The hottest seed rounds in February 2023

273 startups drummed up seed funding in Europe last month, grossing €423 million – down slightly from January’s €462 million over 286 rounds, but higher than the lows of late 2022.

Fintech retained the top spot, securing €75 million and ahead of health tech in second place, which raised €43 million. It was also responsible for the biggest round of the month, with UK carbon credit transaction platform Carbonplace raising $45 million. A surprise entrant in third place was semiconductor startups – seven companies raised €23m between them, with Swiss-based Unisers raising the second-biggest round of the month after securing €13m.

As usual, the UK led the way for the countries with the most funding, receiving €147m over 76 rounds, down slightly from January’s €172m. Second place France also raised less than the previous month, with €52m compared to €92m in January. Germany, knocked out of bronze in January by Switzerland, reclaimed third place in February with €50 million.

Here are some of the most interesting seed rounds that caught our eye last month, covering everything from a neobank that invests in impact projects to AI that will prioritize your job inbox.

Climate fintech

Formed through a partnership between nine global banks – including Natwest, National Australia Bank and BNP Paribas – based in the UK Carbonplace is a network too safe global carbon credit transactions. Its blockchain-enabled distribution technology will provide customers with proof of ownership and simplify the process of purchasing, managing and trading credits with the goal of expanding availability. It raised a round of $45 million, financed by the banks involved in its founding.

French payment provider Green-Got collaborates with impact and environmental projects to offer an alternative to traditional banks, which often finance fossil fuel companies. In addition to managing transactions and balances, the neobank’s app allows users to track their carbon footprint through the CO2 saved by the projects their money finances. The startup raised €1.9 million through the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

UK-based Kita offers insurance for carbon removal solutions. The first product covers the underperformance of carbon credits – if a company buys a carbon credit but does not deliver all the carbon it has paid for, Kita’s insurance will pay for the loss. The aim is to reduce uncertainty that prevents companies from financing options for carbon removal, and that secured £4 million in a seed round led by Octopus Ventures.

SaaS

Switzerland-based EthonAI raised $6.8 million in a round led by Earlybird Venture Capital and La Famiglia, which it will use to expand its team. The startup offers a platform for manufacturers to manage quality control, and report potential production issues early to avoid product failures.

Britain’s Devyce is developing a mobile network dedicated to business, allowing professionals to have an additional work number that can be stored on a personal phone and “switched off” after work, eliminating the need for a second phone for business calls. Y Combinator led its 2.7 million dollars around and was joined by Garage Capital and FoundersX Ventures, along with the founders of Sendbird and UpKeep.

AI powered Spoke.ai aims to streamline work-related apps by prioritizing the most important notifications in one inbox and summarizing key information across tools and platforms, like providing a quick summary of a long Slack thread. The Germany-based startup raised a 2 million euros around led by byFounders, with Possible Ventures also involved. The round also involved a grant from the Berlin bank IBB.

Poland-based electronics rental marketplace Plenti collected 5 million euros from Polish investors 4growth VC and Montis Capital, plus Poland’s state-owned investment company NCBR Investment Fund ASI. Customers can use the platform to rent everything from smartphones and VR headsets to coffee machines and pizza ovens for up to 12 months, providing a short-term and cheaper alternative to traditional leases or ownership.

Healthtech and techbio

VitaDAO, a Swiss startup that raised a round of $4.1 million from Pfizer Ventures, funds longevity research using funds from paying members, who can vote on research proposals using a cryptocurrency token called $VITA. There are a limited number of tokens on offer – and new tokens will only be added if someone lives longer than Jeanne Calment, who set the record for longest life at 122 years and 164 days.

The Danish start-up Reshape Biotech raised Denmark’s largest seed round ever, and secured it 8.1 million dollars from ACME Capital, with participation from FundersClub, Y Combinator (from which it graduated in 2021) and a couple of angel investors. The company helps biotech and food companies create digital versions of microbial research and development, allowing teams to collaborate on tests remotely. It also builds automation robots to streamline laboratory research and development processes.

Germany’s Vision Health, which provides digital support for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases and conditions such as asthma, has drummed up 3 million euros from DB Specialty Invest. The startup is developing a personal therapy coach to support patients using inhalers and inhalation therapies to increase the effectiveness of treatments.

Nui Care offers an app to help relatives organize and manage care for their loved ones, and find support resources. The platform, which raised €1m from motoring association ADAC, covers everything from finding care insurance benefits to organizing appointments and medication plans, and also has an AI assistant and expert chat team to offer care tips and advice when needed.

Follow the seed scene from the last few months:

Sadia Nowshin is an editorial assistant at Sifted. She tweets from @sadianowshin_