Large Rounds: Growth and Series A
The headline raise of the day came from Paris, where Skello pulled in a substantial late-stage check to fund its European expansion push.
- Skello (Paris, AI-powered frontline workforce management): $200M, led by Bridgepoint via Bridgepoint Development Capital V
- Thought Machine (London, cloud-native core banking): $40M, from an undisclosed tier-1 bank, as the company surpasses $100M in annual revenue
- CurifyLabs (Helsinki, 3D-printed personalised medicine): $14M Series A, co-led by Sandwater and HealthCap, with participation from Tesi
- Sherpa.ai (AI for data privacy and enterprise sovereignty): $18M, undisclosed lead
Seed and Pre-Seed: Deep Tech and AI
Earlier-stage activity was concentrated in deep tech, with several companies attacking supply chain and AI infrastructure problems.
- alqem (Munich, AI-driven next-generation materials discovery): $9M pre-Seed, co-led by UVC Partners and Union Square Ventures
- Worldmodeldata (Cambridge, video game data for physical AI training): $9M Seed, led by Iona Star Capital
- TaiSan (Cambridge, sodium-based battery materials): $6M Seed, undisclosed lead
- Hive (industrial machine efficiency, described as a silicon brain for cutting hourly machine operating costs): $15M, undisclosed lead
Cleantech and Energy
Cleantech activity remained consistent with the broader stabilisation trend noted by Crunchbase, which tracked $15B deployed into the sector globally in the first half of 2026.
- Gyre Energy (Oxford, AI and thermal storage for industrial cooling): $1M, mix of investment and grant funding
Fintech
One fintech pre-seed round rounded out the day's announcements.
- Stoa (London, cash management and upfront rewards on idle deposits): $2M pre-Seed, co-led by Bespokeist Partners and Ingenii Capital, with participation from Force Over Mass Capital
Ecosystem Milestone
Beyond individual raises, BGF marked a significant institutional milestone, surpassing $6B deployed across 650 UK and Irish businesses over its 15-year history. The firm operates as a minority equity partner focused on the mid-market funding gap, and the milestone underscores the maturation of the UK growth capital infrastructure that now sits behind many of the seed and Series A companies raising today.
Editorial Perspective
The day's activity points to a few converging themes. First, industrial AI is moving well beyond software, with Hive, Gyre Energy, and alqem all attacking physical-world inefficiencies using AI as the core engine. Second, the materials and battery supply chain is attracting genuine early capital in Europe, a direct response to geopolitical pressure on critical mineral dependencies. Third, the size of the Skello round signals that late-stage European HR tech is finding willing growth investors even in a period of broader capital caution. Taken together, these raises suggest European founders are sharpening their pitches around strategic necessity rather than pure growth, and investors appear to be responding.