Funding Wrap of the Week | European Startups Funding Roundup | May 5 – May 10

The Top 10 European Startups Funding Roundup of This Week

Abound

London based credit technology company Abound secures £0.8bn in equity funding. The new funding comes on the back of continued growth, with Abound reaching profitability just 3 years after launch.

Abound is a financial service that uses Open Banking and artificial intelligence to provide borrowers with more affordable loans compared to traditional lenders. Abound was founded in 2020 by a team of credit experts with decades of experience, as well as first-hand experience of poor lending practices.

Wayve

Wayve, a market leader in Embodied artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous driving, secures €975.350 million ($1.05 billion) in Series C funding. This round was led by SoftBank, with contributions from new investor NVIDIA and existing investor Microsoft. 

Wayve , a uk startup was Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology for automated driving. Their advanced AI software and foundation models for autonomy enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any environment, enhancing the usability and safety of autonomous driving systems.

Investcorp

United Kingdom-based Investment Firm Investcorp secures investcorp technology partners V fund, at $570million in funding. The fund exceeded its $500 million target with commitments from new and existing LPs in Europe, North America, Asia, and the GCC.

Global asset manager Investcorp focuses on alternative investments in real estate, infrastructure, credit, private equity, absolute return strategies, GP stakes, and insurance asset management.

Ocean 14 Capital Fund I

Luxembourg-based Ocean 14 Capital Fund I, which has raised €201 million to further its goal of supporting long-term solutions that enhance ocean health. The Fund now has more than €240 million as a result.

The goal of Ocean 14 Capital, a special partnership between Gottex and Pontos Aqua, the founders of the Blue Marine Foundation, is to address Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water of the United Nations.

Armira Growth

Munich-based Armira Growth, a venture capital investing in tech and tech-enabled growth companies, raises €200million funding for its inaugural Armira Growth Fund I. Its investors and current portfolio companies, including Osapiens, Wemolo, Workwise, and Yoummday, provided the money.

Armira Growth, a top holding company for investments that offers long-term startup funding for partnerships in business. Their goal is to become the go-to investment partner for family investors and business owners who want to spend in Mittelstand and resilient development enterprises.

iwoca

iwoca, one of Europe’s largest SME lenders, secures £150 million in debt funding, taking total gross investment in the company to over £1bn since it was founded in 2012.

iwoca was established to increase opportunities for small enterprises. At iwoca, they think that rather than being a hassle, finance could be a superpower. Chris and James, their founders, made the decision to develop a solution specifically meant for small businesses because of this.

Stonal

Paris-based Stonal secures up to €100 million in a strategic investment by Aareon, a European provider of SaaS solutions. Since its founding in 2017, Stonal has worked to provide investors and asset owners with large-scale, high-quality data.

An AI-driven platform to increase data utilisation. Their goal is to give important real estate asset owners and managers trustworthy information on their holdings. Instead of collecting the data, you now use it to make your assets more liquid.

Early Game Ventures

Venture capital firm Early Game Ventures (EGV), located in Bucharest, has raised €60 million to launch its Early Game Ventures launch II, which will be used to invest in CEE early-stage companies.

Early Game Ventures (EGV) makes investments in early-stage companies that establish new markets in Europe's developing nations. Their guiding principle is really simple: They invest early on in businesses whose founders have a stake, are coachable, and serve large markets.

Sesame

Sesame, the Valencia-based HR management startup, has reached an important milestone secures €23 million funding, consolidating their position as a leader in the sector and one of the solutions with the largest number of clients in Spain.

Track your time at work, A complete system for work teams and human resources.
Sesame is especially useful in flexitime companies, where each person have freedom to choose work timetable.

Insempra

Germany-based Insempra, secures $20 million in series A round funding. Following an initial $15m seed round conducted in 2021. This round was led by Existing investors EQT Ventures, BlueYard Capital, Possible Ventures, Taavet Sten and Acequia Capital participated in the round. New investors are the corporate venture of international FMCG giant Henkel, Henkel dx Ventures, Bayern Kapital and Alante Capital.

Insempra is a biotechnology-powered company enabling businesses to transform their ingredient lists with superior products made in collaboration with nature. For too long, businesses have relied on petrochemical production and environmental exploitation, depleting their limited natural resources, and polluting their planet.

In various European Startups Funding Roundup, these startups raised funding from venture capitalists and angel investors, and secured place in the Top 10 European Startups Funding Deals of this Week.

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