Startup news for the weekend 20/26

Funding

Zerops raises 2 million dollars for AI-optimized cloud infrastructure

Prague-based startup Zerops has closed a seed round of 2 million US dollars led by Gi21 Capital. The platform unifies development and production environments to reduce deployment errors and enable AI coding agents to create production-ready applications. Zerops operates its own bare-metal infrastructure in Europe and the USA and promises lower costs than traditional cloud providers. The company plans to use the capital to expand its infrastructure in North America and Asia and to further develop its AI-supported cloud tools.

SAP invests in Parloa and n8n

SAP is driving forward the expansion of its AI ecosystem with two strategic partnerships: the company is investing in the workflow automation startup n8n, which is valued at USD 5.2 billion, and will integrate its platform directly into SAP Joule Studio in future. At the same time, SAP is intensifying its collaboration with the Berlin-based AI company Parloa, whose AI Agents will be closely integrated with the SAP Service Cloud in future. Both partnerships aim to enable companies to integrate AI-supported processes and customer interactions directly into existing company systems. While n8n primarily addresses AI workflows and process automation for enterprise applications, Parloa focuses on AI-supported customer experience and service processes across voice and digital channels. SAP is thus positioning itself more strongly as a platform provider for production-ready "Agentic AI" applications in enterprise use.

Adfin secures USD 18 million for AI-supported automation of financial processes

London-based fintech Adfin has raised USD 18 million in a Series A financing round, bringing the total raised to over USD 30 million in less than two years. The round was led by Index Ventures, supported by Visionaries Club and new investors such as Stéphane Kurgan and Miro founder Andrey Khusid. The fintech is evolving from a payment management solution into an "agentic finance platform" that aims to automate companies' entire financial processes. The focus is on a combination of modern payment infrastructure and AI agents that take over recurring tasks independently while retaining human control. The aim is to completely eliminate late payments in the long term.

Dessn secures USD 6 million for AI-supported design work in code

London-based startup Dessn has raised USD 6 million in a funding round led by Connect Ventures with participation from Betaworks, N49P and other investors. Founded in 2024, the company is developing an AI-based platform that enables designers and product managers to work directly in the real codebase of an application without having to program it themselves or use traditional design tools. The aim is to simplify collaboration between design, product and engineering by enabling work processes to take place directly in the existing code and design system. The platform transforms repositories into browser-based, isolated working environments and thus addresses hurdles such as complex local development environments. Dessn plans to use the fresh capital to expand its team and technology in particular.

Awards & Events

Alibaba.com launches AI competition with over 1 million dollars in prize money

The B2B platform Alibaba.com has announced the global innovation competition CoCreate Pitch 2026, which has a total prize pool of over 1 million US dollars. The competition is aimed at start-ups, SMEs and students and focuses on AI-supported product ideas for international trade. The focus is on the use of AI tools for the rapid development and scaling of business models. The final rounds will take place at CoCreate events in Los Angeles and London, while a regional round is also planned in the Asia-Pacific region. The aim is to promote new approaches to global trade in the age of AI and automation. Details and registration at https://www.alibabacocreate.com/pitch

German Innovation Award 2026 focuses on the innovative capacity of German companies

At the German Innovation Award 2026 ceremony in Berlin, innovative products and concepts from various sectors were honored and the German Innovation Spotlight 2026 study, which was jointly produced by the German Design Council and the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research, was presented for the first time. The study shows that innovation is a high priority for German companies. However, according to the study, there is often a lack of clear processes, key figures and structured systems to sustainably realize innovation potential. The award ceremony also honored projects from areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainable infrastructure, medical technology and user-centered design that reflect current technological and social developments.

Women Startup Award 2026 launches application phase for female tech founders in Bavaria

The UnternehmerTUM initiative has launched the application phase for the Women Startup Award 2026 and is looking for early-stage female tech founders with a connection to Bavaria. Teams with at least one female founder in the management team can apply until June 15, 2026, before the official foundation. New this year is the stronger involvement of regional partners in order to reach female founders throughout Bavaria. From September to November, the finalists will receive an intensive support program with training, coaching and access to the UnternehmerTUM network before the award ceremony takes place on 19 November at the Munich Urban Colab. Prize money totaling up to 7,500 euros as well as special prizes for AI and smart city solutions will be awarded. The award is supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy as well as experienced mentors from the startup and investor scene. Further information is available at UnternehmerTUM.

Finalists of the European Inventor Award 2026 have been announced

The European Patent Office has announced the 12 finalists of the European Inventor Award 2026. The teams and individual inventors from Europe, Asia and America were selected in the categories Industry, Research, SMEs and Non-EPO countries for their innovations in fields such as biotechnology, energy, semiconductors, quantum technology and sustainable mobility. Their developments address key global challenges and range from new recycling processes for batteries to medical breakthroughs and climate-friendly technologies. The winners will be announced in Berlin on July 2, 2026, and the public vote for the Audience Award will also be open until then.

Cooperations & partnerships

HAT.tec and Project Q develop joint software solutions for multi-domain defense

The DefenceTech companies HAT.tec and Project Q have agreed a strategic partnership for the further development of software-defined defense solutions for operations on land, in the air and at sea. The aim of the cooperation is to integrate their technologies in order to merge sensor data from different systems into a common situational picture and to make decision-making and mission processes more efficient. The collaboration is intended to promote joint innovations, operational integration and the development of interoperable solutions for military and security applications in Europe in the long term.

KIX and Greenbone join forces for IT security management

The open source companies KIX Service Software and Greenbone are cooperating on the integration of the ITSM software KIX with the vulnerability scanning technology OPENVAS. The aim is to automatically identify security vulnerabilities, transfer them to KIX as tickets and manage their rectification in a structured manner, including deadlines and escalations. The joint solution also provides an up-to-date overview of the IT landscape, makes shadow IT visible and supports companies and authorities with compliance requirements such as NIS-2 or ISO 27001. Both solutions are based on open source and can be operated completely on-premises.

FINEXITY and Lewisfield cooperate in the SME bond market

FINEXITY and Lewisfield have entered into a strategic partnership to further develop the market for SME bonds in Germany. SME issuers gain access to traditional, hybrid and tokenized bonds from a single source. Lewisfield will provide advice and approach issuers, while FINEXITY will provide the technical infrastructure, regulatory processing and investor access. The basis for this is the growing importance of bonds in the SME sector and the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), which enables tokenized issues. The cooperation combines traditional capital market processes with digital structures and makes it easier for companies to access alternative sources of financing outside their main bank.

Bonn extends partnership with DIGITALHUB.DE to strengthen the startup ecosystem

The City of Bonn and DIGITALHUB.DE have extended their cooperation for another year to further strengthen the regional startup and innovation ecosystem. The aim of the partnership is to better connect founders and companies in the region and promote growth in a targeted manner. According to the NRW Startup Report, Bonn is one of the leading start-up locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is to be further expanded through the long-term cooperation. The city particularly emphasizes the importance of a strong ecosystem for economic growth and new jobs, while DIGITALHUB.DE refers to its role as a central platform for startups, SMEs and science. Since its foundation, the hub has already supported over 300 young companies and offers programs, infrastructure, funding and network access for digital and technology-oriented start-ups.

More exciting news

Trade Republic launches Europe-wide campaign with Brad Pitt

Trade Republic has introduced Brad Pitt as its new brand ambassador and at the same time launched the largest international campaign in the company's history. The campaign focuses on Neobank's core offers: a free account with card, 2 percent interest and investing from one euro. The deliberately minimalist commercial shows Brad Pitt in an empty black room and ends with the question: "What does your bank offer?". With the Europe-wide campaign on TV, streaming and digital channels, Trade Republic aims to further expand its position as a digital alternative to traditional banks. According to co-founder Christian Hecker, the simple messages are primarily intended to appeal to consumers who are dissatisfied with high fees and low interest rates at traditional banks.

NeoCarbons reports record figures for microalgae production

Swiss biotech NeoCarbons has achieved a productivity of over 10 grams of biomass per liter per day and a biomass density of 19 grams per liter with its 60-liter photobioreactor. All this with only 20 percent of the available light output. According to the company, the values are significantly higher than the performance data of conventional photobioreactors and mark a new peak value for photoautotrophic microalgae production. The technology is based on a sterile stainless steel reactor that directs light directly into the culture, thereby reducing contamination and lowering downstream processing costs. NeoCarbons sees potential applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, nutraceutical and food industries in particular, for example for the production of fucoxanthin, astaxanthin, spirulina ingredients and recombinant proteins. According to the company, it holds patents in Europe and North America as well as several partnerships and letters of intent with industrial companies.