Speedinvest

A 70-year-old meteorological assumption debunked and new predictive features for T-cell reactivity uncovered. All in just a few hours. For decades, the scientific community wondered whether machine learning could move beyond prediction to discovery, helping scientists to expedite research. Now, Jessica Rumbelow, Co-Founder and CEO of Leap Labs, and her team are publishing the proof. Discovery Engine, Leap’s general-purpose AI-based system, spots and explains data patterns 100× faster than expert teams. To test its range, Leap recently reran five peer-reviewed AI-for-science studies, from hepatitis diagnostics to ozone forecasting, and the technology matched or beat every result, surfacing fresh insights and discoveries the original authors missed. “It would take us one postdoc year to analyze this data, and [Discovery Engine] found something that we may never have found, that could be worth billions,” Patrick Hawbecker, a Project Scientist with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, said of the results. With partners including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Meta, and UCL, Discovery Engine is now being unleashed on genomics, materials, and virology to drive the future of scientific discovery. Read more about the multiple scientific discoveries made possible by Leap on their blog linked in the comments.

Our July newsletter is here! Featuring insights from our team (Oliver, Andreas, Deepali, Marie-Helene), along with updates from Fertifa, wefox, ARX Robotics, Due, and more! Click the link in the comments to read & subscribe ⬇️

Europe’s industrial base is under pressure – but it’s also on the brink of a reset. Years of supply chain shocks, rising energy costs, and talent shortages have exposed just how fragile parts of Europe’s industrial backbone really are. But this moment also creates space to rethink things, from how we produce and power factories, to how we scale automation and bring industrial tech from lab to line. In our latest blog, Namratha Kothapalli and Alex Davis from our Climate Tech & Industrial Tech investment team spoke with founders, operators, and corporate leaders from companies like GOLDBECK, Tibo Energy Management Software, Prewave, and Field AI to understand what resilience really looks like on the ground and what’s still holding it back. If you’re working on industrial AI, robotics, energy systems, or advanced manufacturing, and want to understand the real-world barriers to scaling, this is the place to start. Link in the comments.

Germany’s innovation gap: R&D heavy, startup shy? Why do German corporations invest over €90 billion in R&D each year, yet continue to overlook startups as partners for innovation? Together with our friends at Bits & Pretzels, we set out to explore this question. The resulting report combines data, strategic analysis, and first-hand insights from innovation leaders at Bosch, STIHL, DHL, and others – alongside perspectives from Verena Pausder (Chair of the German Startup Association), Thomas Jarzombek (Parliamentary State Secretary for Digital Affairs and State Modernization), and Dr. Christian Rammer (Innovation Economist at ZEW). We’ve summarized the key findings and strategic recommendations in a dedicated blog article, which also includes access to the full report. Link in the comments. As an official partner of the Bits & Pretzels CIO Summit, we look forward to presenting the report and discussing its implications with corporate leaders in Munich from September 29 to October 1. We hope you’ll join the conversation!

Due extends its Seed round to $7.3M to build the universal API for real-time cross-border payments using stablecoins. Founded by Revolut alumni and based in London, Due enables real-time FX and settlement across more than 80 markets through a single integration. Its API connects local payment rails, FX markets, and blockchains, eliminating the delays, costs, and complexity of traditional cross-border payments. With over 500 customers already onboard and growing demand across fintech, trade, and remittances, Due is expanding into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region while launching new stablecoin-powered features. Olga Shikhantsova from our Fintech team says: “Cross-border payments remain one of the most stubbornly broken pieces of global finance – and stablecoins are here to fix it. Due is solving this not with another app, but with infrastructure: a single, compliant API that simplifies transactions across both fiat and stablecoin rails. We backed the team early on and are excited to now lead this round as they scale the platform into a true global standard.” We’re proud to double down in this round, after backing Robert, Alex, and the team from the start – alongside Semantic, Fabric Ventures, Strobe Ventures, Polymorphic Capital, and others. Read more in the comments.

Backing ARX Robotics: autonomous defense, made in Europe. Europe is entering a new era of strategic urgency, one where defense is defined not just by hardware, but by autonomy, software, and sovereign infrastructure. ARX Robotics is building modular unmanned ground vehicles that combine battle-ready hardware with a proprietary AI operating system, enabling autonomous, multi-mission land operations. ARX is more than a robotics company, it’s laying the foundation for Europe’s autonomous battle networks and redefining how defense infrastructure is built. Our GP, Andreas, explains on our blog why ARX’s deep tech mindset and sovereign innovation of critical sectors made backing Marc, Stefan, and Maximilian – in our first direct investment in a defense-first startup – an opportunity we couldn't pass up. Read more on our blog linked in the comments below.

From cold calls to raising $80M from Sequoia Capital and being acquired by TravelPerk: How did Yokoy do it? Co-Founder & CEO Philippe Sahli reveals the unique approach that transformed the company from a scrappy startup to an AI‑driven spend management platform that enterprises (and TravelPerk!) couldn’t live without. Philippe unpacks how Yokoy: – Ignored the noise and owned the mid-market. – Transformed tough ERP integrations into their strongest moat. – Evolved from expenses to full spend management. He also shares unfiltered insights on product building, partnerships, and when to go it alone vs. joining forces. Read the full story in our latest Scaling at Speed newsletter linked in the comments section.

Fertifa, our portfolio company and Europe’s most comprehensive reproductive healthcare provider, has acquired Juniper. This move reflects Fertifa’s ambition to build the go-to platform for workplace health benefits by bringing together complementary expertise. Juniper focuses on reproductive health insurance, addressing gaps in traditional private medical coverage. With demand for inclusive care on the rise, Fertifa is well-positioned and already trusted by companies like Meta, H&M, and Lululemon. Big congrats to Eileen Burbidge and the team on taking this exciting next step! More on the next chapter here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e65XZDSt

Young Sohn, former Samsung President and veteran Silicon Valley investor, joins Speedinvest as Chairman. The world is changing fast: trade tensions, tech nationalism, and geopolitical uncertainty are reshaping how and where innovation happens. To truly thrive in this new environment, both Speedinvest and European tech must look beyond the continent's borders for global opportunities. That’s why we’re thrilled Young is joining the team. The former Samsung President, Arm board member and Silicon Valley veteran with over 600 investments (Zoom, Canva, etc.) and 139 IPOs under his belt, will help our founders break out of fragmented markets and scale globally by unlocking opportunities across Asia and the US – bringing more institutional capital and long-term thinking into Europe’s innovation ecosystem in the process. For over a decade, Young has worked with our team behind the scenes. Now, as Chairman, he’s doubling down, not just on Speedinvest and our portfolio companies across EMEA, but on Europe's potential to lead in Deep Tech, AI, and more. On our blog, Young and our CEO & Managing Partner, Oliver, discuss the role and the impact it will have in depth. Link to the full blog article in the comments.

June.so joins Amplitude to shape the future of product analytics. What started five years ago as a small but mighty team on a mission to rethink how companies understand user behavior is now becoming part of something even bigger. June’s founding team is joining Amplitude — the US-based analytics leader trusted by the world’s top product teams. From the start, June stood out by making product analytics accessible, opinionated, and beautifully simple. We’re incredibly proud to have supported Enzo and Ferruccio on this journey. Joining forces with Amplitude will now allow them to scale their vision and bring even more value to teams around the world. More on the next chapter here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ep6DZ5Hu