March Madness is not only a US basketball phenomenon...🏀 It's also a great descriptor of European tech ecosystem activity, as seen from our Earlybird nest.
🦅 Catch all the news fit-to-print below from the past month. Let's go!
🌱 Portfolio News: See what's happening in our startups
Earlybird Digital West welcomed NeoTaste in a EUR 15.1 M Series A extension, leading the round with participation from Burda Principal Investments. With dedicated fans in Germany and a new launch in Amsterdam, NeoTaste’s platform connects restaurants to local customers.
Earlybird Digital West portfolio company, Greenlyte, announced a EUR 10.5 M Pre-Series A Round. The round was co-led by Earlybird and Green Generation Fund, with participation from Carbon Removal Partners, Board Member Dr. Udo Jung, and a new investor, Partech.
Earlybird Digital East Portfolio Company, DraftWise, announced a USD 20 M Series A round. DraftWise harnesses AI to transform the way lawyers draft and negotiate legal contracts.
Earlybird Health welcomed Shape Memory Medical to the portfolio, leading the company's USD 38 M Series C financing with the participation of new and existing investors, including HBM Partners AG, Wexford Capital LP, MedFocus Fund, and Emergent Medical Partners.
Digital West VP People Jay Harris-Thies with Investor Relations' Elle Muller in our London office
Earlybird Health presented insights into its proprietary Impact Investment Framework (IIF) on how impact drives meaningful change in healthcare. Health Partner Lionel Carnot and Health teammates Junkai Zhu & Elena Marchesi co-wrote the article.
We welcomed 3 new Vision Lab startups:1) Feniska, a company with a unique mission to revolutionize pet care with its AI Assistant for pet owners & offering reliable health management and disease detection. 2) El Green Mall, which works to democratize the sustainable market, making it accessible by simplifying consumer access to sustainable products and providing ethical brands with a platform for visibility. 3) And NeuroSense, which is revolutionizing legal document processing.
Vision Lab Cohort 5 InsurTech, INSRD, announced a Pre-Seed round.
For International Women’s Day, we featured four Principals from Earlybird Digital West and Earlybird Health teams, driving innovation forward.
💫 Media Mentions: Discover Earlybird special features
Our Berlin office was highlighted in a Gründerszene article & visual guide featuring many VC firms within a 2 km radius of Münzstrasse, calling the area Berlin’s ‘Sand Hill Road’.
Earlybird Partner Dr. Hendrik Brandis spoke with Strive Magazine highlighting all the reasons to be optimistic about the European tech ecosystem. Hendrik also shared a guest commentary in Handelsblatt, outlining his proposal on activating the growth capital needed to help German innovation pioneers scale.
Podcasts: In a Startup Insider Investments & Exits, Hendrik discussed Greenlyte news, portfolio companies, and DeepTech funding headlines.
In collaboration with Kearney, Earlybird-X Partners Dr. Frédéric du Bois-Reymond and Stephan Rauscherco-authored an article on the real-world value of quantum technologies. Find their key takeaways and a POV from portfolio company, EleQtron.
Take a deep dive into the possibilities that quantum computing provides
🗓️ Events: Tech scene movers & shakers
COO of Earlybird Digital West portfolio company Marvel Fusion, Heike Freund, provided insights on decarbonizing the future with fusion at the 10th annual 4YFN in conversation with Earlybird Partner Dr. Hendrik Brandis and TechCrunch Editor-at-Large, Mike Butcher.
Earlybird Partner Dr. Andre Retterath spoke on a panel about “VC Insights: Fueling the AI Revolution” at Start Summit, the world’s largest student-led flagship conference. Earlybirds in attendance included Earlybird-X Partner Dr. Philipp Semmer & Digital West’s Laurin Class.
Dr. Andre Retterath spoke about 'VC Insights Fueling the AI Revolution' at START Summit
Earlybird-X Partner Dr. Johannes Triebs spoke at SuperNova in Antwerp on 'How University Spinoffs Bring Deeptech into the Real World'. Digital West teammate Marieke Gehres also attended SuperNova.
In Paris, Partner Dr. Christian Nagel, Principal Dr. Maresa Buttlar, and Ferdinand Dansard invited fellow VC investors to exchange ideas and insights, deepening our understanding of current French market trends.
Earlybird Health shared highlights of recently co-hosting a European Breaking 7% dinner in Paris. Sponsored by Annelie Murray of PER the event brought together women in healthcare investing and BD deal-making roles. Register your interest in future initiatives here.
Earlybird-X Partner Dr. Johannes Triebs spoke at Deep Tech Days, hosted by Hello Tomorrow, on a panel about “IP Best Practices for Deep Tech Startups”. Other Earlybirds in attendance at HelloTomorrow were DWES Principal Dr. Marie-Thérèse Buttlar and Earlybird-X team members Moritz von Klot and Viktoria Beck. See a recap here!
Earlybirds from our Munich & Berlin offices visited the Earlybird London office to collaborate and connect, discussing best practices in People/Talent and Communications with guests from Blossom Capital, Creandum, Notion Capital, and 13books Capital.
In the Munich office, our interns hosted an intern meet & greet with peers from other VC and growth funds, including Picus Capital, HV Capital, Ananda Impact Ventures, and more. Together they covered topics such as ClimateTech, hardware investment, and VC culture.
⭐️ Kudos: A special shout-out
Congrats to Earlybird Digital West’s Akash Bajwa on his well-deserved promotion to Principal. Akash covers core topics of Enterprise Software, AI, and FinTech. Akash is also the London Chapter Lead of the Emerging Venture Capitalists Association (EVCA).
Congratulations to Digital West's Akash Bajwa on his promotion to Principal
🫡 See you next month! Missed our Feb updates? Check it out: Earlybird Edition.
Thanks for featuring the DraftWise team!