Latest news with #BaldertonCapital
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Balderton Capital's Liautaud on Europe Investment, AI
Balderton Capital Managing Partner Bernard Liautaud speaks to Bloomberg's Tom Mackenzie on the sidelines of the Founders Forum in Oxfordshire. He says that Europe's goal isn't to out scale other regions in AI, but the aim is to build an ecosystem to achieve compute, data, talent, and regulatory support. This interview occurred on Thursday June 12. (Source: Bloomberg)
CNBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Europe's fastest-growing nuclear fusion company raises $148 million in record funding round
German start-up Proxima Fusion on Wednesday announced it had raised 130 million euros ($148 million) in a record funding round, with investors hopeful the company can soon develop the world's first commercial nuclear fusion power plant. The Series A financing round, which was co-led by investors Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital, represents the largest private fusion investment round in Europe to date. The buzz around nuclear fusion has kicked into overdrive in recent years. Advocates say the technology, which is the process that powers the sun and stars, can play a pivotal role in the energy transition. Fusion energy is the process of jamming together two hydrogen atoms to form one helium atom, which releases massive amounts of power. Scientists and engineers have been scrambling to recreate and harness nuclear fusion since the theory was first understood in the 1930s. "Fusion has become a real, strategic opportunity to shift global energy dependence from natural resources to technological leadership," Proxima Fusion CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino said in a statement. "Proxima is perfectly positioned to harness that momentum by uniting a spectacular engineering and manufacturing team with world-leading research institutions, accelerating the path toward bringing the first European fusion power plant online in the next decade," he added. If nuclear fusion can be replicated at an industrial scale, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the technology could provide virtually limitless clean, safe and affordable energy that meets the world's demand. Not everyone is convinced, however. Researchers have suggested the technology is likely still a long way off from being ready to be scaled up for commercial use. The Series A financing round brings Proxima Fusion's total funding to more than 185 million euros in private and public capital, accelerating the Munich-based firm's mission of building the first stellarator-based fusion power plant in the 2030s. An alternative to the more common tokamak, a stellarator is a device that uses magnetic fields to confine plasma in the shape of a donut, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. These magnetic fields allow scientists to control the plasma particles and allow the right conditions for nuclear fusion. "Stellarators aren't just the most technologically viable approach to fusion energy—they're the power plants of the future, capable of leading Europe into a new era of clean energy," Daniel Waterhouse, partner at Balderton Capital, said in a statement. Proxima Fusion was founded two years ago as a spin out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP).
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Proxima Fusion joins the club of well-funded nuclear contenders with €130M Series A
Commercial nuclear fusion power isn't a reality yet. But venture capital is flowing into startups that promise that clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy is no longer just a distant dream. Most fusion companies that have raised over $100 million are based in the United States. Not Proxima Fusion, a German startup that has just secured a €130 million Series A round of funding (approximately $148 million) led by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures. This brings Proxima's public and private funding to date over €185 million ($200 million), increasing its chances to be one of Europe's top contenders in this race for an alternative to fission, one which does not depend on uranium or other imported fissile materials used in current nuclear reactors. The pursuit isn't solely for scientific prestige; it is deeply intertwined with energy security. 'Wait for the early 2030s and you will see fusion giants in each geopolitical block,' Proxima's CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino predicted in an interview with TechCrunch. Until now, Proxima didn't have the means to become such a giant; its April 2024 seed round was only €20 million ($21.7 million). Since then Proxima published its plans for a working fusion power plant in a peer-reviewed journal. The paper made the case for stellarators, a type of reactor that uses magnetic fields to confine hot plasma into a ring long enough for fusion to occur. Unlike their main alternative, tokamaks, stellarators' twisted rings don't require a plasma current, making them more stable. Building upon its proximity to the world's largest stellarator, Germany's Wendelstein 7-X, Proxima came up with its own Stellaris design, a significant milestone detailed in the paper. The hefty new funding was partly a reflection of reaching this milestone in half the time it had originally told investors, Sciortino said. With an oversubscribed round, the company had its pick. 'Now we have the right kind of partners not just for this stage, but to finance us in the next stage.' Both funds that co-led the round could follow on. Balderton raised $1.3 billion in 2024 for its Early Stage Fund IX and its Growth Fund II. As for Cherry, it closed its latest fund at $500 million in February 2025, to be split between early-stage and follow-ons at Series B and beyond. Sciortino estimates that it will need venture capital as an investment category 'to bring [Proxima] to 2031, give or take.' After that point, the company expects to seek other forms of capital. But before then, it will need the capital to meet big milestones, including a critical hardware demonstration scheduled for 2027. In his view, the funding was made possible by the understanding that 'that this is not an infinitely long journey for our current investors.' By the rules of venture capital, investors may be less convinced that fusion will happen on that timeline, but they are willing to bet. Ian Hogarth, a partner at founders-led fund Plural, has now invested in Proxima three times, and calls it a 'big shot.' A nuclear fusion future is particularly appealing for the Old Continent. 'Proxima represents an opportunity to decarbonize and provide a stable baseload for all the downstream energy needs the world has, and for Europe to play a global leadership role in driving the energy transition,' Hogarth told TechCrunch. Proxima's cap table is once again very European, with participants in the round including Bayern Kapital, Club degli Investitori, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), Elaia, HTGF, Leitmotif, Lightspeed, OMNES Capital, and UVC Partners. 'We consider Proxima to be thoroughly European and not just German,' Sciortino said. Proxima has its headquarters and lab in Munich, where it spun off from the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP). But it also has teams at Switzerland's Paul Scherrer Institute and at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the U.K.'s national laboratory for fusion research near Oxford. Sciortino himself, a physicist by background, is originally from Italy, but worked on fusion research in the U.K., Switzerland, and then at MIT in the U.S. There were several reasons for him to move back to Europe, but one of them speaks to a sentiment echoed by investors: 'I'm a fairly proud European, and always wanted to think that there is a future on this continent that somebody has to build.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Proxima Fusion joins the club of well-funded nuclear contenders with €130M Series A
Commercial nuclear fusion power isn't a reality yet. But venture capital is flowing into startups that promise that clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy is no longer just a distant dream. Most fusion companies that have raised over $100 million are based in the United States. Not Proxima Fusion, a German startup that has just secured a €130 million Series A round of funding (approximately $148 million) led by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures. This brings Proxima's public and private funding to date over €185 million ($200 million), increasing its chances to be one of Europe's top contenders in this race for an alternative to fission, one which does not depend on uranium or other imported fissile materials used in current nuclear reactors. The pursuit isn't solely for scientific prestige; it is deeply intertwined with energy security. 'Wait for the early 2030s and you will see fusion giants in each geopolitical block,' Proxima's CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino predicted in an interview with TechCrunch. Until now, Proxima didn't have the means to become such a giant; its April 2024 seed round was only €20 million ($21.7 million). Since then Proxima published its plans for a working fusion power plant in a peer-reviewed journal. The paper made the case for stellarators, a type of reactor that uses magnetic fields to confine hot plasma into a ring long enough for fusion to occur. Unlike their main alternative, tokamaks, stellarators' twisted rings don't require a plasma current, making them more stable. Building upon its proximity to the world's largest stellarator, Germany's Wendelstein 7-X, Proxima came up with its own Stellaris design, a significant milestone detailed in the paper. Image Credits:Proxima Fusion The hefty new funding was partly a reflection of reaching this milestone in half the time it had originally told investors, Sciortino said. With an oversubscribed round, the company had its pick. 'Now we have the right kind of partners not just for this stage, but to finance us in the next stage.' Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Both funds that co-led the round could follow on. Balderton raised $1.3 billion in 2024 for its Early Stage Fund IX and its Growth Fund II. As for Cherry, it closed its latest fund at $500 million in February 2025, to be split between early-stage and follow-ons at Series B and beyond. Sciortino estimates that it will need venture capital as an investment category 'to bring [Proxima] to 2031, give or take.' After that point, the company expects to seek other forms of capital. But before then, it will need the capital to meet big milestones, including a critical hardware demonstration scheduled for 2027. In his view, the funding was made possible by the understanding that 'that this is not an infinitely long journey for our current investors.' By the rules of venture capital, investors may be less convinced that fusion will happen on that timeline, but they are willing to bet. Ian Hogarth, a partner at founders-led fund Plural, has now invested in Proxima three times, and calls it a 'big shot.' A nuclear fusion future is particularly appealing for the Old Continent. 'Proxima represents an opportunity to decarbonize and provide a stable baseload for all the downstream energy needs the world has, and for Europe to play a global leadership role in driving the energy transition,' Hogarth told TechCrunch. Proxima's cap table is once again very European, with participants in the round including Bayern Kapital, Club degli Investitori, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), Elaia, HTGF, Leitmotif, Lightspeed, OMNES Capital, and UVC Partners. 'We consider Proxima to be thoroughly European and not just German,' Sciortino said. Proxima has its headquarters and lab in Munich, where it spun off from the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP). But it also has teams at Switzerland's Paul Scherrer Institute and at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the U.K.'s national laboratory for fusion research near Oxford. Sciortino himself, a physicist by background, is originally from Italy, but worked on fusion research in the U.K., Switzerland, and then at MIT in the U.S. There were several reasons for him to move back to Europe, but one of them speaks to a sentiment echoed by investors: 'I'm a fairly proud European, and always wanted to think that there is a future on this continent that somebody has to build.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shared payments app Cino garners seed funding
Fintech company Cino, which focuses on shared payment solutions, has secured €3.5m ($3.74m) in seed funding. Balderton Capital led the round, which also saw contribution from Connect Ventures, Tera Ventures, and angel investors, including Cleo founder Barney Hussey-Yeo. Cino's app allows group members to pay their portion directly at the point of sale. Launched in 2023 in Tallinn, Estonia, Cino aims to 'revolutionise' how groups split bills and make purchases together. The app eliminates the need for one person to cover a payment and chase others for their share. Instead, it enables all group members to pay their portion instantly from their own bank accounts. The investment will help Cino prepare for its UK launch, where the company reports a growing waitlist. The funds will also drive its expansion across Europe and support the development of new shared payment features. Furthermore, Cino aims to explore opportunities in B2B transactions and rental payments. Cino co-founder and CEO Elena Churilova: 'Fintech has always been one-dimensional but we are social creatures. Our payments should reflect how we actually spend money – together. Back in the cash days, it was simpler. Now that we have gone digital, payments need to evolve to keep up.' Users can link their card to the Cino app, receive a virtual card, and join shared payment groups with custom split ratios. Any member can pay where Visa is accepted, with automatic cost splitting at checkout. Cino works across banks, eliminating the need to share bank details. Payments are tracked in a group feed, and users can join or leave anytime. Cino's growth is said to have been driven by viral user adoption, especially Cino's expansion has reportedly been fueled by viral user adoption, particularly in Finland and Italy, where the app has achieved 100% month-on-month growth. On average, user groups engage with Cino 17 times per month, with collective spending reaching up to €3,000. Balderton principal Greta Anderson said: 'For too long, people have accepted standard bill-splitting, debt tracking, and repayment requests as the only way to manage shared expenses – simply because there was no alternative. Cino's viral growth demonstrates that there is an alternative which users love.' "Shared payments app Cino garners seed funding " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
