Tom Cironis

The Munich-based fusion startup is now valued at $2.7 billion, becoming Europe’s best-funded fusion company as it scales toward commercial stellarator-powered energy.

The Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) is launching a new private-sector-backed initiative designed to accelerate breakthrough research and foster collaboration across disciplines. The program, called the CTU Interdisciplinary Near Future Challenge (CTU INFC), was initiated by newly appointed Rector Michal Pěchouček and is supported by leading Czech investors and philanthropic organizations, including Jan Barta’s Pale Fire Capital.

US defense-tech startup Picogrid has secured a $45 million Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Washington Harbour, GSBackers, and existing investors including Czech VC fund Credo Ventures. The new funding will help Picogrid accelerate product development, expand its integration platform across new operational domains, and scale deployments with US and allied military forces.

The European Commission has selected EQT to lead the newly created €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund, handing the Nordic investment giant one of the most strategic mandates in Europe’s startup ecosystem.

Coupa has acquired Rossum , the Czech-founded AI startup specializing in intelligent document processing (IDP), in a move that signals the next phase of autonomous finance and enterprise AI adoption.