Newsletter: VC Breakfast Club

/espresso

• Verdiva Bio raises $410M to advance non-invasive weight loss treatments with acquired GLP-1 drug assets.

• Mulder secures £500K pre-seed funding to revolutionize medical device traceability with blockchain tech.

• Defiant VC launches with $30M, building data-driven products to target B2B SaaS & fintech startups.

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Are you raising? Join our monthly pitch Zoom: Founders, pitch here. VCs, RSVP here.

/deals

💊 London-based Verdiva Bio raised $410M in one of Europe’s largest Series A rounds, led by Forbion and General Atlantic. The biotech venture, founded in 2024, acquired drug assets from Sciwind Biosciences and aims to develop non-invasive weight loss treatments. CEO Khurem Farooq previously led Aiolos Bio’s $1B exit to GSK.

📱 Nothing Technology secured a £30M debt raise from Santander amid £59.4M losses in 2023. Founded by Carl Pei, the smartphone maker posted 12% revenue growth and aims to sustain momentum with new products. Previous backers include Google Ventures, EQT Ventures, and C Capital. Expansion into software may follow.

⚕️ Oxford Cancer Analytics (OXcan), co-founded by Dr. Peter Jianrui Liu and Andreas Halner, raised $16M CAD in Series A funding. The Oxford and Toronto-based startup uses proteomics and AI to analyze blood for protein biomarkers linked to early-stage lung cancer.

👩‍⚕️ London-based medtech startup VitVio secured £1.63M in pre-seed funding led by LDV Capital, with participation from Bek Ventures, Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, and angel investors. VitVio’s AI-driven platform uses computer vision to autonomously track surgical procedures.

📸 Cambridge-based AI startup RoboK secured €1.1M from UKRI to develop PALLETS, an AI-driven safety and efficiency solution for UK ports. Founded by Cambridge alumni Hao Zheng, the company’s product integrates with existing CCTV to enhance hazard detection and streamline logistics.

🙋‍♀️ Female-led MedTech startup Mulder raised £500K in a pre-seed round led by SFC Capital, backed by an Innovate UK SMART Grant. Founded by healthcare innovators, Mulder’s blockchain-powered platform targets medical device traceability, regulatory compliance, and recall management.

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Defiant, a new London and Lisbon-based early-stage VC firm, emerged from stealth with $30M raised, targeting B2B SaaS and fintech startups. Co-founders Joseph Pizzolato and Cam Rail plan to revolutionize venture investing by allocating a third of their fund’s budget to building data-driven products like Morpheus and Blueprint.

Lockheed Martin Ventures plans increased investments in European startups, focusing on quantum, AI, and autonomous systems. With $400M allocated, LMV aims to foster transatlantic partnerships, bolster defence innovation, and support NATO initiatives, including the Diana startup accelerator.

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• Watercycle Technologies, a spinout from the University of Manchester, produced over 100kg of battery-grade lithium carbonate using its proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction and Crystallisation technology. The startup aims to scale sustainable lithium production for Europe’s giga-factories, reducing reliance on imported battery materials.

• Cambridge biotech startup OutSee, backed by deep science VC Ahren, partners with Finland’s FINBB to advance dementia research. Using its AI-driven platform, Nomaly, OutSee will analyze genetic data from Finnish biobanks to identify new drug targets and biomarkers, aiming to unlock novel insights for dementia treatment.

• Faculty AI, a Cambridge-based startup known for AI safety work with the UK government, is developing AI for military drones.

/flywheel

• Networking events coming up in London (25-Jan The Creator Meetup @ Kings Cross, 21-Jan London Tech + Startups Social @ Forge) and Cambridge (16 Jan AI in Cancer Research @ Newnham College).

• Apply to pitch at Tech.eu Summit in March.

📸 @techbrunch.

Super Jensen! At CES 2025, Nvidia unveiled a suite of new products and announcements - RTX 50 Series GPUs, Cosmos World Foundation Models for robotics, AI-driven PCs, and Project Digits, and a compact supercomputer. These innovations underscore Nvidia’s strategy to dominate AI, robotics, and autonomous systems.

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