Weekly RoundUp #04 — Champions Only
The EU readies a €451B war chest, Hugging Face snubs Nvidia for independence, and Synthesia hits $4B.
📅 January 26 – 30, 2026 | Read time: 5 mins
👋 The Week in Review
This week, the ripples of geopolitical turmoil were felt across the European tech ecosystem, triggering a series of tremendous announcements centered on sovereignty.
From the EU’s potential €451B Competitiveness Fund and massive new data center projects to an unprecedented wave of new capital, the mission is clear: we are doubling down on our European champions to secure a self-determined future.
Let’s dive into the data.
📰 News of the Week
The EU proposes a €451B Competitiveness Fund to streamline industrial and tech investment
As part of its 2028-2034 budget cycle, the European Commission plans to consolidate 14 existing programs into a massive €451B vehicle designed to simplify funding rules and close the “firepower gap” with the US and China in clean tech, digital leadership, and defense.
Hugging Face reportedly declined a $500M investment from Nvidia to protect its independence
The New York-based/French-founded “GitHub of AI” turned down a strategic funding offer at a $7B valuation in late 2025, choosing to maintain its role as a neutral, open-source hub rather than allowing a single hardware giant to become a dominant stakeholder.
Synthesia hits a $4B valuation following a $200M Series E led by Google Ventures
Just one year after achieving unicorn status, the London-based AI video leader nearly doubled its valuation to $4B as it pivots from static digital avatars toward “interactive AI agents” for enterprise training, backed by high-profile investors including Nvidia’s NVentures, Accel, and Kleiner Perkins.
The UK launches a national AI skills initiative to train 10 million workers by 2030
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is rolling out free, government-backed “AI Skills Boost” courses and digital badges for every adult, aiming to bridge the confidence gap and prepare the British workforce for an AI-driven labor market transformation.
Bordeaux considers a €3B supercomputer and data center project to bolster digital sovereignty
Presented by local officials in January 2026, the “BXIA” project envisions a 250MW campus in northern Bordeaux (France) dedicated to AI processing and massive data storage, marking a strategic pivot for the city’s Green administration toward infrastructure-heavy industrial sovereignty.
🇪🇺 Deals of the Week
🔍 The Deep Dive
🇵🇱 Nomagic (Logistics) | €8.3M Series B Extension
The Deal: Warsaw-based warehouse robotics company applying general-purpose Physical AI to optimize warehouse operations raised €8.3M, bringing its total funding to €70M.
The Investors: Led by Cogito Capital Partners
The Analysis: Warehouse fulfillment centers face a significant “variability hurdle” where the thousands of unique items in e-commerce, from soft apparel to rigid electronics, are too complex for traditional, pre-programmed automation to handle efficiently. Nomagic addresses this through its Physical AI platform and “justPick” robotic systems, which utilize Visual Language Action (VLA) models to autonomously identify and manipulate millions of individual SKUs at speeds exceeding 500 picks per hour with over 95% coverage. By offering a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) subscription model, the company removes the barrier of high upfront capital expenditure, allowing retailers like ASOS and Zalando to scale 24/7 automated operations with zero CAPEX. This infrastructure is positioning itself as a core component of the global logistics automation market, which is forecasted to reach $99.4 billion by 2026 as 90% of consumers now view two-to-three-day delivery as the standard baseline.
What’s Next: Commercial expansion into the U.S. and further optimization of their VLA models.
🇫🇷 Radiant (CleanTech) | Seed | €2M
The Deal: France-based solar thermal solution company developing technology to supply industrial heat for decarbonizing industrial processes secured €2M and joined the Hexa Carbon Zero accelerator program.
The Investors: Led by Tiresias Angels, Selim Cherif.
The Analysis: Industrial heat accounts for over 70% of total industrial energy consumption, yet remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels because low-carbon alternatives frequently lack economic competitiveness. Radiant addresses this gap with its Belenos solar thermal system, which integrates next-generation heliostats, a proprietary receiver, and thermal energy storage to deliver temperatures exceeding 1,000°C, surpassing current industry standards. Utilizing 15 years of R&D from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the technology provides 2 to 50 megawatts of thermal power to replace gas burners and oil-fired boilers in carbon-intensive sectors such as asphalt, glass, and cement. As industrial heat contributes more than 40% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, Radiant is positioning its high-temperature infrastructure as a cornerstone for industrial decarbonization in a market where the EU has recently allocated over €1 billion specifically to accelerate clean-heat innovation.
What’s Next: Construction of their first industrial demonstrator in Le Mans.
⚡ Deal Flow
🇩🇪 Robco (Robotics) — €95M Series C: Munich-based AI-powered modular robotics for SME manufacturing.
🇬🇧 Raylo (ConsumerTech – €34.5M: London-based subscription infrastructure platform for leading electronics brands including Apple and PlayStation.
🇬🇧 Gigablue (ClimateTech) — €17M Series A: London-based developer of marine carbon dioxide removal solutions.
🇩🇪 Co-Reactive (ClimateTech) — €7M Seed: Düsseldorf-based startup decarbonising the construction industry at scale through cement innovation.
🇨🇿 BottleCap AI (AI) — €6.3M Seed: Prague-based developer of highly efficient foundational AI models and LLMs through novel algorithms and architectures.
🇳🇱 Dealroom.co (Data) — €5.8M : Amsterdam-based data intelligence platform tracking startups, high-growth companies, investors, and tech ecosystems worldwide with real-time analytics.
🇵🇱 Rainbow Weather (WeatherTech) — €4.6M Seed: Warsaw-based AI-driven weather intelligence platform that delivers hyper-precise, minute-level forecasts using satellite imagery, radar, and smartphone sensor data.
🇨🇭 Scholé AI (EdTech) — €2.8M Seed: Lausanne-based AI-native learning platform built for the modern workforce offering adaptive learning solutions.
👉 See the full database of 60+ rounds from this week: here.
💸 New Dry Powder
Spotlight: Daphni Blue 🇫🇷 — €260M
With the final close of its daphni Blue fund, the Paris-based firm has secured €260M for its third early-stage vehicle, surpassing its original target. Shifting focus from purely digital plays to science-driven deeptech, the fund targets “scientist-entrepreneurs” commercializing research in biology, chemistry, and physics to tackle environmental and societal pressures. Writing checks between €500k and €10M, daphni Blue has already deployed capital into nine startups, including OWLO, EverDye, and Karavela. The firm brings a formidable track record from its previous vintages, having backed French unicorns Back Market and Swile, alongside deeptech leader Pasqal. What truly differentiates daphni is its “Augmented VC” model, a community-driven approach powered by a digital platform of 400+ experts and a B Corp-certified mission where carried interest is explicitly linked to ESG performance.
Other Fund Launches:
🇫🇷 Eurazeo (€500M target): Climate-focused scale-up fund targeting industrial decarbonization and green hydrogen across Europe
🇺🇸 Voyager Ventures ($275M): Second fund focused on early-stage climate tech software and hardware across North America and Europe to accelerate decarbonization.
🇬🇧 2150 (€210M): Urban-focused climate tech fund backing Series A and B startups in the built environment and industrial sectors across Europe.
🇨🇭🇩🇪 b2venture (€150M): Hard-capped fifth fund dedicated to backing early-stage European tech leaders.
🇩🇪 seed+speed Ventures (€90M): Third fund focused on pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software and FinTech startups across the DACH region.
🇩🇰 Footprint Firm (€76M): Article 9 deeptech fund dedicated to the green transition and sustainability-driven innovation in the Nordics.
🇧🇪 ScaleFund (€18M): Second closing of a Belgian-focused third fund targeting a final €20-25M to support seed and Series A startups.
🇬🇧 Ascension (£10M): Secured a cornerstone commitment from the British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme to back UK startups located outside of London.
🇩🇪 ZOHO.VC (€7M): First close of a target €10M fund focused on pre-seed and seed B2B SaaS startups in the DACH region and across Europe.
🇪🇺 EIF: Planning an expanded defense program to double down on military and dual-use technology investments across Europe.
🇪🇺 Relativity Collective: Launch of a new pan-European community and venture builder platform to support ambitious founders from inception.
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Best,
Agathe