
AI Startups Draw Fresh Funding Across Biology, Chip Design, Business Tools and Drones
Four startups on three continents announced venture rounds tied to AI, spanning automated biology labs, chip design agents, business platforms and long-endurance drones.
AfroEuropa Newsroom
AfroEuropa desk
A wave of venture funding has flowed to startups applying artificial intelligence across distinct sectors, with recent rounds reported in Switzerland, India and the United States.
Automated biology lab in Lausanne
Adaptyv Bio, based in Lausanne, raised a €34.35 million ($40 million) Series A to grow its lab capacity and take on more complex biology work, according to EU-Startups. The round was led by Highland Europe, with existing backers Ace Ventures, ByFounders and Y Combinator increasing their stakes. Ace Ventures had led the company's €6.8 million ($8 million) seed round in late 2024. Founded by Julian Englert and Daniel Nakhaee-Zadeh Gutierrez, Adaptyv operates what it describes as an automated, AI-native wet lab: DNA is synthesised in-house, proteins are expressed cell-free, and binding is measured using SPR. Customers can submit designs via a web platform or an API, allowing AI agents to order experiments directly. At the time of the seed round in November 2024, the startup had nine people.
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