonomous, sustainable biofactories—turning waste into premium protein for the planet’s furriest eaters.
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🧬 Catalio Capital Raises $400M+ to Back Next-Gen Biotech Breakthroughs
New York–based Catalio Capital has closed over $400 million for its fourth life sciences fund, doubling down on early-stage biotech, diagnostics, and medtech companies. Despite a sluggish IPO market, the firm sees a golden window to invest in AI-driven drug discovery and undervalued assets.
✅ Inside the raise
• Fund IV exceeds its $381M predecessor, with backing from KKR, whose co-founder Henry Kravis chairs Catalio’s advisory board
• Capital already deployed across 16 companies, including PinkDx and Superluminal Medicines
• Target portfolio: 30–35 high-impact startups across therapeutics, tools, and devices
• Over $300M returned to LPs from exits like Thrive, Haystack, and Recursion
🧪 What Catalio is building
• A deep bench of scientific founders paired with operator-led biotech execution
• Focus on AI-enabled platforms, oncology, and next-gen diagnostics
• Repeatable playbook refined over four funds and multiple high-profile exits
🌍 Why it matters
• Biotech valuations are down—but innovation is surging
• Big Pharma’s patent cliffs and AI momentum create ripe M&A conditions
• Catalio is betting early, aiming to shape the next wave of blockbuster bio platforms
Catalio’s $400M+ fund isn’t just a financial milestone—it’s a strategic bet on the science, founders, and timing that could define the next decade in biotech.
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🧠 Edurino Raises $17M to Turn Kids’ Screen Time into Learning Time
German edtech startup Edurino has secured $17 million in Series A funding to transform how children use digital devices—shifting passive screen time into interactive, educational play. The round was led by DN Capital, with participation from Tengelmann Ventures, FJ Labs, and existing backers.
🎓 Learning meets the digital age
• Edurino offers a hybrid platform: physical figurines and a learning app for ages 4–8
• Covers essential 21st-century skills—literacy, numeracy, coding, and social-emotional learning
• Designed in collaboration with educators, emphasizing play-based learning with real-world context
• Parents get tools for tracking progress and customizing content
🚀 Scaling edtech with substance
• The startup has already reached over 300,000 families across Europe
• Plans to expand into new markets and enhance its digital library
• Combines tactile toys with gamified lessons to deepen engagement and retention
• Targeting global demand for screen time that’s not just fun—but formative
👤 Mission-driven leadership, global ambition
• Co-founders Franziska Meyer and Irene Klemm are former strategy consultants with a passion for education
• Backed by leading European investors focused on sustainable impact
• Clear goal: make high-quality early education accessible, affordable, and screen-smart
Edurino is redefining screen time—not as a distraction, but as a launchpad for learning.
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❗️Lakestar Prepares $300M Fund to Boost Europe’s Defence Tech Ecosystem
Lakestar, the prominent European VC known for backing Revolut and Glovo, is setting up a dedicated defence tech fund targeting $250–$300M. This move marks one of Europe’s strongest VC commitments to dual-use and national security startups as the continent prioritizes strategic autonomy.
✅ Inside the fund
• Fund size: Targeting $250M–$300M for a pan-European defence tech fund
• Focus: Startups in AI-driven battlefield tools, cybersecurity, satellite surveillance, quantum sensing, secure communications, and advanced materials
• Backers: Expected participation from sovereign wealth funds, national development banks, institutional investors, and major aerospace & cyber firms
• Leadership: Klaus Hommels (Lakestar founder), also Chair of the NATO Innovation Fund
🌐 What makes Lakestar’s fund different
• Policy-aligned VC: Tightly integrated with NATO and EU policy goals, aligning capital with Europe’s defence and innovation priorities
• Deep-tech expertise: Track record in scaling high-tech ventures like Revolut, Spotify, and Skype—now applied to dual-use defence innovation
• First-mover in Europe: Few VC firms in Europe have launched fully defence-focused vehicles of this scale
🚀 Why it matters
• Surge in European defence tech: $5.2B+ raised in the sector in 2024 alone
• Urgent demand: Russia-Ukraine war and rising global tensions push Europe to reduce reliance on foreign defence tech
• Policy tailwinds: Aligns with the €8B European Defence Fund (2021–2027) and broader EU goals for tech sovereignty
• Market gap: No dominant player in European defence VC—Lakestar is stepping into white space
This new Lakestar fund aims to fuel 20–30 startups across early and growth stages, positioning itself as a strategic partner to both governments and innovators building the next generation of European defence technology.
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🧪 Balthazar Raises €1.85M to Build the OS for Deep-Tech R&D Labs
Balthazar, an Amsterdam-based startup developing an operating system for deep-tech hardware labs, has raised €1.85M to modernize how experiments, data, and prototypes are managed. The round was led by CapitalT, with participation from Antler, Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland, Rabobank, and RVO.
✅ Inside the round
• Fund size: €1.85M pre-seed round led by CapitalT
• Focus: Operating system for hardware R&D in fields like semiconductors, photonics, and quantum
• Use of funds: Expand engineering, deepen instrument integrations, and enhance AI features
• Founders: Dejan Davidovikj (CEO) and Konstantin Mertsalov (CTO), both PhDs with deep lab and systems experience
🌐 What makes Balthazar different
• Unified OS for labs—replaces spreadsheets, scripts, and fragmented tools with one browser-based platform
• Python-native workflows, domain-agnostic data model, and customizable UIs
• Tracks every experiment and prototype with full version control and metadata links
• Early adoption by cutting-edge labs tackling reproducibility and traceability gaps
🚀 Why it matters
• Hardware R&D is expensive and inefficient—prototype iterations can cost €1M+
• 66% of labs struggle with reproducing results; 25% of engineer time lost to data issues
• No modern Benchling-equivalent exists for semicon, quantum, and energy labs—Balthazar fills that gap
Balthazar isn’t just digitizing lab work—it’s building the foundational stack to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in the physical world.
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🔍 TopK Raises $5.5M to Build the AI Search Layer for the Enterprise
TopK, a Prague-based startup developing a next-gen AI search engine for corporate data, has raised a $5.5M seed round to help businesses query internal knowledge as easily as using Perplexity. The round was led by Earlybird, with backing from KAYA, Irregular Expressions, and angel investors from UiPath and Datadog.
✅ Inside the round
• Fund size: $5.5M seed round led by Earlybird
• Focus: AI-native enterprise search across unstructured, structured, and multimodal data
• Use of funds: Enterprise integrations, scaling engineering team, and expansion from Prague
• Founders: Marek Galovič (CEO) and Jerguš Lejko (CTO), long-time collaborators with deep ML expertise
🌐 What makes TopK different
• “True hybrid retrieval” engine fuses vector search, metadata filtering, and keyword matching
• Built from scratch for performance—5× faster and 10× cheaper than typical LLM search stacks
• Designed to serve both humans and AI agents needing fast, accurate, explainable results
• Early traction in verticals like finance, legal, logistics, and healthcare
🚀 Why it matters
• As enterprise AI copilots rise, search becomes the foundation—TopK wants to be the universal query layer
• Legacy systems can’t handle messy, multi-format internal data—TopK connects it all in real time
• By solving relevance, cost, and performance, the team is laying infrastructure for the AI-native workplace
TopK isn’t just rethinking search—it’s building the core tech that will power tomorrow’s intelligent enterprises.
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⚡ DejaBlue Optimizes EV Charging and Solar Use with AI-Powered Energy Orchestration
Paris-based DejaBlue has raised €6.8M (~$7.3M) in seed funding to scale its AI-driven energy optimization platform for businesses operating EV chargers and solar systems. The round was led by Redalpine with support from Zeno Ventures and Bpifrance. DejaBlue helps businesses reduce energy costs and grid impact by intelligently controlling when and how energy is used.
✅ Inside the round
• New funding: €6.8M seed round led by Redalpine
• Other backers: Zeno Ventures, Bpifrance
• Use of funds: Team expansion, AI feature development, entry into new EU markets
• Headcount: Team to grow from 15 to 30+ engineers and deployment staff
🔋 Turning buildings into energy-smart assets
• Connects EV chargers, rooftop solar, and utility contracts in one cloud-based control panel
• AI shifts charging and consumption to periods of low grid demand or high solar availability
• Helps businesses cut bills, increase sustainability, and avoid grid penalties
• Ideal for fleets, commercial real estate, and logistics hubs
👥 Founders with scale-up and energy tech roots
• CEO Parker Spielman previously built systems at Google Fi and Uber
• CTO Baptiste Richard brings expertise from Lyft and grid-scale software engineering
• Backed by a technical team focused on automation, real-time data, and scalable ops
As EVs surge and grids strain, DejaBlue offers a software-first path to clean, affordable, and resilient electrification.
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🇧🇪 Swave Photonics Adds €6M to Bring “True Holography” to AR and Beyond
Leuven- and Silicon Valley–based Swave Photonics has raised an additional €6M in Series A funding, with backing from IAG Capital Partners and new investor Samsung Ventures. The startup is building HXR (Holographic eXtended Reality) — chip-based holographic displays for spatial computing.
✅ Inside the round
• New funding: €6M follow-on to January’s €27M Series A, total raised now €43M+
• Investors: IAG Capital Partners (returning) and Samsung Ventures (new)
• Team update: Derek Jensen (ex-Magic Leap, SK Hynix) joins as CFO
• Use of funds: Speed up go-to-market, advance R&D, and scale HXR commercialization
🌐 What makes Swave different
• “True holography” — no waveguides, filters, or optical tricks; just photonic chips and real 3D light fields
• Compact, cost-efficient design built on CMOS tech, ideal for mass-market AR, HUDs, and medical displays
• CES 2025 Innovation Award winner; backed by imec.xpand and Belgian deep tech ecosystem
🚀 Why it matters
• Holographic displays are the holy grail for next-gen spatial computing, but few have cracked real-world scalability
• Swave’s chip-based approach could leapfrog bulky optics — enabling slim, immersive AR experiences
• Backing from Samsung hints at potential integration with future XR, mobile, or display hardware
Swave isn’t chasing hype — it’s quietly building the chips that could make holographic reality actually real.
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🇮🇳 Raphe mPhibr Raises $100M to Build India’s Indigenous Drone Powerhouse
Raphe mPhibr, a defense drone startup based in Noida and Bengaluru, has secured a $100M Series B led by General Catalyst, with participation from Think Investments and Amal Parikh. It’s the largest private drone investment in India to date, pushing the company’s valuation to nearly $900M — and advancing its mission to make India self-reliant in military UAV tech.
✅ Inside the round
• $100M Series B led by General Catalyst, joined by Think Investments and Amal Parikh
• Total funding: $145M to date
• Valuation: ~$890M–$900M post-money
• Funding will expand R&D, scale manufacturing, and accelerate export strategy
✈️ Vertically integrated drone manufacturing
• Builds 9 fully indigenous drone platforms — from swarms to high-altitude logistics and naval UAVs
• Produces everything in-house: engines, flight controllers, batteries, composites, electronics
• Over 1 million km of UAV flight completed; supports Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force operations
🌍 Aligned with India’s defense and export vision
• Key supplier in Operation Sindoor; revenue has grown 4× annually for 4 years
• Operates 650,000 sq ft manufacturing hub across Noida and Bengaluru
• Plans to launch in-house radar and camera production within 18 months
• Targeting global defense exports and exploring IPO over next 2–5 years
🚀 Why it matters
• Sets a new benchmark for India’s drone ecosystem and defense self-reliance
• Reflects rising VC confidence in frontier tech and national security startups
• Raphe mPhibr is positioning itself as India’s first end-to-end military drone OEM — ready to compete globally
India’s drone future may already be airborne — and Raphe mPhibr is piloting it.
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🇺🇸 Laude Institute Debuts with $100M to Back Mission-Driven AI Researchers
Andy Konwinski — co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI — has pledged $100M of personal capital to launch the Laude Institute, a new nonprofit and public-benefit hybrid designed to fund long-term, independent AI research. The initiative also complements a venture arm, Laude VC, which invests in early AI startups.
✅ Inside the fund
• Model: Hybrid nonprofit + public-benefit corp with direct grants to researchers
• Capital: $100M committed by Konwinski personally
• Focus: “Slingshots” (early-stage grants) and “Moonshots” (long-horizon AI challenges)
• First grant: $3M/year for 5 years to UC Berkeley’s new AI Systems Lab (launching 2027)
• Governance: Board includes Dave Patterson, Jeff Dean, Joelle Pineau
🌍 What makes Laude stand out
• Created to counter growing commercialization in AI research
• Designed to fund independent work without pressure from vendors or corporate agendas
• Operates alongside Laude VC — a venture fund backed by 50+ AI researchers
• Promotes open science, ethical innovation, and multi-decade thinking
🚀 Why it matters
• As AI becomes central to society, independent and mission-aligned research is critical
• Tech billionaires are increasingly stepping in where public funding falls short
• Laude’s model could inspire more hybrid vehicles that combine philanthropy and venture
Laude is betting that giving researchers both freedom and capital will unlock the next generation of responsible AI breakthroughs.
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🇺🇸 Vultr Locks In $329M Debt Facility to Power AI Cloud Expansion
Vultr, the U.S.-based independent cloud infrastructure provider, has secured a $329M debt facility from a syndicate of major banks including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, KeyBank, and Wells Fargo. The funds will help scale its global AI compute infrastructure as demand for GPU-powered workloads accelerates.
✅ Inside the deal
• Structure: $329M in non-dilutive debt financing
• Lenders: Syndicate led by top-tier U.S. banks including Citi, Goldman, and JPMorgan
• Use of proceeds: Expand GPU and AI compute capacity across Vultr’s global data centers
• Comparison: Follows CoreWeave’s $2B debt raise as Wall Street ramps up cloud exposure
🌍 Why it matters
• Demand for AI model training and inference is driving explosive need for cloud GPU capacity
• Vultr provides a flexible alternative to hyperscalers, targeting developers and enterprises with cost-effective AI infrastructure
• Lower financing costs suggest growing bank comfort with infrastructure-backed debt in AI
📉 Strategy and market context
• Vultr’s use of debt—vs. equity—preserves ownership while scaling rapidly
• Reinforces a broader trend of institutional debt flowing into AI infrastructure
• Enables capital-efficient growth without dilution in a high-CAPEX
Vultr is building the pipelines—using Wall Street’s capital to scale without giving up control.
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🧬 Denver Ventures Closes $20M Debut Fund to Back Founders with “DNA Advantage”
Denver Ventures, a Colorado-based firm born out of an angel syndicate, has closed an oversubscribed $20M debut fund focused on early-stage startups with exceptional founding teams. The fund bets on what it calls “Founder DNA”—grit, clarity, and long-term adaptability over short-term traction.
✅ Inside the fund
• $20M Fund I, oversubscribed from initial $15M target
• Backed by a mix of individual angels and institutional LPs
• Focus: Pre-seed to Series A with $1M–$3M checks
• Portfolio includes early bets in fintech, healthtech, and applied AI
🔍 What makes Denver Ventures stand out
• Invests based on founder traits—not just markets or products
• Looks for teams with high alignment, resilience, and domain fluency
• Originated as a syndicate—now fully institutionalized with fund structure
🚀 Why it matters
• As seed markets mature, investor edge is shifting from thesis to talent
• “Founder-first” investing is regaining focus amid AI hype and fast pivots
• Denver Ventures sees opportunity in overlooked but high-potential teams
Can Denver Ventures’ founder-centric lens outperform in a market obsessed with metrics—and spot tomorrow’s outliers before anyone else?
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🌍 Endeavor Catalyst Raises $300M to Back Emerging Market Scaleups
Endeavor Catalyst, the co-investment arm of global network Endeavor, is raising a $300M Fund V to support high-growth startups across Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
✅ What’s inside the fund
• Target: $300M Fund V, up from $292M in Fund IV
• Stage: Series A–C; $5M+ co-investments, no lead or board roles
• Model: Only backs Endeavor-vetted founders in 34+ countries
• LPs: Includes family offices, DFIs, and Endeavor Entrepreneurs
🌐 Why it matters
• Supports breakout startups like Flutterwave, Rappi, Insider, and Tabby
• Over 30 exits to date; stayed active through downturns (13 deals in Q4 2024)
• Bridges the growth-stage funding gap in underserved markets
📉 Risks, strategy, or investor view
• No governance rights limits influence, but lowers friction
• Highly selective — only invests in vetted founders
• Offers global LPs efficient access to top startups in frontier ecosystems
Endeavor Catalyst is quietly becoming the go-to co-investor for breakout startups beyond Silicon Valley.
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🚲 VOK Bikes Raises €5M to Replace Vans with Smart Electric Cargo Bikes
Tallinn-based VOK Bikes has raised €5 million in a Series A round led by SQM Lithium Ventures, with backing from Metaplanet, Specialist VC, Sunly, and SmartCap. The funds will support European expansion of its high-tech, zero-emission cargo bikes.
✅ Inside the round
• €5M Series A to scale manufacturing and expand across Europe
• Led by SQM Lithium Ventures, with EU-backed SmartCap and others
• Capital supports product refinement and new market entry
⚙️ What VOK is building
• Four-wheeled electric cargo bikes with in-house 4Drive drivetrain
• Features: ABS, traction control, IoT-enabled diagnostics
• Models include the VOK S, XL, and U utility pickup
🌍 Why it matters
• 95% CO₂ savings vs. vans; 60% faster and 64% more cost-efficient
• Used by IKEA, Wolt, and logistics providers in 14 countries
• Helps cities meet clean transport goals amid rising urban demand
VOK Bikes is reinventing last-mile delivery with rugged, smart electric cargo bikes—offering a cleaner, faster, and more efficient alternative to urban vans.
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🚚 Hived Raises $42M to Scale AI-Driven, All-Electric Parcel Delivery
London-based Hived has raised $42 million in a Series B round led by NordicNinja, with backing from Yamato, Rocketship VC, Planet A, and others. The funds will expand its 100% electric delivery network and enhance its AI logistics engine, HIVEDmind.
✅ Inside the round
• $42M to grow into more UK cities and hire AI and ops talent
• Investors include Wex Venture, Elemental, and Marunouchi Innovation Partners
• Supports EV fleet growth and new megawatt charging for eActros trucks
⚙️ What Hived is building
• AI-powered middle-to-last-mile delivery with dynamic cluster routing
• 100% electric fleet with 99% on-time delivery
• Serves brands like Zara, Uniqlo, and Nespresso
• Cuts WISMO queries by 90%, with customer satisfaction over 90%
🌍 Why it matters
• UK e-commerce is booming—green, reliable logistics are in high demand
• Hived is leading with clean infrastructure while legacy players lag
• Aims to cover 80% of the UK within two years
Hived is delivering more than parcels—it’s building the AI-first, zero-emission future of delivery.
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🧠 Crosstown H2R Raises €2M+ to Supercharge Hydrogen-Powered Gas Turbines
Swiss climate-tech startup Crosstown H2R has secured over €2 million in public and private funding to revolutionize industrial heat with zero-carbon hydrogen combustion. The funding includes grants from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and support from Innosuisse, pushing the company out of stealth mode and into pilot development.
🔥 Replacing fossil heat at scale
• Crosstown is building hydrogen-based burners that retrofit into existing gas turbines
• Targets high-emission industries like cement, steel, and chemical production
• Enables a near drop-in solution to decarbonize thermal processes without full system overhauls
• Leverages a proprietary “Hydrogen Recirculating” design to eliminate CO₂ emissions entirely
🚀 Backed by public funds and early traction
• Raised €2M+ in non-dilutive funding from Swiss energy and innovation agencies
• Partners with turbine OEMs and research institutions for rapid pilot rollout
• Focused on scaling tech that meets the industrial sector’s 24/7, high-temperature demands
🧬Founders with deep tech and energy DNA
• Co-founders combine experience from ETH Zurich, GE Power, and Swiss energy R&D
• Mission-driven to decarbonize one of the hardest-to-abate sectors: industrial heat
• Positioned at the intersection of energy transition, hardware innovation, and climate impact
Crosstown H2R isn’t just optimizing — it’s redefining how industries burn fuel by swapping carbon for clean hydrogen.
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🛸 xAI Raises $10B to Scale Grok and Build a Supercomputer Rival to OpenAI
Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has raised $10 billion—split evenly between debt and equity—to supercharge development of its Grok chatbot and build out “Colossus,” a supercomputer aiming to rival OpenAI and Google DeepMind. Morgan Stanley led the raise, bringing xAI’s total funding to ~$17B just one year after launch.
✅ Inside the round
• $5B in equity from investors including a16z, Sequoia, Fidelity, BlackRock, and Kingdom Holding
• $5B in debt—secured notes and term loans underwritten by Morgan Stanley
• Funds will expand Grok’s model family and build data centers powered by NVIDIA and AMD chips
• Total valuation reportedly approaches $80 billion, with Colossus designed to scale up to 1 million GPUs
💻 What xAI is building
• “Colossus”: one of the world’s largest AI supercomputers, under construction near Memphis
• Grok: xAI’s conversational AI embedded in X (formerly Twitter), positioned as a more “truth-seeking” rival to ChatGPT
• Grok-3 Mini and advanced reasoning models already in use; Grok-3 full release expected later this year
• Full-stack vertical play: model, infra, data, and user app unified under one Musk-led ecosystem
🌍 Why it matters
• The AI infrastructure race is intensifying—Musk’s $10B move puts xAI on a collision course with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google
• Control over GPU supply and distribution is becoming a defining moat in generative AI
• With Grok tied to X’s distribution and Colossus under development, xAI could become a vertically integrated AI empire
xAI isn’t just training a model—it’s building the compute, capital, and channels to challenge AI’s current leaders head-on.
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🧬 BGF Commits £3B to Boost UK Life Sciences, Deep Tech, and Women-Led Ventures
BGF, the UK’s most active growth-stage investor, has pledged £3B over five years to accelerate innovation in life sciences, deep tech, and high-growth sectors—including £300M for women-led businesses, the largest such commitment in UK venture capital.
✅ Key details
• £3B to be deployed by 2030
• £500M for early-stage deep tech and life sciences
• £300M for female-led ventures
• 74% of funding outside London, incl. £400M for the North West
• Investment size: £3M–£30M, minority stakes only
🌐 What sets BGF apart
• Inclusive model: Signatory to Investing in Women Code
• 15 regional offices for nationwide access
• Founder-friendly: No pressure to sell or give up control
• Strong track record: 500+ companies backed, £7.1B in added revenue
🚀 Why it matters
• Tackles VC gender funding gap
• Supports critical UK science and tech sectors
• Drives regional growth beyond London
• Plans to fund 350+ businesses with long-term impact
BGF isn’t just funding startups—it’s reshaping the UK innovation economy.
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⭐️ Seven Stars Launches $40M Fund to Back AI for the 90%
Steven Lee, former SV Angel partner and longtime advisor to early-stage founders, has launched Seven Stars, a $40M fund aimed at backing AI startups that serve the global majority—not just tech-savvy elites. The fund closed in five weeks and will focus on pre-seed and seed rounds across consumer and enterprise AI.
✅ Inside the fund
• Fund size: $40M debut fund, oversubscribed in five weeks
• Stage focus: Pre-seed and seed, with flexibility to follow on
• Thesis: AI startups serving the 90%—not just knowledge workers
• First deal: Stealth startup led by a repeat founder backed by Lee
• LPs: Institutional investors, endowments, and top-tier GPs
🌍 What sets Seven Stars apart
• Founder-first model with coaching, talent pipelines, and GTM support
• Strategic advisors from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Nubank, Microsoft
• Backing AI tools across verticals—education, healthcare, blue-collar work
• Deep network from Lee’s time advising 900+ financings totaling $1.25B
📉 Risks, strategy, or investor view
• Most AI capital still flows to elite use cases—this fund bets on mass impact
• Lee’s personal story (son of Korean immigrants, named after family biz) gives the fund a mission-driven edge
• Early investor momentum suggests strong conviction in Lee’s differentiated vision
Seven Stars isn’t chasing the hype—it’s backing the overlooked, building the AI infrastructure for billions, not just boardrooms.
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⚙️ LayerZero Powers AI Data Centers with High-Reliability Energy Systems
LayerZero Power Systems, a critical supplier of power distribution hardware for data centers, has secured a $1B majority investment from private equity giant Advent International. The deal positions LayerZero to scale rapidly amid the AI infrastructure boom, with founders retaining minority stakes and Advent bringing in seasoned leadership to drive expansion.
✅ Inside the deal
• Deal size: ~$1B majority stake acquired by Advent
• Founders Milind Bhanoo and James Galm remain in leadership roles
• Annette Clayton (ex-Schneider Electric North America CEO) named incoming board chair
• Funds to be used for scaling production, R&D, and global reach
• Closing expected in Q3 2025, pending regulatory approval
🔌 Keeping the AI cloud online
• Builds high-reliability PDUs, transfer switches, and control panels for AI and HPC data centers
• Essential for handling high-density, mission-critical workloads where uptime is non-negotiable
• Trusted by top-tier operators navigating growing power demands and grid constraints
🛸 Leadership continuity, operational firepower
• Founders bring deep electrical engineering expertise and domain knowledge
• Advent adds capital, global expansion support, and operating talent via Clayton’s board role
• The deal aligns with Advent’s broader strategy around digital infrastructure and energy resilience
As AI drives explosive demand for compute, LayerZero is emerging as the silent backbone—keeping data centers powered, stable, and always-on.
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👀 ForSight Robotics Raises $125M to Automate Eye Surgery with Micro-Precision Robotics
Israeli startup ForSight Robotics has secured a $125M Series B to advance its robotic platform for ophthalmic surgery. The round was led by Eclipse, with participation from Adani Group, Reiya Ventures, and surgical robotics legend Dr. Fred Moll. ForSight’s goal: scale the ORYOM™ robot for cataract surgery and tackle the global eye surgeon shortage.
✅ Inside the round
• New funding: $125M Series B; total raised now $195M
• Investors: Eclipse (lead), Adani Group, Reiya Ventures, Dr. Fred Moll (Intuitive Surgical co-founder)
• Clinical milestone: First-in-human robotic cataract trials to begin in 2025
• Use of funds: Clinical expansion, regulatory approvals, R&D for retina and glaucoma procedures
🦾 Why ORYOM matters
• World’s first robotic platform purpose-built for eye surgery — combines micromechanics, AI, and computer vision
• Enables highly precise, minimally invasive operations on the eye’s anterior and posterior segments
• Over two dozen surgeons have completed hundreds of procedures on preclinical models using ORYOM
• Recently earned ISO 13485 certification — a key step toward market readiness
🌍 Solving a global vision crisis
• 600M+ people worldwide suffer from cataracts; only ~30M surgeries are performed each year
• Massive shortage of ophthalmic surgeons: just 14.1 cataract surgeons per million people
• Demand for eye surgeries expected to rise 24% by 2035, while workforce may shrink 12%
• ForSight aims to scale surgical access globally — especially in underserved regions
With a top-tier team and growing clinical momentum, ForSight could do for ophthalmology what Intuitive did for general surgery.
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👥 Halogen Ventures Closes $30M to Back the Future of Family
Jesse Draper’s Halogen Ventures has closed its $30M Fund III, doubling down on its mission to fund early-stage, female-led startups building products for modern families. From fertility to fintech to caregiving, Halogen is betting big on what it calls the “infrastructure of the household economy.”
✅ Inside the fund
• Fund size: $30M, following $10.4M Fund I (2018) and $21M Fund II (2021)
• Focus: Early-stage (pre-seed to Series A) companies improving family life — health, care, education, finance
• Founder filter: Invests only in companies with at least one female founder
• Notable past bets: Teal Health (at-home cervical screening), Vibrant Planet (wildfire risk management), Flex
🌍 What makes Halogen different
• Dedicated to reshaping the “invisible labor” economy — tackling overlooked but essential sectors
• Founded by fourth-gen VC Jesse Draper, with a platform built to support women beyond the check
• Deep LP and founder networks across media, family offices, and gender-lens investing circles
🚀 Why it matters
• The care economy is surging — with rising demand for solutions across parenting, aging, and household wellbeing
• Women-founded startups still receive <3% of U.S. VC dollars; funds like Halogen are working to change that
• As families evolve, so do their needs — creating room for massive innovation in how we live, raise kids, and care for loved ones
Halogen isn’t chasing trends — it’s building long-term infrastructure for the people and systems that hold society together.
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🐄 Antler Bio Uses Gene Expression to Boost Dairy Yields
Antler Bio, a UK- and Ireland-based AgriTech startup, has raised a $4.3M Series A led by The First Thirty Ventures, with support from Endgame Capital and Generation-RE. Its EpiHerd platform analyzes gene expression in dairy cows to predict performance, improve health, and increase productivity — helping farmers turn biology into profits.
✅ Inside the round
• $4.3M Series A led by The First Thirty Ventures
• Joined by Endgame Capital and regenerative ag syndicate Generation-RE
• Total funding now ~$8.5M including grants
• Funds will expand operations across Europe and scale EpiHerd to more farms
🍃The EpiHerd advantage
• Detects gene-expression patterns linked to stress, nutrition, and fertility — before symptoms appear
• Used by 100+ farms across the UK, Nordics, and Ireland
• Delivers up to 22% higher milk yield, 6% more fat, and 5% more protein
• Farmers report 7:1 ROI from better herd health, longevity, and output
🔬 Why it matters
• Founded by scientists Maria Jensen and Nathalie Conte to bring genomics into everyday farming
• Arrives as Europe’s dairy sector faces pressure from farm closures and productivity declines
• Investors see Antler Bio as part of the “AgriHealth” movement — blending biotech, sustainability, and food resilience
By turning genetic insight into everyday decisions, Antler Bio is building the next-generation toolkit for high-performance, sustainable dairy farming.
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🇨🇿 KAYA VC Closes €80M Fund to Power Central Europe’s Next Wave of Startups
Prague-based KAYA VC has closed its fifth fund at €80 million, doubling down on its mission to back early-stage founders across Central and Eastern Europe. With unicorns like Rohlík and Docplanner already in its portfolio, KAYA is one of the region’s most influential — and quietly consistent — investors.
✅ Inside the fund
• Fund size: €80M, bringing total AUM to ~€300M
• Focus: Seed to Series A, across Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and wider CEE
• Portfolio: 40+ companies, including Rohlík (grocery), Docplanner (healthtech), Better Stack (dev tools)
• LP mix: ~75% private capital, with support from entrepreneurs and family offices
• Ticket size: Starts at €1M, with follow-on potential
🌍 What makes KAYA different
• Deep roots in the CEE region, with offices and networks across major hubs
• Invests in verticals like fintech, healthtech, marketplaces, deep tech
• Emphasizes founder support, operational depth, and long-term scaling
• Strong cross-border mindset — helping CEE startups go global
🚀 Why it matters
• CEE is still an underfunded but high-potential market — and KAYA is filling the gap
• Their unicorn track record shows the region can produce global winners
• As local talent matures, funds like KAYA are key to retaining and scaling innovation at home
KAYA is proving that you don’t need to be loud to shape a startup ecosystem — just smart, patient, and relentlessly founder-focused.
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🗣️ Wispr Flow Secures $30M to Scale AI Dictation Across Devices
Wispr Flow, the AI-powered dictation startup founded by Tanay Kothari, has raised a $30M Series A led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from NEA, 8VC, and notable angels including Pinterest’s Evan Sharp and Carta’s Henry Ward. The company is building a cross-platform voice interface for productivity and communication.
✅ Inside the deal
• Round: $30M Series A led by Menlo Ventures (Matt Kraning joins the board)
• Backers: NEA, 8VC, and angels from Pinterest, Carta, Opal, Lindy, and more
• Use of proceeds: Expand platform support, launch enterprise features, grow headcount
• Total funding to date: ~$56M including earlier pre-seed and seed rounds
🌎 Why it matters
• Wispr Flow is positioned as a fast, lightweight voice interface across Mac, Windows, and iOS
• Supports 104 languages and has seen rapid traction, especially among non-technical users
• Aims to evolve into a context-aware assistant that can execute tasks—not just transcribe
📉 Strategy and market context
• Monetizes via freemium and paid tiers; growing 50% MoM and approaching profitability
• Big Tech’s distribution strength pushed the team to raise now and stay competitive
• Long-term goal: power voice-first computing with future hardware and deep integrations
Wispr Flow is turning voice into a daily workflow tool—riding the AI wave to make speech the new keyboard.
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🇵🇱 Movens Fund 2 Lands €10M from EBRD to Fuel CEE Tech Scaleups
Movens Capital, a Warsaw-based VC firm, has secured a €10M commitment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) into its second fund. Movens Fund 2 targets early-stage tech startups across Poland and Central & Eastern Europe, with a focus on software, deeptech, and digital health.
✅ Inside the fund
• Target: €60M Fund II, with €10M anchor from EBRD
• Stage: Seed to Series A; ticket size ranges from €500K–€3M
• Focus: High-growth CEE startups in software, fintech, medtech, and AI
• Strategy: Equity and quasi-equity investments to drive regional innovation
🌍 What makes Movens stand out
• Poland-first strategy, with broader CEE mandate
• Team has strong local founder networks and operational experience
• Prior fund backed 20+ companies, including Booksy and Vue Storefront
• Now backed by EBRD under its €200M Early-Stage Innovation Facility II
🚀 Why it matters
• CEE startups face a chronic early-stage funding gap despite strong tech talent
• Movens aims to bridge local capital with global growth potential
• EBRD’s investment boosts institutional credibility and LP momentum
As Europe’s venture market matures, Movens is positioning itself as a key launchpad for the next generation of global CEE startups.
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🌍 PXN Group Forms £670M Platform to Back the UK’s Regional Tech Champions
PXN Group, formed from the merger of Manchester’s Praetura Ventures and Edinburgh’s Par Equity, launches with £670M AUM to back early-stage and scale-up startups across the North of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
✅ What’s inside the fund
• AUM: £670M platform combining venture equity, EIS/VCT products, and lending
• Focus: Regional tech startups in SaaS, fintech, healthtech, climate tech, AI, and robotics
• Stage: From £200K to £8M across early and growth stages
• Structure: Active support model with hubs in Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, and London
• Track record: 115+ portfolio companies incl. Current Health, Modern Milkman, Symphonic
🌐 Why it matters
• Tackles UK’s capital imbalance — 80%+ of VC flows to London/Southeast
• Builds a national venture backbone outside the capital
• Leverages public/private capital like British Business Bank and NPIF II
• Positioned as a “regional champion” to rival metro-dominant firms
📉 Risks, strategy, or investor view
• FCA approval pending for formal merger under PXN Group banner
• Multiple fund mandates require alignment across legacy structures
• Strategy hinges on exits recycling into local ecosystems — still rare in many regions
PXN Group signals a bold bet on regional innovation — and could become the UK’s blueprint for rebalancing venture capital.
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🔴 Orbit Capital Launches €100M Fund to Fuel CEE Tech Scaleups with Venture Debt
Orbit Capital, the Prague-based alternative lender, has launched a new €100M venture debt fund to support growth-stage tech companies across Central and Eastern Europe. The fund will provide non-dilutive capital to scaleups navigating the post-Series A and B stages.
✅ What’s inside the fund
• Size: €100M venture debt fund, targeting software and tech-enabled scaleups
• Focus: Central and Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania
• Ticket size: €6M–15M per deal, typically to companies with €8M+ ARR and ~30% YoY growth
• Structure: Non-dilutive debt with strategic support for capital planning
• Backers: Mix of institutional LPs and regional financial players
🌍 Why it matters
• Equity funding in CEE is growing, but venture debt remains underdeveloped—Orbit fills a crucial capital gap
• Helps startups extend runway and delay dilution, particularly in capital-efficient business models
• Builds local alternatives to US/UK debt lenders, with better alignment on regional risks and growth patterns
📉 Risks, strategy, or investor view
• Venture debt can add pressure to cash flow—Orbit targets post-product-market fit firms with stable ARR
• Backed by experienced operators (ex-McKinsey, Credo Ventures), Orbit positions itself as a strategic lender, not just capital provider
• Fund aims to deploy across 12–14 companies, building a diversified portfolio across SaaS, fintech, and B2B marketplaces
Orbit’s new fund offers a powerful tool for CEE founders scaling past Series A—bridging the funding gap with smart, founder-friendly debt.
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