From Hype to High-Impact: The New AI Stack
With more than 30 investments into early-stage AI startups since 2015, we've been bullish on backing the most promising frontier technologies for a decade.
In that time, we've seen a lot. That's why Markus Lang, Frederik Hagenauer, and Florian Obst put pen to paper and published our deepest dive yet into all things AI — detailing our learnings, showcasing our belief in the future of the stack, and sharing where we see the most opportunity in this foundational technology.
One of those opportunities? Emmi AI, which uses AI to empower industrial engineering. We just co-led their seed round – Austria's largest-ever!
What else is happening...
→ Have You Heard? ShopUp merges with Sary to form SILQ Group and raises $110 million from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures.
→ Our Perspective: Our investors respond to the impact of US trade tariffs on startups and technology.
→ Speedinvest News: Our new Marketplaces & Consumer partner, Sameer Singh, shares why the team is committed to backing weird ideas.
Additional portfolio updates, deep-dive content, job openings, and more below ⬇️
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Have You Heard?
Our portfolio's latest announcements
SILQ Group (a merger of our portfolio company ShopUp and Saudi Arabia's Sary) has raised $110 million from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures and Saudi Arabia's Sanabil Investments.
The joint company will use the funding to scale operations, expand reach, and further enhance its offerings to merchants across the MENAP region.
Welcome to the Family
Pliant is building the future of B2B payments, and we're thrilled to announce we’re joining their journey!
Malte Rau, Fabian Terner, and the Pliant team's impressive performance — serving over 3,500 businesses across 30+ countries and issuing cards in 10+ currencies — made co-leading their Series B an easy call.
Read more from Tech.eu and learn why we invested in a blog post from our Growth investment team's Tom Filip Lesche and Varun Rekhi.
- Emmi AI is transforming engineering with its AI-powered simulation technology. The Vienna-based company just raised Austria's largest ever seed round as the startup looks to solve design bottlenecks experienced by the aerospace, automotive, and energy industries. Trend Magazine has more.
- French fashiontech BLNG is an AI-powered jewelry design platform that gives individuals the tools to bring their creativity to life. The company is set to expand its team across Europe and the US, tools to accelerate its commercialisation phase, and provide generative AI to the jewelry industry. Read more on Tech.eu.
Portfolio Headlines & Highlights
News and updates from across our portfolio
- Wayflyer hits $5bn lending milestone as it marks fifth anniversary.
- Kets has built a silicon chip system that prevents telecommunications hacking from quantum computers.
- Primer partners with Cleeng to streamline subscription payments for D2C.
- Orakl Oncology has joined the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC).
- Bitmovin partners with Simplestream to power Sony One’s LatAm expansion
- Greyparrot appeared on B Smart to discuss how Waste Intelligence is improving recycling rates in France.
- Bitpanda signs marketing partnerships with the ATP Tour and FC Basel
Our Perspective
Sector-focused expertise and insights on the VC ecosystem at large
Unsurprisingly, US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" of trade tariffs dominated April, sending financial markets into turmoil. Our Partners were quick to respond, offering insight on the situation as it unfolded across the ecosystem.
- Our GP, Markus Lang, shared his views on US tariffs, reflecting on the likely impact on tech and startups, in a blog article detailing what the trade war could mean for European founders. Markus's comments were also published in Brutkasten.
- Similarly, General Partner Andreas Schwarzenbrunner was featured in Business Insider, Gründerzene, and Trending Topics, discussing the likely impact of heightened uncertainty on supply chains.
- Andreas also appeared in Handelsblatt discussing M&A, DPI, and secondaries.
- Our new Marketplaces and Consumer Partner Sameer Singh published the team's thoughts on why smart VCs back weird ideas.
Who's Hiring?
There are more than 1,000 vacancies across our portfolio. Browse open jobs below and on our website.
- Flowdesk: QA Automation Engineer EMEA – Paris
- Billie: Senior Underwriter – Berlin
- Bitpanda: Senior Fullstack Engineer, React (Web3) – Barcelona
- Opal: Creative Producer – Paris
- Curve: Group Finance Assistant – London
Sign up for our exclusive talent pool!
With nearly 300 portfolio companies, Speedinvest has become one of the largest networks in the European startup scene. Join our exclusive talent pool to find your next career move, receive top news, and connect with founders directly.
Join the Speedinvest Team
Our team is always on the lookout for top-tier talent. Check out our featured roles below.
- Associate, SaaS & Infra: Munich, Paris, or Berlin.
- Governance, Risk & Compliance Lead: Vienna
- Visiting Associate, Fintech: London or Berlin
- FP&A Analyst: Vienna
- Software Engineering / Data Working Student: Berlin, Munich or London
- Analyst, Marketplaces & Consumer: Munich, Berlin or Paris
See you next month!