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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Europe, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌏️
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📰 Important News
- AtkinsRéalis and Anduril UK formed a partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous aircraft for UK defense.
- Noxtua introduced its Europe license, enabling legal professionals to access multiple jurisdictions through a single interface for cross-border legal work.
- Medtech pioneer AMT Medical appointed Geert van Gansewinkel as its new CEO to steer the company through its next phase of development.
- UK fintech startup Debeo launched an online alternative finance platform to help SMEs better understand their debt positions.
- Legaltech company Definely named former Meta director John Connolly as its new Chief Product Officer to lead its product strategy.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Wayflyer secured a $250 million two-year credit facility from ATLAS SP Partners to deploy more non-dilutive capital to ambitious founders.
- AI-native insurance technology company mea Platform raised a $50 million minority growth equity investment from SEP.
- London-based FYLD landed a $41 million Series B round led by Energy Impact Partners to scale its platform globally.
- SatVu secured $40.9 million to expand its thermal satellite constellation for defense and sovereign Earth observation with NATO backing.
- SurrealDB raised $23 million in a Series A extension and launched version 3.0 of its multi-model database.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Mistral AI made its first acquisition,buying serverless platform Koyeb to accelerate its Mistral Compute offering and build a full-stack AI cloud infrastructure.
- Video game company Scopely acquired a majority stake in the Istanbul-based unicorn studio behind the hit puzzle game 'Pixel Flow!'.
- Firecell and Accelleran announced a merger with $9.3 million backing to build a sovereign private 5G platform for Europe.
- Doctrine acquired Spanish AI startup Maite.ai to enter the Spanish market and solidify its position as a European leader in legal intelligence.
- UK-based Mondra and the Austrian firm inoqo merged to form a global sustainability intelligence powerhouse.
🏦 About Investors
- Quantonation closed its $260.5 million second fund, attracting diverse global investors for deep physics and quantum computing startups worldwide.
- OSS Ventures launched an $88.7 million fund for industrial software startups, scaling B2B factorytech across Europe and the United States.
- DIC Corporation partnered with global VC firm Emerald Technology Ventures to launch a $62 million platform to invest in Physical AI startups.
- The BBK committed $61.4 million to Redrice Ventures' second fund, aiming to boost early-stage investment in purpose-driven consumer brands.
- CV VC is merging with Abu Dhabi-based Elixir to combine its international investment expertise with regional depth and support founders in the UAE.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Wayflyer
Founded in 2019 in Dublin by Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse, Wayflyer has emerged as a leading revenue-based financing platform for e-commerce, Amazon, and wholesale brands. The fintech provides non-dilutive working capital from $5,000 to $20 million, leveraging data-driven underwriting to approve funding, often within hours. Having deployed over $6 billion to 5,000+ businesses across 11 countries, Wayflyer recently secured a $250 million two-year credit facility from ATLAS SP Partners, majority-owned by Apollo funds, as it surpassed $100 million in annual revenue. Led by CEO Aidan Corbett, the company is expanding its U.S. footprint, positioning itself as a critical growth partner for modern consumer brands seeking flexible, equity-free capital.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Quantonation
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Paris and New York, Quantonation is a venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to quantum and deep-physics technologies. With the close of its $260.5 million second fund, now the largest vehicle solely focused on quantum, the firm has cemented its position as a global category leader. Backed by investors including Bpifrance, the European Investment Fund, Novo Holdings, and Toshiba, Quantonation invests from pre-seed to Series A across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Led by Managing Partner Christophe Jurczak, the firm differentiates itself through a full-stack ecosystem strategy spanning hardware, software, and enabling technologies, aiming to industrialize quantum innovation and strengthen Europe’s position in this strategic frontier.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Venture Switzerland Startup Competition 2026
- 📢 Organizer: >>venture>>
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Funding, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Finance & Insurance, Retail & Consumer, Health & Life Sciences, Social & Governance, Energy & Environment, Manufacturing & Materials
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 26, 2026
NDRC Pre-Accelerator Programme
- 📢 Organizer: NDRC
- 🗂️ Category: Training & Learning, Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 27, 2026
MediaTech Hub Accelerator (MTH Accelerator)
- 📢 Organizer: Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MTH Accelerator)
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
Health Incubator Helsinki
- 📢 Organizer: Health Incubator Helsinki
- 🗂️ Category: Incubator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Health & Life Sciences, MedTech, BioTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
Campus Founders Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: Campus Founders
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 1, 2026
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