Exclusive: Finnish startup raises €25M to put a ‘Donut’ motor in EV wheels

Jul07
by on July 7, 2025 at 9:13 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Finnish startup Donut Lab has secured €25mn in seed funding to scale up its in-wheel hub motors for electric land, sea, and air vehicles.  Alongside the investment, Donut Lab is opening an R&D hub in Chippenham, UK. Risto Siilasmaa, serial tech investor and former Nokia chairman, has also joined the company’s board. Marko Lehtimaki, Donut Lab’s CEO and co-founder, said the investment signals a continued demand for the company’s technology. “It demonstrates to us [founders] what we have always believed, that our tech solution is truly groundbreaking,” he said.   Donut’s flagship innovation is a hollow hub motor dubbed, you guessed…

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Finland taps new AI satellite to track toxic algae from space

Jul03
by on July 3, 2025 at 11:49 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Tech startup Kuva Space is working with the Finnish Environmental Institute (Skye) to analyse the health of the Nordic country’s waters with a specialised satellite.  The pilot test will harness Kuva’s hyperspectral sensors, which can analyse a wider light spectrum than traditional sensors. From space, the company’s probe can read the spectral signatures of almost any material on Earth — including toxic cyanobacteria. Also known as blue-green algae, these tiny organisms proliferate in Finland’s lakes and seas during summer. In high concentrations, they can be harmful and even fatal to humans and other animals.  However, cyanobacteria are visually indistinguishable from…

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French-Swiss software merger to mint Europe’s latest unicorn

Jul02
by on July 2, 2025 at 2:03 pm
Posted In: Insider


French software firm LumApps is set to merge with Swiss counterpart Beekeeper in a deal that will create a new business valued at over $1bn. LumApps, which calls itself an “intranet super app,” offers a platform that helps staff at large firms manage internal communications and workforce apps.  Meanwhile, Beekeeper provides a mobile platform that helps companies engage with their frontline workers via tools such as messaging, shift scheduling, and workflow automation.  Combined, the two firms plan to create an “employee hub” covering a broad spectrum of job roles, from doctors and truck drivers to customer service agents.  Once merged,…

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No-code platform Lovable eyes $150M raise and double unicorn status

Jul02
by on July 2, 2025 at 1:49 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Swedish startup Lovable is in talks to raise $150mn at a valuation just shy of $2bn, the Financial Times reports.  The Stockholm-based business has built a generative AI platform that allows non-technical users to build apps or websites based on simple text prompts.  “I decided what we needed to do is build for the 99% who do not create software,” Anton Osika, Lovable’s co-founder, told TNW in April.  Osika founded Lovable alongside Fabian Hedin in 2023. Last week, Osika said the company had generated $75mn in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within seven months of launching the platform, making it one…

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First legal e-scooter launches in the Netherlands — for €1,900

Jul02
by on July 2, 2025 at 12:32 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The Dutch government has approved the first electric scooter for public roads and bike lanes, marking a cautious yet significant shift in the country’s tough stance on micromobility. Dubbed Selana Alpha and developed by the startup Selana, the vehicle was recently approved for use on Dutch roads by the national transport authority (RDW). In the process, the e-scooter earned its first blue license plate, which means it’s now legally allowed to be driven as a light motor vehicle.   For co-founders Chingiskhan Kazakhstan and Max Schalow, the plate marks the end of a long regulatory slog to legalise their scooter. “After…

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