Summary: Major funding rounds in Europe this week (16 - 22 March)

      It was a relatively quiet week in terms of headlines, but it showcased significant trends in European venture capital focusing on: AI agents for tangible industries, agritech automation, and the expanding pipeline from operators to venture capitalists. The week of March 16-22 highlighted a different quality rather than quantity: smaller investment rounds, more specialized theses, and an emerging investment pattern that clarifies where European capital is building confidence, particularly in AI agents for complex physical contexts.

      1. Upvest – $125M Series D | Berlin, Germany

      Upvest secured $125 million just a year after its previous funding round, raising its valuation from €360 million to €640 million. The Berlin-based fintech provides the underlying technology for investment apps used by companies like Revolut, N26, Openbank, and Zopa. Tencent’s involvement suggests a growing global interest in European fintech infrastructure.

      2. Partech Impact Fund – €300M close | Paris, France

      Partech has finalized a €300 million impact fund targeting one of Europe’s persistent climate tech challenges: growth capital. The Parisian firm plans to invest in around 15 B2B companies generating over €10 million in revenue across sectors such as clean manufacturing and sustainable agriculture. Its inaugural investment is in SustainCERT, based in Luxembourg. Notably, the fund's structure ties carried interest to impact outcomes in addition to financial returns, and it is registered as an Article 9 fund under EU sustainable finance regulations.

      3. Montis VC – €50M first close | Warsaw, Poland

      Montis VC has achieved a €50 million first close for a new fund concentrating on European startups in energy transition, industrial technology, and AI. Notable backers include the European Investment Fund, Poland’s Development Fund, and various family offices from Central and Eastern Europe. The fund aims to invest between €0.5 million and €2 million in 20 to 25 pre-seed and seed-stage companies, reserving half of the capital for follow-on investments.

      4. Parallel – €20M Series A | Paris, France

      Parallel, a Paris-based startup focused on creating AI agents for hospital billing and medical coding, has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures, following its seed funding less than a year ago. The company targets the French public hospital system by utilizing AI to manage legacy software efficiently.

      5. Rivia – €13M close | Zurich, Switzerland

      Rivia, a Zurich startup specializing in AI for clinical trial operations, has raised €13 million to enhance its agentic data platform. The company’s system assists biotech teams by consolidating fragmented trial data and managing operational risks. This funding follows a €3 million seed investment in 2024.

      6. Kupando – €10M Series A | Schönefeld, Germany

      Kupando has added €10 million to its Series A, increasing the total round to €23 million as it advances its lead drug, KUP101, into a Phase 1b trial. The German biotech firm is working on an innate immunity therapy for advanced solid tumors and drug-resistant infections, which is a less competitive route in immunotherapy.

      7. eternal.ag – €8M seed | Cologne, Germany

      Eternal.ag, a greenhouse robotics startup co-founded by former Honest AgTech co-founder Renji John, has secured €8 million. Located in Cologne and Bengaluru, the company is developing autonomous harvesting systems for greenhouses, beginning with tomatoes, and employs simulation-based training for its robots.

      8. Choice – €7.1M Series A | Prague, Czech Republic

      Choice, a restaurant technology startup founded in Prague, has raised $7.1 million in Series A funding to expand its operations into Western Europe, starting with Portugal. The firm provides an all-in-one platform for restaurants, covering various services and claiming over 7,000 paying customers across nine markets.

      9. Ofiniti – $6.8M | Oslo, Norway

      Ofiniti, an Oslo maritime fuel software startup emerging from DNV, has obtained $6.8 million to expand its services beyond Singapore into significant global bunkering hubs. Its platform digitizes fuel delivery processes and scheduling, having processed over 25,000 bunker operations in 2025.

      10. Reson8 – €5M pre-seed | Amsterdam, Netherlands

      Reson8, a startup in Amsterdam working on speech AI for navigating Europe’s linguistic diversity, has raised a €5 million pre-seed round led by Balderton Capital. Its platform accommodates over 20 European languages and adjusts to specific industry terminology and accents.

      11. BBLeap – €5M | Rijen, Netherlands

      BBLeap, a Dutch agritech startup focused on precision spraying technology, has raised €5 million led by ESquare Capital, alongside support from Yield Lab Europe. Its technology retrofits existing sprayers to manage nozzle control in real-time for crop treatments.

      12. Homaio – €3.6