Innercrowd raises €750K in Series Unknown round to expand AI festival fan engagement

The Hague-based Innercrowd helps festivals turn existing fan loyalty into earlier ticket sales and broader reach. Its platform uses AI-powered engagement, including WhatsApp-based ticket purchasing and AI-assisted conversations with fans.

Founded in 2024 by Benjamin Havenaar and Job Vink, the company has already worked with more than 100 festival organisers across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, and Poland. Innercrowd says its campaigns generate average conversion rates 50% higher than traditional email presale campaigns.

Innercrowd has raised €750K in a Series Unknown round, with Hans Scheffer participating. The investment gives the startup additional backing as it develops its go-to-market presence beyond its home market.

The company will use the funding to expand further across Europe, helping festivals engage loyal audiences earlier in the sales cycle and convert that engagement into ticket purchases. It also plans to extend its reach through AI-powered fan interactions as it grows in other European markets.

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London-based IMMIX is building trading infrastructure that helps payment companies exchange stablecoins across currencies, with particular attention to conversions beyond the US dollar. Its systems combine pricing technology and liquidity access to reduce the cost and complexity of stablecoin-enabled payments. The company has raised €3.12 million in a Series Unknown round backed by Crane Venture Partners, BTSE, and Portfolio Ventures. IMMIX plans to use the funding to develop its AI-powered pricing engine, increase available liquidity, and expand its partner distribution network. IMMIX has processed more than €22.3 billion in customer trading volume since 2024. Its platform supports payment service providers, money transfer operators, stablecoin issuers, trading venues, and other platforms through direct connections, request-for-quote workflows, and API-based price streaming. Co-founders Dr. Andrew Mann and Dr. David Twomey previously held quantitative roles at Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Virtu Financial, and both earned computer science PhDs from University College London. The new round follows a €2.5 million seed investment in late 2023 led by MassMutual Ventures, with participation from Ripple Ventures, and will support broader partner distribution and product development.

Fortastra is developing maneuverable, resilient spacecraft that can help protect critical space infrastructure and support national defense. The Torrance, California-based company combines onboard autonomy with high-rate manufacturing to address security needs in orbit. The startup raised $30 million in Series A funding led by First In. Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared, Side Door Ventures, and ATX Ventures also participated. Mike Smayda leads the company. Fortastra will use the capital to advance and commission its on-orbit security platforms while expanding its engineering and operations teams. The company is also continuing work on spacecraft prototyping, flight software, relative navigation, proximity maneuvers, and perception systems. The funding will support development of a cost-optimized spacecraft bus intended for high-rate production, as well as expanded manufacturing infrastructure. Fortastra’s next phase includes building the capabilities needed to produce and operate spacecraft that can maneuver near other assets in orbit.

Golbriak Space is developing laser communication systems for space and airborne platforms, including optical terminals that connect satellites and aircraft. The Tallinn-based company is building hardware for an industry where reliable, high-capacity links are increasingly important to distributed satellite networks. The company has raised €4 million in seed funding from Join Capital and PhotonVentures, with participation from Takeoff. The investment was made through Golbriak Space’s Italian holding company, Iribits S.r.l., rather than directly into its Estonian operating subsidiary. The capital will support product development, industrialisation, and expanded manufacturing capacity at Golbriak Space OÜ in Estonia. That work covers the production of optical communication terminals for satellite and aircraft platforms, moving the business toward larger-scale manufacturing. Golbriak Space was founded by Nicola Garzaniti and Simone Briatore. The company is also negotiating programmes involving several thousand terminals, providing a potential next step for its production plans as it develops its Estonian operations.

Universal Quantum is building quantum computers that can scale to millions of error-corrected qubits, with the goal of making the technology useful for real-world applications. The Haywards Heath, United Kingdom-based company develops systems designed to address the reliability and scaling challenges facing quantum computing. The University of Sussex spinout has raised $100 million in Series A funding, which it describes as the largest Series A secured by a UK-headquartered quantum firm. DCVC and Firgun Ventures led the round, with participation from EDBI, Artal, Integral GlobalTech, Main Sequence, Hostplus, NGS Super, IAG Capital, EdenBase, Eigenstate Holdings, SiteGround Capital, Dave Baszucki, Nauta Capital, and The Venture Collective. Founded in 2018 by Sebastian Weidt and Winfried Hensinger, Universal Quantum has raised more than $125 million to date. It is headquartered in Haywards Heath and operates across the United States, Germany, Japan, Denmark, and Australia. The company will use the funding to expand in the United States and Japan and grow its German hub in Hamburg. It also plans to advance and commercialise its quantum computing technology, supporting product development, go-to-market activity, and hiring as it builds out its international operations.

Copenhagen-based TODAY is building an AI-powered sales operating system for financial and insurance advisors. Its platform handles administrative work and supports client interactions, helping advisors spend more time on sales and customer relationships. The startup has raised €2.8 million in seed funding led by High-Tech Gründerfonds and Insurtech Gateway. Seed X, Lucid Capital, Herbert Rogenhofer, and Pierre Dubosq also participated in the round. Founded by Michael Gackstatter and Artem Demchenkov, TODAY’s platform is used by more than 3,500 advisors across the DACH region. It supports meeting transcription, back-office tasks, sales coaching, and incoming calls through a single workflow. TODAY will use the funding for go-to-market expansion and product development. The company plans to expand further across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland while extending the platform to cover more front- and back-office operations for advisors.

Vinci Pharmaceuticals is developing EPIPLANT™, an episcleral implant platform intended to deliver medicines to retinal tissues over time. The Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey company is pursuing an alternative to repeated injections directly into the eye, which can add treatment burden for patients and physicians. Vinci has closed more than $8 million in Series A financing led by Dynagrow Capital, LLLP, with participation from MintPharma Capital. The round follows $8.5 million in seed financing, bringing the company’s total financing to more than $16.5 million, excluding interest on convertible notes. The platform was developed in the laboratory of Karl Csaky, MD, PhD, and licensed from the Retina Foundation of the Southwest. Csaky co-founded Vinci with Philip A. Gioia, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer, to advance a bioerodible implant that can accommodate small-molecule therapies for retinal diseases. Proceeds will support GMP manufacturing, testing, and release activities for the EPIPLANT VCI-002 product. Vinci has completed preliminary preclinical testing and plans to begin a first-in-human Phase 1/2a clinical study in 2027.