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Europe Has a New Startup Leader
Swiss leads in VC investment, the startup selling to Airbus & Formula 1, and more...
SearchVentures
October 09, 2024
In partnership with
Swiss startups are leading Europe
Switzerland now leads Europe to have the highest per capita VC investment with $169, surpassing the UK, Sweden and Estonia.
What's driving the growth in Switzerland?
This Week’s Trends
New leader in the VC market
The startup creating F1 cars
$865 million growth fund and more
Read Time 4 minutes
The Startup Trend
VC Investment Per Capita in Europe
Switzerland now leads Europe in per capita VC Investment at $169, overtaking the likes of Estonia, Sweden and the UK. This is despite the fact that VC investment in the UK has more than doubled quarter over quarter.
> Early-stage rounds in Switzerland made up for most of the deals in August, accounting for nearly 89% of all funding rounds.
> There have been 36 startup funding rounds in Switzerland this year so far, already surpassing the 24 rounds in all of 2023.
💡Geneva saw a 251% increase in VC investment in H1 2024 compared to H1 2023, making it the leader in VC growth among other European cities.
Startup feature
The Startup Creating F1 Cars
Neural Concept, a Swiss AI startup, is helping major companies like Airbus and Formula 1 teams dramatically speed up their engineering and design processes. With their AI-powered design platform, they allow engineers to simulate designs in hours instead of months. With $39.5 million in backing, they have quickly become a critical partner in industries where speed and innovation determine competition.
From Pedal Bikes to Formula 1
Founded in 2018 by Pierre Baqué and his team, Neural Concept first applied its technology to create the most aerodynamic bicycle in the world. This breakthrough caught the attention of larger firms, where fast and precise design iterations are essential to keep ahead of competitors.
“Our goal is to help engineers design faster and smarter without sacrificing accuracy. We are using our technology to disrupt innovation for large firms.”
With their technology, the founders saw an opportunity to solve a major problem in engineering—how to speed up the testing phase of product design. Traditionally, simulations took weeks or months, but Neural Concept’s AI-powered platform cuts these timelines dramatically, enabling real-time simulations and reducing development costs by over 75%.
As a startup, Neural Concept introduced a rapid innovation cycle that larger firms had struggled to achieve internally, and their technology quickly caught the attention of high-performance sectors from Formula 1 to aerospace.
Forcing Major Firms To Adapt
Neural Concept’s breakthrough technology has attracted some of the world’s largest companies. Airbus, Honda, Bosch, and several Formula 1 teams rely on the platform to quickly test new designs and improve product performance, from fuel efficiency to aerodynamics.
“For industries like Formula 1, speed is everything. Our tech allows teams to test thousands of design variations faster than ever before.”
Neural Concept operates in fiercely competitive industries with tight innovation cycles, offering critical technology for large firms to stay ahead. The startup has grown from a small team to over 60 employees across offices in Switzerland, Germany, and the U.S. With $39.5 million in funding, Neural Concept is now entering the EV market, where its platform can cut development time from four years to just 18 months, giving automakers a significant edge in the race to outpace rivals like Tesla.
“We’re just scratching the surface of what AI can do for product design, and larger firms will have to keep up with technology, or be left in the dust.”
Neural Concept has shown how a focused startup can push industries to adopt faster, AI-driven innovation. With a $60 million valuation, their platform is setting new standards for product development, proving that firms will have to quickly outpace traditional thinking to keep up with their competitors.
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Headline News
This Week In Startups ✍️
Founders
> Paebbl, a company turning captured CO2 into permanent, carbon-storing materials, has raised a $25 million Series A funding round.
> Xfarm Technologies, an agritech that helps to digitalize the agri-food sector and make it more sustainable, has raised €36 million in a Series C funding round.
> Perlego, a subscription-based digital library providing unlimited access to academic titles, has secured $20 million, taking the total raised to $75 million.
Investors & VCs
> Acurio Ventures, rebranded from All Iron Ventures, closes its third fund of €150 million for follow-on investments.
> Capmont Technology, a Munich-based VC, raises €100 million fund to back early-stage B2B startups in Europe and the US.
> Headline, a US- and Berlin-based VC, raises $865 million growth fund and is eyeing defence and pharma startups.
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Cheers,
Odin Lund & Hari Mohandas
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