The European startup ecosystem continues to thrive, with startups across industries securing impressive funding rounds from July 25 – August 1, 2025. This week's Weekly Funding Round-Up sheds light on the trends shaping the entrepreneurial landscape in Europe today. From groundbreaking AI applications and foodtech innovations to fraud prevention and cloud kitchens, the funding environment remains dynamic and diverse. Here's a breakdown of this week’s highlights, insider tips, common pitfalls, and tools you can leverage to grow your startup smartly.
Key Takeaways from the European Startup Ecosystem (Jul 25 – Aug 01, 2025):
- AI Innovation Dominates Ventures
- Startups like AI co-founder PlayPal are making waves, securing funding for their dynamic capabilities to enhance customer experience.
- Innovator Highlight: PlayPal, founded by Violetta Bonenkamp, is an AI-powered friend that assists users in everything from personal growth to startup advice. Learn more about PlayPal here.
- Specialized Sector Funding is on the Rise
- Mobility Tech: German camper van startup roadsurfer attracted a €25 million round to fuel its international expansion.
- FoodTech: Greek cloud kitchen platform StiQ raised €20 million to scale its AI-powered platform for the restaurant industry.
- Fraud Prevention: Italian startup Trustfull secured €6 million to expand its anti-fraud services across Europe.
- University Spinouts Catching Investor Attention
- Programs like Cambridge Innovation Capital's €115 million fund are backing spinouts from academic hubs across Europe, offering a unique chance for university-born innovations to flourish.
- Seed Rounds Are Shaping Early-Stage Businesses
- Structured AI, based in the UK, nailed a €435,000 seed round to revolutionize the construction industry with AI-based analytics.
- Eastern Europe Startups Making the Mark
- Latvia-based Handwave raised €3.6 million to introduce privacy-first biometric payments, reflecting growing interest in advanced fintech solutions around the continent.
Top Funded Startups This Week
Here’s a glimpse at the top funding rounds we tracked from this week:
1. PlayPal (AI Co-founder)
- Funding Details: Undisclosed seed funding, building momentum as the ultimate virtual assistant for startups.
- Target Audience: Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and startup founders.
- Learn more about PlayPal, the AI Friend, and its game-changing features for entrepreneurs here.
2. roadsurfer
- Country: Germany
- Funding: €25 million Series B
- Focus: International camper van rental service.
3. StiQ (Cloud Kitchens)
- Country: Greece
- Funding: €20 million Series A
- Focus: AI-powered cloud kitchens disrupting Europe’s restaurant model.
4. Trustfull
- Country: Italy
- Funding: €6 million Seed
- Focus: Fraud prevention platform for European businesses.
5. Handwave
- Country: Latvia
- Funding: €3.6 million Seed
- Focus: Biometric payments with a focus on privacy-first authentication.
How to Secure Funding for Your European Startup in 2025
Securing venture funding isn’t just about having a great idea. It's about clarity, validation, and effective pitching. Here's a step-by-step guide for European entrepreneurs:
- Validate Your Idea with a Sandbox: Before pitching, ensure your startup idea solves a real problem. Platforms like F/MS Sandbox allow you to test your ideas alongside tools like PlayPal for feedback.
- Find the Right Grant: Explore the F/MS AI Grant Finder and Application Writer, which helps you quickly locate EU grants tailored to your needs and writes a draft application for you. Try it now.
- Prepare Draft Agreements with AI Startup Lawyer: Avoid legal mistakes by analyzing partnership or shareholder agreements early. This AI-driven platform ensures you're not blindsided by unfavorable clauses.
- Polish Your Pitch: Include the market validation data you’ve gathered and showcase early traction clearly. Practice is key, so pitch your story to both investors and prospective partners confidently.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Startup Funding
While fundraising, it’s easy to fall into common traps. Here are the 3 mistakes you should avoid:
- Overlooking Documentation: Investors often lose interest over incomplete legal or financial documents. Utilize AI tools like AI Startup Lawyer to analyze your agreements.
- Ignoring Validation: Skipping market validation (or audience feedback) can prove fatal when investors ask detailed questions. Validate your startup in tools like the F/MS Sandbox.
- Poor Grant Applications: Grants support early-stage businesses, but most applications fail due to unclear business models. Use the F/MS AI Grant Writer to draft winning applications effortlessly.
European Tech Ecosystem Insights: Looking Ahead
The European funding landscape highlights exciting trends, especially in leveraging AI, deeptech, and sustainability models:
- Sectoral Diversity: Investors are betting big in everything from mobility to mental health.
- Impact of AI Enablers: Tools like PlayPal and AI Grant Finder are leveling the playing field for startups by automating complex, time-heavy tasks.
- East Meets West Strategy: Eastern European startups are catching up with Western Europe’s dominance, a “Unified Europe ecosystem” is rapidly taking shape.
The Educational Edge: Play Games. Build Startups.
If you're just getting started and looking for a fun way to learn how startups work, the Fe/male Switch Startup Game is an excellent way to gain real-world insights through gamification. Led by entrepreneur Violetta Bonenkamp, the platform combines education, mentoring, and networking to help women build their entrepreneurial dreams.
Conclusion: Build Smarter, Not Harder
This week’s startup funding highlights reinforce essential lessons for founders. Whether you’re just ideating or already scaling, tools like PlayPal, AI Grant Finder, and the Fe/male Switch Startup Game are here to guide you.
Check out PlayPal for personalized startup advice and support, and get ready to save time while building your venture stronger.
Ready to grow your startup? The right steps today can unlock the funding that propels you tomorrow.
FAQ
1. Which startup received the highest funding in the Jul 25 – Aug 01, 2025 round-up?
German startup roadsurfer secured €25 million in Series B funding to accelerate international expansion in camper van rentals. Learn more about roadsurfer
2. What are the notable trends in European startup funding this week?
AI innovation is dominating venture capital, with specialized sector funding for mobility tech, foodtech, and fintech. Eastern European startups are also rising. Discover more about European funding trends
3. What is PlayPal, and why is it significant for entrepreneurs?
PlayPal is an AI-powered friend that provides startup advice, personal growth strategies, and customer engagement solutions for entrepreneurs. Learn more about PlayPal
4. Which sectors attracted the most funding this week?
Mobility tech, foodtech, AI-based fraud prevention, and privacy-first biometric payments were key sectors receiving substantial investment. Explore the investment highlights
5. What tools can startups use to validate ideas and secure funding?
Startups can leverage tools like the F/MS Sandbox for idea validation and the AI Grant Finder for discovering and applying for EU grants. Validate your startup idea with F/MS Sandbox | Find grants using AI Grant Finder
6. How are university spinouts contributing to the funding landscape?
Spinouts like Cambridge Innovation Capital show the growing role of academic hubs in producing innovations backed by venture funds, with €115 million committed in recent funding. Learn more about Cambridge VC spinouts
7. How can startups avoid common mistakes when seeking funding?
Avoid overlooking documentation, skipping market validation, and poor grant applications. Use AI tools for agreement analysis and application drafting. Analyze agreements with AI Startup Lawyer | Draft winning grant applications
8. Which Eastern European startup stood out this week?
Latvia-based Handwave raised €3.6 million to develop privacy-first biometric payment solutions. Learn more about Handwave
9. What funding did foodtech startup StiQ secure, and for what purpose?
Greek cloud kitchen platform StiQ raised €20 million to disrupt Europe’s restaurant model through its AI-powered solutions. Discover more about StiQ
10. Where can aspiring women entrepreneurs find startup-building resources?
Fe/male Switch Startup Game offers gamified education, mentoring, and networking to help women build their entrepreneurial dreams. Check out Fe/male Switch Startup Game
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch. The Fe/male Switch team is located in several countries, including the Netherlands and Malta.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
