Antler vs Vertex Holdings

Jenz raises €540K to automate retail with AI agent

Norwegian AI startup Jenz has raised €540,000 in pre-seed funding from Antler and Ada Ventures, with an additional NOK 1 million (€92,000) startup grant from Innovation Norway. Founded by Remi Bjørnestad (CEO), Jo Schou Sandåker (CTO), and Natnael Belete Seifo (CCO), Jenz develops an AI-powered platform that unifies retail data from various systems such as online stores, POS, inventory, accounting, and marketing tools. The platform enables retailers to analyze sales data, forecast demand, evaluate pricing strategies, and automate routine tasks. During pilot testing, customers assigned over 3,000 tasks across 20+ back-office systems, with some reporting up to 100 hours saved in the first month and one retailer seeing a 31% increase in team capacity. The company emerged from the Norway AI Hackathon, won in June, and plans a UK launch within nine months.

• Jenz raised €540,000 in pre-seed funding from Antler and Ada Ventures.
• Jenz received a NOK 1 million (€92,000) startup grant from Innovation Norway.
• Founded by Remi Bjørnestad (CEO), Jo Schou Sandåker (CTO), and Natnael Belete Seifo (CCO).

Antler Study: Key Factors for German Startups' Series A Success

A new analysis by venture capital firm Antler reveals that only 24% of German startups successfully transition from Seed to Series A funding. The study, which examined 27,602 funding rounds from over 3,000 startups between 2015 and 2026, identifies five key factors that significantly increase the likelihood of reaching a Series A round: raising at least €2 million in the Seed round, having an institutional VC as lead investor, having at least three investors in the Seed round, having a Pre-Seed investor participate in the Seed round, and completing the Seed round within twelve months of the Pre-Seed. Startups meeting all five criteria achieve Series A in 51.1% of cases. The analysis also highlights the growing gap between new startup creations and follow-on financing, with 3,568 startups founded in 2025 but only 71 reaching Series A. Despite this, Germany's conversion rate of 18.9% for the 2022 cohort remains strong compared to other European markets.

• Only 24% of German startups successfully transition from Seed to Series A funding.
• Antler analyzed 27,602 funding rounds from over 3,000 startups between 2015 and 2026.
• Startups meeting all five key criteria reach Series A in 51.1% of cases.

Interhuman AI teaches AI to read non-verbal human signals

Copenhagen-based Interhuman AI has launched Inter-2, a model that detects 12 social signals such as hesitation, uncertainty, and agreement in real-time from text, audio, and video. The startup aims to introduce Artificial Social Intelligence, enabling AI to understand non-verbal cues. Co-founded by CEO Paula Petcu, COO Frederik Sally, and CRO Line Clemmensen, the company is building its own models in Europe. Inter-2 delivers up to four times faster inference with improved benchmark performance. The technology is targeted at applications in corporate training, digital health, sales coaching, and market research. Interhuman emphasizes transparency and traceability of model outputs, adhering to GDPR and EU AI Act. The company is expanding into voice-only interactions and will announce two additional models in October.

• Interhuman AI launched Inter-2, a model detecting 12 social signals in real-time from text, audio, and video.
• Inter-2 delivers up to four times faster inference with improved benchmark performance.
• The company is developing its own AI models in Europe and is GDPR-compliant, undergoing security certification audits.

Kinetix AI raises US$75 million to build highly humanoid robots

Vertex Holdings portfolio company Kinetix AI raises US$75 million to build highly humanoid robots.