Plural

Exciting news! 💥 Thrilled to share that we’ve raised a fresh €400M fund to continue backing the most ambitious founders on consequential missions to change the world through technology. This new fund signals a strong belief in the quality of founders and companies emerging from Europe by some of the most sophisticated LPs on both sides of the Atlantic. In our first 18 months, we’ve invested in 26 transformative companies across 6 countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and US. These exceptional teams are making important progress across a range of sectors, including AI (e.g. Robin AI or Unitary) frontier tech (e.g. Proxima Fusion or VSPARTICLE ), climate & energy (e.g. Field or Isometric)) and health & tech bio (e.g. Sano Genetics or Teton), and we’re honoured that they’ve chosen Plural to join them on their transformative journeys. We’ve now raised €660M in total to back important missions and have a GDP-level impact in Europe, address systemic risks and reduce the opportunity gap worldwide through the companies we back. Thanks to everyone who has been part of the Plural journey so far. We’re just getting started! https://lnkd.in/epxdmQAG

With the recent federal elections, Germany has decided to take a bold new approach to fusion energy R&D, committing to unprecedented investments across critical sectors: €400 billion in defense and €500 billion in infrastructure, with €100 billion set aside for energy initiatives. Crucially for the fusion industry, Germany has set an ambitious goal: to be the site of the world's first fusion power plant. The CDU/CSU energy agenda calls for the financing of  two demonstrator pilot plants—one based on magnetic confinement technology, the other utilizing laser technology. That investment will be complemented by a comprehensive R&D initiative aimed at closing all remaining technology gaps toward the world’s first fusion power plant. Germany’s visionary investment in Wendelstein 7-X has already placed it at the forefront of the stellarator race. Now, these latest steps position it as the most favorable environment in the world for public support toward bringing the first fusion-generated electricity onto the grid. As Prospective Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Friedrich Merz has said: "We want to have the first fusion power plant connected to the grid in Germany." (ZDF Maybrit Illner – November 7, 2024) We’re excited by this momentum and proud to be part of Germany's and Europe’s leadership in fusion innovation. 🇩🇪⚡️🇪🇺

Two decades ago, European unicorns were as fictional as, well, unicorns. Jump forward to 2025, and the continent’s thriving $1 billion+ tech companies have helped to produce hundreds of startups, creating an ecosystem filled with repeat founders and companies that have grown into industry behemoths. So what changed? As my latest feature details, it’s mostly an understanding of what’s possible in the once dormant European tech scene. Grateful to Accel’s Harry Nelis and Matt Robinson, Monzo Bank’s Tara Ryan, Spotify's Alex Norstrom, Supercell's Ilkka Paananen, and Plural’s Taavet Hinrikus for sharing their thoughts on what it takes to build a successful startup in Europe. Read the piece online at the link below, or catch it soon in print in the April/May edition of Fortune Europe magazine. https://lnkd.in/gKmCFdSG

“I think the scar tissue we have from owning our companies and building them makes us better partners for the next generation. We’re showing time and time again that it’s not an American Dream. We have the same thing in Europe.” To mark the latest edition of Accel's Founder Factories report, Taavet Hinrikus tells Fortune's Ryan Hogg about his journey through the European tech ecosystem - as an operator, founder, and investor. The new data shows the importance of the role repeat founders play in a healthy ecosystem, bringing scar tissue to massive problems and in showing others what's possible. https://lnkd.in/e-JsxC55

We often talk about our co-founder and CEO, but today, others are doing it for us. Hélène Huby has been awarded the 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗹’𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 under the patronage of the MONACO WOMEN FORUM, recognizing her role in shaping Europe’s space future. Next to her in the picture is Amalia Ercoli Finzi, a pioneer of space engineering and a symbol of scientific excellence. Their work, decades apart, serves the same goal: advancing Europe’s place in space. From all of us at The Exploration Company, huge congratulations, Hélène. #WomenInAerospace #AerospaceLeadership #SpaceExploration #WomenInSTEM #Leadership #EuropeanSpace #TheExplorationCompany #WeAreHiring #FutureOfSpace

“I think the scar tissue we have from owning our companies and building them makes us better partners for the next generation. We’re showing time and time again that it’s not an American Dream. We have the same thing in Europe.” To mark the latest edition of Accel's Founder Factories report, Taavet Hinrikus tells Fortune's Ryan Hogg about his journey through the European tech ecosystem - as an operator, founder, and investor. The new data shows the importance of the role repeat founders play in a healthy ecosystem, bringing scar tissue to massive problems and in showing others what's possible. https://lnkd.in/e-JsxC55

“Reil spells out a more optimistic vision for Europe. The region has finally woken up, he says. Europe’s leaders now understand the urgency of asserting technological sovereignty, meaning there will be stronger backing for other critical tech industries, such as AI, semiconductors, energy and nuclear fusion.” Torsten Reil’s fascinating interview with John Thornhill in this weekend’s Financial Times drives home the the importance of a sovereign Europe and how Helsing is working to defend democracy. In case you missed it: https://lnkd.in/dAUwvMTr

“We are shamelessly shooting for the moon while trying to bring the power of the stars down to Earth,” Francesco Sciortino, Proxima Fusion’s chief executive. The prospect, however distant, of becoming the first company to create a cheap, abundant and non-radioactive source of energy would be particularly transformational for Europe, which suffers from high energy prices. The Financial Times' John Thornhill writes in today's paper about why it’s time for Europe’s deep tech companies to go big and how reasserting technological sovereignty is becoming increasingly urgent, specifically looking at some of the most promising companies emerging from Munich, including Proxima Fusion and Helsing. https://lnkd.in/gjSuUbs7

“I think that every application will be rebuilt with AI and there Europe has a fantastic opportunity to compete.” Taavet Hinrikus shares his perspective on the future of AI in John Thornhill's Financial Times piece on how European startups are using AI to reimagine business models. https://lnkd.in/eiVXJSJN

You’re looking at the future of fusion! Thanks to Florian Herrmann for joining us to celebrate the official opening of our Munich lab, where we’re taking the first steps on our journey toward building the world’s first commercial fusion power plant: Stellaris. It’s heartening to know that the Bavarian Government is supporting us on that journey. But this moment isn’t only about the ambitions of Proxima Fusion, or even the ambitions of Bavaria and Germany. It’s about the ambitions of all of Europe. We hosted over 150 friends, partners, and investors in the lab for an evening of celebration and inspiration, culminating in a panel discussion on how to build €1 trillion companies in Europe – moderated by Isabelle Körner and featuring Chairman of Airbus and Chairman of Warburg Pincus LLC Europe René Obermann, Helsing Co-Founder and Co-CEO Torsten Reil, and Technical University of Munich Professor Ann-Kristin Achleitner alongside Proxima CEO Francesco Sciortino. As Francesco said onstage last night: “Today, Europe needs abundant clean energy; it needs energy security; it needs resilience and grid balance; but it also needs lighthouse projects. We need to remind Europe that we can build stellarators and other things that truly matter. We choose to climb the highest mountain… and prove to the world that Europe intends to lead in a new era of fusion power.” That era starts here, in Munich.