13 January 2026: Happy New Year - what does the future hold for European deep tech?

Welcome back to the bi-weekly “Inside European Deep Tech” newsletter, compiled by Robin Wauters, COO and board member of the European Startup Network, co-driver at EU–INC, investor at Syndicate One and formerly founding editor and CEO of Tech.eu.

There are more than 75,000 subscribers to this newsletter; I invite each and every one of you to provide feedback so I can upgrade it over time. 💪🏻

A word from our partner Deep Tech Momentum (DTM):

Deep Tech Momentum (DTM) is on a mission to strengthen European competitiveness, resilience and technological sovereignty by building the #1 marketplace for deep tech and AI on the continent.

DTM 2026 will bring together 3,000+ Europe's boldest senior innovation leaders, top startup and scale-up founders, and leading investors across energy, defence, manufacturing and robotics, advanced materials, high-performance computing, and space – with a shared goal to accelerate the adoption of commercially-ready, next-horizon technologies.

The program includes an AI Productivity Summit, Venture Clienting & CVC Summit, CXO Sovereignty Summit, LP-GP Marketplace as well as high-level industry and public sector speakers.

DTM also features a unique format of highly-curated 1:1 meetings to accelerate deep tech Go-to-Market where attendees engage directly with Europe’s leading network of 300+ corporate innovation leaders with budgets to deploy deep tech solutions at scale.

To learn more, visit www.deeptech.build

Below, please find a tightly curated list of links for anyone with a vested interest in the European deep tech space:

Must-reads

• Europe needs strategic purpose matched with action

• How Nokia went from iPhone victim to $1bn Nvidia deal

• Europe's relentless semiconductor decline

• Sanjot Malhi, Partner at Northzone: "Tech 2026" - Entrepreneur

• Europe’s edge in energy, software, and the future of compute

• ESA at 50: What Europe’s space agency means for startups today

• CPP, Goodman to Invest $2.6 Billion in European Data Centers

• Samsung Unit to Buy ZF’s Driver Assistance Arm for €1.5 Billion

• Bosch to Invest $2.9 Billion in AI Over Next Couple of Years

Insights: data, research, interviews and profiles

• What’s in store for European deeptech in 2026, according to investors

• Almost 80 European deep tech university spinouts reached $1B valuations or $100M in revenue in 2025

• 5 Deep Tech Themes That Will Shape 2026

• Venture capital and private equity in robotics: Where is the smart money going?

• Mistral, Oura, Helsing: The top 20 deals of 2025.

• An in-depth look at the EIC Accelerator in 2026

• Europe's soonicorns: 10 deeptech startups that could become unicorns by 2026

• The 13 events that shaped European deeptech in 2025.

• The New Defense Hex: The Six-Dimension Operating System for Defense Investing

• European AI predictions for 2026

• These 33 robot startups raised over €10m in Europe this year.

• 8 big exits for university spinouts in 2025

• European Startup Events 2026 - Black Unicorn PR

Opinions worth reading

• University tech transfer breaks startups before they begin

• The Five Steps to Gate 0: Why Classic Investment Models Fail in the New Defense

• A stronger Europe needs a properly funded Erasmus+

• India and Europe: A call for a strategic partnership

• "The future of UK venture investing"

• Switzerland Shines as a Deep Tech Hub at CES 2026

Major European deep tech startup and scale-up new

• Nvidia-Backed Nscale Is Said to Eye $2 Billion Funding Round

• KKR to invest $1.5bn into European data centre business

• French drone maker Harmattan AI raises $200m Series B at $1.4bn valuation

• UK’s Octopus Energy to sell stake in tech unit Kraken at $8.65bn valuation

• French MedTech FineHeart raises €83 million in private capital and EU grants to fight advanced heart failure | EU-Startups

• bit.bio secures $50 million Series C to scale human cell programming technology

• Accenture to Acquire Faculty to Scale AI Capabilities

• cylib secures €63.4M grant funding to build LFP battery recycling facility - Batteries News

• Qualinx Raises €20M to Scale Market-Ready, Ultra-Low-Power GNSS Chip that Redefines the Connected Edge

Major European deep tech investor news

• Aneli Capital launches €35 million fund for high-growth robotics and tech startups in Europe

• CHF 55 million committed for Übermorgen’s fund

In other links

• Europe’s IPO Hopefuls Are Now Thinking Twice About Listing Abroad

• CES 2026 showcases Europe’s hardware renaissance

• Index Ventures, Silicon Valley’s Quiet Kingmaker, Looks Ahead to Succession

• Mistral AI’s Swiss office fuels momentum for a DeepTech lab

• DSA Holding signs $2Bn LoI for Innogress Ventures–led quantum, deep-tech ecosystem

• Panos Alex Sevdalis: "Defence Mini-Omnibus is now adopted!"

• Dutch cultivated meat startup Meatable to shut down operations after failing to secure funding | EU-Startups

• Europe’s startups go the last mile at CES

• Research community welcomes direction of travel in Horizon Europe

• It’s me you need to show... how deep is your tech?

• All-island deep tech collaboration urged | ThinkBusiness

• Intelic: Command and Control Software for Any Unmanned System

• Paolo Bondavalli : "Introducing the new accelerator challenge for 2026: "Advanced Materials for Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Systems."

• European deep-tech company Willo emerges from stealth with demonstration of alignment-free wireless power

• Rheinmetall and SATIM sign technology supply agreement for SAR programme

The scrolled-all-the-way-down extras

• Perfectly Replicating Coca Cola (It Took Me A Year)

• Dan Wang's 2025 letter

• AI and the Human Condition

• Kara Swisher on the Blind Spot That Broke Big Tech

• Inside the debate over AI consciousness

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