Fotokite AG, a Swiss-American company developing tethered drones for firefighting and public safety teams, has closed its Series B funding round, securing CHF 10 million (approximately $11 million). This investment aims to accelerate the company’s growth, bolster research and development (R&D) efforts, and expand its global operations. The funding round was led by Carbyne Equity Partners, a European private equity firm specialising in growing European businesses, along with existing investors including Swisscanto Private Equity Growth I, and Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital Ltd. https://techfundingnews.com/fotokite-raises-11m-funding-to-expand-global-reach-of-tethered-drone-technology-for-firefighting-and-public-safety/

Proxima Fusion has raised €20 million in seed funding led by redalpine, which invested in Knowunity. This round follows the €7 million pre-seed funding round last year. The oversubscribed round saw participation from the Bavarian government-backed Bayern Kapital, German government-backed DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and the Max Planck Foundation. In addition, existing investors, including Plural, UVC Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Wilbe, and TOMORROW of Visionaries Club also participated in the round. Proxima Fusion will use the seed funding to further expand the team with world-class engineers and physicists, as well as to match public funding awards. This round is part of its mission to build the world’s first-of-its-kind fusion power plant and lead Europe into a new era of clean energy. https://techfundingnews.com/proxima-fusion-closes-e20m-to-build-worlds-first-of-its-kind-fusion-power-plant/

Investment firm Lakestar closed its latest funds, Lakestar Early IV and Lakestar Growth II, for around $600 million to inject new capital into the next generation of European startups, bringing Lakestar's assets under management to €2 billion. Both new funds will focus their investments across geographies, focusing on Europe in sectors such as AI, digitalisation, deep tech, healthcare, and fintech. The funds align with Lakestar's commitment to forge a stronger future for Europe by nurturing the region's innovation and tech ecosystem through the funding of business models that support economic growth and social prosperity. These new funds have already led investments in tech companies such as energy supplier platform Fuse Energy (UK), embedded finance solution Swan (France), healthtech company Nelly (Germany), NEKO Health (Sweden), the preventative health care technology company co-founded by Daniel Ek, and AI text-to-video technology platform Colossyan (UK/Hungary). https://tech.eu/2024/04/12/lakestar-closes-600m-funds-aims-to-strengthen-europes-innovation-ecosystem/

ROCA X Venture Capital announces a dynamic end to 2023 and a first quarter of 2024. The first significant news is the acquisition of CODA Intelligence, a Romanian startup specializing in cybersecurity solutions, by PDQ, a leading global provider of IT asset management software, with complementary products to CODA. Following this strategic acquisition, PDQ has also announced the launch of PDQ Detect, an innovative solution developed with the help of the Romanian startup CODA Intelligence, for scanning and managing software vulnerabilities. https://business-review.eu/money/finance/roca-x-vc-announces-new-growth-opportunities-for-the-startup-industry-closing-the-first-quarter-with-a-major-exit-259288

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is strengthening its presence in the Baltic countries with offices opening this year in Riga and Tallinn. It also hopes to extend the reach of its existing regional office in Vilnius and make closer connections with financial institutions and companies in Latvia and Estonia. The move is expected to enhance support for high-tech start-ups in the region, both directly and by attracting venture capital and other private investment. As the lending arm of the EU, EIB offers loans to both public and private organisations and guarantees and equity investments that support EU priorities, such as climate action, sustainability, cohesion, and innovation. Investments in SMEs, including private debt, venture capital and equity funds are managed by the bank’s European Investment Fund. https://sciencebusiness.net/news/smes/ecosystem-european-investment-bank-aims-improve-sme-access-finance-baltics

Berlin-based venture studio Flagship Founders announced the spin-off of its fifth startup. The company, called Sealenic, is currently developing an information retrieval and management platform powered by artificial intelligence. Several well-known shipping companies are on board as development partners: Reederei F. Laeisz, Fairplay Towage Group and Harren Ship Management, who are already testing the solution in their operational processes. Their feedback will be used to further develop and optimize the software. The launch of the solution for the broad market is planned for this summer. https://maritime-executive.com/corporate/sealenic-virtual-ai-assistant-makes-accessing-info-in-shipping-efficient

Former Formula One champion Nico Rosberg, who clinched the title in 2016 before stepping away from the racing scene, is veering into asset management with a €30m venture capital fund. Rosberg Ventures will target tech-focused venture capital firms on behalf of affluent family offices across Europe. Expected to raise €75m by year-end, the fund plans to inject capital into VC outfits such as Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Accel, according to The Sunday Times. It is a “fund of funds”, a type of investment fund that invests in other investment funds rather than directly in individual securities. With over 35 start-up and growth-stage investments under his belt, Rosberg has been actively involved in venture capital for the past eight years. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nico-rosberg-former-f1-champion-112619930.html