Startup Monday: Latest tech trends & news happening in the global startup ecosystem (Issue 149- December 21)
Narine Emdjian, MBA
Federal Funding Expert Helping Startups & Nonprofits To Raise Non-Dilutive Capital
Welcome to Startup Monday, my weekly newsletter that recaps the week in the global startup ecosystem. To have this newsletter emailed to you, you can sign up here.
Top startup news to follow this week:
1. Southeast Asia has $60 billion AI boom, but its own startups are missing out
Southeast Asia is fast emerging as an investment hot spot for AI leaders like Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp., which are plowing money into cloud services and data centers. But the region’s own young tech companies are failing to capitalize on the boom.
While the world’s biggest companies are set to splurge up to $60 billion over the next few years in Southeast Asia as its young populations embrace video streaming, online shopping and generative AI, little is flowing to the region’s startups that have artificial intelligence at their core. Investors are wary about betting on unproven entities, and the region has yet to show it can produce innovative firms that can scale significantly.
Venture investment in Southeast Asia’s young AI firms has amounted to just $1.7 billion so far this year, out of about $20 billion for the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, data from Preqin shows. Only 122 AI funding deals have taken place in Southeast Asia in 2024, versus the APAC total of 1,845.
The disconnect is raising doubts about the emerging region’s ability to build up its private sector and compete with the U.S. and China, the world’s AI leaders. Venture investors’ skepticism toward Southeast Asia’s AI efforts is weighing on the growth potential of its entire homegrown tech sector.
Globally, investors are racing to tap the AI opportunity—but for now their focus is largely on the U.S. and China. The U.S. snatched $68.5 billion in AI funding in 2024, while China took up about $11 billion, Preqin data shows.
On the surface, Southeast Asia and its population of 675 million have what it takes: it counts over 2,000 AI startups, which is more than South Korea and almost as many as Japan and Germany, a report by tech advisory firm Access Partnership showed. Singapore, the region’s major business hub, ranks third in the Global AI Index, scoring high on indicators including the number of AI scientists per million people.
But the broader region, with countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, is culturally and economically varied, complicating efforts to rapidly scale products and services. That has led to a perennial question asked by investors: can local tech companies profitably compete on the global stage?
“The region’s diversity in language, culture, and infrastructure makes it harder to create large, unified datasets—something AI solutions traditionally rely on to scale,” said Jussi Salovaara, managing partner and co-founder of Singapore-based early stage VC Antler.
2. Dutch startups attract $3.5 billion in 2024, marking second-best year for tech investment
In 2024, Dutch startups raised $3.5 billion according to Dealroom data, reflecting strong investor confidence and marking the second-best funding year ever for the Netherlands’ tech sector.
The Dutch startup ecosystem has demonstrated remarkable resilience, securing $1.1 billion more in 2024 compared to 2023, according to Dealroom data, reported by The Next Web. This impressive performance has elevated the Netherlands to Europe’s fourth best-funded startup ecosystem, up from sixth place in 2023, trailing only behind the UK ($17 billion), Germany ($7.9 billion), and France ($7.7 billion).
Several significant funding rounds have contributed to this year’s success. Nebius secured the largest round at $700 million in December 2024, followed by Picnic with $388 million in January. The ecosystem also celebrated the emergence of new unicorns, with DataSnipper reaching a $1 billion valuation after raising $100 million in February 2024. Mews, the hotel management software provider, achieved notable success with two major funding rounds totaling $210 million in March and September 2024.
Diverse sector growth
The Dutch tech landscape has shown particular strength in climate tech and biotech sectors. Carbon Equity demonstrated this trend by raising €100 million for its Climate Tech Portfolio Fund II in March 2024. The government has also shown strong support, with the Dutch Ministry of Defence announcing a €100 million fund for early-stage financing, focusing on dual-use technologies. In the biotech sector, Farmless secured a €1 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund on December 17, 2024, highlighting the ecosystem’s innovation in sustainable protein production.
The Netherlands’ robust investment infrastructure includes active participation from major venture capital firms and institutional investors. Notable players like InnoEnergy and DIF, which manages over $16 billion in assets, continue to drive growth in the ecosystem. With the Dutch startup ecosystem now ranked 13th globally according to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report, the country seems well-positioned for continued growth in biotech, AI, and semiconductors, setting a strong foundation for 2025.
3. Energy Revolution Ventures’ $18M fund lays a bet on ‘new chemistry’ startups in energy and hydrogen
What happens when a chemical engineer, who’s previously built a hydrogen-powered drone, becomes a venture capitalist? Energy Revolution Ventures (ERV), that’s what. The VC has now closed an $18 million seed and Series A fund to invest in deep tech, such as energy storage, carbon capture, and, yes, hydrogen technologies.
Marcus Clover, co-founder and partner at ERV told TechCrunch: “I studied at Cambridge, and thought I was going into oil and gas. I ended up getting hired as employee No. 1 for an aerospace startup. We were building a hydrogen-powered drone for telecoms application.”
After doing that for five years he joined another firm putting hydrogen fuel cells in heavy-duty vehicles: “I saw firsthand, as an engineer working this space, how much innovation was happening in the energy sector. I realized I had to get into it from the investment side. That’s when I teamed up with two of my partners.”
The 2023 vintage fund includes LPs from family offices in the metals and energy sector, high-net-worth individuals, and Bidra Innovation Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Morocco’s OCP Group. ERV already has a portfolio of nine companies, including Green Li-ion (lithium-ion battery recycling), Anthro (structural, safe batteries), and Oort Energy (low-cost renewable H₂).
ERV has both a fund and a venture builder, dubbed Prosemino. The idea is that the fund can both invest in independent startups as well as spin up new ventures, based on its in-house technical expertise. It draws on a network of advisors, spread across the University of Oxford and University College London. It has also built some specialist laboratories to assist its startups.
“We have 4,000 square feet of wet chemistry and dry lab space here in London. We believe it’s the only lab of its kind outside of Europe, not related to a university,” said Clover.
ERV’s strategy is based on the idea that a lot of innovation is about to happen in chemistry, especially in the area of energy.
“When I was working hydrogen, back in 2015/2016, way before the latest hydrogen hype cycles, the most advanced tech was in the space sector. We were trying to repurpose it for aircraft. Doing that work teaches you a lot about how to redesign stuff from first principles and how to operate in small teams with tight budgets. So I can relate to a lot of the companies which we’ve now invested in,” said Clover.
4. Perplexity has reportedly closed a $500M funding round
AI-powered search engine Perplexity has reportedly closed a $500 million funding round, valuing the startup at $9 billion.
Bloomberg, citing sources familiar, reports that the round was led by Institutional Venture Partners and that it closed earlier in December. In an email to TechCrunch, a Perplexity spokesperson declined to comment.
The mammoth tranche comes as the competition in AI-powered search heats up. OpenAI recently launched ChatGPT Search, its answer to Perplexity. And Google is developing capabilities to rival some of what Perplexity offers, including AI-generated summaries and answers on search results pages.
This week, The Information reported that Google is planning to take a more aggressive move, potentially building a chatbot-like “AI mode” directly into Google Search.
Perplexity isn’t resting on its laurels — even as it battles a class action lawsuit over alleged copyright infringement. On Wednesday, the company made its second acquisition, snatching up Carbon, a startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources.
5. Backed by a16z and NEA, Backflip raises $30M Series A to turn text into AI-generated designs
What if it were as easy to generate a usable 3D design as prompting ChatGPT? That’s the mission of Backflip, a startup founded by 3D printing veterans that’s just scored $30 million from Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, and a host of other big names in tech.
Designing physical objects often requires hours or days of specialized work using computer-aided design software. Backflip CEO Greg Mark and CTO David Benhaim, both founders of 3D printing company Markforged, want to turn that into minutes thanks to Backflip’s new foundational models.
“AI language models capture how we think, vision models capture how we see, and Backflip is creating foundation models that capture how we build,” Benhaim said.
Backflip says its models are trained on a large dataset of about 10 million 3D parts, generated in part thanks to AI, that took two years to build. With this raise, Backflip plans to launch its app and democratize the design process for anyone, from manufacturers to regular people, Mark told TechCrunch. The AI isn’t limited to text, either: It can produce designs based on sketches, photos, or other materials as well.
“Now anyone can do it. You can literally text prompts, or draw a sketch, or pull in an image, or snap a photo with your iPhone — and then print it out. Your ideas are in the world. Kind of crazy,” he said.
One logical concern with radically democratizing design is the kind of products some people end up building. The killer of the United Healthcare CEO used a 3D-printed gun, for example. Mark told TechCrunch that Backflip takes safety seriously and currently has two levels of content safety checkers to filter out potentially harmful designs from being generated.
6. Decart nabs $32M at $500M+ valuation to build AI tech and ‘open world’ apps
A young startup that emerged from stealth less than two months ago with big-name backers and bigger ambitions is returning to the spotlight.
Decart is building what its CEO and co-founder Dean Leitersdorf (pictured above, right) describes as “a fully vertically integrated AI research lab,” alongside enterprise and consumer products based on the lab’s work.
Its first enterprise product optimizes GPU use, and is already bringing in millions of dollars in revenue. And its first consumer product, a playable “open world” AI model called Oasis, was released when Decart came out of stealth, and already claims “millions” of players.
Now, on the back of that strong launch out of the gates, Decart — based in San Francisco but with operations in Israel — has raised another $32 million in a Series A round led by Benchmark.
The funding comes less than two months after the company raised a seed round of $21 million from Sequoia and Zeev Ventures, with the two firms also participating in this latest Series A.
TechCrunch understands from sources that Decart’s new post-money valuation is now over $500 million. For a point of comparison, the seed round valued it at just over $100 million.
Leitersdorf is a youthful 26, full of energy and coming in fast. He says the aim is not just to take on big players in the AI field like OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and the rest; instead he wants to build “a kilocorn” — a trillion-dollar company.
“We have a long way to go, and we have great stuff to build,” he added. That said, he noted that yes, the company has already been approached by buyers multiple times, and there are some interesting comparables if you look at the optimization piece it has built, such as Run:ai getting acquired by Nvidia for $700 million.
7. Robin Capital closes €15 million Robin Fund One, empowering B2B SaaS startups across Europe
Robin Capital, a German solo GP-led venture fund founded by Robin Haak, has successfully closed its inaugural fund, Robin Fund One, raising a total of €15 million.
The fund, which includes €13 million in commitments alongside a €2 million growth-focused investment vehicle, focuses on supporting Pre-Seed and Seed-stage B2B SaaS startups in mid-market and Enterprise Go-to-Market sectors, with a particular emphasis on the DACH region.
Launched in December 2022, Robin Capital embodies nearly 15 years of Haak’s experience as a founder and investor.
Haak’s background includes roles as General Partner at Revaia (€250 million first-time fund) and co-founder of Jobspotting, acquired by SmartRecruiters (valued at €1.4 billion). He has been an early investor in notable companies like N26 and a growth investor in Aircall and Frontify.
Speaking about this achievement, Robin Haak shared, “Robin Capital is the product of my journey and a response to what I needed most throughout my career – a partner to guide founders from zero to IPO. This fund reflects that mission: supporting founders with expertise, networks, and authentic partnership.”
Robin Capital remains “intentionally small“, with ticket sizes ranging between €100–500k. Its specialty is in Pre-Seed and Seed-stage mid-market and Enterprise Go-to-Market companies in Europe and the DACH region.
Robin Fund One, which had its first close in June 2023 and final close in December 2024, is vertical-agnostic and spans a wide array of industries including HR, AI, Fintech, Climate, DevOps, Robotics, and Industrial Tech.
To date, the fund has deployed 55% of its capital, backing 28 portfolio companies such as Kombo, Phacets, and Xaver.
Backed by 70 Limited Partners, 95% of whom are seasoned professionals, the fund’s network includes General Partners from leading Private Equity and Venture Capital firms, fund-of-funds, and prominent founders and operators.
The fund leverages a network of nearly 100 operators from leading technology companies, providing critical support to its portfolio. Notable board appointments include:
Robin Capital’s network also includes three accomplished Venture Partners:
8. Aviation startup VÆRIDION takes off with €14 million in funding to decarbonise short-haul flights
Munich-based aviation startup VÆRIDION has raised €14 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the development of its innovative electric aircraft, the Microliner.
Led by World Fund, a prominent climate-focused venture capital firm, the round saw participation from Project A Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, Andreas Kupke, Schwarz Holding, and InnovationQuarter.
Co-founder and CEO Ivor van Dartel commented: “Our new funding will significantly accelerate development efforts, paving the way for certification-conforming prototype flights to take off in 2027, followed by a first commercial flight by 2030. With the Microliner, we are addressing both the need for zero-emission travel alternatives and the demand for enhanced regional connectivity. Our partnerships and market-focused strategy reflect our commitment to not only decarbonising short-haul flights across Europe but also to setting a new standard for sustainable and energy efficient aviation at a competitive price point.”
Founded in 2021 by former Airbus managers Ivor van Dartel and Dr Sebastian Seemann, the company’s mission is to revolutionise short-haul air travel with a sustainable, zero-emission solution.
VÆRIDION’s Microliner, designed to accommodate up to nine passengers, is an innovative entry in the electric Conventional Take-Off and Landing (eCTOL) aircraft market. The aircraft boasts a nominal range of 400 km, advanced battery-wing integration, and a multi-engine single-propeller configuration, ensuring efficiency and safety.
Initial functional and validation tests have been completed, with certification-conforming prototype flights set for 2027 and commercial operations targeted for 2030.
Aviation demand is expected to more than double to over 8 billion passengers by 2040, growing at an annual average rate of 3.4%. This is putting pressure on the global airline industry to provide solutions to decarbonise the sector.
VÆRIDION is betting on the regional air mobility (RAM) market to expand as European countries look to reach sustainability targets, decrease development costs, and ease congested roads. Especially with predictions that the global addressable market for regional flights could reach €109 billion by 2035, representing up to 700 million passengers annually.
The startup has already achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first General Aviation manufacturer to secure a Pre-Application Contract (PAC) with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This achievement confirms the Microliner’s compliance with commercial passenger aircraft certification standards and positions VÆRIDION ahead of competitors in the race to decarbonise regional aviation.
The fresh funding, supplemented by research grants from Bavarian and German administrations, will enable VÆRIDION to expand its team, accelerate product development, and deepen its commercial footprint.
The company has already secured initial customers in Denmark, the Benelux region, and Germany, with its aircraft aimed at connecting decentralised regions and underserved markets.
Potential applications also include air ambulance services, a project being explored in partnership with Aero-Dienst.
Daria Saharova, General Partner at World Fund, said: “Aviation demand is expected to more than double by 2040, so we urgently need to decarbonise this sector. VÆRIDION has unique technology, a world-class team, and the support to power the future of aviation. Ivor, Sebastian, and their team have already proven market appetite for their market-leading product, and we are thrilled to be supporting them as they scale to deliver zero-emission flights for customers across Europe.”
The Microliner is set to begin by serving business passengers, with plans to expand into consumer travel as the market develops. The aircraft’s low noise levels and operational efficiency make it well-suited for smaller airfields, which could significantly enhance accessibility across Europe.
With aviation demand poised to double by 2040, solutions like VÆRIDION’s Microliner could play a pivotal role in meeting sustainability targets while maintaining connectivity.
9. TG0 is ‘hands on’ with new €5.4 million funding to advance tactile tech
London and Hong Kong-based TG0, a hardware technology company innovating human-machine interfaces, has closed a €5.4 million Series B funding round to develop their tactile tech.
The investment was led by NetmindAI, with additional participation from WP Health, and marks a significant step in TG0’s mission to advance intuitive, sustainable, and AI-powered hardware solutions across automotive, medtech, consumer electronics, and robotics sectors.
This investment comes shortly after a €2.3 million round of funding also led by NetmindAI in September 2024, as previously reported by EU-Startups.
Ming Kong, CEO and Co-founder of TG0, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the funding and its implications: “This successful round of funding is a clear validation of the market’s growing appetite for AI-powered hardware solutions. With the support of forward-thinking investors like NetMind.AI, we’re positioned to take our development and innovation in AI-driven hardware to new heights. This milestone not only fuels our ambition but also strengthens our commitment to delivering smarter, more intuitive technologies that transform human-machine interactions globally.”
Founded in 2015 to reimagine how humans interact with technology, TG0 leverages its proprietary platform to create touch-sensitive, pressure-mapping surfaces that enable smarter and more user-centric product designs.
By focusing on AI-driven physical interfaces, the company’s technology provides opportunities for more natural and accessible digital experiences while reportedly focusing on sustainability and innovation.
The funding will allow TG0 to scale its global team and enhance operations across the entire product lifecycle, from initial design to mass production. This expansion aims to meet rising demand for TG0’s innovative offerings and further its position as a player in AI-driven hardware technology.
TG0’s innovative platform has already earned it partnerships with notable companies including Novares, Zwift Ride, Italdesign, and Somnium Space.
By integrating touch-sensing capabilities into physical products, TG0 encourages engineers and designers to develop solutions that prioritise user experience, product efficiency, and safety.
Kai Zou, CEO and co-founder of NetmindAI, highlighted TG0’s potential: “We’re thrilled to invest in TG0’s groundbreaking technology at such a pivotal moment in human-computer interaction. Their innovative hardware solutions represent a fundamental shift in how we think about digital interfaces, making them more natural and accessible to everyone. By combining TG0’s pioneering approach with NetMind’s advanced AI capabilities, we can accelerate the development of truly intuitive digital experiences.”
This investment has been identified by NetMind’s in-house AI experts and research team who work at the forefront of AI development. TG0 is accelerating the creation of customisable AI-embedded products that can adapt to a user’s physical needs in real time, while being easily accessed via, and powered by, NetMind’s low cost hardware and cloud-computing platform.
The funding positions TG0 to expand its reach across industries, offering tailored solutions that enhance product functionality and align with evolving technological demands.
From automotive interiors to consumer electronics and healthcare applications, TG0’s tactile control systems present an opportunity to redefine user interaction with everyday technology.
10. bsport lands €30 million to develop wellness studio platform
Barcelona-based bsport, a platform for boutique wellness studios, has closed a €30 million Series B funding round led by Base10 Partners and Octopus Ventures.
The round also attracted participation from Stanford University and existing investors Seventure Partners and Seed4Soft.
Zakaria Mansour, CEO and Co-founder of bsport, outlined the company’s vision: “With the support of our new and existing investors, bsport is on a mission to unlock the full potential of wellness studios by providing an unparalleled, all-in-one solution that combines advanced technology and innovation with a deep understanding of our clients’ needs.”
Founded in 2018, bsport has grown to serve over 2,000 clients across Europe and North America. Its all-in-one platform streamlines operations for wellness studios, offering solutions for course bookings, payments, staff management, marketing, and analytics.
With a team of 160 and offices in Barcelona, Paris, London, and Berlin, the company is positioned to support clients on a global scale and meet the increasing demand for advanced wellness technology.
This latest funding will enable bsport to expand further into the UK, Europe, North America, and APAC regions while accelerating investment in AI-powered solutions. The company plans to triple its workforce by 2026, with a focus on recruiting top talent for its Paris-based tech hub.
According to bsport, the global wellness market, projected to reach €8.5 trillion by 2028, presents opportunities for bsport’s AI-enhanced platform.
By incorporating generative AI and intelligent agents, the platform aims to enable studios to achieve greater efficiency, deliver hyper-personalised experiences, and automate complex tasks.
“bsport is well-positioned to take on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in the wellness space—an industry that has largely gone underserved by technology,” said TJ Nahigian, co-founder and managing partner at Base10 Partners. “Zakaria and team’s all-in-one platform helps these businesses take control of their own growth, and we are thrilled to be supporting this special team.”
Uthish Ranjan, Partner at Octopus Ventures, praised the platform’s impact: “We’re delighted to be supporting bsport, and have been impressed with the user experience and capabilities of their all-in-one solution that has helped thousands of gyms and wellness centers to make efficiency gains, and drive growth through their full-stack sales and marketing modules. We’re really excited to see our funds used to significantly expand their presence in the UK market, and can’t wait to see what the team does next.”
Building on the success of its €4 million Series A in 2022, bsport is now focused on leveraging this latest investment to enhance its technological offerings and expand its international footprint.
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