Circles Ventures

Our manifesto: We have the mission to make a #better #future We connect with unique potential #Climate, #Healthcare, #Wellness and #Education Tech Companies. We invest in committed founders at Pre-#seed and #Crowdfunding stages. We #believe in #ventures shaping our future.

Exciting to see telli (YC F24) redefining how B2C companies engage with leads using AI-powered voice agents. Handling pre-qualification calls for complex products like solar panels, mortgages, and insurance has always been a challenge—high costs, inefficiencies, and scalability issues. telli is solving this by automating warm outbound calls, making them smarter, multilingual, and more effective. Thrilled to see the team pushing the boundaries of AI-driven sales engagement. ?? #AI #SalesAutomation #B2CInnovation #StartupInvesting

Our crowdfunding campaign went LIVE on Crowdcube yesterday. And wow - what an incredible start! ???? We’re thrilled (and a bit stunned) to share that we hit our funding goal in just 24 minutes and are currently overfunded at more than 150% of target, from over 800 new investors. We do have a cap on how much we can raise, so if you haven't yet invested we highly recommend investing early to avoid missing out. Find the link in the first comment. We’re inviting you to become a co-owner of Mosa Meat and share in our success alongside investors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sergey Brin, Chris Sacca and relevant industry giants including Mitsubishi Corporation, M Ventures, Bell Food Group, PHW Group and Nutreco. We’re raising to speed up final R&D before restaurant sales can start. We’ll also fund marketing for the first product launch, and the production of the first burgers intended for sale. We have regulatory applications underway in EU & Singapore with plans for further applications including in the UK and Switzerland, with the aim to make Mosa Meat available for the first time as a consumer product. This milestone is all thanks to you, our amazing supporters. Your belief in Mosa Meat brings us one step closer to our mission of revolutionizing the way meat is made. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us, including Gemma Ladkin, Gareth Jones, Jacob Symes, Gabriela Prividera and the whole Crowdcube team, for making this campaign possible. Oh… and thank you on behalf of Rosa and Mona as well <3

?????? ?????????????????? ???????????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ???? 2025 (???? Dealroom.co) In 2024, $320B+ was invested in tech companies globally. US, China and the UK lead globally in terms of VC investment over the past few years. Relatively smaller ecosystems such as Singapore, UAE, and Switzerland are amongst the best performing globally when looking at VC investment on a per capita. In 2024,?Generative AI?raised significant VC funding compared to previous years and the global average. Fintech and Health consistently feature in the top the VC investment per industry charts in the last five years though Enterprise Software has experienced some serious upwind. https://shorturl.at/LGzYf Dealroom.co

The ???????????? ??????: ???????????? ??????????????????????, highlights the top hubs driving innovation in European tech. The ???? UK hosts (68) of the top 250, closely followed by ???? Germany (33) and????? France (24). ?? Top Cities included: London (57), Paris (19), Stockholm (16), Berlin (13) and Milan (11). Just mentioning some ???? players 1000Farmacie Fiscozen BizAway Up2You WeRoad Exein Doctorsa knokcare Zappyrent. At the other end we saw a low performance from Central Europe (19) and Benelux (14) regions. The fastest growing Central European startup was 48th; the fastest growing Benelux startup was 46th. ?? Download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e_FQaJyn ?? Discover the full 250 startups here: https://lnkd.in/ejq8PX2r

?? 2024: What a Year for Circles Ventures ?? As we close out an incredible 2024, we’re reflecting on the milestones we’ve achieved and the exciting journey ahead. Every step we’ve taken is a testament to the bold ideas and visionary founders we are proud to support. Here’s a glimpse of what made this year unforgettable: ? $M+ in Assets Committed – Strengthening our mission to creat a better future. ?? 30+ Founders Trusting Us – Thank you for believing in our vision and the potential of our support so far. ?? 7 Stealth Investments – Excited to partner with game-changing projects in AI Agents, Wellness Tech, Food Retail, and MedTech. ?? +10 Follow-On Investments – Reinforcing our commitment to the talent we believe in. ?? One mission - support positive-impact tech realities to grow sustainably, with the mission to make a #better #future. ?? Named Among Italy’s Most Active VCs – Recognition that fuels our ambition to go even further. ?? AI - the biggest trend of 2024 (P.D. and our image below has been created with that). None of this would be possible without the collaboration, drive, and vision of our #founders, #investors, #partners, and #team. Here’s to building, growing, and investing in what’s next – together. ?? Let’s make 2025 even brighter! ??

Exciting news from Sifted: the 2024 Sifted 250 list has landed, spotlighting Europe’s fastest-growing startups! ?? With an average annual revenue of €17M and a combined €4.2B in total revenue, these companies are leading the charge across industries like #fintech, #climate tech, B2B #SaaS, and more. Here are 10 incredible startups from this year’s list that stand out in different industries: Allica Bank – Transforming digital banking in the UK. Zoe Health Care – Pioneering personalized nutrition and health research. HYDROGRID – Enabling smarter, more efficient hydropower solutions. Ringy – Revolutionizing CRM systems for SMEs. knokcare – Innovating telemedicine platforms in Europe. NatureMetrics – Bringing biodiversity into measurable business data. Montonio – Simplifying payment and financing for merchants. OTHERWORLD – Immersive VR experiences redefining the entertainment sector. Seasy – Streamlining the booking experience for sailors and yacht owners. CleoAI – A next-generation financial assistant making budgeting accessible. ?? London leads the pack with 57 companies, followed by Paris (19), Stockholm (16), Berlin (13), and Milan (11). Notably, B2B SaaS dominates with 75 companies, followed by fintech (64) and climate tech (41). Proud to share that Circles Ventures has three amazing portfolio startups in this year’s lineup, shaping the future of European innovation! Which startups on the list are you rooting for? #Startups #Sifted250 #Innovation

?? The European startup landscape is evolving each year. Europe leads the Emerging Ecosystems ranking with 42% of the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems. ?? The United Kingdom, especially #London, dominates the European startup scene. London is the top city in both country and city rankings worldwide. ?? #Paris and #Berlin are the cities after London on the list of emerging startup hubs in Europe. ?? #Barcelona and #Stockholm are also on the list of top emerging startup hubs in Europe, as Spain and Sweden are making significant efforts to strengthen the startup #ecosystem in their respective countries. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top emerging startup hubs in Europe?? London - Paystone, Voices, GoodLife Fitness, Curve, Rapyd, Wise, eToro, GoCardless Paris - Ledger, Contentsquare, Deezer, Shift Technology, Pennylane, Malt, Back Market, Ankorstore, Aircall, Qonto, Beem Berlin - Ada Health, Uberall, TIER Mobility, Enpal, Trade Republic, wefox, SoundCloud, Mambu, Flink, Razor Group Barcelona - TravelPerk, Wallbox Chargers, Glovo, Stuart, Colvin, Typeform, Wallapop, Badi, VICIO Circles Ventures is looking to support realities in this landscape, DM us! #fundraising #startups #funding #startupecosystem #europenastartup Thanks Startup Rise EU News for the references.

Finding the Right Co-Founder: A Roadmap for #Startups At Circles Ventures , we know that having the right co-founder can be a game-changer for a startup's journey. Here’s a quick guide on how to navigate this important decision: ?? Why Have a Co-Founder? Beyond splitting tasks, co-founders can boost productivity and increase resilience. Just look at companies like Apple and Google – most successful ventures were built by co-founding teams. ?? Where to Find Them? Start close—look for colleagues, former classmates, or people you already trust. If that doesn't work, expand your network at industry meetups or consider programs like Y Combinator’s Co-Founder Matching. ?? How Many is Best? Studies show that two co-founders are optimal. More than three can create complexity, while going solo might increase burnout risk. ?? Test Compatibility First Spend a few months working on a small project together. This trial run reveals how you’ll handle collaboration, stress, and decision-making when stakes are high. ?? Key Qualities to Look For Seek alignment in vision, risk tolerance, and complementary skills. A co-founder with a shared long-term commitment and mutual respect is invaluable. ?? Setting Up for Success Define roles clearly, especially the CEO position. And, formalize your partnership with a clear equity split and vesting schedule. Choosing a co-founder is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make. With the right person beside you, the path to growth becomes more achievable. #CirclesVentures #StartupAdvice #CoFounders #Entrepreneurship #StartupJourney

Introducing the AI agents stack: breaking down today’s tech stack for building AI agents into three key layers: (1) agent hosting/serving, (2) agent frameworks, (3) LLM models & storage. Sarah Wooders and I got so tired of seeing bad “market maps” for LLM / AI agents shoved in our feeds that either had layouts that made no sense or were littered with random companies on them (ie that don’t have serious community adoption), or both. As researchers / engineers actually working in the agents space, we decided to make a serious attempt at making one of these market map diagrams that actually reflects real world usage by today’s developers building AI agents. Basically - if you’re starting a vertical agents company today (November 2024), what software are you most likely to use to build out your “agents stack”? In our opinion, the AI/LLM agents stack is a significant departure from the standard LLM stack. The key difference between the two lies in managing state: LLM serving platforms are generally stateless, whereas agent serving platforms need to be stateful (retain the state of the agent server-side). Building stateful services is a lot harder of an engineering challenge compared to building developer SDKs, so unsurprisingly very few agent serving platforms actually exist today (Letta being one of them). For a full breakdown of the stack, check out our full post (link in comments).