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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

• Heart Aerospace is shutting down its Swedish operations to focus on the US market, driven by increased US demand and investments.

• Tekever won a UK military contract to supply AR3 drones for the RAF’s StormShroud program, pledging a $531.9 million investment.

• Beam, a British climate startup focused on offshore wind robotics, shut down after failed funding attempts and cancelled expansion plans.

• Revolut is launching mobile plans with unlimited texts, calls, and data in the UK and Germany, entering the telecom market.

• Doctolib, the French healthtech unicorn, reached $395.8 million in ARR in 2024, investing in AI and expanding across Europe.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Tide secured a $132.74 million debt facility from Fasanara to expand its SME credit offerings in the UK through Tide Credit Flex.

• 1NCE raised $60 million to expand globally, focusing on the US, APAC, and LATAM while providing IoT software and connectivity to 24,000 customers.

• Hilo by Aktiia closed a $42 million Series B round to expand its cuffless blood pressure monitoring tools.

• Navro, a London-based payments fintech, secured $41 million to expand globally, focusing on payroll services and crypto integration.

• IXI emerged from stealth with $36.5 million in funding to develop low-power prescription glasses with autofocus technology for presbyopia.

💰️ Notable Exits

• H Company, a French AI startup, acquired open-source AI agents startup Mithril Security to enhance its web automation tools.

• Spotler Group acquired Dutch event tech startup Let’s Get Digital to offer integrated solutions for large-scale trade fairs and events.

• Likewize acquired AI support company Speedperform to enhance global customer experiences with smarter self-service and faster resolutions.

• Allurity, based in Stockholm, acquired Croatian cybersecurity firm Infigo, expanding its team to 700 professionals across 18 countries.

• Board Intelligence acquired Competent Boards to enhance board effectiveness with AI tools and expert development programs.

🏦 About Investors

• Volution launched a $100 million UK fund with SBI to back fintech, AI, and SaaS startups post-Series A, addressing funding gaps in scaling companies.

• Revo Capital, a Turkish VC, raised $86 million for its third fund, focusing on B2B SaaS, cybersecurity, and healthtech startups.

• EWOR raised $68.2 million to support the top 0.1% of founders, offering up to $568,805 per founder to build trillion-dollar companies.

• Aldea Ventures closed $56.8 million for Fund II to back deep tech-focused Micro-VCs and Nano-VCs targeting AI, robotics, and climate solutions.

• Vinted launched Vinted Ventures, a VC arm investing up to $11.37 million annually in growth-stage re-commerce startups.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Tide

Tide, founded in 2015 by George Bevis and Eileen Burbidge, is one of the UK’s leading business financial platforms, built to simplify banking and administrative tasks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a mobile-first, all-in-one solution. With over 650,000 SME members in both the UK and India and recent expansion into Germany, Tide offers services such as business accounts, payments, expense management, and accounting tools tailored to entrepreneurs. The company has secured a $132.74 million debt facility from Fasanara Capital to scale its short-term credit offerings, enabling up to $400 million in working capital loans and advancing its mission to help SMEs manage cash flow and grow efficiently.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Volution

Volution, a UK-based venture capital firm founded in 2021 by James Codling and Edward Peter Bardos, specializes in investing in high-growth FinTech, AI, and SaaS companies, particularly those addressing productivity challenges in capital markets and enterprise solutions. The firm’s $100 million fund, launched in partnership with SBI Investment Co., aims to bridge funding gaps for businesses that have achieved product-market fit and are generating at least $6.6 million in annual recurring revenue, helping them scale beyond Series A. With a strong track record, including investments in companies like Signal AI and Zopa Bank, Volution is also pioneering an ESG-focused initiative, promoting sustainable growth and reinvesting profits into carbon offset projects.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: the Fighters Program at STATION F

Apply to the Fighters Program at STATION F by August 2025 and turn your bold idea into a real startup—no matter your background. This free program is designed for determined, underrepresented founders who are ready to challenge the odds. Whether you join remotely or on campus in Paris, you'll gain access to expert mentorship, entrepreneurial fundamentals, and a supportive community. The next batch begins in September 2025—apply now and show the world what a true Fighter can build.