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The Deliberate Decisions Behind Pliant's $100M ARR

Most $100 million ARR stories are about moving fast. Pliant's isn't. In this edition of Scaling at Speed, Malte Rau, Co-Founder and CEO of Pliant, shares how a series of deliberate decisions helped systematically build one of Europe's leading B2B payments businesses. From

Why Global AI Leaders Are Turning to Europe

For years, the conversation around AI has focused on large language models. Increasingly, global AI winners are looking for something else: the infrastructure, expertise, and domain knowledge needed to bring AI into real-world use. This month, OpenAI announced its acquisition of our portfolio company Ona, which we first backed

Europe's AI Moment

Europe's AI ecosystem is maturing fast, and this month, that's never been clearer. Mistral's acquisition of our portfolio company Emmi AI is a landmark moment: a European AI champion acquiring a European deep tech startup to build out the continent's most ambitious

From Linz to Mistral: The story behind Europe's first industrial AI lab

In just over two years, a small startup in Linz, Austria, built one of the world's leading Engineering AI labs. Last week, Mistral acquired them in one of Europe's most important AI acquisitions to date. Before the news broke, our GP, Andreas Schwarzenbrunner, sat down with

Europe's Open Source Future

The next generation of breakout companies is being built differently. Not in isolation, but in the open, where code, communities, and ideas evolve faster and spread further. This month, our Wissam Nasreddine explores how founders are using openness as a strategy from day one: accelerating product development, building trust with

More Capital. More Markets. More Scale.

The best companies think globally from day one, and they need the capital, networks, and partners that match that ambition. This month, we took two important steps to make that possible. We signed a €40m commitment from EIB Global to deepen our investment in African founders and strengthen Europe–Africa

Funding Europe’s Future

Europe has no shortage of talent, savings, or ambition. But when it comes to turning breakthrough innovation into global scale, the capital still falls short. Without long-term capital backing long-term innovation, Europe can’t truly scale. When companies reach the breakout stage, the decisive growth round too often

How Moove Built a Global Mobility Powerhouse

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed, your destination for Speedinvest's most engaging company-building stories. In this edition, I spoke to Tingting Peng, Chief Transformation Officer at Moove, our mobility Fintech company. Moove is on a mission to democratise vehicle financing globally, working with leading players like Uber

Where Europe Can Take the Lead in 2026

The beginning of a new year brings new challenges, but more importantly, new opportunities. In Europe, big questions about our tech future are ever‑present. At Speedinvest, we stay focused on backing the innovators who will turn those questions into future-defining companies. Across key technology sectors, Europe has a

Unwrapped: 25 Wins From 2025

It’s been another incredible year for Speedinvest and our portfolio, and we couldn't end the year without sharing some of the most notable highlights. As a fund, we were ranked among the top 1% of venture capital investors globally and in EMEA by Dealroom this year, announced

Unified Regulation Can Unlock European Innovation

Regulation is meant to protect, but Europe's fragmented and complicated regulatory system routinely slows founders down at the exact moment they need speed. With AI, Defense, Fintech, and more, all advancing at a breakneck pace, Europe can't afford to fall behind on innovation. In our latest

Long Haul: Dronamics' Journey of Scaling a Cargo Drone Airline

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed, your destination for Speedinvest's most engaging founder journeys. Getting a business off the ground is famously hard work, even more so if your startup is actually trying to take off from a runway. This month, I spoke to Svilen Rangelov, cofounder and

Funding the Next Generation of European Industrial Giants

Supporting ambitious founders doesn’t stop at Seed. Tide, Bitpanda, ARX Robotics, Gigs, Pliant, Moove, and many more – these are just some of the companies across EMEA we’ve backed with growth capital since 2019. Sometimes doubling down on our early partnerships; other times backing breakout companies for the first

How Finary Turned YouTube Into a Scaling Engine

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed, where we spotlight founders forging momentum on their own terms. For Mounir Laggoune, Co-Founder & CEO of Finary, that meant tackling his own personal frustration with managing his finances, and turning it into an online community movement that’s reshaping wealth management in

Europe’s Talent Crossroads: Rewrite the Rules or Fall Behind

Europe is on the edge of a once-in-a-generation shift. Global tech and research talent are looking for new homes, but momentum alone won’t move Europe from “interesting alternative” to genuine global leader. In our latest "Build in Europe" article, we spoke with Matthias Knecht

From 30 Employees to 1.5 Million Members: Tide’s Scaling Story

Scaling at Speed is back from summer break with a must-read expansion playbook. London’s SME banking giant Tide has been on a growth tear in recent years, now serving more than 1.5 million members globally as it cements its role as a single platform for small business

The Future of Deep Tech is Convergence, not Silos

Deep Tech has never been more important, and Europe has the talent to lead, especially at the convergence of science, strategy, and sovereignty. That's the view of Will Wells, Speedinvest's newest Partner, who believes that breaking out of silos is crucial to the success of frontier

Scaling Lessons from Seed to Expansion to Exit

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed. Anybody there? It's okay, we know many of you in the tech industry will be checking emails from the beach this August. Not me, though. I'm still here and excited to bring you some engaging and insightful summer literature. This

Building Bridges Between Europe, Asia, and the US

In a world of shifting global alliances and unpredictable geopolitics, forging strong cross-border connections has never been more vital. At Speedinvest, we believe that building the next generation of cutting-edge companies requires more than just capital; it takes a global network moving as one. That’s why we’

Spend, Scale, Sell: Yokoy’s Path to TravelPerk Acquisition

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed. Summer’s officially here — and if last month’s conversation with TourRadar’s Travis Pittman had you dreaming of multi-day getaways, this month we’re staying on theme (sort of). This time, it’s not about planning the perfect holiday — it’s about

Europe's Deep Tech Future Takes Flight

Europe is making a decisive push for strategic autonomy, investing heavily in deep tech to build its independent capabilities. At Speedinvest, we're proud to be actively fueling this future, backing visionary founders who are transforming vital sectors. Two prime examples? Our investment in ORUS and the latest EIC

Pivots, pandemic, and platform-building: TourRadar's wild ride

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed. With summer fast approaching, chances are you’ve already started daydreaming about your next getaway. So we figured, why not talk to someone who builds those dreams for a living? This month, we caught up with Travis Pittman, co-founder and CEO of TourRadar,

It's Time to Build in Europe

Build in Europe is more than just a new content series – it's a call to action. Our goal? To have the difficult, but necessary, conversations that address Europe-wide fragmentation and pave the way for the continent's long-term success. We've just launched our

Scaling Smart: How Opal Built a $10M ARR Business With Just 11 People

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed. With all the public holidays and warm Spring weather, it's easy to lose focus, unless, of course, you're using Opal. This month, we spoke to Kenneth Schlenker, Opal's founder, on his mission to solve our collective productivity crisis.

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

The Art of Early-Stage Hiring with Eileen Burbidge, CEO at Fertifa

Welcome back to Scaling at Speed. The days are getting longer, but the months certainly aren't, so it's time again for your dose of startup wisdom. This month, we spoke to Eileen Burbidge, the CEO of reproductive health startup Fertifa (a Speedinvest portfolio company) and a

Only 1 in 10 Euros?

International Women's Day on March 8 was a moment to both celebrate and reflect. We proudly acknowledge the achievements of the incredible women in our portfolio and at Speedinvest, including General Partner Marie-Helene Ametsreiter and Partner Deepali Nangia, who were deservedly named among Europe's leading

From Academia to Industry: Building cylib's Greener Future with Dr. Lilian Schwich

Welcome to Scaling at Speed, a monthly newsletter from Speedinvest designed to help early-stage founders strategically scale their companies – at speed. As one of Europe’s leading pan-European early-stage venture capital funds, we know that scaling a business from Seed to Series A and beyond comes with

Are VCs terrible predictors of the future?

"VCs are terrible predictors of the future. It's really about founders and their ability to build the next big thing." Wise words, indeed. And, in fact, words from Speedinvest's very own partner Jeroen Arts during a recent chat on the Two-Sided podcast focused

CoachHub CEO on Failing Fast and Learning Faster

Welcome to Scaling at Speed, a new monthly newsletter from Speedinvest designed to help early-stage founders strategically scale their companies – at speed. As one of Europe’s leading pan-European early-stage venture capital funds, we know that scaling a business from Seed to Series A and beyond comes

2025: Navigating the Future of Innovation

Europe's startup ecosystem displayed remarkable resilience in 2024, laying the groundwork for a strong showing this year. From shifting market dynamics, new technological innovations, and regulation, what's on the plate for 2025? We asked our sector-focused experts in Deep Tech, Fintech, Climate Tech and Industrial

Proven Enterprise GTM Strategies for AI Startups

As AI reshapes the enterprise tech stack, startups face a unique challenge: selling transformative technology to organizations still defining their AI strategy. To help you execute a winning AI Enterprise GTM strategy, Audrey Handem of our SaaS & Infra investment team compiled proven tactics from industry experts at Asana, Hugging

Navigating the AI Era: A Survival Guide for B2B SaaS Founders

"Embrace the chaos. High volatility creates opportunities but only relentless focus and obsession will let you seize them." Discover how to stay focused, leverage AI for competitive advantage, and seize the opportunities presented by the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Read Frederik Hagenauer's survival guide for B2B

New Report: How AI is Shaping the Future of Medicine

Healthcare is undergoing a data-driven revolution fueled by AI. That’s why Speedinvest partnered with Dealroom to delve deep into the burgeoning landscape of AI-powered healthcare solutions. Our exclusive new report offers a comprehensive analysis of key trends, emerging technologies, and the innovative startups shaping the future of

The Marketplace Conference is just days away!

Are you ready? The Marketplace Conference kicks off next week in Berlin! Hundreds of fellow marketplace founders, investors, and leaders will join us for an action-packed day. So let's dive into the last-minute details below ⬇️ Buy Your Tickets Now In this edition: * 🚀 Three Stages: Packed with

When should you start planning IPO comms? Day 1!

Think of your company’s IPO journey as a marathon. To cross the finish line successfully, you need to start training early. Consistent, strategic communication is the foundation to crafting a strong corporate narrative that will ensure a successful market debut. Katharina Berlet, a seasoned comms expert with extensive experience

The Marketplace Conference: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

🌞 Summer is winding down — but the excitement is just beginning 🌞 We’re just 4 weeks away from the biggest Marketplace Conference of the year in Berlin! Have you secured your spot yet? Buy Your Tickets Now In this edition: * ⏰ Ticket Prices Increasing Soon: There's only one week left

Snap up tickets for the 2024 Marketplace Conference in Berlin this September!

Hot off the press, this is the 76th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * The 2024 Marketplace Conference: snapshot of speaker lineup! * Read Clay Christensen’s take on fundamental product innovation  * Explore the mid-year Coefficient Capital consumer report  If

Powering a Sustainable Future: Why Better Batteries Matter

Developing sustainable batteries is essential with the proliferation of consumer electronics and the growing importance of electric vehicles. This is where Breathe Battery Technologies comes in. Watch a full tour of their London-based lab in the video above and head to our blog for more on how their battery

The Marketplace Conference: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

The countdown is on... 🎉 Only 60+ days until The Marketplace Conference in Berlin 🎉 Secure your tickets now before prices increase to our Lazy Lion rates. Apply for tickets now In this edition: * All About AI: Get a preview of our deep dive into AI-powered marketplaces * Startup Award: Apply by

Join us on our Journey to the 2024 Marketplace Conference in Berlin, September 2024!

Hot off the press, this is the 56th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 If you’ve missed past newsletters or simply can’t get enough, catch up on recent editions here. The Marketplace Conference: Tuesday, September 24, 2024 We are thrilled to

Deepfakes are a threat. Can tech come to the rescue?

Deepfake technology and accuracy are developing rapidly. That's why our SaaS & Infra team has dedicated substantial time to exploring technology's role in fighting the fakes. To better understand the status quo and future of deepfake detection, we spoke with Parya Lotfi and Mark Evenblij from

The Marketplace Conference: Tuesday, September 24 2024

Our Early Bird Tickets sold out in a flash! Don’t miss your chance to join us—apply for our limited Regular Rabbit tickets now to secure your spot at the marketplace event of the season! Apply for tickets now In this edition: * Speaker Lineup: Meet our first 15 amazing

Last Early Bird Tickets Available for the 2024 Marketplace Conference in Berlin, September 2024!

Hot off the press, this is the 55th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Marc and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * The 2024 Marketplace Conference: grab your final early bird tickets now! * Deep dive on the successful raises from marketplace companies

Build an AI-Enabled Marketplace. Here's how...

AI-enabled marketplaces present a world of new opportunities for buyers to connect with sellers. Sameer Singh, Venture Partner with our Marketplaces & Consumer investment team, breaks down the three key steps that founders building in the space need to know with insights from Pete Flint of NFX and Ronan

Join us on our Journey to the 2024 Marketplace Conference in Berlin, September 2024!

Hot off the press, this is the 54th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Kate, Marc, and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * The 2024 Marketplace Conference: snapshot of content agenda! * Assessment of how leading European C2C second-hand fashion marketplace, Vinted,

Drug Discovery x TechBio: An Exclusive Report

TechBio startups are making drug development faster, cheaper, and more effective. But who are the most active TechBio investors? Which sectors attract the most funding? Where are the TechBio hubs? According to our exclusive new report in partnership with Dealroom, European TechBio companies raised $1.2 billion in VC funding

The Road to the 2024 Marketplace Conference! Earlybird Spring ticket release!

Hot off the press, this is the 53rd edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Announcement of The 2024 Marketplace Conference: date and content theme announced! With an exciting snapshot of our first speakers. * The

Scaling a climate hardware startup? Here's THE playbook...

Hardware solutions to decarbonize our economies have never been more important, but getting your product off the ground — especially in the later stages — can be a challenge. Alongside our partners Norrsken VC and Planet A Ventures, we spent months gathering insights from dozens of experts, 250+ founders and investors, and

New York and Berlin: It’s a Wrap!

Hot off the presses, this is the 52nd edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * A recap of our recent Marketplace Meetups in New York and Berlin * Finding the product in your platform * The truth

Facing a communications crisis? Here's what to do...

Facing a crisis is daunting and something we’d all prefer to avoid. But in the world of business, that’s not a realistic option. Luckily, there are many things your startup can do now… before the 💩 hits the fan. We chatted with Kekst CNC's crisis comms expert,

It’s Marketplace Meetup Month: Join us in New York and Berlin!

Hot off the presses, this is the 51st edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Sign ups are open for our New York and Berlin Marketplace Meetups * Our marketplace predictions for 2024 * From building to

What should founders be prepared for in 2024?

The meteoric rise of AI, quantum leaps in quantum, the overall lack of follow-on funding in nearly every sector – 2023 was filled with exciting new tech advancements and ongoing economic challenges. What’s in store for 2024? We asked partners from all six of our sector-focused investment teams

Road to New York and Berlin: Our 2024 Lineup

Happy New Year to all fellow Marketplace enthusiasts and network effects aficionados! Not only do we have to celebrate a new year but also the 50th edition of your beloved The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene and Mathias on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition:

Goodbye 2023 + a round of celebrations for our portfolio founders

Hot off the presses, this is the 49th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Our #MPC2023 video recap * Marketplace building insights from the founders of Indeed and Airbnb * The latest on AI (and

Turn economic uncertainty into an advantage. Here's how...

Change is the only constant. But founders can adapt and turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage. Jeroen Arts of our Marketplaces and Consumer team opened this year's annual Marketplace Conference in Berlin with a keynote featuring case studies on marketplace startups that have adapted to change, survived, and

The Rise of the AI-First Marketplace

Hot off the presses, this is the 48th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Review of the 2023 MPC & our plans for 2024 * The essentials on winning in Generative AI * Assessing Product

Want to build a strong brand for your startup? Do this first!

There's no denying the power of a strong brand. But spending a lot of time and money on long-term brand strategy before your startup even finds product-market fit isn't necessary or wise. Having a professional brand identity at the beginning is enough. What does

The return of IPOs to marketplace land

Hot off the presses, this is the 47th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * A recap from our 2023 Marketplace Conference * Can technology help us belong? * New & Improved: The ultimate scorecard to

Is your business idea viable? Find out!

You have an idea for a network effects-driven business. Is it any good? Can you improve your business model to attract investors? Find out in five minutes. Our Marketplaces & Consumer investment team has created an exclusive scorecard to help you determine the strengths and weaknesses in your marketplace

It’s Time for the Marketplace Conference

Hot off the presses, this is the 46th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Our final countdown to the Marketplace Conference * A masterclass on brand building * Assigning KPI ownership * The Gen Z consumer

We're hosting 500+ marketplace pros in Berlin - join us!

Journalists from The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Handelsblatt will be attending the 2023 Marketplace Conference in Berlin on September 21. Will you be joining them? Secure your spot HERE to network with world-class investors, founders, and marketplace leaders, including Daniel Krauss, Co-Founder of Flix, Frederick Fahning, Founder

Have You Signed Up For MPC 2023? It’s Not Too Late!

Hot off the presses, this is the 45th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * The Marketplace Conference Countdown * Shopify’s AAA Framework * The right time to build a Moat * The evolution of Product

We've invested in how many companies so far in 2023?

The first half of 2023 is over 🤯 and it was a very eventful six months. Not only did many of our existing portfolio companies raise impressive follow-on rounds despite the economy (Dronamics, Fernride, Prewave), but we also partnered with 23 amazing new early-stage startups! Meet the newest cohort

Shifting Gears: Get Ready for the Marketplace Conference of the Year!

Hot off the presses, this is the 43rd edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Our first 10 MPC speakers and a special discount code for our beloved snippet subscribers * AI, AI, AI everywhere

What's the power of a network?

When hundreds of founders, LPs, and ecosystem friends come together, powerful connections are made! At our annual portfolio day in London this month, our LPs and friends from across the European tech scene joined us to help make the theme of the event – The Power of Network – a reality. It

We Surveyed 437 VCs: Here Are The Results...

According to our exclusive new report Inside The Minds of European VCs, 49% of investors say that a startup's management team is the most important factor when deciding whether or not to invest, and 42% of VCs have made a gut decision after their first meeting with a

Paris Meetup: It’s a Wrap!

Hot off the presses, this is the 43rd edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Our first Paris Meetup * What defines a Marketplace * Way to Internationalization * Our Emerging Markets investment thesis More on these

Coming Soon: Our Paris Marketplace Meetup!

Hot off the presses, this is the 42nd edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 It's a busy time for Marketplaces and we have plenty of exciting news to share! In this edition: * Final details

10 Commandments for Building a B2B Marketplace

As early-stage investors, we know first-hand that some of the most promising startup ideas are developed and nurtured in universities across Europe. A few of our many spin-out investments include Porotech (University of Cambridge), planqc (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich), and Qphox (Delft University of Technology). That'

3,2,1 - The Marketplace Conference countdown starts

Hot of the presses, this is the 41st edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Earlybird tickets for our Marketplace Conference out now * The hottest marketplaces according to a16z * The product-led marketing playbook

Startups easing the growing burden on physicians ⚕️

Before we dive into news, insights, and updates from Speedinvest and our portfolio companies, in honor of International Women's Day celebrated earlier this month, we wanted to again thank the amazing female founders, partners, and investors who collectively make us a stronger organization. And we're not

Marketplace Meetups, Internationalization 101, and more

Hot off the presses, this is the 40th edition of The Marketplace Snippet curated by Irene, Mathias, and Jeroen on behalf of the Speedinvest Marketplaces & Consumer team 🔥 In this edition: * Wrapping up our very first Marketplace Meetup in London * Internationalization 1o1 with our 3-question framework * The link between

🤖 Embracing 2023 at Speedinvest Fintech (Issue #7)

Get the very latest news from across our portfolio, exclusive insights from our investors, and much more.

$1M ARR = Series A? Maybe not...

Our portfolio companies continue to rank up well-deserved recognitions, with 7 making the 100 B2B Software 100 list, 7 more named Top 100 Fastest Growing Startups in Germany, and 5 others featured in the latest State of the French Tech Ecosystem Report, just to name a few. What else

The New Snippet: Expanding the MPC

New Year, New Snippet: Welcome to the new and improved edition of The Marketplace Snippet! 😉 We have a new home for our newsletter, including a new look and feel. While we continue to cover your favorite marketplace content and news, we’re merging the Snippet with the community of our

Welcome to the Speedinvest Community!

As a member, you’ll receive monthly updates featuring our growing portfolio’s latest news, expert advice for taking your startup to the next level from our team of operational pros, and thought leadership and industry insights from our 40+ sector-focused investors across Europe.