Good morning there,

I’ve written a lot about robotics this year, from the city hotspots seeing the most deals to the companies hiring most across the continent.

More recently I teamed up with Sifted’s data team to report that European robotics startups raised more in the first six months of the year than in the past two years combined (data in the chart below, which shows robotics funding by half-year since January 2024).

Today I’ve got the data on corporate activity, showing a cohort of investors starting to make repeat bets on European robotics startups.

Seven corporate venture capital (CVC) investors that had backed a European robotics startup in an earlier half returned to make another investment in H1 2026 — up from five in H2 2025, and compared with just one in H2 2024 and none at all in H1 2024 or H1 2025.

There have been 13 instances of a corporate returning in a later half to invest again after backing a company in a previous six-month period, with AI infrastructure players accounting for seven of those repeat appearances. Dig into the rest of the data in the full piece.

I’m keen to speak to robotics investors (corporate or otherwise) about the market, buzzy companies you’ve come across and stories you think I should be telling. If you’re up for a chat (on background), drop me a message.

I’ll also be getting deeper into the sector at this year’s Sifted Summit; grab a ticket.

Elsewhere today:

• Exclusive: AI model maker Domyn raises over $1bn
• Starling unveils weekly AI rollout as fintech race intensifies
• How tech shortcuts come back to haunt startups

From brain surgery to orbit to battery passports: inside Europe's deep tech frontier

In the Studio, Sifted sits down with three of Europe's most exciting deep tech founders, Oxford Heartbeat's Katerina Spranger, Atmos Space Cargo's Marta Oliveira, and Mindspider's Ella Cullen, to unpack what it actually takes to build hardware and AI companies that change lives, literally.

From surgical AI with 96.75% clinical accuracy to Europe's first private orbital re-entry mission and mandatory EU battery passports, this episode is a masterclass in building deep tech from scratch.

🇮🇹 Exclusive: Domyn, the Italian company building large-language models (LLMs), has raised $1.1bn in debt and equity funding over the past two years, according to founder and CEO Uljan Sharka, who told the latest episode of the Sifted podcast he wants to top that up to $2bn this year.

🍟 Fractile, the UK startup developing chips for AI inference, is in talks to raise capital at a $6.5bn valuation, according to reports.

🇬🇧 London-based AI infrastructure startup Callosum has raised a $100m seed round led by Atomico, with support from Plural and the UK Sovereign AI Fund.

👻 Former Sifted CPTO Eugi Bartolo reveals how tech shortcuts come back to haunt startups.

👀 We sat down with UK digital bank Starling as it plans to launch a new AI tool every week, accelerating the neobank AI arms race.

🤖 A record number of corporate investors are making repeat bets on European robotics.

The 6 sectors redefining Europe’s tech future

Europe’s advantage is shifting towards deeper tech and harder problems. In this new report, we explore the companies transforming intelligent enterprise, digital health, space, energy, robotics and biology and why investors are doubling down.

If you’d like to submit a deal, let us know.

Berlin-based AssistMe, which develops sensor clips and software that alert care home staff when residents need incontinence care, raised €6.5m in funding. CRB Health Tech and Vorwerk Ventures led the round and were joined by investors including SUM Ventures, Brandenburg Kapital, Conle Family Office, Next Big Thing and IBB Capital.

Gothenburg, Sweden-based Solinide Photonics, which develops photonic chips that replace lasers in AI data centres, raised €4m in seed funding. Navigare Ventures and PSV Hafnium led the round and were joined by investors including Chalmers Ventures, Turbine Capital, Norrsken Evolve and Almi Invest.

Antwerp, Belgium-based Artwod, which provides online drawing courses, practice exercises and professional feedback for aspiring artists, raised €1.1m in seed funding. Airbridge Equity Partners led the round and was joined by investors including ForsVC.

Vilnius-based Guideless, which uses AI to turn recorded software workflows into narrated video guides for training, onboarding and support, raised €1m in pre-seed funding. Superhero Capital led the round and was joined by investors including FIRSTPICK VC, Thomas Plantenga, Vytautas Atkočaitis and Mantas Mikuckas.

Sifted Pro subscribers get exclusive access to all of the deals we track across Europe. Not subscribed yet? You can do that here.