September was a banner month for women-led innovation across Europe. Poland’s sun.store secured €6 million to disrupt the continent’s solar procurement market. Warsaw’s female-led Over in London, Space DOTS grabbed $1.5 million to give satellites a smarter edge in contested orbits.
In our latest collaboration with Female Foundry and the Female Innovation Index, every month we celebrate the standout female founders driving Europe’s tech momentum forward.
Beyond these headline rounds, the month also saw several notable exits and early-stage raises from female-founded companies.
Let’s dig in!
SCINTIL Photonics
Founders: Pascal Langlois, Sylvie Menezo
Founded: 2018
Total funding: $78.7M
French deep-tech startup SCINTIL Photonics, spun out of CEA Leti, is pushing the boundaries of silicon photonics with its proprietary SHIP process for monolithic laser integration. Its LEAF Light engine cranks out 6.4 Tbps/mm edge bandwidth while using just a fraction of the power pluggable optics demand. It competes with industry giants like Intel, Cisco, and Broadcom.
In September, SCINTIL closed a $58 million Series B funding round led by Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital, with participation from NVIDIA, bringing the total funding to €67.5 million.
HearMe.pl
Founders: Kasia Gryzlo, Adam Radzk
Founded: 2020
Total funding: $1.2M
Poland’s HearMe.pl is tackling workplace mental health head-on. The platform delivers video and chat therapy, webinars, and tailored well-being programs for HR teams. Backed by €1.2 million, HearMe serves over 80 corporate clients.
In September, Czech provider Hedepy acquired HearMe, forming CEE’s largest online psychotherapy platform with 120 professionals and 80+ corporate clients under the new “Hedepy for Business” brand.
Integra Therapeutics
Founders: Avencia Sanchez-Mejias, Marc Güell
Founded: 2020
Total funding: $21.1M
Barcelona-based Integra Therapeutics is commercialising FiCAT, an advanced gene-writing platform combining CRISPR precision with engineered piggyBac transposase to create safer and more efficient therapies.
The platform targets genetic, oncological, and autoimmune diseases and has attracted key research partnerships. Competitors include Beam Therapeutics, Inscripta, and Cellectis.
In September, the company closed a €10.7 million pre-Series A round led by the EIC Fund, alongside CDTI Innvierte and Takeda Ventures.
BoobyBiome
Founders: Dr Lydia Mapstone, Dr Sioned Jones, Dr Tara O’Driscoll
Founded: 2019
Total funding: $7.9M
London’s BoobyBiome translates breast milk microbiome research into infant health solutions. Its patented storage device preserves milk’s natural microbiome and nutrients, supported by a live microbiome supplement for formula-fed, preterm, or C-section infants.
In September, the team closed a £2.5 million seed round led by Empirical Ventures with participation from XFactor, The Helm, and angels for commercial launch and partnerships.
SANA Labs
Founders: Anna Nordell Westling, Joel Hellermark
Founded: 2016
Recent funding: $138M
SANA Labs is a Stockholm-based AI startup founded in 2016 by Anna Nordell Westling and Joel Hellermark that specialises in personalised enterprise learning and knowledge management. Its platform uses machine learning to index, search, and recommend training materials, enabling organisations to upskill workforces faster and more efficiently.
In September, Workday announced its $1.1 billion acquisition of SANA Labs, marking one of Europe’s largest AI exits.
Genomines
Founders: Dali Rashid, Fabien Koutchekian
Founded: 2021
Total funding: $49.4M
Paris-based clean-tech startup Genomines, founded in 2021 by Dali Rashid and Fabien Koutchekian, is reinventing metal extraction. Using genetically enhanced hyperaccumulator plants, its proprietary platform farms crops that absorb nickel and other battery-grade metals from low-grade soils.
In September, Genomines closed a $45 million Series A round led by Engine Ventures and Forbion BioEconomy. The capital increased its total funding to $49.4 million and will support full-scale field demonstrations and commercial offtake agreements.
TrustNXT
Founders: Ariane Scheer-Danielsson, Sebastian Adank, Andreas Reich
Founded: 2024
Total funding: N/A
Munich-based cybersecurity startup TrustNXT, spun off from Basler AG and founded in 2024 by Ariane Scheer-Danielsson, Andreas Reich, and Sebastian Adank, safeguards images and videos from AI-generated manipulation. Its GuardMesh platform embeds cryptographic trust labels and real-time authenticity verification into visual data streams across insurers, industrial cameras, surveillance, and live videos.
In September, the team closed a €1.6 million pre-seed round, co-led by D11Z Ventures and High-Tech Gründerfonds, to accelerate global deployments of its platforms.
ARTHEx Biotech
Founders: Beatriz llamusi, Rubén Artero
Founded: 2019
Total funding: $53.8M
Founded in 2019 by Dr Beatriz Llamusí and Dr Rubén Artero, Valencia-based ARTHEx Biotech develops precision RNA therapeutics for rare neuromuscular diseases. Its ENTRY™ antisense oligonucleotide platform enables rapid design of chemically modified inhibitors of pathogenic microRNAs. The lead candidate, ATX-01 (anti-miR-23b), restores normal MBNL1 protein levels in preclinical models of myotonic dystrophy type 1 and is poised to enter first-in-human studies in 2026.
The latest funding round underpins toxicology studies, biodistribution profiling and the upcoming clinical validation of ATX-01, as well as expansion of its pipeline against additional neuromuscular, cardiac and CNS targets.
DRUID AI
Founders: Andreea Plesea, Bogdan Pietroiu, Dan Balaceanu, and Liviu Dragan
Founded: 2018
Total funding: $82.2M
Founded in 2018 by Andreea Plesea, Bogdan Pietroiu, Dan Balaceanu, and Liviu Dragan, Bucharest-based DRUID AI offers an enterprise-grade agentic AI platform that enables rapid design, deployment, and orchestration of conversational AI agents to automate HR, IT, finance, and customer-facing workflows.
In September, DRUID AI raised $31 million in a Series C funding round led by Cipio Partners, with participation from TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, Smedvig, and Hoxton Ventures. The funds will support global expansion, enhance its DRUID Conductor orchestration engine, and prepare for a U.S. market launch in 2026.
Fonmap
Founders: Tuba Ertugay, Sami Güzel
Founded: 2023
Total funding: $3M
Founded in 2024 by Tuba Ertugay and Sami Güzel, Istanbul’s Fonmap democratises access to Turkey’s alternative investment funds. The fintech platform’s mobile app lets users browse, compare, and invest in venture capital and real estate funds approved by the Capital Markets Board, all without paperwork. It tracks performance against benchmarks like gold and the BIST 100 Index.
Fonmap is Turkey’s first fully digital alternative fund platform and has partnered with leading asset managers to list over 50 funds. It offers a seamless, retail-friendly investment experience, competing against traditional brokerages.
This article is published as part of a media collaboration with Female Foundry.
