A bias-free VC fund, fertility-tech, concrete decarbonization, and much more...
What's Up Tech? #225
Welcome to our 225th newsletter, written with 🖤 by Annika Bautista, Sarah Luna Mongin, and Aris Sevastianos, featuring current baby vc fellows Leone Carpi, Luca Thiele, Paul Schade, Rafaela Palacio, and Vincent Fiedler
🔍 Topics we'll cover this weekGeneral news from the week: a shocking Microsoft-backed company collapse, and this European city claims the tech crown 🏛️
Fundraising news from the week: a fund after killing bias in investment, legal AI, and fertility innovation take center stage 💸
Up-and-coming ventures to watch: from AI for heavy machinery to synthetic fuels, Europe’s energy game is changing ⚙️
🆕 Product news from the week: scroll to the end for one-liner, stand-out headlines on the latest tech that you should read more about 👀
Internships & Job offers of the week
Enjoy the read! 💛
🤑 Fundraising of the week💸 Revolut founder Nik Stronsky is reimagining investment free of human bias, with his new VC firm (🇬🇧)
Nik Storonsky, founder of fintech giant Revolut, has closed a €250 million inaugural fund for QuantumLight. This new VC firm is operating with a bold mission: to remove human bias from investment decisions through artificial intelligence. 🤖
At QuantumLight, algorithmic precision takes precedence over gut feel and networking. They use a proprietary AI system called Aleph to analyze vast datasets and make investments in high-potential founders.
Storonsky personally contributed ~€60 million to the fund, which will target early-stage startups across sectors like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and healthcare.
Revolut CEO raises $250m for AI-powered VC firm QuantumLight
👩⚖️ Legora bags $80 million in Series B funding to challenge US dominance in legal tech (🇸🇪)
Paris-based Legora just locked in an $80 million Series B at a $675 million valuation, led by ICONIQ and General Catalyst. The company is building an AI-native platform to supercharge legal workflows, helping lawyers tackle complex tasks with speed, precision, and a little less headache.
Long seen as Europe’s scrappy answer to US-rival Harvey, Legora is gaining fast and this latest round gives it serious ammo in the global AI-for-law arms race. With heavyweight backing and momentum on its side, the underdog’s punching up. Hard. 🥊
Legal AI Startup Legora Lands $80 Million at a $675 Million Valuation
🧬 ReproNovo raises €57 million to reboot reproductive health (🇨🇭)
Swiss HealthTech startup ReproNovo just locked in €57 million in Series A funding to tackle the global fertility crisis head-on. The round was led by Jeito Capital.
ReproNovo is building therapies for both male and female infertility and tackling conditions like adenomyosis, a painful uterine disorder often overlooked in traditional care. Their pipeline includes two Phase 2 drugs, both oral treatments. RPN-001 aims to boost testosterone in men with declining levels, while RPN-002 is a first-in-class drug targeting adenomyosis and improving IVF outcomes.
The new cash will fuel clinical trials and expand their programs across Europe. With sperm counts tanking by over 50% in four decades and 1 in 6 people facing fertility issues, ReproNovo is aiming to redefine what modern reproductive health looks like. 👶
Swiss HealthTech Company ReproNovo Raises €57M to Tackle Declining Fertility Rates
🚨 Veesion is enhancing security in-store with €53 million in Series B funding (🇫🇷)
Veesion, a French startup building AI to detect suspicious behaviour in stores, has raised €53 million in Series B funding. 🛍️
The round includes €38 million in equity and €15 million in non-dilutive financing, with investors including White Star Capital, Red River West, and Bpifrance.
Veesion’s AI integrates with existing store cameras to send real-time alerts when it detects suspicious gestures, such as concealment. The company will use the funding to expand in key markets, focusing on the US expansion, where co-founder Benoit Koenig is setting up the first US office in June 2025.
Paris-based Veesion Raises €53M to Stop Shoplifting with AI that Understands Gestures
🧱 Converge raises $22 million to decarbonize concrete with AI (🇬🇧)
Concrete may be ancient, but its carbon footprint is very 2025. London-based Converge just secured $22 million to green up the world’s most-used material using AI and real-time sensors. The round was led by ABN AMRO.
Their flagship tech, ConcreteDNA, uses AI and sensor data to help contractors monitor concrete in real time, fine-tune mixes, and slash CO₂ emissions. That’s a big deal when concrete makes up ~8% of global emissions. With this new funding, Converge plans to scale up and speed ahead on R&D — because yes, even rocks need a software update.
TL;DR: AI just got poured into the construction industry, and it’s setting like, well, concrete. 👷♀️
🔥 Up-and-coming startups to watch⛽︎ Rivan is paving the way for synthetic fuels in the heavy industry raising £10 million in Seed funding (🇬🇧)
Rivan has raised £10 million in Seed funding to accelerate the production of fossil-free synthetic fuels aimed at securing energy independence for the UK and Europe. The round was led by Plural VC.
Rivan produces synthetic fuels using renewable electricity, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, creating a carbon-neutral alternative to petrol and diesel. The company plans to use the funding to scale its pilot operations and begin building commercial-scale facilities.
The startup’s technology positions it as a potential cornerstone in Europe’s transition to energy resilience and climate-neutral transport. 🚛
Rivan Raises £10M to Build Energy Security for the UK and Europe
🤖 Ravical raises €7.3 million to unleash AI “Virtual Employees” on the white-collar grind (🇧🇪)
Ghent-based startup Ravical just snagged €7.3 million in pre-seed funding to turbocharge professional services with AI agents that act like domain-trained “virtual employees.” These bots can handle up to 80% of the grunt work in fields like tax, legal, accounting, and insurance so the humans can stop drowning in spreadsheets and start focusing on strategy. Lakestar led the round.
Ravical’s tech blends firm-specific workflows, domain knowledge, and client context, making it less “one-size-fits-all chatbot,” more “tailored super-intern with no sleep schedule.” The endgame? Help firms turn their repeatable know-how into scalable, revenue-generating products (something the industry’s been trying to do for a decade).
The fresh funds will fuel product development, team growth, and Ravical’s push beyond Belgium. With 10 pilot projects already in motion, this startup isn’t just preaching the AI gospel, it’s automating it! ⏩
Ravical Raises €7.3M for AI ‘Virtual Employees’ to Automate 80% of Professional Services Work
🌍 sensmore raises $7.3 million to turn heavy machines into autonomous beasts (🇩🇪)
sensmore just secured $7.3 million in Seed funding to scale its Physical AI platform that retrofits industrial workhorses like haul trucks and wheel loaders into full-blown autonomous machines. No prior training. No GPS crutches. Just plug in and roll. 🔧
The system blends cameras, 4D radar, and a multimodal AI brain to navigate wild, unstructured environments in real time. It’s like giving your bulldozer a sixth sense.
The new capital will power expansion into Australia, the US, and Chile, and fuel R&D across its growing product suite: sensmore Machine Assist, Site OS, and Eye.
TL;DR: Sensmore’s on a mission to bring autonomy to the last mile of heavy industry.
📰 Tech news of the week😵 Builder.ai faces collapse amid allegations of fraudulent sales and revenue overstatements
London-based Builder.ai, once hailed as a rising star in AI-driven app development, has entered insolvency proceedings after an internal investigation uncovered potentially fraudulent sales and wildly inflated revenue figures.
The startup, backed by over $500 million from heavyweights like Microsoft and the Qatari Investment Authority, slashed its projected revenue from $220 million down to just $55 million. The staggering markdown triggered a $50 million loan recall and froze operations.
Once valued at over $1 billion, Builder.ai’s implosion is a cautionary tale for the European tech scene and a stark reminder of what happens when growth-at-all-costs outpaces financial discipline. 💥
Builder.ai Investigation Uncovered ‘Potentially Bogus’ Sales Before Collapse
💸 France banks €20 billion to woo global giants in AI, green tech, and defense (🇫🇷)
At the glitzy Choose France summit in Versailles, President Emmanuel Macron scored over 20 billion euros in fresh foreign investment. The lineup? A mix of defense, green energy, AI, and industrial plays. Basically, France is trying to flex as a tech-forward, business-friendly hotspot. 💪
Among the boldest moves: Prologis dropping €6.4 billion on four new data centers around Paris. Meanwhile, Revolut is going all in on France with a €1 billion expansion and a bid for a full-on French banking license. There were also pledges from the UAE’s MGX fund, Amazon, and Less Common Metals for rare earth projects. Portuguese drone startup Tekever plans to open a €100 million assembly site in the southwest.
What’s the money for? Macron says it’s about staying ahead in AI, defense, and the climate race. France wants to be more than just croissants and couture — it’s angling to become Europe’s startup engine, even as homegrown firms like Sanofi flee to splash billions in the US. Instead of whining about it, Macron’s doubling down on global capital, high tech, and serious Versailles vibes.
📰 Product news of the weekBienvenue, fintech giant: Revolut is setting up their Western European headquarters in the French capital 🥐
OpenAI’s most expensive hire: Jony Ive is lead OpenAI design after $6.5-billion acquisition of his company
👔 Internships & job offersInternships
Investment Analyst - Activant (Berlin)
Venture Capital Analyst Internship - TempoCap (London)
VC Analyst - Clover (Paris)
Jobs
Junior Analyst - Multiple Capital (Berlin)
Venture Capital Analyst - Allocator One (Vienna)
Investment Analyst - KfW Capital (Frankfurt)
You can also read more about baby vc on our website and follow our updates on LinkedIn, or directly reach out to us at hello@baby-vc.co! 🤝
The whole baby vc crew 🖤