22 September 2025: Diving into the US-UK tech pact, chewing over Mistral and Aleph Alpha, Draghi calls for pause to AI Act and more

Welcome to the bi-weekly “Inside European Deep Tech” newsletter, compiled by Robin Wauters, founder of boutique communications agency Profoundo, COO and board member of the European Startup Network, co-driver at EU–INC and formerly founding editor and CEO of Tech.eu.

There are more than 75,100 subscribers to this newsletter; I invite each and every one of you to provide feedback so I can upgrade it over time. 💪🏻

Periodic reminder that I'm always up for a chat about how to upscale your communication and media strategy, so do hit me up if you want to have a conversation.

Before we get started: please have your say on the future of EU Inc!

About one more week left for you to help turn Europe into a place where ambitious founders actually want to stay and build tomorrow’s leading companies.

How? By sharing your opinions and (horror) stories with the European Commission before the 30th of September. The questionnaire is lengthy and can be challenging to complete, but it’s a key part of the crucial public consultation - and that’s why the EU Inc team has prepared step-by-step guidance to help you respond effectively. Please share these pointers freely and widely.

Now, let’s get to it for newsletter issue #17!

Must-reads

• US-UK tech pact promises £31 billion of investment
• Mistral Emerges as Last, Best Hope for European AI Contender
• Breaking Barriers, Boosting Growth: Unlocking the Power of Digital Technology for Europe’s Competitiveness
• Aleph Alpha: Can Germany’s one-time OpenAI challenger bounce back?
• The Room Where Deep Tech Deals Are Decided...
• Draghi calls for pause to AI Act to gauge risks
• OpenAI’s Laura Modiano on the rise of the technical founder-CEO
• Insider’s View: Why research organisations must measure their impact
• The UK’s Role in Powering the Next Era of Microelectronics

Insights: data, research, interviews and profiles

• From Lovable to ElevenLabs: Antler study charts Europe’s fastest-ever unicorn boom
• German tech veteran Verena Pausder: ‘Without more capital, we will be overrun by the US and China’
• More money is coming to defence tech VC, but is the market ready?
• European Commission study finds manufacturing and Europe’s richest regions benefit most from EU research and innovation funding
• Alex Bakir, Norrsken Evolve: Resilience, Climate, and Building Europe’s Future (EUVC)
• From seed to success: 35+ accelerator programmes transforming Europe’s startups
• Poland Positioned as Emerging Deep Tech Hub. New Report Maps 95 Breakthrough Technologies
• Powering innovation & driving investment: how EU-funded start-ups are shaping Europe’s future

Selected news items

• Chip design software maker Cadence Design Systems has agreed to acquire the design and engineering business of Hexagon, a Stockholm-based industrial technology firm, for roughly $3.18 billion in cash and stock
• Workday to buy Swedish AI firm Sana for $1.1 billion as HR software deal-making heats up
• Nvidia will invest £500m in AI data centre startup Nscale and is due to invest $500 million in UK self-driving car startup Wayve, amid a flurry of multi-billion dollar funding announcements from US tech giants into the UK’s AI infrastructure
• Microsoft is investing £22 billion (around $30 billion) in the UK to help support AI infrastructure and ongoing operations from 2025 through 2028
• Quadrille Capital, which invests in VC and directly invests in tech, has closed a €500 million funding round, which will see it invest in the European and US tech sector
• The European Investment Fund (EIF) invests €260 million in Jolt Capital V as anchor investor
• Berlin’s Terra One raises €150 million to lead energy transition in Europe with battery storage portfolio
• CuspAI’s AI ‘search engine’ for materials attracts $100M in funding from Temasek, Samsung, Hyundai, Prosus, and more
• Grenoble-based Scintil Photonics, a company developing integrated Photonic System-on-Chip (PSoC) solutions for AI infrastructure, has closed a $58 million Series B round
• French deeptech specialist Cailabs has raised €57 million in fresh funding to accelerate its industrial expansion
• Proxima Fusion Extends Series A to €200M Total Funding As It Accelerates Into Hardware Execution
• Ventech, the pan-European early-stage VC firm, announced the final closing of its sixth flagship fund at €175 million
• VCUK launches $60m PE/VC fund with European deeptech-plus focus
• Vireo Ventures closes €50m fund for electrification tech amid climate tech downturn
• Luxembourg firm Space Cargo Unlimited has secured €27.5 million in funding, representing the biggest investment in space manufacturing in Europe to date
• Hedosophia recruits ex-NATO Innovation Fund partner, eyes defence investments

In other links

• EU-Funded Open Horizons project sees overwhelming response to first open call
• Behind the scenes of a Sprind challenge
• European Commission to adopt AI in science strategy on October 7
• UCL Leads UK's Brain-Inspired Computing With New Center
• Eindhoven to get factory for millions of battery components
• From underdog to tech titan: Poland’s big bet on innovation
• Helsing integrates with Systematic to power drone swarms and more
• Euclyd promises an exascale token factory with minimal power draw
• Deep Tech Supercluster Programme takes technologies from prototype to market
• Meet the North’s ‘most prolific’ tech investor driving the ‘deep tech’ and life sciences boom
• Galileo OSNMA: Europe strengthens satellite navigation security
• Bluefors has agreed to purchase up to 10,000 liters of helium-3 annually from Interlune between 2028 and 2037 to secure supply for quantum technology

Upcoming events in Europe for your calendar

• 29 - 30 September - Resilience Conference - London, UK 🇬🇧
• 29 Sept – 1 October - Bits & Pretzels - Munich, Germany 🇩🇪
• 1-2 October - How to Web - Bucharest, Romania 🇷🇴
• 2-3 October - NORDEEP / Nordic Deep Tech Business Summit - Espoo, Finland 🇫🇮
• 8-9 October - World Summit AI - Amsterdam, The Netherlands 🇳🇱
• 8-9 October - Sifted Summit - London, UK 🇬🇧
• 14-15 October - SaaStock Europe - Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪
• 20-24 October - Oslo Innovation Week - Oslo, Norway 🇳🇴
• 22-23 October - VDS - Valencia, Spain 🇪🇸

The scrolled-all-the-way-down extras

• Inside the porn industry’s revolt against tech rules
• Want to be a World Record holder? These are still available

Thanks for signing up and following along.