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It's time for another FounderNest Flyby Newsletter, where we help you stay sharp with innovation trends and insights.
In today’s newsletter:
- 🗞️ Quick hits from this week’s news
- 💡 Thoughts from our blog
- 📡 5 emerging trends from our industry radar
- 🧬 This week’s synthetic biology deep dive
- 🤖 Product enhancements: Our custom columns
Quick hits.
Short and sweet - news that caught our eye this week.
Quantum computing investments surged 128% in Q1 2025, with over $1.25 billion raised, more than double the previous year, led by IonQ ($360M), QuEra Computing ($230M), and Quantum Machines ($170M), signaling a shift from research to commercial readiness as IBM announces its fault-tolerant Starling system for 2029.
Global VC investment rebounded to $368 billion in 2024, the third-highest total in 20 years, with AI startups capturing 31% of funding in Q3 alone, while five US-based AI companies accounted for $32.2 billion in Q4 funding, reflecting investor concentration in mature AI plays over early-stage experiments.
European space tech raised record $1.5 billion, growing 56% from 2023 through 99 deals, with Europe now capturing 22% of global private space investment, up from just 3% in 2019 led by major rounds from Isar Aerospace ($70M), D-Orbit ($168M), and The Exploration Company ($160M) for Europe's first space capsule.
Thoughts from our blog.
Why corporate innovation threatens people and what to do about it
FounderNest featured as Startup of the Week in The Innovator
Industrial digital twins 2025: Powering the net-zero manufacturing revolution
Investing in the green frontier: Why Solarock, Terra CO₂, and AssetCool matter
Industry radar.
Stay ahead of the curve every newsletter we give you 5 of the hottest topics and trends across our reference industries.
1. Manufacturing
Advanced Manufacturing Venture Capital Report – 2025 - FCF Fox Corporate Finance reports 80% increase in VC deals (345 total) and 63% rise in capital raised (€1.1B) in advanced manufacturing, with Germany leading deal volume and robotic automation capturing 45% of total funding.
2. Energy
Global energy investment set to hit record $3.3 trillion in 2025, with clean energy technologies attracting $2.2 trillion, double the investment in fossil fuels as solar energy becomes the largest single investment category at $450 billion, while battery storage spending surges to $66 billion.
3. Aerospace
Major space funding rounds dominated headlines, including Shanghai Spacecom's $994M Series A for 12,000-satellite constellation, SES's $3.2B debt financing for Intelsat acquisition, and Firefly Aerospace's $175M November round valuing the rocket builder at over $2 billion.
A sample of satellite constellation companies in FounderNest
4. Food production
EU backs fermentation technologies with €350m funding - The European Union announced a €350 million investment to scale up fermentation technologies as part of its Strategy for European Life Sciences, targeting biomass and precision fermentation for sustainable food production.
5. Entertainment and media
AI-powered ads drive media growth - PwC reports AI-powered advertising expected to boost global entertainment and media industry revenue to $3.5 trillion by 2029, with digital advertising formats projected to reach 80% of total ad revenue.
Explore your own industry space
Deep dive: Synthetic biology investment recovery signals platform consolidation era.
Comprehensive, personalized market insights - straight from our platform.
Record funding rebound demonstrates institutional confidence: global synthetic biology venture investment reached $12.2B in 2024, up from $6.9B in 2023, marking a 77% recovery driven by AI-enabled platforms.
- Synthetic biology venture funding hit $12.2B in 2024, up 77% from 2023, led by AI-enabled platforms.
- Generate Biomedicines raised $273M (AI drug design); Atlas Data Storage, $155M (DNA data storage).
- Google launched a $250M+ cloud partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks; corporates in energy, ag, and chemicals expand synbio VC arms.
- Ginkgo scaled from $4.2B private to $15B SPAC, raising $719M private plus $2.5B public. Deals: $122M Cronos, $160M Roche, $80M Synlogic.
- AI-synbio market $94.7M in 2024, projected $438M by 2034 (16.6% CAGR). BenchSci raised $69.9M Series D.
- Manufacturing scale-up next: investment targets include biomanufacturing infra, automation, and standardized processes.
Find the full research here.
Product updates in FounderNest: Custom columns.
We’re excited to introduce a new feature that makes your company analysis even more powerful: Custom Columns!
Organize intelligence into dynamic AI-generated columns that adapt to your focus. For example, compare competitors, discover company services, and ask about top clients, all in one clear, customizable view.
Thanks for reading! If you want to explore the space for yourself, or any others, you can run your own search directly in FounderNest.
Feel free to suggest a topic for us to dive into next! If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to connect you can get in touch or connect on LinkedIn.
