News
Daily digest of all European digital development news

10 French startups to keep an eye on in 2026 and beyond!
French AI startup Altrove AI develops new inorganic materials with physics-based AI to replace critical components and reduce supply chain risks. The company, founded in 2024, focuses on materials used in energy, automotive, and electronics.

Irish quantum semiconductor startup Equal1 closes €51 million round to scale silicon-based quantum computing
Dublin-based Equal1 secures €51 million to accelerate development and deployment of its silicon-based quantum computers. The funding will enable the company to move from development to deployment, aiming to become the quantum standard for HPC.

Better than DeepL? OpenAI launches ChatGPT Translate for translations
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Translate, a new web service for translations, challenging Google and DeepL. The AI tool focuses on context understanding and tone adjustments over a wide range of languages.

AWS flips switch on Euro cloud as customers fret about digital sovereignty
AWS has launched its new European Cloud, aiming to give customers more control over data within the continent. This move comes amid growing concerns about digital sovereignty among European businesses.

Lausanne-based AlphaLum raises €3.6 million to build the missing hardware layer for mass-market smart glasses
Lausanne-based AlphaLum secured €3. 6 million in seed funding to scale its optics and sensing platform for smart glasses....

Luna Systems raises €1.5M to bring AI rider assistance to cycling and motorcycles
Luna Systems secured €1. 5 million to launch AI-powered rider assistance systems for cycling and motorcycles....

Lytra completes pre-seed financing for AI-driven manufacturing solution
Munich-based startup Lytra secured pre-seed funding led by High-Tech Gründerfonds to expand its AI platform. The platform automates manufacturing service processes like spare parts ordering and technician scheduling, targeting mid-sized companies.

Cyb3r Operations raises £4M to address third-party risk blind spots
London-based Cyb3r Operations secures £4 million to provide continuous monitoring of third-party cyber risks for enterprises. The company aims to replace outdated assessment methods with automated oversight, supporting broader adoption and platform expansion.

Skene raises €800k to accelerate software growth via AI agents
Helsinki-based Skene secured €800,000 to fuel its AI-powered platform designed to automate SaaS product growth. The platform analyzes code to generate user guidance, aiming for €1M ARR and expansion by early 2026.

London’s Cyb3r Operations raises €4.6 million led by Octopus Ventures to tackle third-party cyber risk
London-based cybersecurity startup Cyb3r Operations secured €4. 6 million in funding, led by Octopus Ventures, to tackle third-party cyber risks....

German sustainability software outfit osapiens becomes unicorn, following $100M raise
German SaaS startup osapiens achieved unicorn status after securing a $100 million Series C round from Decarbonization Partners. The company, now valued at over $1....

Belgian cybersecurity startup becomes unicorn
Belgian cybersecurity startup Aikido Security becomes a unicorn after securing a $60 million Series B funding round. This raises its valuation to $1 billion in just three years, the fastest in Europe for a cybersecurity firm.

$60M Series B propels Aikido into the global unicorn ranks
Belgian cybersecurity firm Aikido hits a $1B valuation after securing a $60M Series B, making it the fastest European cybersecurity company to achieve unicorn status. Their developer-first platform helps software teams streamline security across code, cloud, and runtime in an automated fashion.

Your Free and Free Mobile data has been stolen: the CNIL punishes the operator with a heavy fine
The French data protection authority, CNIL, fined Free Mobile and Free a total of €42 million following a 2024 cyberattack. The attack exposed the personal data of 24 million subscribers due to insufficient system security.

Cast AI becomes Lithuania’s 5th Unicorn
Lithuanian-founded Cast AI, an automation platform, joins the unicorn club with a valuation exceeding $1 billion after a recent investment. The company's platform uses machine learning to automatically optimize clusters, cutting cloud costs, and it also launched OMNI Compute to connect external capacity, including GPUs.

Goparity acquires Spain’s Bolsa Social to expand equity crowdfunding and strengthen Iberian presence
Goparity, an impact investment platform, acquires Bolsa Social to expand equity crowdfunding in Europe. The acquisition adds equity crowdfunding to its portfolio after raising €55 million for impact-driven initiatives, expanding their offerings.

New German unicorn! Mannheim’s osapiens secures €85.8 milllion led by BlackRock–Temasek JV
Mannheim-based osapiens, an ESG software provider, has achieved unicorn status with an €85. 8 million Series C led by Decarbonization Partners....

Klarna launches peer-to-peer payments across Europe
Klarna rolls out peer-to-peer payments across 13 European countries, aiming to become a digital bank. This service allows Klarna customers to instantly send money via the app, building on its existing 100M+ global user base.

London-based Spot Ship raises €1.1 million to modernise global ship chartering
London-based Spot Ship secured €1. 15 million to modernize global ship chartering using AI and machine learning....

VLC with official Windows on ARM version
VLC Media Player now has an official native version for Windows on ARM platforms. Version 3....
