Hey, dear reader!
Europe swings between hype and doom.
One day we're celebrating our comeback on the global tech scene, as I wrote in the last newsletter. The next, we're proclaiming our own defeat. A 180-degree turn that follows a predictable pattern.
Seriously, try this little experiment yourself. For a couple of weeks, pay closer attention to news headlines on innovation and compare them with the reaction in your feed.
Let me give you an example.
Headline: Tesla throws a big release show for their new flying car.
Internet:
"It's just a meme, chill dude," I guess. But through harmless memes like this one, we're sold a narrative that Europe is over. And we pick it up, spread it, and internalise it.
Europemaxxing is easy when Mistral, Lovable, or ElevenLabs make the headlines. One bottle-cap joke later, the mood flips. Tesla gets the show. Europe gets the joke. And a dozen real wins get buried.
Take microagi, for example. This robotics company from Munich has become the fastest company ever (!) to hit $100M ARR. The fact that they raised only a €55M seed round earlier this year makes it even more impressive.
And in Hamburg, our startups collectively raised close to €150M in funding just in the last two weeks:
1KOMMA5, Hamburg's only unicorn, raised €70M to bring its energy management software Heartbeat AI to more homes
Rabot Energy, a climate tech startup, raised €50M to turn home batteries into a virtual power plant
Procuros, a supply chain software startup, raised €20M to build AI agents for B2B trade
Yet all I saw in my feed were memes about bottle caps.
We easily get the impression that nothing happens in Europe. That's simply not true. We have amazing companies and one-of-a-kind technologies, but we tend to talk less about them. Storytelling and communication come later, if at all, whereas in the US they're there from day one. Whether we like it or not.
Instead of bottle caps, I want to see robots from microagi in my feed.
At found, it's our mission to surface stories that deserve a spotlight. If you've raised a round, hit an ambitious revenue target, or built a product people should know about, come to our podcast and let’s hear it.
A good story deserves a proper stage, and found can be that stage for you.
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🗓️ Startup Events
Handpicked for this week.
🤖 AI Everywhere
Wed, October 21
AI day-to-day: AI for Construction and Real Estate (German): Pick up practical AI methods for construction and real estate in five-minute talks, with no product pitches and nothing to apply later than tomorrow.
Fr, October 23
MAKE AI WORK: The Human vs. Machine Edition (German): Get practical AI know-how and unvarnished real-world use cases from people applying it at work today.
🧑💻 Tech Bite
Fr, October 23
Community Meetup at DESY (English): Get an introduction to DESY's research, hear a physicist who works on free-electron lasers, then network over drinks with Hamburg's science and tech crowd.
Sat, October 24
agentic coding studio (English): Bring your laptop and get candid feedback on your project over coffee with practitioners comparing the latest AI tools and models.
🔨 Startup 101
Tue, October 20
Improv Workshop for Founders (German): Practice improvisation methods that keep you calm and quick when a pitch, a team meeting or a stage moment goes off script.
Thu, October 22
IP Advisory Day (German): Learn the basics of patents, trademarks and designs from IP experts, then research your own idea in professional databases to protect it early.
How to Burnout? (German): Learn how chronic stress affects the brain and nervous system, spot the early warning signs and get methods for regulation and recovery.
Fri, October 23
build fridays (English): Work on your own startup alongside other founders doing the same, and end the week with something shipped.
✨ Get Inspired
Tue, October 20
Tech Talks & Matcha (German): Hear people from tech and startups talk about their career paths and daily work over matcha, then ask them anything.
Sat, October 24
Founders Running Club (English): Run with founders, investors and creatives, then stay for coffee and conversation.
📍 Monthly Highlights
Mon, October 26
Co-working Day (English): Work alongside founders and operators from 10 to 18, start with a round of introductions and get fresh eyes on whatever you are stuck on.
Tue, October 27
Energy Stammtisch #4 (English): Meet grid operators, utilities, startups and consultants for relaxed conversations about the energy industry, with food and drinks.
Wed, October 28
IP Basics for Startups (German): Learn from a patent attorney which rights exist, what is actually worth protecting and which pitfalls catch early-stage founders, in part one of two.
Grok Bot Meetup Hamburg #1 (English): Meet people building bots, from work automation to personal assistants, and trade setups over pizza, community talks and live demos.
Wed, November 4
Responsible AI: How Do I Keep My AI Under Control? (German): Hear short talks from Katulu and STACKIT, then a moderated discussion on using AI responsibly while still innovating.
📣 Open Calls
Startup grants, programs, and opportunities.
European Prize for Women Innovators — For women founders and co-founders of companies in the EU or a Horizon Europe country. €100,000 for first place, €70,000 and €50,000 for second and third, plus a separate track for founders under 35 with €50,000 for first. Deadline: December 1.
start2grow — For pre-founding teams and startups founded since January 2026 that build B2B tech. €94,000 in prize money for the ten best business plans, with €40,000 for first place and free coaching along the way. Deadline: January 11, 2027.
💼 Job Picks
3 open roles worth a look this week.
AI-First Analytics Engineer at Sport Alliance, a software company behind fitness studios and sports clubs, backed by $106M.
Chief of Staff at Impossible Cloud, a SaaS startup offering GDPR-compliant S3 cloud storage.
Founding Product Manager at Patterno, an AI startup tracking public tenders across 4,500+ European portals.
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That’s a wrap!
Check out the tune of the week from the found playlist
🏄♂️
See you next week,
Kyrylo from found