Creandum vs M13

Creandum closes €668M fund for early-stage startups

Stockholm-based venture capital firm Creandum has closed its largest fund to date, Creandum VIII, at €668 million ($750 million), surpassing its previous €500 million ($560 million) Fund VII. The fund will support approximately 30 early-stage investments from pre-Seed to Series A over the next two years, with half the capital allocated to new investments and the rest for follow-on rounds. Creandum is focusing on AI-driven opportunities, having recently invested in startups like Lovable, Olix, Modal, and Black Forest Labs. The firm has opened a new office in San Francisco, tripled its team there in the past year, and plans to expand its US presence while maintaining a generalist strategy. The fund secured commitments from about 30 institutional investors across Europe and the US.

• Creandum closed its largest fund, Creandum VIII, at €668 million ($750 million), up from €500 million Fund VII.
• The fund will support approximately 30 investments from pre-Seed to Series A, with half for new investments and half for follow-ons.
• The fund focuses on AI, with portfolio companies including Lovable, Olix, Modal, and Black Forest Labs.

London's Ares Intelligence Raises €2.9M for AI Adoption Platform

London-based Ares Intelligence, a startup developing an evidence-based platform for AI transformation, has raised €2.9 million (£2.48 million) in a funding round led by Creandum and Lakestar, with participation from angel investors connected to Google DeepMind. The platform uses an AI interviewer to conduct confidential voice conversations with employees in over 70 languages, generating a prioritised roadmap for AI adoption within weeks. Founded in 2026 by Matt Falconer and Alfie Ranstead, the company addresses the challenge of where to start with AI automation. Ares counts enterprise customers across Europe and the US, including Tremonia, a Mercedes-Benz spin-out, which identified over 400 hours of manual work savings per month. The new capital will support expansion and bring its workforce intelligence approach to more businesses.

• Ares Intelligence raised €2.9 million (£2.48 million) in funding.
• The round was backed by Creandum and Lakestar, with participation from angels connected to Google DeepMind.
• The platform uses an AI interviewer to collect employee insights in over 70 languages.

Atlas Bio Raises $12.5M for AI Clinical Trial Simulations

Swiss biotech startup Atlas Bio emerged from stealth with a total of $12.5 million in funding to develop an AI foundation model for in-silico clinical trials. The Seed round of $10 million was led by Creandum, with participation from First Momentum Ventures and LEA Partners, who also led a previously undisclosed pre-Seed round of $2.5 million. The company's model, trained on 2 million human RNA readouts, simulates patient-level drug efficacy and safety, aiming to replace Phase II trials and animal testing. Atlas Bio is already working with a top-10 global pharma company and a Basel-based biotech client that has eliminated animal testing in a specific workflow. The founders, Simon Romanski and Sebastian Bayer, emphasize the potential to reduce drug development costs and timelines significantly.

• Atlas Bio raised a $10M Seed round led by Creandum, plus a $2.5M pre-Seed round led by First Momentum Ventures and LEA Partners, totaling $12.5M.
• The company's AI model is trained on roughly 2 million RNA readouts from human tissue.
• Atlas Bio is working with a top 10 global pharma company and a Basel-based biotech client that has eliminated animal testing in a specific workflow.

What Is Agentic Identity? Meet Baselayer, the Identity Infrastructure for AI Agents

M13 announces fundraising for Baselayer, an identity infrastructure for AI agents, with a dedicated article published on September 22, 2026.

Investors Are Betting on AI Agents That Shop for You

Venture capitalists are increasingly funding startups building AI agents that can shop on behalf of consumers and handle payments. The article maps the emerging market for "agentic commerce," covering personal assistants like Instinct and Town, shopping search tools like Daydream, payment infrastructure startups like Catena Labs and Basis Theory, and marketing tech such as Profound. Major platforms are also moving: OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol, Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol, and Visa and Mastercard introduced Trusted Agent Protocol and Agent Pay. However, the space faces trust and fraud challenges, illustrated by Phia's cookie-stuffing scandal and an Instinct agent error that cost a user around $300. Investor interest remains strong, with millions raised across the sector, even as enterprise adoption lags due to compliance and security concerns.

• Adobe Analytics reported that 41% of respondents used AI for online shopping in June 2026.
• OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), while Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol.
• Profound raised $96 million in Series C funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.