Cyclize, the ClimateTech startup from Stuttgart, is forging ahead with €4.75 million in startup capital to initiate a revolution in the chemical industry – the goal: To replace fossil resources using innovative carbon recycling of plastic waste and CO2.

In a recent development, the Berlin-based startup has closed €6.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by VC firms Vorwerk Ventures, which backed Resourcify, Sourcerie, and Planted, and b2venture. The round saw participation from other investors, including Frontline, Borski Fund that recently invested in CarbonX, Auxxo, and Push Ventures. Sustainable pharma-chemical production DUDE CHEM will use the funding to expand its scientific team and reintroduce its first product to secure the supply chain for one of Europe’s leading generic drug producers. It will help drive the shift in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries toward sustainable, local production that is more cost-efficient. The patented chemical manufacturing processes are touted to reduce the CO2 emissions of drug development by up to 40% and the waste it creates by up to 70%.

Vienna-based early-stage VC Speedinvest has closed its fourth early-stage fund, Speedinvest 4, at €350 million, surpassing the initial goal of €300 million. This follows the final €50 million close supported by several new institutional investors, including Aviva, PwC Germany, Bitburger, ODDO BHF and Abeille Assurances Ventures. Long-term investors the European Investment Fund (EIF) and first-time investors Generali also joined the close alongside government funds, banks, insurance companies, pension funds and large family offices. Speedinvest’s portfolio companies include Bitpanda, GoStudent, Billie, Planetly, TWAICE and Yokoy. Some of the founders of these companies have also backed Speedinvest’s new fund. The VC firm says the funds will be utilized to enhance the VC’s portfolio and back the global scaling of early-stage startups. Already, multiple investments have been made across Europe via Speedinvest 4. Speedinvest’s total assets under management now exceeds €1 billion. Some notable investments via the fund include Finres (fintech, France), Surfboard (SaaS and infra, U.K.), Fertifa (health and biotech, U.K.), Cylib (deep tech, Germany), Neocarbon (climate and industrial tech, Germany) and Fairlyne (marketplaces and consumer, France).

The German government has earmarked an additional €1.6bn for an equity fund for technologies of the future (Zukunftsfonds or Future Fund) and €150m for the European Recovery Programme (ERP) fund, to finance young companies, looking at impact investments, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Economy and Climate Action and the Ministry of Finance. The move comes after the final closing of the Growth Fund (Wachtumsfonds) for venture capital investments, a central pillar of the Zukunftsfonds, that raised €1bn from Allianz, BlackRock, Generali Deutschland and pension schemes for professionals (Versorgungswerke), among others. In total over 20 institutional investors allocated capital to the fund, with the government and KfW Capital, the subsidiary of state-owned investment and development bank KfW, acting as anchor investors. The cabinet intends now to further facilitate equity capital for young and innovative companies operating in the technology sector, the ministries added in the statement. “In addition to the €1.75bn in public funds that we invest, there is at least the same amount coming from private funds. We are therefore talking about a total volume of public and private funding of at least €3.5bn available for investments in the German venture capital market,” said Robert Habeck, minister for economic affairs and climate action. The capital is intended to support German and European start-ups investing in artificial intelligence, climate, quantum or biotechnology, in the growth phase and looking at exit opportunities, the ministries added.

The DACH region, encompassing Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has been experiencing significant growth in its fintech sector, driven by a combination of factors including technological advancements, regulatory support, and increasing consumer demand for digital financial services. This growth has elevated the region to the status of leading fintech hubs in Europe, with cities including Berlin, Zurich and Hamburg, in particular, being acknowledged among the world’s top 30 influential fintech cities, a report by fintech research and analytics firm Findexable says. However, despite the growth, the DACH region witnessed a notable decline in fintech funding in 2023. In Q2 2023, DACH recorded 64 fintech deals down 32% compared to the same period the previous year, data from Fintech Global show. Investment in DACH-based fintech companies amounted to US$376 million, representing a year-on-year (YoY) decrease of 56%. In spite of the challenges, the fintech sector in DACH managed to secure notable fintech venture capital (VC) funding rounds in 2023. Some of the largest funding rounds secured by DACH fintech startups last year, focusing on VC funding solely and excluding debt funding, include: Scalable Capital – EUR 60 million, Series E extension, Raisin – EUR 60 million, Series E, Taurus – US$65 million, Series B, Wefox – US$55 million, Series D, Solaris – EUR 38 million, Series F, Upvest – EUR 30 million.

Bulgarian venture capital (VC) firm Eleven Ventures invested 400,000 euro ($432,100) in Estonia- based predictive vision AI platform Cognitiwe as part of a 1 million euro funding round. Cognitiwe plans to use the financial injection to expand into new markets and retail segments while implementing additional features and improving its technical capabilities, the Eleven Ventures representative said in response to a SeeNews enquiry. The platform intends to expand into the EU first by strengthening its team and infrastructure. It will create local teams in markets in Southern Europe and the Gulf Region, with the aim of reaching the US market in the long term. Cognitiwe will also add fraud and shrinkage detection features and will step into retailer segments such as cosmetics and electronics. Founded in 2021, Talinn-based Cognitiwe seeks to redefine the retail landscape by revolutionising efficiency and sustainability and minimising food waste. The company uses internet protocol cameras to provide real-time insights and predictions that improve the daily operations of retailers and manufacturers.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on Thursday a 10 million euro ($10.85 million) investment in GapMinder Fund II, a venture capital fund run by Romanian venture capital firm GapMinder. This partnership aims to bolster the technology sector by providing critical capital to early-stage tech companies in Romania, but also in Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Serbia and Slovenia, the EBRD said in a press release. The lack of ready availability of long-term financing remains a barrier to start-ups in the regions where the EBRD invests, the bank noted, adding that the partnership with GapMinder Fund II addresses this challenge by providing start-up companies with necessary capital, enabling them to thrive and introduce new technologies and business models, the lender said. GapMinder Ventures targets seed and Series A stage business-to-business (B2B) IT software and digital product start-ups in the areas of fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise automation, and data and analytics. It invests up to 2 million euro in seed funding and up to 6 million euro in follow-up fundraising rounds, according to its website.