The Wallenbergs rescued Europe's biggest green steel project, Eka Ventures became the UK's largest early-stage impact VC, and someone built a fake Lululemon. Here is everything that happened this week.<br>
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New funds
Camilla Dolan, founding partner, Eka Ventures. Credit: Eka Ventures
Eka Ventures closes $107m Fund II
The UK's new largest early-stage impact VC just closed, backed by foundations, the British Business Bank, and Better Society Capital. Read more →
Triodos and Fondaction launch €300m natural capital fund
Two impact managers are buying farmland and forests across Europe and North America, and carbon credits are not the pitch. Read more →
Newfund closes €60m brain tech fund
Paris-based Newfund has closed Europe's first fund dedicated exclusively to brain technologies, with Article 9 classification.
Funding rounds
Wallenberg family leads €1.4bn rescue of Stegra
A Wallenberg-led consortium has agreed in principle to fund completion of Stegra's green steel plant in Boden, Europe's most closely watched green infrastructure project. Read more →
Niulinx lands €38m pre-seed
Politecnico di Milano spin-out Niulinx has closed the largest Italian investment in autonomous driving to date, co-led by A2A and CDP Venture Capital. Read more →
STORM Therapeutics raises $56m Series C
Cambridge biotech STORM, which targets RNA modifications to treat cancer, closed its Series C backed by M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, and IP Group.
CamGraPhIC secures €211m EU grant for graphene AI chips
A Cambridge spin-out says its graphene optical transceivers use 80% less energy than silicon, and just received one of the largest public investments ever made in an Italian deep-tech startup.
Clean Food Group raises $6.1m to scale yeast-derived fats
The UK biotech, which makes sustainable fats from yeast, closed a funding round alongside a $950,000 UK government grant.
LightSeeds wins CHF 150,000 to turn walls into solar panels
Swiss cleantech startup LightSeeds has secured a Venture Kick grant to commercialise its vertical solar system for roads, railways, and buildings.
Deals
Taaleri acquires Nordic Science Investments
A Helsinki-listed renewable energy firm just made its first VC move, buying a majority stake in a Nordic deep tech investor. Read more →
Other news
European VCs sign open letter urging EU to unlock geothermal amid Iran war
More than 70 investors and NGOs have urged the European Commission to treat geothermal as a strategic priority, as the Iran conflict exposes Europe's fossil fuel dependence. Read more →
How Karma rebuilt itself with AI clones
The Swedish food waste app went from 100 staff to 18 after Covid, and has now rebuilt its entire platform around AI agents that hold their own internal meetings. Read more →
Activists built a fake Lululemon to shame it on emissions
Creative climate studio Serious People opened a parody activewear store in London, 50 yards from the real thing. Read more →
Lightrock and Norrsken on de-risking impact investing in Africa
Africa attracted just 0.6% of global VC in 2024 – Impact Loop spoke to Lightrock and Norrsken22 about how they approach the continent. Read more →
BattSwap posts 4x revenue growth and launches European fleet rollout
The Czech battery-swapping startup has signed a strategic automotive partner and is now scaling commercially across Europe.
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