Speedinvest

Astral Systems is pioneering fusion technology to address real global health and energy challenges. The Bristol-based team is the first to develop and commercialize MSF technology, achieving unparalleled performance in compact reactors with greater efficiency and lower cost than traditional reactors. Its fusion breakthroughs, backed by NASA research, means Astral’s MSF technology can deliver immediate real-world solutions — such as saving cancer patients’ lives — and future applications, like clean, safe hybrid nuclear energy, future space exploration, and industrial and security industry applications. Rick (Jingchun) H., Partner with our Deep Tech investment team, says: “Astral Systems represents the best of UK deep tech – delivering a fresh approach to nuclear fusion that addresses urgent medical, industrial, and power needs. We’re excited to support Talmon, Tom, and the team as they scale its multi-state fusion technology to deliver meaningful, lasting impact.” We are proud to lead Astral’s £4.5M seed round alongside Playfair, with participation from angel investors including Oliver Buck, founder of ITM Isotope Technologies, and Pete Hutton, former President of Product Groups at ARM. TechCrunch has more on the funding round and what’s next for the Astral Systems team. Article link in the comment section ⬇️

Rho Labs raises $4M to scale the world’s first crypto-native rates exchange. Founded by capital markets experts and built for institutional-grade trading, Rho Labs is transforming crypto finance with Rho Protocol, a marketplace for crypto interest rate derivatives. By introducing staking and perpetual futures funding rate derivatives, Rho Labs addresses a key gap in the crypto ecosystem, enabling seamless integration of funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi. As the first platform to combine staking, lending, and perpetual futures funding rates in one venue, Rho has already facilitated over $7 billion in notional volume, demonstrating strong market demand since launching in 2024. Speedinvest is excited to continue backing Alex and the Rho Labs team in their $4M Seed round, led by CoinFund with participation from Auros and Flow Traders. Learn more on the company’s blog ⬇ https://lnkd.in/e9sNSA_3

Khazna raises $16M to scale its digital banking solutions in emerging markets. Since launching in 2020, Khazna has built a best-in-class financial super-app tailored to underserved communities. By enhancing access to essential financial services, Khazna is driving innovation in digital finance and supporting financial inclusion in Egypt and beyond. With this latest funding, Khazna is set to further develop its offering and expand into other countries in the MENA region. Speedinvest is excited to continue supporting Omar and his team in the pre-Series B round, alongside new and existing investors, including SANAD Fund for MSME, anb capital, AlJazira Capital الجزيرة كابيتال, Khwarizmi Ventures, Nclude, ICU Ventures, Quona Capital, and DisrupTech Ventures. TechCrunch has more on Khazna’s funding round and their product and expansion plans ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gdNdfxdH

GetVocal AI is reshaping customer engagement with intelligent AI agents. Leveraging its innovative Conversational Map technology, the Paris and London-based team creates AI agents that learn, adapt, and optimize at every stage of the customer journey, delivering unmatched control, transparency, and quality. Through a strategic partnership with Capita, a market-leading outsourcer, GetVocal AI’s agents will be deployed across Europe, setting new standards for efficiency and customer satisfaction. Frederik Hagenauer, Partner with our SaaS & Infra investment team, says: “This round of funding will enable the GetVocal AI team to deliver on its vision of bringing the best AI agents to companies worldwide. The Capita partnership is a strong milestone demonstrating that in a seemingly crowded field, the best teams delivering true quality can stand out from the pack.” We are excited to lead GetVocal AI’s €2.7M pre-seed round alongside Elaia. Learn more in the comments below! ⬇

Yokoy joins forces with TravelPerk to build the ultimate travel & expense solution. Just five years after its founding, Lars, Philippe, and the Yokoy team are achieving their mission of global zero-touch spend management by uniting with TravelPerk, a leader in travel management. Together, they will create a best-in-class T&E solution that’s headquartered in Europe and built to serve businesses worldwide. Tom Filip Lesche, Partner with our Growth investment team, says: “We at Speedinvest are incredibly proud to have supported Yokoy on its journey to becoming a leader in corporate spend management. As enthusiastic users of both Yokoy and TravelPerk, we’ve experienced firsthand the exceptional value these platforms bring. This partnership is a perfect match, and we’re excited to see the impact it will have on the future of business travel and expense management." The acquisition of Yokoy comes as TravelPerk announces $200M in new funding led by Atomico and EQT Growth. CNBC has more on the merger, funding round, and future plans ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eHsJAZj9

What do VCs believe are the next big bets in AI technology and investment? (Listen ⬇️) Our CEO & Managing Partner, Oliver Holle, joined Andreas Munk Holm of the EU.VC podcast and Ekaterina Almasque, General Partner of OpenOcean, to discuss the rapidly evolving world of AI disruption. Oliver shares how our six sector-focused investment teams identify high-impact opportunities across the AI stack and adapt to the head-spinning pace of technological advancements today. From foundational models to the rise of AI agents, the conversation dives deep into the next AI investment sweet spots on VCs radars, the sectors primed for AI disruption, and much more. Listen to the full discussion below. https://lnkd.in/gd_i6x4h #AI #venturecapital

Our first monthly newsletter of 2025 is here! Find out what trends our sector-focused investors will be following across Climate Tech & Industrial Tech, Deep Tech, Fintech, Health & TechBio, Marketplaces & Consumer, and SaaS & Infra this year. Plus, funding news from Upvest, Gigs, and much more. Click below to read & subscribe ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eQiHJC4j

What a year! Indulge us as we reflect on some of 2024's most memorable highlights before the holidays 😉 We opened the year by closing our 4th flagship fund at €350M – €50M above target – and wrapped it up by announcing our new management team. We also welcomed 32 new startups to the family and celebrated countless achievements made by our amazing portfolio of more than 300 companies! There are far too many successes, up rounds, and awards to mention in a single post. So, in honor of 2024, let’s look back at 24 of the most notable and newsworthy ⬇️ 1. Moove raised a $100M Series B and was voted ‘Deal of the Year’ by LPs at the annual Africa Venture Finance program at the University of Oxford 2. Upvest raised a $100M Series C 3. Gigs raised $73M Series B 4. Prewave raised a $67M Series B 5. cylib raised $55M in Series A and was named one of the world's 100 most promising impact startups by Norrsken 6. planqc raised a $50M Series A 7. Flowdesk raised a $50M Series B 8. Doccla raised $46M Series B 9. Inkitt raised a $37M Series C 10. Kittl raised a $36M Series B and was named one of Europe's fastest-growing AI startups by Sifted 11. Lapse raised a $30M Series A 12. Sona (getsona.com) raised a $27.5M Series A 13. Cobee was acquired by Pluxee 14. myClubs was acquired by Urban Sports Club 15. SwipeGuide (powered by L2L) was acquired by US-based L2L 16. Metis Labs was acquired by Ascalia  17. Surfboard was acquired by Dialpad 18. Consola Finance (by Request Finance) was acquired by Request Finance 19. mokker.ai was acquired by soona  20. FERNRIDE, CELUS, and remberg were named 3 of the 27 most promising AI startups in Germany  21. Wayflyer, Invesdor, Primer, and Bitpanda made CNBC's list of the world’s top 250 fintech companies. 22. Sylvera, Yokoy, Doccla, Kittl, Prewave, CoachHub - The digital coaching platform, Flowdesk, Primer, Seqera, TWAICE, Upvest, and Gitpod were included on Sifted’s 100 Most-Promising European B2B Startups list 23. planqc and Khazna were named 2024 Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum  24. 17 of our portfolio companies were included on trend.at's list of the top 100 Austrian startups — 7 were in the top 10! While there were many amazing things to celebrate this year, we would be lying if we said 2024 was easy for us and many of our portfolio companies. But through it all, we persevered — together! So, let’s all celebrate with a well-earned holiday hiatus 🥂 During the break, you can read more about the above highlights and additional achievements from our team and portfolio by subscribing to our newsletter or checking out our blog. Links to both are in the comments. See you in 2025! We can’t wait to see what the year has in store 🚀

Gigs has raised a $73 million Series B led by Ribbit Capital to redefine connectivity as we know it. Imagine subscribing to a phone plan through your banking app or activating eSIMs with a simple QR code—that future is already here, thanks to Gigs. Since first meeting and partnering with founders Hermann and Dennis in 2021, we’ve been inspired by their vision of embedded, not bundled, connectivity. Much like Stripe did for payments, Gigs is transforming industries like fintech, travel, and HR — making it possible for businesses like neobanks to launch and embed phone and data plans into their existing offerings. On our blog, Frederik Hagenauer of our SaaS & Infra team and Wissam Nasreddine of our Growth team share why we’re tripling down on our investment in Gigs to support their mission of redefining traditional telecoms ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/d-PgYihX Media coverage on the Series B round can be found in the comments section. #esim #mvno #telecoms #seriesb #venturecapital

Huge congrats to Upvest on their €100M Series C round 🚀 The Berlin-based fintech's white-label investment platform is used by the likes of N26, Revolut, and bunq — empowering millions of users globally to invest seamlessly. We're excited to see what the future holds for Martin and the team as they continue to expand their platform and shape the future of investing with the support of Hedosophia, Sapphire Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and BlackRock. https://lnkd.in/dKiQXsCH #fintech #SeriesC #investing #venturecapital