Startup News for the Weekend, Week 36/26

Funding & Venture Capital

Biotope Invests 700,000 Euros in EveryCarbon and Wren Bioscience

The Belgian biotech incubator and early-stage investor Biotope is investing 350,000 euros each in the German startup EveryCarbon and the Danish company Wren Bioscience. EveryCarbon is developing a biomanufacturing platform that produces feedstocks for high-performance materials from organic waste and is initially focusing on insulation solutions. Wren Bioscience, on the other hand, is working on a diagnostic system designed to detect heat-resistant bacteria in milk within minutes, thereby making production processes in dairies more efficient. Both companies plan to use the capital to further develop their technologies, expand commercial partnerships, and prepare for the next steps toward market launch. Biotope’s portfolio companies have raised a total of more than 40 million euros in funding to date.

Uplift Ventures Launches 100-Million-Euro Fund for Deep-Tech Startups

Uplift Ventures is launching its first venture capital fund with a volume of 100 million euros. The fund is intended to invest in deep-tech startups in the seed and Series A phases and focuses on the areas of Physical AI, energy, enterprise AI, and logistics. In addition to capital, Uplift Ventures aims to support the companies with deep-tech expertise, international market access, and a network of investors, customers, and partners. Alongside its investments, Uplift Ventures is continuing its existing venture-building activities.

Rightcharge Receives 500,000 Pounds for Expansion into Germany and France

The British e-mobility startup Rightcharge has raised 500,000 pounds from its existing investors Soulmates Ventures, BlackWood Ventures, and Purple Ventures. The company is developing a platform that allows fleet operators to centrally manage and automatically reimburse charging payments both on the go and at home. According to the company, Rightcharge increased its annual recurring revenue more than 20-fold within a year and now serves over 200 fleet customers. Through partnerships with companies such as Octopus Electroverse, POD, The Right Fuel Card, and Fuuse, the technology is also being licensed to other providers. Following its market entry in Germany and France, the capital will primarily finance further European expansion, product development, and new partnerships.

Awards & Events

Family Business Career Day to Take Place at ABUS in November

The 37th Family Business Career Day will take place on November 20, 2026, at ABUS headquarters in Wetter (Ruhr). Around 40 family-owned companies, including BEUMER, FIEGE, HARIBO, TEEKANNE, and WEPA, plan to engage with pre-selected specialists, executives, and up-and-coming talent there. Participants can learn about career and entry-level opportunities at company booths, during presentations, and in pre-arranged one-on-one interviews. The host, ABUS, employs around 4,000 people worldwide and is active today in the areas of home, commercial, and mobile security. The Career Day is a joint initiative of family-owned businesses, the Entrepreneurs Club, and the Family Business Foundation. Applications for the limited spots are accepted through October 16.

HHL Women Entrepreneurs Initiative Takes Second Place at the Leipzig Marketing Award

The Women Entrepreneurs Initiative at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management took second place in the “Engagement and Public Good” category at the 2026 Leipzig Marketing Award. The free program, which has been in place since 2017, has supported more than 220 women to date, resulting in over 75 new business startups in Saxony. The initiative supports aspiring female founders over a six-month period with workshops, individual coaching, and mentoring on topics such as financing, marketing, and self-management. Since 2025, HHL PROTOLAB has expanded the program to include the development and testing of initial prototypes. The Marketing Prize Leipzig was awarded for the 28th time this year; a total of 21 projects were nominated.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Factorial Acquires Berlin-Based AI Startup Empion

The Spanish HR tech scale-up Factorial is acquiring the Berlin-based AI startup Empion, thereby expanding its presence in the German market. Empion was founded in 2021 by Dr. Annika von Mutius and develops AI-powered talent assessments that evaluate skills, personality, and cultural fit, among other factors. The technology is set to be fully integrated into the Factorial platform and used in the future for recruiting, performance management, and employee development. Von Mutius and the Empion team are moving to Factorial, and the founder will also join the German leadership team. Existing Empion customers and contracts are to continue unchanged for the time being. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed; according to the announcement, Empion generates several million U.S. dollars in annual recurring revenue.

Mollie Completes Acquisition of GoCardless

The Dutch payment service provider Mollie has completed the acquisition of the British bank payment provider GoCardless. Together, the companies will serve more than 350,000 business customers in over 30 markets. Mollie CEO Koen Köppen will take the helm of the group, while GoCardless will continue to operate as an independent brand within the Mollie Group under co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi. The merger will combine Mollie’s card and local payment methods with GoCardless’s pay-by-bank solutions. Existing contracts, services, and points of contact are expected to remain unchanged for the time being, while the integration takes place gradually. With this acquisition, Mollie is also expanding its international presence to include established operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Maccaferri Acquires Geotextile Specialist Ovattificio Alpino

The Italian environmental engineering and infrastructure provider Officine Maccaferri is acquiring 100 percent of the geotextile manufacturer Ovattificio Alpino. The Cittadella-based company has been producing nonwoven geotextiles and technical felts for more than 50 years for applications such as road construction, water management, soil stabilization, and environmental protection. With this acquisition, Maccaferri is expanding its geosynthetics business by adding its own production capacity for nonwoven fabrics and continuing its “buy-and-build” strategy. Together, the companies also plan to establish a production facility in the U.S., which is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2027. Maccaferri is part of the portfolio of Ambienta, an asset manager specializing in sustainability, and employs more than 3,000 people worldwide.

Personnel Announcements

Eye-Able Appoints Oliver Berchtold as New CEO

The Würzburg-based software company Eye-Able has appointed Oliver Berchtold as its new CEO. The former COO and member of the executive board at SoftwareOne will take the helm on September 1, 2026, and is tasked in particular with driving further international expansion. The leadership team is rounded out by Harald Holberg, who has served as CFO since July. Eye-Able develops solutions for digital accessibility and, according to the company, has tripled its customer base to more than 5,000 customers in over ten countries within two years. In addition to its expansion, the company plans to invest more heavily in AI-powered solutions for automated digital accessibility testing. Going forward, the founding team will focus more on product innovations and additional growth projects.

Everdrone Appoints Emil Granberg as CTO

Swedish drone technology provider Everdrone has appointed Emil Granberg as its new Chief Technology Officer. Granberg has been with the company since its founding in 2017 and played a key role in the development of the drone platform. He took over the position in June 2026 from Michael Öhman, whose tenure at Everdrone ends in late August. As CTO, Granberg oversees a seven-person engineering team as well as the development of hardware, software, and testing procedures. Going forward, the platform will be further developed to enable, among other things, higher capacities, shorter response times, and additional applications in healthcare and public services. Everdrone develops autonomous drone systems for emergency services and medical applications, including the rapid delivery of defibrillators to incident sites.

Former Bombardier CEO Laurent Troger Joins Futurail

The German-French deep-tech company Futurail has appointed Laurent Troger, former CEO of Bombardier Transportation, as a board member and strategic advisor. Troger brings more than 30 years of experience in the rail industry and is expected to support Futurail particularly in corporate and product strategy, industry partnerships, and the development of strategic customer relationships. Founded in 2023, the company is developing a platform for autonomous rail transport that can be retrofitted into existing fleets as well as integrated into new vehicles. Futurail has teams in Munich and Strasbourg and has raised 7.5 million euros in funding to date. At InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin, the company plans to showcase its current technology, including a live demonstration.

More Exciting News

Sequestra Opens CO₂ Mineralization Lab in Vienna

According to the company, the Vienna-based climate-tech startup Sequestra has opened the world’s first specialized laboratory for analyzing CO₂ sequestration in mineral waste materials. Using its proprietary analysis platform, Luma, the company automatically assesses how much CO₂ can be permanently sequestered in materials such as slag, ash, and construction waste, and identifies potential economic applications resulting from this. The scientific work is led by the new Chief Scientific Officer, Matthias Ginterseder, who previously conducted research at ETH Zurich and MIT, among other institutions. At the same time, Sequestra is building its first pre-industrial plant for grinding and carbonation in Attnang-Puchheim. The first industrial plants are scheduled to be brought to market starting in late 2027. The company currently employs 18 people and announced seed funding of three million euros in early 2026.

goEducation transforms corporate knowledge into interactive AI training courses

The Essen-based deep-tech company go AVA is launching goEducation, an AI platform that converts corporate knowledge from documents into interactive, multilingual training courses featuring AI avatars. Participants can ask the AI instructor questions during the training and receive answers based on approved company information. The courses can be supplemented with quizzes and other learning elements and reviewed by the company before publication. According to goEducation, the platform was tested with around 30 partner companies from various industries prior to its market launch.

JUNE Integrates Case Management with ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot

The Munich-based legal tech company JUNE is opening up its case management platform via a new MCP server to AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Users can now access more than 50 functions directly from their respective AI assistants, including searching and summarizing files and documents, as well as creating notes, deadlines, or new content. Writing actions must be confirmed before execution and are subject to existing user permissions within JUNE. MCP access is available to existing customers at no additional cost. At the same time, JUNE is expanding its platform to include receivables management as well as integration with the electronic communication channels eBO and beBPo. According to the company, additional integrations with legal AI offerings such as Harvey, Legora, and Beck Noxtua are in the works.

Wedium Launches Safe Accounts for Teens

Wedium, a Berlin-based social media platform founded in 2026, is launching a pilot phase for so-called “Safe Accounts,” which are designed to enable age-appropriate use for teenagers. The concept was developed based on a survey of approximately 300 parents and teens, in collaboration with child protection expert Julia von Weiler. Protective measures include registration via verified parent profiles, age-appropriate content, limited contact options, an ad-free environment, and options for screen time limits and nighttime shutdowns. As users get older, individual restrictions are to be gradually reduced. Additional features, such as messaging between approved contacts and protected group chats, are currently in development. Wedium positions itself as a European alternative to established social media platforms and, according to its own statements, follows a “Safety by Design” approach.

JION Quantum Computer in Jülich Begins Operations

Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Siegen-based startup eleQtron have officially put the jointly developed JION quantum computer into operation. The system, based on ion trap technology, will be made available to researchers and industry through Jülich’s quantum computing infrastructure, JUNIQ, and will enable hybrid computations in conjunction with classical supercomputers. The underlying EPIQ project is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with approximately 21 million euros. At the same time, additional funding was announced for the expansion of the quantum computing hub: Up to 25 million euros will go toward eleQtrons’ scaling project, SQALING, and an additional 35 million euros are earmarked for the Q-STAR.NRW project to integrate a semiconductor quantum computer with up to 200 qubits.