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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

• The EU Commission unveiled a Startup and Scaleup Strategy with new rules and funding to boost innovation, talent, and market access.

• US prosecutors probed Builder.ai for fake sales, weeks before its collapse amid funding woes and internal investigations.

• Northvolt’s cofounder, Peter Carlsson, was questioned by police over a 2023 fatal blast linked to safety breaches at its failed factory.

• EasyGo secured a $339.3 million deal to install 570 EV chargers across northern Scotland by 2028, expanding regional infrastructure.

• Checkout.com updated its terms to ban payments for mail-order spouse after a lawsuit, distancing itself from adult-linked services.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Dojo received $190 million from Vitruvian Partners to scale its cloud payments platform and expand across Europe.

• GlycoEra AG raised $130 million to advance novel pipeline of extracellular protein degraders for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

• Salvia BioElectronics secured $60 million to advance migraine therapy, fund trials, and support its global regulatory launch.

• Volare landed $29.6 million to scale its insect-based protein, oil, and fertilizer production from food industry waste.

• Hedera Dx raised $17 million to expand liquid biopsy cancer testing and boost access to precision oncology.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Uber acquired Denmark’s largest taxi firm, Dantaxi, to expand nationwide, merging its tech with local fleet operations.

• IXL Learning acquired UK-based MyTutor to grow its presence in Europe amid rising demand for online tutoring.

• FE fundinfo acquired Fundipedia to boost its Nexus platform with automated data validation and compliance tools.

• TXP acquired Metatech to enhance legacy IT migration using Gen application automation and expand digital solutions.

• Reshift took a stake in ONBRDNG to launch Oncore.ai, a real-time, first-party data analytics tool powered by AI.

🏦 About Investors

• Cathay Innovation closed a $1.13 billion AI fund to back 30 startups in digital health and fintech across Europe, the US, and Asia.

• Schroders closed a $600 million fund to invest in VC funds, startups, and secondaries focused on generative AI and innovation.

• Picus Capital closed an oversubscribed $284 million Fund II to back early-stage startups in AI, cybersecurity, and climate tech.

• Masia launched a $22.7 million angel fund to support 60 early-stage startups by linking founders with global investors.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Dojo

Dojo is a fast-growing UK payments technology provider that supports over 140,000 businesses—from small family-run shops to major high street brands—through its highly scalable, cloud-native platform. Launched in 2021, Dojo processes between 6 and 9 million transactions daily and engages with 50 million unique consumer cards each month, making it a leading player in the UK’s in-person commerce sector. The company has now secured its first equity raise of $190 million from Vitruvian Partners to accelerate its European expansion and scale its platform across markets like Ireland, Italy, and Spain.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Schroders

Schroders, the multinational British investment firm, has closed a $600 million fund to invest in VC funds, startups, and secondaries, with a strong focus on generative AI and disruptive innovation across all sectors, stages, and regions. This new fund, launched in 2023, builds on Schroders’ broader venture strategy, which recently backed companies like Synthesia and Luminance, and complements its earlier $500 million fund for early-stage UK tech. Schroders has also strengthened its venture team by hiring Dave Neumann from Molten Ventures, as it ramps up investments in high-potential areas like AI, biopharma, and deep tech innovation.

 🤑 Opportunity Radar

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