Paris and Munich outstrip London
by Tom Nugent
Good morning John,
I spent last week at Stage Two, the annual spinout event held in Berlin. The last time I was there, two years ago, investors at the event talked up the potential of the companies pitching to be among their next fund returners, believing a new generation of European unicorns will be founded on rich IP. That was probably the early innings of the deeptech boom that is currently gripping European VC.
This year, pitches had a touch of another thing: sovereignty.
Companies that spin out of universities are typically working on bets spanning AI and quantum, robotics and defence, technologies that start by tinkering in labs. Those technologies have become increasingly pertinent in a Europe under pressure to develop technological independence, with startups across the region racing to be the homegrown alternatives to US or Chinese providers of tech.
Some of the pitches at Stage Two this year mirrored that race. From memory, “sovereignty” or “Made in Europe” didn’t feature on pitch decks there two years ago.
One company this year was pitched as “‘the road to commercialising sovereign silicon”’; another pitched its drones as “100% made in Europe” with zero components from China; a third highlighted that the “sovereign window is a fast growing European market”.
This feels like a sure-fire way to convince VCs to part with their capital. I did think though, if sovereignty is a fast-growing market in Europe, at what point does it become a saturated one? And can these companies genuinely deliver on the sovereignty promise?
Elsewhere today:
- Exclusive: General Catalyst-backed Strawberry launches its first full product
- Oslo tech struggles to break out of Stockholm's shadow
P.S. The next Sifted run club is taking place tomorrow in London, meeting by Blackfriars Bridge from 6pm for a 6:30pm start. All running abilities welcome for a fun 5k loop along the river, followed by drinks. Sign up here!
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🇳🇴 Oslo tech struggles to break out of Stockholm's shadow: Sifted’s Anne Sraders reports back from the Norwegian capital’s tech week.
🌍 Sovereignty comes to pan-European spinout event Stage Two.
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Europe posts a third consecutive record quarter, as Paris and Munich outstrip London
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London-based Cognitive Credit, which provides AI-driven data and analytics tools to support decision-making in global credit markets, raised €35.7m in funding. Summit Partners led the round and was joined by investors including ETFS Capital.
Milan, Italy-based Phononic Vibes, which develops advanced noise and vibration control solutions for transport, infrastructure, and industrial applications, raised €25m in funding. Jolt Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Eureka! Venture, CDP Venture Capital, and Simest.
Berlin-based Cygrid, which develops cybersecurity solutions to prevent AI agents from accessing and leaking confidential company data, raised €2.66m in pre-seed funding. Atlantic led the round and was joined by investors including D11Z, Boris Gorin, Andreas Bermig, and Vlad Tropko.
Lisbon-based Intuitivo, which develops digital tools to automate administrative tasks and reduce teachers’ workload in schools, raised €1.35m in seed funding. Caixa Capital and Impact Innovation Fund led the round and were joined by investors including Techstars, COREangels Lisboa, COREangels Porto, and Angels Way.
Barcelona, Spain-based RawData, which develops digital solutions to optimise agricultural processes, improve farm management, and enhance crop productivity, raised €1m in funding from Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood Tech Fund.
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