Vestbee

1 week ago | vestbee.com | Katarzyna Groszkowska |Lisa Palchynska

Dealroom data shows that over 2,800 startups have achieved a valuation of $1 billion or more, or an exit, since 2000, across more than 420 cities worldwide. Since 2018, over 100 new unicorns have been minted yearly, except in 2021, when this number spiked to 787 – a rate of more than two unicorns per day. Over half of these unicorns are based in North America and parts of Asia. Europe has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, with the number of unicorns rising significantly.

2 weeks ago | vestbee.com | Lisa Palchynska

UK-based startup PlaySafe ID, which issues verified digital identities to stop cheaters, bots, and online predators from ruining games, has raised a €1 million ($1.12M) pre-seed round. The investment was led by Early Game Ventures, with participation from Hartmann Capital and Overwolf. Founded by Andrew Wailes, PlaySafe ID offers a privacy-first platform that verifies gamers are real people and haven’t been flagged for cheating or harmful behavior, all while preserving anonymity and user freedom.

2 weeks ago | vestbee.com | Lisa Palchynska

Astrolight, a Lithuanian deeptech startup developing secure laser communication systems for space, has raised €2.8 million in a seed round. Balnord led the round. The funding will accelerate Astrolight's development of its end-to-end laser communication platform, designed to connect satellites with securely Earth-based infrastructure — a solution the company calls the "missing link" in space data transmission.

2 weeks ago | vestbee.com | Lisa Palchynska

As Europe confronts growing security threats and underinvestment in its defence sector, Keen Venture Partners has announced a major milestone: a €40 million commitment from the European Investment Fund (EIF) to its new European Defence and Security Tech Fund. This move comes as Europe urgently seeks to reduce dependency on foreign defence systems, counter the continuing war in Ukraine, and meet increasing demands from NATO allies to contribute more actively to collective security.

2 weeks ago | vestbee.com | Lisa Palchynska

Hard2beat, a new Polish VC fund founded by Maciej Zawadziński, Konrad Trzyna, and Maciej Frankowicz, has committed €1.7 million (PLN 7.5 million) to the first three startups: Neuromedical, Defguard, and DefendEye. The fund was one of four backed by PFR Ventures under the FENG (European Funds for a Modern Economy) program in September 2024.