Navigating AI complexity with strategic finance: Sapphire CFO Solutions on the evolving role of CFOs in startups

Heather Hall, a fractional CFO and founder of Sapphire CFO Solutions, observes a growing sense of AI overwhelm among startup founders. “New tools may promise greater automation and efficiency, but t [...]

Opinion: Space startups are pivoting to defence. That’s great for innovation

A few months ago, at the SmallSat Symposium, a panel issued a sobering warning to space startups: do not chase defence dollars at the expense of long-term sustainability. Why? Because companies, parti [...]

Startups need ‘clear pathway’ into UK’s new defence plan, experts warn

Britain’s new military tech strategy will fail unless startups are given clear pathways to adoption, experts have warned. Their concerns follow the government’s announcement that defence spending [...]

Can geothermal startups drill Europe to clean energy independence?

In the wooded hills south of Munich, Germany, engineers are drilling 8 km down in a bid to harvest limitless clean energy from Earth’s molten, radioactive core. The project could offer a blueprint f [...]

European AI drone startups hit unicorn milestones amid rising defense funding

Quantum Systems, a drone company based in Bavaria, is now officially a unicorn—a milestone that reflects a broader surge of investment in Europe’s defense tech sector.<br /> The article Euro [...]

Opinion: To close Europe’s defence tech gap, governments must support startups

The United States has long understood a simple truth: war is won not by size alone, but by speed and creativity. Indeed, innovation has always been crucial in conflict. Armour made knights safe until [...]

AWS names 12 European AI startups mapping oceans, diagnosing leukaemia, and predicting airstrikes

The 2026 AWS Pioneers cohort spans healthcare, climate, and conflict zones, and lands alongside a stark warning that Europe risks losing its best innovators if the regulatory environment doesn’t cha [...]

Europe has twice as many climate tech startups as the US — but there’s a catch

Europe is home to twice as many climate tech startups as the US (30,000 vs. 14,300). However, limited access to VC funding is forcing these early-stage companies to seek capital from outside the conti [...]

Two startups want to replace how AI learns: one just raised $180M, another is seeking up to $1B

Two new AI labs want to reinvent the foundations of AI development: Flapping Airplanes is raising 180 million dollars, Core Automation is looking for up to a billion. Both believe that AI development [...]