VC Angle Weekly Briefing #11: n8n to Raise Again & Project Europe Unveils First Cohort
VC Angle Weekly Update #11
Hey — welcome to the eleventh edition of VC Angle Weekly Updates! As always, we're keeping tabs on what actually matters across 🇪🇺 European tech. If something broke the news this week and it's worth your time, it's probably below. Scroll on for the deals, roles, reads, and events you'll want on your radar.
In This Edition:
n8n to raise again
Project Europe unveils first cohort
HTGF releases Deep-Tech Matrix framework
Cognigy acquired for nearly $1B
📰 What Happened This Week
German automation startup n8n eyes $1.5B+ valuation just months after €300M round
Berlin-based n8n is raising over $100M at a $1.5B+ valuation, just four months after its €55M Series B valued at €300M. The AI-powered workflow automation platform generates $40M annual recurring revenue with customers including Delivery Hero. The rapid revaluation reflects growing investor appetite for European AI applications, with over a third of H1 2025 VC funding flowing to AI companies.
Project Europe unveils first cohort of six startups backed by Klarna and Mistral founders
Project Europe announces its inaugural cohort of six European startups, each receiving €200K and mentoring from industry leaders including 20VC's Harry Stebbings. The accelerator, backed by founders from Klarna, Mistral, and Delivery Hero, takes 6.66% equity. Selected startups span robotics (Greece's Philon, Norway's Cerebronics), cybersecurity AI (UK/US Hacktron, Switzerland's Haicker), defense tech (France/Portugal's Zero), and app alternatives (Stockholm's Zellify).
Revolut eyes China expansion as part of broader Asia push, seeks $1B at $65B valuation
Revolut explored China market entry through "hiring, licensing, and scoping" opportunities according to investor pitch deck, despite challenges from Alipay and WeChat dominance. The fintech partnered with Ant International for yuan remittances targeting $48B annual China remittance market, while also eyeing Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Indonesia, and Turkey. Company reportedly seeks $1B funding at $65B valuation, up from $45B secondary sale, after posting $1.4B pre-tax profit on $4B revenue in 2024.
🔍 Reads & Reports
20VC's Harry Stebbings highlights Index Ventures' $439B in portfolio exits across 7 partners
20VC founder Harry Stebbings praised Index Ventures as "the most impressive firm in venture today," noting they have more partners with fund returners than any other firm. Index's top 8 performers total ~$439 billion, led by Figma ($59B, Danny Rimer), Revolut ($75B, Martin Mignot), and Roblox ($86B, Neil Rimer). The successes span 7 different partners, with 4 having invested at Index for 15+ years, demonstrating long-term partnership stability.
German VC firm HTGF published a framework addressing why deep tech startups struggle with fundraising despite representing 25%+ of European VC investments. Based on analysis of 800 investments (200+ deep tech), the Deep-Tech Matrix maps startup progress across Technology Readiness Level and market certainty. The framework identifies that deep tech companies require 48+ months to reach scaling versus 24 months for SaaS, creating investor misalignment. It provides stage-specific metrics from Pre-Seed through Series B, with case studies including Proxima Fusion and SimScale.
The framework includes detailed benchmarks for each funding stage, from Pre-Seed companies at TRL 4 with €1-5M rounds and 50% public funding, to Series B startups at TRL 8/9 requiring €20M+ rounds with proven product-market fit and €10M+ pipelines. HTGF's analysis reveals that successful deep tech companies consistently differ from unsuccessful ones in their understanding of technology readiness and market positioning, while traditional criteria like team strength and IP showed no clear correlation with success among companies that received initial investment.
First Momentum releases 2025 Deep Tech Hardware Napkin revealing surprising funding shifts
German VC firm First Momentum published its annual Deep Tech Hardware Napkin analyzing 100+ European funding rounds, revealing two major shifts. VCs are increasingly backing less mature technology, with 80% of pre-seed companies in concept/lab stage versus 60% in 2024, while maintaining high round sizes.
💶 Where Funds Went (Or Will Go)
Startups
🇩🇪 1KOMMA5° raises €150M for home electrification solutions
🇹🇷 Good Job Games raises $60M for Match-3 mobile games
🇬🇧 Ultromics raises $55M for AI-driven heart failure detection
🇬🇧 Unmind raises $35M for enterprise mental health platform
🇬🇧 Vennre hits $25M milestone and unveils new private market investment platform
🇬🇧 Sava Technologies raises $19M for real-time molecular health monitoring
🇮🇪 LIfT BioSciences receives €12M grant to launch human cancer trials
🇩🇪 ARX Robotics raises €11M Series A extension for autonomous ground vehicles
🇸🇪 Tzafon raises $9.7M pre-seed to expand AI compute and launch Lightcone
M&A
🇩🇪 Cognigy acquired for nearly $1B for AI-powered customer service solutions
Investors
🇬🇧 Cambridge Innovation Capital commits £100M to invest in University of Cambridge spinouts
🇩🇰 BlackWood Ventures closes debut fund at €22M to back early-stage European founders
🇬🇷 EIB and Greece successfully conclude the Greek Guarantee Fund Initiative
💼 Open Roles
Mätch VC → VC Analyst Intern in Stuttgart, Germany (hybrid). Apply here.
capacura → VC Manager in Berlin, Germany. Apply here.
b2ventures → VC Analyst in Berlin, Germany. Apply here.
Signature Ventures → VC Intern Intern in Aying, Germany. Apply here.
Cottonwood Fund → VC Intern in Enschede, the Netherlands. Apply here.
👋 That’s a wrap for this week.
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