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Figures from UK tech, investment and policy have their say.

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With the ‘Supercharged Sandbox’ initiative, UK startups are finally being given new insights into the technological priorities of financial institutions.

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A survey of 32 venture capital investors from around the world by PitchBook, the private market research and analysis firm, finds that 38 per cent of them expect VC funding to rise over the next year, falling from 58 per cent taking that view in the second half of 2024.

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Top-down mandates from governments rarely build great companies. This golden rule of business growth was sadly not on show at the splashy launch of UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ambitious, but flawed Mansion House accord (Report, May 14) forcing pension funds to invest in the UK will not encourage growth, and as rightly noted in the follow-up piece by George Parker and Mary McDougall (Report, May 14) may have the opposite effect.

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A new generation of hardware startups is helping rebuild Europe’s industrial base

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AI solutions abound in the impact space, with algorithms purporting to be able to find emissions-reduction opportunities in supply chains, predict climate events and even direct farmers where to plant.

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Industry experts say tariffs could drastically impact supply chains, global interest rates and the flow of VC capital into startups

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Strategists, economists and other experts have been sharing their reaction to what Chancellor Reeves had to say in her Spring Statement.

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The Office for Budget Responsibility confirms it is cutting its 2025 growth forecast from 2% to around 1%. This puts UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in an awkward position, but what does the wealth sector say after the Spring Statement?

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Pan-European venture capital firm reveals €100m first close and has already made first investments into two startups

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Early-stage VC invests specifically in disruptive software companies with an AI focus. The new fund aims to take data-driven innovation to a global level

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The VC firm, established by founders of MySQL and MariaDB, has secured a €100M first close with increased support from Isomer Capital and KRR Fund of Funds

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OpenOcean, a pan-European venture capital firm, announced its fourth main venture fund.

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OpenOcean, a pan European venture capital firm specialising in early-stage investments in business software that drive AI innovation, has announced its fourth main venture fund.

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The deeptech-focused fund will invest in up to 20 startups and is targeting a final close of €130m by summer

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Finance chiefs have only a brief moment to make a good impression during an investment pitch. So which phrases must they avoid if they wish to win over potential investors?

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Here are Europe’s 100 most influential women in startups and venture capital in 2025—trailblazers who are accelerating progress, investing in change, and redefining the future of innovation.

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Talouselämä valitsi kymmenen lupaavaa startup-yritystä, jotka ovat päässeet vauhtiin vaikeammassakin markkinassa.

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Instead of chasing scale for scale’s sake, EU tech funding must prioritise efficiency, interoperability, and industry-specific solutions that create real economic value.

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Now a general partner at pan-European VC firm OpenOcean, Tom has been involved with venture investing and startups since the mid-nineties, with some notable successes.

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A breakthrough in AI cost-efficiency was bound to happen – the only questions were “when”, “who,” and “how?” Now, we have answers to all three.

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The British government is being urged to take a light-touch approach to enforcing a new tax regime set to hit VCs’ earnings hard, ahead of a key consultation deadline.

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The status of OpenAI - and other US firms - as the world leaders in AI has been dramatically undermined this week by the sudden emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese app that can emulate the performance of ChatGPT, apparently at a fraction of the cost.

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In November 2023, Oleksandr Komarevych, Editor of Startupreporter.eu, sat down with Tom Henriksson, General Partner at OpenOcean, to discuss the challenges and opportunities awaiting venture capital in 2024. One year later, they reconvened to reflect on how those predictions unfolded, delving into lessons learned, unexpected outcomes, and the evolving dynamics of the startup ecosystem.

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Sifted asked VCs to share their predictions for the deeptech sector in 2025 — and once more, it’s all about AI.

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The result was a company called Embeddable, which is creating a developer tool kit to build interactive, customized, customer-facing data analytics dashboards without coding. These can be built using a library of templates contributed by users, not dissimilar to Notion’s or Airbyte’s community-driven approaches.

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Quantum computing, overshadowed in recent years by the stunning rise of generative AI, is making quiet -- and, in some pockets, accelerated -- progress toward realizing its full potential.

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Online shopping has already made couch potatoes of us all - all that scrolling rather than walking around stores - but things could get a lot more sedentary. According to one vision of the future, AI-driven agents will soon be doing our shopping for us.

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Following the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech last night, industry experts have saved their thoughts on what they think this will mean for the UK going forward and have shared them with IFA Magazine.

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The newly elected UK Labour government’s first budget arrived Wednesday with big tax and spending rises, and includes little to impress the country’s private markets.

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After nearly 40 years at IBM, Sutor is now taking a keen interest in startups — and he says they are the future of quantum computing

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Germany — and particularly Munich — has been a hotspot for robotics, aerospace and defence in recent years. But startups in the region are facing challenges.

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Britain's startups and relatively small, innovative businesses may have the edge over larger companies in taking advantage of the Generative AI revolution, according to a report published last week by industry trade body, TechUK and financial services firm Experian.

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Government support for Quantum remains vital. According to a report - The State of Quantum 2024 - by IQM, Lakestar and OpenOcean, VC investment in the sector almost halved to $1.2 billion globally in 2023, but this was made up for by renewed public support.

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It’s happened again, and this time it’s for good. Google’s most dramatic cookies U-turn yet is set to be its final one as the bumbling tech giant confirms that it won’t be axing third-party cookies after all.

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Quantum computers will eventually be powerful and reliable enough to crack strong encryption. PQC is the answer, but it could take years to deploy

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"According to early-stage Venture Capital firm OpenOcean, the government’s support of individual AI projects in real-world situations at least provides an opportunity to ensure that funding is spread across the U.K. as a whole, and not just in the familiar centers of London, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol."

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Before we add an open LLM to the LAMP stack, we need to decide whether it's truly open. We talk with Patrik Backman, ex-MySQL and MariaDB.

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In a statement responding to the government's statement of intent, OpenOcean urged the continuation of a light-touch approach to startups but acknowledged the need for regulation - and the possible benefits.

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Naureen Zahid, Director of Investor Relations at OpenOcean commented on the UK market dynamics, which is prompting a growing number of firms to consider listing in the US.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves will launch a national wealth fund with £7.3bn of state funding in a race to “unlock investment” in UK growth industries. OpenOcean commented on the story.

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OpenOcean's Investment Associate Sri Ayangar was featured on the BBC News today! Sri shared his insights on 'AI washing', such as how competition for funding and the desire to appear on the cutting edge have pushed some such companies to overstate their AI capabilities.

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Patrik Backman, general partner at OpenOcean, said of Grok-1 being released: "For once, Elon Musk is putting his principles into action. If you sue OpenAI for transforming into a profit-driven organization, you must be prepared to adhere to the same ideals."

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"The City’s resilience has been tested many times over. With decisive reform that delivers meaningful improvements to listing standards, London can adapt to the needs of changing times while upholding the highest principles of good governance that make it world-leading."

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OpenOcean, a prominent European software and deep technology Venture Capital (VC) firm, has revealed thirteen nascent unicorns, denoting companies with a valuation soaring beyond the illustrious $1 billion mark. This unveiling comes as a part of OpenOcean’s 2023 Automation Market Map, a comprehensive compass designed to illuminate the intricate terrain of the enterprise automation software realm.

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Helsinki and London-based VC firm OpenOcean has updated its automation market map, adding over 100 companies from the year prior. The firm curates a collection of over 810 automation companies, each valued at over $100 million, but also includes a number of early-stage startups that they deem most promising, all with the aim of enhancing the understanding of the enterprise automation software sector.

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For the past number of years, Ekaterina Almasque has dedicated herself to advocating for women in the venture capital industry. She is a co-founder of European Women in VC, an advocacy group she helped set up with a group of women who were equally frustrated with the blocks preventing talented women from breaking into the scene.

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“Tech Nation 2.0 will be especially important for deep tech firms in fields like quantum technology. These companies have timelines measured in decades. They rely on targeted incentives and funding from the government to ensure continued progress is made. Furthermore, we need to establish the right procedures to guide visionary founders with innovative software concepts from initial whiteboard sketches all the way to becoming publicly listed companies in Piccadilly Square.”

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Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at deep tech venture capital company OpenOcean said key players in the industry should have a seat at the table, but excluding prominent start-ups risks decisions being made without critical input from those at the frontlines. “To properly regulate AI in a way that fosters innovation, we need to make every effort to connect investors, startups, and policymakers,” she says. “This involves increasing R&D budgets, creating sovereign funds to support strategic initiatives, and attracting top talent into start-ups. However, we cannot adequately take these steps without the presence and perspective of the startups themselves.”

In the press

The vibrant start-up ecosystem in the UK makes it a premier investment destination for global capital, fueling innovation and contributing to robust economic growth. Raising £24 billion ($29bn) in 2022, the UK tech sector leads Europe and ranks third globally. However, sustaining this success requires a clear R&D support strategy.

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In a recent article, the Financial Times reported a decline in funding for UK university spinouts, marking the first decrease in a decade. Ekaterina Almasque's letter highlighted the critical challenges faced by UK university spinouts.

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Right now, we’re entering an era of lean unicorns powered by AI and a modular approach to building a business. A recent Sifted article, featuring our GP Ekaterina Almasque, delved into this new, emerging age, shaped by rising interest rates and cautious VCs. As market conditions continue to stay uncertain, founders must use their resources wisely. New solutions are paving the way for leaner startups, with AI tools at the forefront. However, their use should be taken with a grain of salt.

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The heart of a venture capital fund’s strategy is to feed investors’ capital into high-growth, early-stage companies with the potential to expand rapidly and deliver high returns. However, a company’s ability to deliver the kind of growth that generates outsized returns usually has a risk profile to match. So how do VCs think about risk in order to protect their investor’s interests?

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The O3 platform is designed for steady global expansion, with this version tested on the UK AI startup landscape. In this first phase, the project will help improve decision-making for leaders across the UK tech ecosystem, giving them unique, granular data on startups and their underlying technology.

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Tech Nation, the startup growth network that closed its doors in March 2023, is gearing up for a relaunch during Birmingham Tech Week in October. The UK tech industry suffered a setback with Tech Nation’s closing, given its vital role in connecting entrepreneurs and providing grassroots support for startups.

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The platform is the result of three years of research from Oxford Saïd and 13 years of experience of data economy investing from OpenOcean. It leverages public and private data sources and is meant to help improve decision making across the UK tech ecosystem, through “granular data on startups and their technology stack, solutions, and go-to-market strategies.”

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Less than 10 per cent of UK startups are using or facilitating artificial intelligence, despite Rishi Sunak pushing for Britain to become a global leader in AI. Out of nearly 17,000 UK startups, just 1,270 startups have been identified as clearly using or facilitating AI – just 7 per cent. The top sector for AI investment in the UK has been in health, with £3.4 billion of funding since 2011, according to research from Oxford University and venture capital firm OpenOcean.

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Binalyze, a Tallinn-based cybersecurity firm specialising in digital forensics and incident response solutions, has raised $19 million in a Series A funding round. The capital will facilitate Binalyze’s further market penetration. Since early 2021 Binalyze has raised just shy of $31 million. The Series A funding round was led by Molten Ventures with existing investors Earlybird Digital East and OpenOcean, and new investors Cisco Investments, Citi Ventures, and Deutsche Bank Corporate Venture Capital participating.

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"This renewed commitment to Horizon is not only a positive for the spinout ecosystem, but also bolsters the entire tech sector, making it more attractive to investors to back the next market leader. Research and development serves as the backbone of the UK’s tech economy, and prolonged uncertainty would have eroded confidence. In fields like quantum technology, where progress unfolds over decades, having a clear trajectory of funding is paramount to ensure innovation continues unhindered”, explained our General Partner, Ekaterina Almasque, in TechCrunch.

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Ekaterina Almasque, General Partner at OpenOcean said: “The announcement of the UK’s re-entry into the Horizon programme is excellent news for the UK and wider European tech ecosystem. Research and Development (R&D) serve as the backbone of the UK tech economy, and prolonged uncertainty would have eroded confidence. In fields like quantum technology, where progress unfolds over decades, having a clear trajectory of funding is paramount to ensure innovation continues unhindered."

In the press

With an expected 463 exabytes of data created every day globally by 2025, businesses are prioritising data at the core of their operations. CEOs are doubling down on data-driven organisations, with a recent survey showing that 83% of them want to do just that. Our GP, Tom Henriksson wrote an article on Digitalisation World discussing how European startups can seize the immense potential within the growing data economy.

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Fears of recessions and threats of burst housing bubbles have yet to come to fruition. Business confidence is better than expected following intermittent stretches of uncertainty, and owing to high levels of market unpredictability, both firms and consumers have become accustomed to a fluctuating environment. This increased corporate and consumer resilience is a welcomed side effect, preparing businesses and individuals alike for the inevitable tough times ahead. Numerous factors contribute to business confidence, one of them being AI. Ekaterina Almasque shares her insights on the optimism around AI.

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The number of VC-funded quantum startups in Europe is growing fast, with many making bold claims that their technology could one day revolutionise the world economy. Yet it's still difficult to answer one fundamental thing: what can quantum computers actually do? Ekaterina Almasque, our GP, shares her thoughts on this topic in the Sifted article.

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Europe's deep-tech sector, growing at about 50% annually since 2015, offers robust potential in various fields including AI and quantum computing. However, numerous firms are shifting focus to the US for better expansion opportunities, strategic support, and a tech-friendly market. Europe’s tech ecosystem, despite investment declines and competition from substantial US and Chinese state-backed initiatives, has shown resilience, adding $2 trillion in value since 2017 and maintaining a consistent innovation culture.

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Ekaterina Almasque highlights the urgency of bolstering venture capital for UK female entrepreneurs, pointing to a concerning underinvestment highlighted by the Treasury committee. It validates the effectiveness of gender-balanced start-up leadership through notable successes in Europe and encourages VCs to enhance women's empowerment and leadership within their ranks, citing the discrepancy in control of assets under management by female GPs in Europe.

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Ekaterina Almasque shares with other VCs a list of open-source startups that are on their radar across Europe, from those already making headlines to the ones they expect will soon take the spotlight.

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Naureen Zahid shared her thoughts on Jeremy Hunt's reforms which encourage UK pension providers to allocate 5% of assets to unlisted equities, freeing £50bn for the market by 2030. Zahid emphasizes that tech startups need firm financial support and policy commitments for expansion, not just pledges. For efficacy, reforms should offer start-ups capital, favourable market conditions, and reliable policies.

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The government is aiming to unlock £75 billion of investment for UK tech companies from the nation’s pension funds. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has secured a deal with nine major pension funds to invest at least 5% of their assets into startups, scaleups and venture capital firms by 2030. Naureen Zahid welcomed the pension reforms as well as the creation of a new trading platform for private companies.

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The Evening Standard article featuring Naureen Zahid's comments covers all of the key announcements expected at Mansion House and discusses what the pensions reforms could mean for the UK’s investment scene.

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The article discusses proposed pension reforms in the UK aimed at boosting funding for start-ups and enhancing the attractiveness of UK capital markets. Naureen Zahid, Director of Investor Relations at OpenOcean, welcomed the move, emphasizing the need for decisive action to implement these proposals and encourage active participation from the private sector.

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The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is opening access to some of its cutting-edge technologies to selected deeptech startups as part of a new programme dubbed CERN Venture Connect (CVC). Ekaterina Almasque notes that the programme’s attempts to solve challenges at different stages will be particularly beneficial. “Many founders will be particularly gratified by Venture Connect giving them the tools to meet multiple needs at once,” she tells Sifted.

In the press

The articles featuring comments by Ekaterina Almasque cover the decrease in venture capital funding for startups and the rise of CVCs as an alternative source of funding. It highlights how CVCs offer strategic value, industry knowledge, and resources to startups but can also be less tolerant of growing pains and quick to withdraw support. It presents you as a reputable figure with expertise in the field of venture capital, highlighting your knowledge and experience in the industry.

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In the article, OpenOcean General Partner Ekaterina Almasque discussed the need for strategic R&D funding in the UK to boost the tech sector and startup ecosystem. With the lack of clear government backing for R&D, UK startups often seek growth capital abroad, leading to a loss for the UK market.

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OpenOcean Investor Relations Director, Naureen Zahid, was interviewed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to discuss the possibility of the UK’s first "superfund", and the potential benefits it could bring to UK businesses, and the wider domestic economy.

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When GDPR was first brought in just over five years ago, it unleashed seismic changes upon the industry – forcing businesses to completely change the way in which they collected customer data. OpenOcean General Partner Tom Henriksson has shared his thoughts on the impact of the regulation in Marketing Beat.

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OpenOcean General Partner Ekaterina Almasque shared her insights with Sifted on how on the importance of a board's "helicopter view" in steering startups toward their goals. Almasque emphasizes how the focus of board meetings shifts as startups mature. In early stages, meetings concentrate on finding the product-market fit, whereas post-Series B, the focus is on capital-efficient scaling and leadership in their fields.

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In a article published by Business Leader, Naureen Zahid, our Director of Investor Relations outlines some of the reasons why the US has historically been winning the race, and what measures should be taken by UK regulators and policymakers to help turn this around.

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In the Business Leader article, OpenOcean’s Director of Investor Relations Naureen Zahid shares her insights anticipating strong performance from VC funds and startups that seek investors with similar values of transparency, technical expertise, and risk-reward appetites.

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The article by OpenOcean General Partner Tom Henriksson delves into the critical role of data in the contemporary tech landscape and its potential to revolutionize industry operations. Despite 83% of CEOs desiring their organizations to be data-driven, only 25% of firms are at the forefront of data utilization, indicating a gap startups could exploit.

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The article by Ekaterina Almasque explores the current state and potential of quantum computing, comparing it to the development of technologies like 5G, with industry professionals eagerly developing software in anticipation of hardware advances. Quantum computing holds immense potential for tasks like precision medicine and logistics, where it can process large datasets more efficiently than classical computing.

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Quantum computing is operating at a higher and more commercially viable level in 2023. More than 91% of global CEOs say they're steering cash toward quantum computing, and 70% say they're generating real-life use cases for the technology, according to the OpenOcean–IQM-Lakestar State of Quantum 2022 report. "Our research confirms that we are on a one-way journey to enter the quantum era," says Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at OpenOcean, which coauthored the State of Quantum 2022 Report released in November.

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Our Director of Investor Relations, Naureen Zahid, shares her insights on Forbes about the recent changes proposed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These changes aim to make London Stock Exchange (LSE) listings more attractive for early-stage companies.

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Tech Nation is no more. The decision to withdraw Tech Nation’s funding is undoubtedly controversial. However, hopes remain high that the UK will continue to grow as a global tech hub. Amid the controversy surrounding the decision, Ekaterina Almasque, General Partner at OpenOcean, comments that the UK tech sector needs long-term planning, targeted incentives, and sustained government funding to progress.

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The article by OpenOcean General Partner Patrik Backman discusses the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies in today's business environment. With increased pressure from regulatory bodies, investors, customers, and employees, businesses are being prompted to consider ESG factors seriously. The author highlights the need for an honest self-assessment, focusing on various aspects such as the company’s carbon footprint, gender pay gap, diversity, compliance, cybersecurity infrastructure, and labor practices.

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The Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a full review into the market for foundation AI models including large language models and chat tools like ChatGPT. Ekaterina Almasque, general partner OpenOcean told Tech Monitor the review was welcomed as fair competition will always have a positive effect on innovation, warning that “steps must be taken to make it easier for early-stage AI start-ups” to compete with the hyperscale cloud providers, which currently host the most popular AI models on their platforms.

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Britain's competition watchdog is to cast an eye over the development and use of AI, saying it wants to ensure that innovation in the field proceeds in a way that benefits consumers, businesses and the wider UK economy. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be thinking along similar lines. Ekaterina Almasque, General Partner at venture capital investors OpenOcean, told us that the CMA review is "welcome news for the UK tech sector," and that "barriers to entry – such as skilled workers and the high compute costs to train or fine-tune models – risk stifling our domestic startup ecosystem if we do not find a new way forward".

In the press

In this opinion piece, OpenOcean's General Partner, Tom Henriksson, analyzes the volatile tech market in 2023, stating that despite market instability due to issues like regulatory pressures and chip shortages, startups with innovative ideas, financial sustainability, low burn rates, and high growth strategies can still attract investment and customers.

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In this op-ed piece by OpenOcean's Director of Investor Relations Naureen Zahid, she puts 2022 under the microscope and distills what happened and what it means for the venture capital community.

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A new £100m fund has been established by Innovate UK to help UK businesses prepare for and deploy artificial intelligence technologies. The focus is on companies operating in agriculture, construction, transportation and creative industries. Ekaterina Almasque says this funding will be a key factor in building the infrastructure of the data economy in the UK, but disagreed with the assessment that creative, agriculture, construction and transport are the best sectors of the economy to direct focus. “The UK’s real competitive advantage will come from overinvestment in domestic start-ups tackling data infrastructure, datasets, and efficient collaboration,” she said.

In the press

Quantum technology companies attracted more than $2.35bn in private investment last year, slightly breaking the record set in 2021. Ekaterina Almasque told Tech Monitor the quantum industry was “in its growth phase”, making it extremely challenging to find talent with the necessary skills across a range of technologies and services. “Most individuals working in the industry today were introduced to the concept of quantum computing at a relatively late stage," Almasque says. "While this will change naturally as the industry becomes more established, the private and public sector stakeholders of quantum computing must work together to improve this.”

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In this op-ed by OpenOcean General Partner Tom Henriksson, he lays out his thoughts on how, when, where, and why Europe needs to get in while it can.

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Our General Partner, Ekaterina Almasque, shared insights on AI opportunities (31-minute time stamp) alongside Reshma Sohoni of Seedcamp in a Bloomberg TV interview.

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According to investors, the lack of late-stage capital and risk appetite are hindering the growth of domestic Deep Tech leaders, despite European governments committing substantial amounts of capital to boost regional startups focused on tangible engineering innovation or scientific advances with the potential to disrupt various industries.

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This article by Tom Henriksson, General Partner at OpenOcean, discusses the volatile state of tech market stocks in 2023 and its potential impact on startups and private investment. He outlines the challenges facing the tech sector, such as regulatory pressure, chip shortages, and the threat of inflation, while emphasizing that startups built on strong, innovative ideas and financial sustainability will continue to attract investment despite the uncertainties.

In the press

Berlin-based Hygraph has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. Based upon its frontend and backend agnostic platform that cuts out the middleware and connects siloed data from a wide range of sources into a single API, the fresh capital will help the company push the boundaries of federated content even further. In tandem with continued product development, the startup will scale its go-to-market plans, particularly eyeing North America.

In the press

OpenOcean portfolio company Hygraph has raised $30 million. The startup now has around 400 customers, which include major brands like Samsung, Philips and the FMCG conglomerate Dr Oetker, and the plan is to use the funding to continue developing the platform and how and where it can be used, as well as expand into new geographies. The round is a Series B and was led by European investor One Peak, with previous backers OpenOcean and SquareOne, as well as new individual investor Boris Lokschin (cofounder and CEO of Spryker Systems) also participating.

In the press

European governments are committing large amounts of capital to boost regional deep-tech startups, but investors say a lack of late-stage capital and risk appetite are preventing more domestic deep-tech leaders. Ekaterina Almasque has observed more VCs move into deep-tech investing, but deal sizes remain small. As opposed to a SaaS or ecommerce company, deep tech requires significantly more capital and time to produce a product due to the complex nature of the technology, which may present too much of a risk for a generalist investor.

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According to Tom Henriksson's remarks on the recent FT-Statista ranking of Europe's fastest-growing companies, businesses can still receive investments if they demonstrate strong business fundamentals and prioritize resolving practical issues, as the dry powder is currently at an all-time high.

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The new AI sandbox will be multi-regulatory and designed to help developers ensure products are safe, transparent and ethical. Ekaterina Almasque told Tech Monitor being able to access a high volume of high-quality data and access it without transgressing IP law or individual privacy is essential when training AI models. “If the new AI sandbox results in changes that make it easier for AI start-ups to train their models and bring solutions to the enterprises that need them, then that will have a positive effect on the UK start-up scene in the long run”.

In the press

The U.K. government has delivered its spring budget, which includes provisions to invest in AI technologies and research. Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at early-stage European VC OpenOcean, argued however that the budget “underdelivers for the U.K. tech sector.” The introduction of new R&D tax support is certainly welcome, but many SMEs in the tech sector will still be left out in the cold. Whilst billions in funding for quantum computing and AI will certainly boost research in the area, many SMEs may still struggle to compete with larger corporates for the lion’s share of the benefits.”