Avatar photoSophie Renard

Sophie is a Paris-based technology journalist covering the Western European startup ecosystem. With over a decade of experience reporting on venture capital, fintech, and deep tech innovation across France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg, she brings sharp analytical insight to the stories shaping Europe's digital economy.

Swiss Robotics Startup Gravis Raises €172 Million to Become Europe’s Latest Unicorn

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Swiss construction‑tech startup Gravis Robotics secured a €172 million Series A investment from SoftBank, pushing its valuation past €1 billion and making it Europe’s newest robotics unicorn. The funding will be used to grow the team, expand globally and scale its autonomous‑excavator technology, which is already deployed on projects across four continents for customers such as Holcim and HD Hyundai.

Nebex Secures $30 Million to Launch €100 Million French Space Startup Initiative

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Nebex, a space‑trading platform founded in 2025, announced a €100 million initiative in France that will channel global space contracts back to French startups, guaranteeing a full industrial return on foreign spending. The move is backed by a $30 million seed round led by GV and supported by a dozen venture investors. The model aims to simplify cross‑border space procurement and boost the French space ecosystem without changing existing procurement laws.

Zurich AI Startup Aisot Technologies Secures €2.13 Million Seed Extension to Advance Portfolio Management Platform

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Zurich‑based ETH spin‑off Aisot Technologies raised €2.13 million in a Seed extension round, bringing its AI‑powered portfolio optimisation tools to more wealth and asset managers. The round attracted new backer Felix Haldner alongside existing family‑office and angel investors, underscoring confidence in the startup’s agentic AI approach for finance.

Mistral AI Unveils €830M Infrastructure Expansion to Build European AI Compute Powerhouse

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Mistral AI, a French AI startup, unveiled a major infrastructure push to deliver 1 GW of European AI compute by 2030. The plan includes regional inference endpoints, a premium SLA‑backed tier, and long‑term compute contracts with European enterprises, backed by €830 million of debt financing. The move positions Mistral as a sovereign AI infrastructure provider, complementing its partnership with Microsoft and its open‑model hosting strategy.

Luxembourg Space Biotech Startup Exobiosphere Secures €1 Million Government Grant for Commercial Expansion

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Luxembourg‑based space biotech startup Exobiosphere received a €1 million grant from the government’s JEI programme to accelerate its commercial activities and develop its orbital high‑throughput screening system for drug discovery in microgravity.

Swiss AI Startup Zerolook Raises €1.6 Million to Streamline Flight Search for Airlines and Travel Agencies

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Zerolook, a Swiss startup based in Zug, secured €1.6 million (about $1.9 million) in a pre‑seed round led by London‑based Playfair. The funding will be used to launch its first version of an AI‑powered flight‑shopping API that predicts itineraries and prices, helping airlines and travel agencies handle the high volume of AI‑generated searches without incurring excessive computation costs. The round also included Vento Ventures, TrueSight Ventures, Alpha Venture and several angels.