Despite a broader slowdown in venture funding across Europe, female-founded startups continued to make strides last week, pulling in roughly €8.6 million across climate technology, AI, and proptech.
From a broader perspective, European venture capital saw a sharp contraction in deal volume and funding since the start of the year. Q2 figures revealed a downturn from more than 2,300 deals in Q1 to fewer than 1,700, reflecting wider economic pressures and market volatility.
Yet, female founders remain active drivers of innovation and investment across the continent. Below is a closer look at some of last week’s standout women-led funding rounds.
Wallround (Germany)
Founders: Lukas Steinhilber, Tatiana Wotzasek, Henning von Oesen
Founded: 2024
Recent funding: €4.2 million
Berlin-based Wallround is a proptech startup focused on streamlining energy-efficient renovations for landlords. The company provides a digital end-to-end platform guiding the complex renovation process to reduce energy consumption in multi-family buildings.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Lukas Steinhilber alongside product leader Tatiana Wotzasek and construction expert Henning von Oesen, Wallround secured €4.2 million from the PropTech Venture Studio and Vonovia to expand its reach in European markets.
Genow (Germany)
Founders: Dr. Timo Koppe, Adrian Glauben, Dr. Sara Jourdan, Prof. Peter Buxmann
Founded: 2023
Recent funding: €1.65 million
Genow is building an AI-powered Knowledge Operations Platform to help companies break down internal information barriers. Founded as a TU Darmstadt spinoff, Genow consolidates data from platforms like SharePoint and Jira into accessible AI-driven insights, simplifying knowledge access for employees.
The company raised €1.65 million in seed funding led by High-Tech Gründerfonds to develop its technology further and pursue market expansion. Genow’s solution addresses a common productivity bottleneck in enterprise environments.
Seabound (UK)
Founder: Alisha Fredriksson, Roujia Wen
Founded: 2021
Recent funding: £1.1 million
London-based Seabound is tackling carbon emissions in shipping by developing onboard carbon capture technology for cargo vessels. Under CEO Alisha Fredriksson‘s leadership, the company completed sea trials, capturing up to 80% of emissions on a container ship, aiming to enable broader adoption of sustainable shipping practices.
The recent funding round of £1.1 million will support advancements in technology deployment and scaling. Fredriksson, recognised with the Nor-Shipping 2025 Young Entrepreneur Award, continues to position Seabound as a key player in maritime decarbonization.
SugaROx Ltd. (UK)
Founders: Dr. Matthew Paul, Prof. Ben Davis, Dr. Cara Griffiths
Founded: 2021
Recent funding: £1 million
SugaROx is an agri-biotech spinout from Oxford University and Rothamsted Research focused on developing biostimulants to improve crop yields amidst climate challenges. CTO Cara Griffiths leads the R&D efforts that build on decades of academic research, with field trials showing significant improvements in wheat productivity.
The recent £1 million raise will accelerate product development and support expanding growth in key agricultural markets. The company’s innovations address critical sustainability issues in global food production.
Venture capital markets across Europe face ongoing challenges amid economic uncertainties, but sectors like climate tech and AI remain areas of sustained investor focus. As Europe strives toward more inclusive startup funding, these successes show the progress and potential of women-led ventures despite broader market headwinds
