Seed and Early-Stage Raises
Early-stage activity spanned quantum software, livestock data, and Indian spacetech.
- ColibriTD raised 4M euros in a Seed round led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from SymbiaVC and Medin VC. The Paris-based company builds quantum-powered multiphysics simulation software.
- InspeCity, an Indian spacetech startup building robotic and propulsion systems for in-orbit satellite servicing, secured roughly 12M USD (Rs 100 crore). The capital will fund four in-orbit missions over the next 18 months. No lead investor was named in the announcement.
- The/Nudge launched TILT, a roughly 30M USD (Rs 250 crore) fund targeting seed to Series A impact startups in India, with cheque sizes from Rs 2 crore to Rs 16 crore.
Series A Raises
Two Series A rounds stood out for their speed-to-revenue stories.
- Runable, a Bengaluru-based AI agent platform for small businesses, raised 21M USD in a Series A. The company claims it reached 2M USD in ARR within three weeks of launch. No lead investor was disclosed.
- Certain Energy (formerly RFC Power), a UK-based developer of manganese flow battery technology for long-duration grid storage, closed a roughly 12M USD (11.6M euros, or 10M GBP) Series A led by the British Business Bank.
Series B and Later
Larger rounds reflected investor appetite for agriculture data and the continuing maturation of Africa-focused venture.
- Breedr, the UK-founded livestock data platform that gives cattle a digital record from birth to retail, raised 23M euros (roughly 27M USD) in a Series B led by Partech. The company plans global expansion and aims to incorporate genomic data into its tracking system.
Fund Closes and New Vehicles
Several fund announcements added structural depth to the day's funding picture.
- Ventures Platform, a Pan-African venture firm based in Nigeria, closed its second fund at 84M USD, nearly double the size of its debut vehicle and, notably, almost as large as the combined total raised by all six African venture funds that closed in 2025.
- Micromax Informatics launched a roughly 30M USD (Rs 250 crore) family office focused on deeptech startups across AI, semiconductors, defence, space, and robotics in India.
Broader Context: Policy and Market Trends
Beyond individual closes, two macro-level stories shaped the day. The Irish Venture Capital and Private Equity Association called on the Irish government to mobilise 1B euros in institutional capital through a Denmark-style fund-of-funds structure, underlining how European ecosystems continue to wrestle with late-stage capital gaps. Separately, Crunchbase data showed that legal tech funding in 2026 is tracking at roughly 2.2B USD so far, slightly below last year's record of 4.6B USD, with AI remaining the dominant theme across deals.
Taken together, today's raises point to three durable patterns. First, deep-science bets at the seed stage, from quantum simulation to flow batteries, are finding backers willing to absorb long development timelines. Second, emerging-market venture is consolidating around larger, more disciplined vehicles: Ventures Platform's second fund is a clear signal that African VC is professionalising at scale. Third, the persistent policy gap in European growth-stage capital is forcing industry associations to push governments directly, which suggests that the private market alone is not yet filling the void left by the absence of large domestic institutional investors.