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📰 Important News
- UK chip startup Fractile committed $137 million to expand its operations in London and Bristol, establishing a new hardware engineering facility.
- Mistral AI signed a $1.2 billion agreement to lease EcoDataCenter capacity in Sweden, expanding its European AI compute and data-center footprint.
- Sinch announced a partnership with the AI software creation platform Lovable to integrate its communications infrastructure into the Lovable Cloud.
- Inetum and Ignimission partnered to deliver a sovereign automated cyber governance framework for large enterprises across Europe.
- Jane Energie launched a SaaS platform enabling communities to share surplus solar power and reduce energy waste.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Nscale secured $1.4 billion in debt financing from PIMCO and Blue Owl to expand its AI compute capacity across Europe.
- London-based chip startup Olix achieved unicorn status after raising $220 million in a Series A round led by Hummingbird Ventures.
- Quantum Systems obtained $178 million from the EIB and major lenders to scale its unmanned aerial systems, boosting European defense technology.
- DentalMonitoring raised $100 million to accelerate the global expansion of its AI-powered remote orthodontic monitoring solutions.
- Stockholm-based pet insurer Lassie closed $75 million in Series C funding to scale its AI-powered preventive care platform.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- EU antitrust regulators approved Google’s $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz, clearing a key hurdle for the deal to close.
- Uber agreed to acquire Getir’s Turkey delivery unit to expand regional operations after its prior Trendyol Go investment.
- Wrisk acquired Atto to integrate open banking credit scoring and affordability tools into its embedded finance and insurance platform.
- Trane Technologies agreed to acquire LiquidStack to strengthen its data center liquid cooling and AI infrastructure capabilities.
- Dcycle acquired Germany’s ESG-X to add automated CSRD reporting and expand support for mid-sized firms in DACH.
🏦 About Investors
- Elaia, a Paris-based VC firm, achieved the first close of its DV5 fund, securing $143 million to invest in European B2B technology startups.
- Antler launched an always-on Nordic residency and a $100 million-plus fund to accelerate startup investment.
- ADR Vest launched a $44 million venture capital fund in Western Romania to support high-growth SMEs with blended public and private capital.
- The British Business Bank named Charlotte Lawrence as its new MD of Direct Equity to lead its investment activity in UK scale-ups.
- Copilot Capital promoted Dave Sun to Partner and Zerxis Billimoria to Director to strengthen leadership and drive tech investments.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Nscale
Founded in 2024 in the UK, Nscale is a British hyperscaler built specifically for artificial intelligence, delivering vertically integrated AI infrastructure spanning compute, networking, storage, and managed software. Led by founder and CEO Josh Payne, the company has rapidly positioned itself as a sovereign European alternative to U.S. cloud giants. Backed by major equity rounds including a $1.1 billion Series B in 2025, Nscale recently signed a $1.4 billion GPU-backed debt facility led by PIMCO, Blue Owl, and LuminArx, structured by Goldman Sachs. The capital will fund large-scale GPU clusters across Norway, Portugal, Iceland, and the UK, accelerating its mission to power Europe’s next generation of AI innovation.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Elaia
Founded in 2002 in Paris, Elaia is a European venture capital firm focused on early-stage B2B deep tech, investing from pre-seed to Series B across AI, cybersecurity, techbio, and digital infrastructure. Led by Managing Partners Xavier Lazarus, Pierre-Eric Leibovici, and Agathe Zilber, the firm recently reached a $143 million first close of its fifth Digital Venture fund, DV5, targeting $357 million, with backing from Bpifrance and major French institutions. DV5 has already invested in Mimic Robotics and Linkup, reinforcing Elaia’s conviction in foundational AI infrastructure. With a hands-on, operator-driven model, Elaia positions itself as a long-term partner helping Europe’s most technical founders scale globally.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Scale Your Impact with Start it @KBC
- 📢 Organizer: KBC Group
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 16, 2026
Founder Labs Accelerating Innovation Programme
- 📢 Organizer: Ormeau Labs
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 16, 2026
Techscaler Catalyst
- 📢 Organizer: CodeBase
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Revenue-generating, Seed, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 17, 2026
B-STEP Sportstech Acceleration Program
- 📢 Organizer: Barcelona Activa
- 🗂️ Category: Training & Learning, Award/Prize, Incubator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Fitness & Sports, Software & IT, AI & Data, Media & Entertainment
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 20, 2026
RIOT Startup Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: RIOT
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 20, 2026
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