Dear friends,
We hope you are doing well!
Our Founder Studio has got off to a flying start, we are extremely impressed with all 14 hard-working teams that are part of this programme. Check out our intro videos recorded just as we were kicking off a bit over 3 weeks ago at the bottom of this update to learn more about each founding team!
We’re also very happy to have welcomed two new companies to our portfolio family, leading rounds in Italy-based Gyver and UK-based NEX Health Intelligence.
And, who knows, maybe we’ll get some of the Founder Studio startups joining our main portfolio in the (near) future, too?
This update includes:
Investment Updates – Welcome to Gyver and NEX
Insights - Rethinking neurodivergence in K12 and Higher Education
Events – Berlin Learning & Work community evening
Selected News from the Portfolio – Shakers on Sifted Leaderboard
Founder Studio Intros - Meet the teams
And more! We hope you’ll enjoy!
Best,
The Brighteye Team
🔵 INVESTMENT UPDATES
New Investment - Gyver - €1.4M
We are happy to share that we have joined the Gyver journey – as Francesco Paolo Defendi, Leo Acciarri & Mattia Zarrelli and team are building the workforce infrastructure for Europe's new industrial era, starting with electricians. We led the Italian startup’s recent €1.4M pre-seed round, with participation from āltitude, Vento, Zanichelli Venture and existing investor Antler, alongside several angel investors.
We were immediately impressed with team Gyver’s understanding of how electrification of transport, factories, grids and buildings is creating massive demand for skilled electrical workers - Europe will need an estimated 5.8M additional skilled blue-collar workers by 2030 - and how to address this, by building a conversational hiring platform designed around how electricians already communicate and find work. Workers interact primarily through WhatsApp, answering structured prompts around experience, certifications, salary expectations and availability, while employers receive enriched and highly qualified candidate profiles.
Our Partner David Guérin has shared more on why we are so excited about what Francesco, Leo and Mattia are building at Gyver, their speed of execution and their ambition - check out his write-up and video here - and hear Francesco, David and Rhys discuss it on the Sidekick FM podcast here!
New investment – NEX Health Intelligence - €1M
We are made up to share our latest investment – leading a €1M pre-seed round in UK-based NEX Health Intelligence. Founders Ashleigh Myall, PhD and Chang Ho Yoon MD PhD and team are building an always-on infection intelligence platform that uses AI to help hospitals detect, predict, and prevent highly resistant infections before they spread.
Our Principal Isabella Vahdati said: ❝AI has the potential to enable intelligent decision support in high-stakes environments, enabling healthcare teams to act faster and allocate resources smarter, fundamentally transforming how clinical teams work.❞
Adeline Arts and Science, AFI Ventures (Ventech’s impact fund), MOMENTOUS., the Conception X Angel Syndicate, and industry Angels also took part in the recent round.
Reinvestment - Coachbetter - $8.2M
It’s a joy to share that our portfolio company Coachbetter, the operating system for football clubs, have secured $8.2M in a Pre-Series A funding round. We’re excited to have doubled down to continue backing Patrick Patzig and the team, as they keep building the platform for the people who actually run ⚽ football week to week – the volunteers, the coaches, the clubs. Coachbetter means less time on admin, more time for community and football.
In this round Coachbetter were also backed again by Swiss Founders Fund and ZEN 11 Holding GmbH, as well as recent La Liga-winning coach Hansi
Flick, alongside football people like Paul Lambert and Julian Draxler - plus a strategic new investor, to be shared soon 👀.
Well done, team – onwards!
🔵 INSIGHTS
New blog: Rethinking neurodivergence in K12 and Higher Education
What are the main challenges in how we support accessibility and varied neurodivergence within K12 and HE environments? Where are the opportunities for startups in these spaces?
In this recent blog, Rhys Spence, our Head of Platform and Research, runs through some of the main challenges in this area, as well as exploring what can be done to improve the way diagnoses are made and treatment is provided.
🔵 EVENTS
Coming Up…
Learning & Work Community Meetup Berlin
We are heading to Berlin on 10 June, where we have teamed up with our friends at Revent and Ogima Co-Founder Bengi Cos to co-host an evening focused around funding and M&A in the learning & work space. Join us to meet investors and fellow founders for great content, conversations, light food and drinks.
Already happened…
Legal Literacy for Founders
Last week we enjoyed our second Legal Literacy for Founders evening in London together global legal law firm CMS – thanks for hosting at your lovely office!
Sam Pout, Partner at CMS UK, gave an update on UK Startup Funding trends, and Sam Fisher, Associate, covered IP Ownerships Essentials, Trademark Strategy and NDAs & Confidentiality, before Brighteye’s Founding Partner Benoit Wirz took us through Cap Table and Ownership Basics from the investor perspective.
A LOT of important information to remember and consider for any Founder, from the start – thanks to all who joined us!
🔵 SELECTED NEWS FROM THE PORTFOLIO
Shakers on the Sifted Southern Europe Leaderboard
It’s great to see Shakers as number 25 on the annual Sifted 100 ranking of the fastest-growing startups in Southern Europe – based on revenue growth over the past three years. We are proud to back the team as they are building the “home of freeworking,” a platform where companies and the best freelance talent build and work together successfully, powered by AI.
🔵 FOUNDER STUDIO INTROS
As we kicked off our Founder Studio programme at the end of April, we got the Founders taking part to share short videos to introduce what they are building and what they are looking to achieve during the 12-week residency with us. Check them all out here to learn more:
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