Anne Sraders

Uplift Ventures, a new VC fund backed solely by German material handling company Jungheinrich, is launching a €100m fund to back deeptech startups in Europe and the US.

AI infrastructure startup Gridfield is nearing a close of a new funding round at a $600m valuation, less than a year after the Munich-based company was founded.

A rocket developed by German spacetech Isar Aerospace reached orbit in a second test flight from its launchpad in Norway, roughly a year and a half after its first crashed less than 30 seconds after launch.

The rocket reached orbit in a big step for the Munich-based company after multiple scrubs this year

London-based Claret Capital Partners has raised €440m for its fourth debt fund, with an additional €135m in separate commitments from two of its limited partners (LPs) with specific conditions.

The firm aims to lend to VC-backed startups in areas like climate, lifesciences and spacetech

As geopolitical tensions have reached precarious levels in 2026, European founders and VCs are setting their sights on technologies that could bolster the continent's sovereign access to things like energy and critical minerals.

Lots of American investors pushed into Europe in the early 2020s, but things have changed. Today, some VCs based stateside report that there's the prevailing belief that San Francisco is where all AI is happening.

The New York firm has backed startups like Legora, Harmattan AI and Synthesia

UK-based satellite startup Open Cosmos has raised €300m in fresh funding amid ongoing investor appetite to back technologies that boost Europe's sovereign space capabilities.