Roko Karanusic
New unicorns, self-driving cars and AI semiconductors.
Hey - welcome to the forty-first edition of VC Angle Weekly Updates!
As always, we're keeping tabs on what actually matters across 🇪🇺 European tech, as well as relevant global tech news. If something broke the news this week and it's worth your time, it's probably below. Scroll on for the deals, reads, and reports you'll want on your radar.
In This Edition:
- Wayve raises a huge Series D round
- European quantum computing startup going public
- Europe gets its own AI semiconductor player
- OpenAI raises the biggest ever private company round
- 20VC: TSIC ranked Europe’s best micro-fund
- European mobility sector funding drops 27% YoY
⏱️ 2:57 Est. Reading Time
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💥 Main Events Past Week
Wayve raises $1.5B Series D at $8.6B valuation
The London-based autonomous driving company closed a $1.2B round led by Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with Microsoft, NVIDIA, Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis also participating. Uber committed additional milestone-based capital tied to robotaxi deployments across 10+ markets, starting in London in 2026. Consumer vehicles with Wayve’s AI Driver follow from 2027. The company claims to be the first AV developer to drive zero-shot in over 500 cities across Europe, North America, and Japan without city-specific tuning.
Axelera AI raises $250M+ to scale edge AI inference
The Eindhoven-based AI semiconductor company closed a round led by Innovation Industries, with BlackRock and SiteGround Capital joining as new investors alongside existing backers including Samsung Catalyst Fund, EIC Fund, CDP Venture Capital, and Bitfury. Total capital raised since founding in 2021 now exceeds $450M. Axelera has shipped to 500+ customers across defense, manufacturing, retail, and robotics, with its Metis and Europa platforms built around energy-efficient inference at the edge rather than in centralized data centers.
IQM plans to go public via SPAC at $1.8B valuation
The Finnish quantum computing company, spun out of Aalto University and VTT in 2018, announced a SPAC merger with Nasdaq-listed Real Asset Acquisition Corp., with plans to also list on a Nordic exchange. IQM reported $35M in 2025 revenue and $100M+ in bookings, and will hold $450M+ in cash post-close. The company has raised $569M to date, including a $320M Series B last September. It joins Infleqtion and Xanadu in a wave of quantum companies choosing the SPAC route to U.S. markets.
📰 Other News
- Allica Bank becomes Europe’s newest unicorn with $155m Series D [See here]
- Monzo former CEO TS Anil appointed board vice-chair [See here]
- EU Commission to delay high risk AI guidance [See here]
- OpenAI announces $110bn round, the largest one ever for a private tech company [See here]
- French research actors call on Europe to unite around competitiveness [See here]
- Deutsche Telekom Launches €200M Deep Tech Fund to Back Europe’s Next Wave of Innovation [See here]
- 37% of Berlin’s VC-backed startups reach Series A [See here]
- Checkout.com’s EBITDA says 2025 full-year is profitable [See here]