PORTUGAL: Vawlt Technologies, the visionary start-up in the global long-term data storage market, has raised additional €2.15 million round of funding. 

Vawlt secured a total of three new investors, with Lince Capital as the round leader, and Basinghall and Beta Capital listing as the other two new joiners. This latest funding round also includes participation from Vawlt’s existing investors Armilar Venture Partners and Shilling VC, as well as further investment from two former Cisco and OVHcloud executives.

Funding London, the successful early-stage institutional investor bridging the funding gap for London-based SMEs, jhas reached the end of the investment period for its fund of funds, Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF).

Newcastle University spinout Jetbio is introducing 3D bioprinting products in the global multi-billion-dollar 3D bioprinting market for drug discovery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Oxford University Innovation proposes a new target to increase the proportion of women founders or co-founders from 15 per cent in 2015-16 to 50 per cent by 2030.

The University of Oxford’s Increasing Diversity in Enterprising Activities (IDEA) initiative aims to promote inclusivity in entrepreneurial activities, first tackling the under-representation of women in entrepreneurship. Over the past eight years, the proportion of women founders and co-founders of spinout companies at the University of Oxford has roughly doubled to over 28 per cent.

Catalyst, the independent, non-profit science and technology hub focused on creating opportunity for all through world leading innovation and entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland, has been recognised as one of the leading start-up hubs in Europe in a special report produced by the Financial Times, tech news platform Sifted and data provider Statista.

E2E, a leading organisation dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, has appointed Bassim Haidar to its advisory board.

ThingThing’s Fleksy® is the leading global software text input infrastructure. Its AI assisted, fully private digital keyboard technology powers mobiles and all types of devices from banking apps, logistics and healthcare keyboards to AR & VR apps and car user interfaces.

The company is raising £500,000 as a SeedFAST Advanced Subscription Agreement, ahead of a larger funding round later this year.  MORE INFO HERE

Newcells Biotech, whose laboratory models are used in drug development and reduce reliance on animal testing, has raised a further £2.35m to boost its growth and help establish itself as a global leader in its field. 

The Newcastle-based company has secured funding from existing investors including the North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia Ventures, Mercia’s own funds and Northstar Ventures. It brings the total raised by the company to date to over £12m.

Dragonfly Insulation, an advanced materials manufacturer, has raised £935,000 in an investment round led by the North East Innovation Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Northstar Ventures, alongside angel investors and £300,000 of grant funding from Innovate UK’s Future Economy Investor Partnership programme. 

Catalyst’s 2024 INVENT competition officially opens for applications today, with a top prize of £25,000 up for grabs for the overall winner and six new categories to enter.

Organised by science and technology hub Catalyst with headline partner Bank of Ireland, the prestigious INVENT competition is the main event in the calendar year for early-stage startups and aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations to a panel of expert judges.

ITALY: The Investors Club has invested in the 10 million euro round of Resalis Therapeutics.  The club gave a special thanks to its champion Guido Bonazzola, who contributed in a fundamental way to the realization of this initiative. Guido's active participation and commitment helped make this significant investment possible.

Asterias, the London-based technology startup, has closed an oversubscribed £600k Pre-Seed round. Led by Insurtech Gateway, a leading investor in insurance technology ventures, alongside Syndicate Room’s Access, a data-driven super angel fund, and prominent industry investors. The round will be sufficient to take the Asterias’s product into mainstream adoption, unifying loss data across the insurance ecosystem.