#berlin-startup

#berlin-startup

Inertia Enterprises burst onto the scene in February with a $450 million Series A, making it one of the best capitalized startups in the industry, aiming to bring laser-based fusion reactors to market.

In a lab on the western edge of Paris, a technician called Remi makes some adjustments with a spanner to a cryostat, a device that cools to minus 273 degrees Celsius, where even the tiniest particles are still.

The German economy's post-pandemic rebound has lagged behind other E.U. countries, and that stagnation has also been reflected in its art market.

Launching a fund used to be a real test of endurance, with timelines often stretching across many months. The process demanded patience that many ambitious founders found difficult to sustain.

Europe's freelance market has been expanding steadily, but the post-layoff acceleration is notable. According to a 2024 report from Malt, the number of highly skilled freelancers in tech across the EU grew by 18% year-over-year, with a sharp uptick among professionals who had been in full-time roles for five or more years before making the switch.

Every January, millions take on Dry January , a ritual of restraint and resetting after the holiday season. If that's the benchmark for kicking off the year with moderation, Europe's startup ecosystem clearly didn't get the memo. In the opening weeks of 2026, the region saw five startups join the unicorn club, crossing the $1 billion valuation mark across sectors as varied as cybersecurity, cloud optimisation, defence tech, ESG software, and education technology.