Wandelbots, a Dresden, Germany-based robotic software company that is making industrial robots accessible for everyone, raised over $84m in Series C financing.

The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors 83North, Microsoft, Next47, Paua, Atlantic Labs and EQT. In conjunction with the funding, Philine Huizing, Principal at Insight Partners, will join the Wandelbots board.

The company intends to use the funds to open its Robotics Software Platform to automation solution providers and third-party developers.

Zenjob, a Berlin, Germany-based staffing marketplace provider, raised $50M in Growth funding.

The round was led by Aragon with participation from Acton Capital, Atlantic Labs, Forestay, and Axa Venture Partners.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its expansion in Europe, scale its platform, and add new data-based automation features for its customer base.

Ada Health, the Berlin-based digital health company, has closed its Series B funding round at over €105 million, following an additional injection of €26 million. The new funding came from international investors Farallon Capital, Red River West and Bertelsmann Investments. Ada also announces that Schroders Capital has become a major investor through a secondary transaction from public and private vehicles.

Senodis Technologies GmbH from Dresden has successfully completed a seed financing round. As an existing investor, Fraunhofer Technologie Transfer-Fonds (FTTF) is again supporting the Dresden-based company. The investment is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) as a new partner with Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS) also as a new investor.

Berlin-based construction tech company Cosuno has secured a $30 million Series B led by US growth equity firm Avenir Growth. Spark Capital and Cherry Ventures, which led the Series A six months ago, also participated. This new funding brings the valuation to $150 million.

Berlin-based Micropsi has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The company produces AI-driven systems for the controlling of industrial robots and enables automation services that previously required the work of humans. The new funding will be used to significantly expand operations in the US, while at the same time incorporating more robots into the platform.

Cybersicherheits-Startup Sosafe sammelt 73 Millionen Dollar

Infrasolid GmbH now part of the IST Group
Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG took over of the management of Infrasolid GmbH. The acquisition allows IST AG to expand its product portfolio to include thermal IR radiation sources used in the field of infrared (IR) analysis and in the near-infrared (NIR) range.

Munich-based Alaiko has raised a total of $30 million in a Series A funding round, and  promises to revolutionise e-commerce logistics for direct-to-consumer brands via its fulfillment automation platform. The capital is slated to be used to further develop the company’s operating system, expand its fulfillment services and network of key logistics partners, and significantly grow the international team, particularly in the areas of product and sales.

Joining the likes of everstox, Hive, byrd, Scurri, Cubyn, and the list goes on and on, Alaiko offers much the same: e-commerce brands can offer end consumers free shipping, next-day delivery, and self-serve order management features. Likewise, “state-of-the-art warehousing, operational excellence, and automated process control,” are all on tap via Alaiko.

Cologne’s Sastrify has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round. The platform helps finance and teams company-wide in optimising the management and cost of the SaaS tools they use on a daily basis. The new funds are slated to be used to meet and expound upon growing international interest and usage of the platform. Since late December of 2020, the company has raised a total of $22 million.

Marvel Fusion, a Munich-based fusion energy startup, has just got a €35 million funding boost to accelerate the commercialization of fusion tech, overcoming some of the hurdles of producing clean energy at scale. The Series A funding round was led by Earlybird. 

Sequoia Crypto Fund: The VC firm’s new €439M – €530M sub fund focused on liquid tokens and digital assets

Munich’s HV Capital unveils €430 million continuation fund in German tech sector
To give a boost to the German VC scene, Munich-based early-stage and growth investor HV Capital has unveiled a continuation fund with over €430 million. The new fund, HV COCO Growth will enable HV Capital to support portfolio companies from existing funds and expand further.

Europe’s Revent hits $68M hard cap on its climate, health & impact-focused fund

Investment firm based in Paris and San Francisco, Lauxera Capital Partners announced the final closing of its first fund, Lauxera Growth I, at more than €260 million (approximately $300 million), making it one of the leading European funds dedicated to financing innovative health tech companies.

Lauxera Growth I achieved a first closing in January 2021 of nearly €100 million. The round saw the participation of Covea, Candriam, Bpifrance and French public financial institution Caisse des Dépôts. Major European family offices also participated such as Tethys, Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille (CNP), Financière Dassault, and Italmobiliare. The new investors that joined the current round include European Investment Fund (EIF), the Biotech Health Acceleration fund (FABS) handled on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance, insurance leaders Matmut and Harmonie Mutuelle (Vyv Group), and Swen Capital Partners.

Polestar Capital, a Hilversum-based impact investment firm, announced on Tuesday that it has launched the biggest circular economy fund in Europe.

Christened  Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund (PCDF), the investment firm has opened with €100M and expects to grow to €400M within a year. The Pension Fund for the Retail sector is the first investor in the fund. 

Brightpoint-Capital launches the Tech Venture Growth Fund, an European EUR 500m fund of fund

Connected Capital, a leading investor focused on rapidly growing B2B SaaS businesses, has just closed its oversubscribed Fund 11 at a total of €154 million, bringing the firms total committed capital to over €200 million. 

After a massive 2021 for European tech, we are seeing more and more of these big funds being announced by European VC’s – it’s a good sign of things to come for the year, fresh money boosting fresh innovation and ambition.

Berlin-based independent media for equity fund, German Media Pool has completed the first closing of its €15 million cash venture capital fund. The new fund, GMPVC Opportunities I, is focused on consumer-facing and B2C-enabling startups of any stage across Europe.

‘We’re looking to underwrite a 5x net return from our seed managers in this vintage.’ — Overheard from a large institutional LP last November

Amongst this jargon is a simple message that is terrifying for most VCs — ‘I expect you give me back 6.5 dollars for every dollar I give you. 🤪’

• Over 1,200 funds no longer merit ESG label, analysis finds
• Move feeds into fears fund industry is rife with greenwashing

CommerzVentures Report: Climate related Fintech Funding 3x Greater than all Previous Years

Kleiner als ein Staubkorn: Das ist der kleinste Akku der Welt – aus Sachsen