These are the companies that are most likely to make waves this year.
23 Emerging Tech Startups to Watch Out. They range from well-known AI companies like ElevenLabs and Mistral to new companies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Start-ups had a rough year last year. VC funding almost cut in half in Europe in 2023, according to several sources. This was especially bad news for early-stage companies in Europe.
But people are more positive about the coming year because the pandemic’s effects aren’t as bad as they were at the start, and the economy as a whole is expected to get better. As expected, the AI sector has shown a unique ability to stay strong as demand for the new technology soars.
To make sure that not all of the start-ups on this year’s list are related to AI, I’ve added a section just for AI, but I left out some clear ones like OpenAI and Anthropic. The other two lists start-ups from a range of companies that are likely to change their fields this year.
1. AI21 Labs
Another strong competitor to OpenAI is AI21. It was one of the first companies to make AI available to everyone, and big names in the AI business like Google and Nvidia are paying attention. The $1 billion start-up that Amnon Shashua, Yoav Shoham, and Ori Goshen created just raised $208 million in a round of funding led by Intel.
2. Aleph Alpha
Talking of 23 Emerging Tech Startups to Watch Out; Aleph Alpha is another start-up that could be seen as Europe’s answer to OpenAI. The company wants to make AI for businesses and governments that is “explainable and trustworthy.” The Heidelberg-based start-up was created in 2019 by Jonas Andrulis and just raised more than $500 million, with the help of Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence.
3. Articul8
Articul8 was shown to the public earlier this month. It was made with intellectual property and technology created by Intel. Companies can get a full-stack, vertically optimized generative AI software platform from the Palo Alto-based independent spin-out. This platform will use AI to keep customer data, training, and inference inside the corporate security perimeter.
4. d-Matrix
d-Matrix, an AI start-up based in Santa Clara, is one to keep an eye on because some big products are coming out in 2024. Recently, Temasek and Microsoft’s M12 venture fund gave $110 million to d-Matrix. The company says its chips are best for supporting generative AI systems and is fighting with Nvidia in the same field. We have included this in 23 Emerging Tech Startups to Watch Out.
5. ElevenLabs
The speech generator start-up ElevenLabs says it has already become a unicorn since it was founded in 2022. This is because this week, Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman (former CEO of GitHub), and Daniel Gross (entrepreneur) led a $80 million round. ElevenLabs helps people, including employees of Fortune 500 companies, make AI sounds that speak in different languages and accents.
6. Mistral
Mistral, a company based in Paris that competes with OpenAI and Google, is said to have become a unicorn after a €385 million funding round in December. The round was backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, and Salesforce. Mistral was started by researchers who used to work at Google’s DeepMind and Meta. Its main goal is to make open-source big language models.
7. Carrick Therapeutics
This Irish oncology-focused biopharma start-up based in NovaUCD is aiming to discover and develop highly differentiated therapies for cancer treatment. Carrick Therapeutics raised $60m last month backed by Pfizer and a host of existing investors to fund ongoing and future clinical trials of samuraciclib, a novel oral treatment for patients with advanced breast cancer.
8. Cloudsmith
Cloudsmith is one of the most well-known new businesses to come out of Belfast in recent years. It is a software company that helps businesses handle software in the cloud, so they don’t have to hire support staff and save money by not having to do so. Cloudsmith was started in 2016 by Alan Carson and Lee Skillen, two former NYSE coders. The company just raised $11 million, with MMC Ventures leading the way.
9. Deciphex
Last month, Deciphex was named the Irish medtech company of the year. It is a pathology start-up based on the Alpha campus of Dublin City University. Moreover, it has created a digital pathology workflow and an AI platform for study pathology. It also has a virtual service that lets you connect with remote pathology experts whenever you need to.
10. Imprint
Branded payments company Imprint was started in Ireland and lets people shop at their favorite stores and get rewards. The financial start-up is based in the US, but it was created in 2020 by two Irishmen, Daragh Murphy and Gaurav Ahuja. In a Series B funding round led by Ribbit Capital, it just got $75 million.
11. Luma Vision
Luma Vision is a medical technology company with offices in Dublin and Munich that used to be called OneProjects. They are trying to get FDA approval for a gadget that will help doctors treat heart diseases. It began in 2017 and is based in Galway at BioInnovate Ireland. Last month, Luma Vision raised $22 million to get the government to approve its new 4D heart imaging technology.
12. NeuroBell
Medtech NeuroBell is based in Cork and makes medical devices for babies as its main business. It was started by Dr. Mark O’Sullivan, Dr. Alison O’Shea, and Colm Murphy. It grew out of the Irish Center for Maternal and Child Health Research and University College Cork. NeuroBell raised €2.1 million in new funding and added 12 jobs earlier this month.
13. NomuPay
An Irish fintech company called NomuPay made its business stronger by buying Wirecard assets last year. NomuPay is a company based in Dublin that has created a unified payments platform that lets businesses accept payments and send money to other businesses through a single, streamlined route. It just bought the UK fintech company Total Processing to reach more customers in new areas.
14. Shorla Oncology
Shorla Oncology is a drug business with offices in both Ireland and the US. Since its founding in 2018, it has been working to improve its oncology drugs for rare and childhood cancers. The start-up was created by Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan. It recently raised $35 million to improve its drug portfolio. The FDA approved one of its drugs, which was a big step forward for the business.
15. Wayflyer
Wayflyer is one of Ireland’s tech unicorns. In exchange for a part of the e-commerce businesses’ future profits, they lend them money to help them get started or get their cash flow better. The start-up was created in 2019 by Jack Pierse and Aidan Corbett. It just got $1bn in funding from the US investment management firm Neuberger Berman to meet rising demand.
16. Brainyze
A defense start-up from Estonia Binalyze wants to cut down on the time it takes for businesses to react to problems. Binalyze is a company based in Tallinn that specializes in digital forensics and incident response, or DFIR. Turkish Airlines, Deloitte, and EY are some of the companies that hire them. It just got $19 million in funding led by Molten Ventures.
17. Bolt
23 Emerging Tech Startups to Watch Out includes Bolt which is another Estonian start-up to keep an eye on in 2024. Bolt is known in the mobility scene for its creative approach to making EVs safer. Bolt’s taxi-hailing service first came out in Ireland in December 2020, going up against companies like FreeNow and Uber. It said in March of last year that it was going to add more e-bikes to its area programs because demand was expected to grow.
18. Build A Rocket Boy
This Scottish video game business was started by Leslie Benzies, who used to work on Grand Theft Auto. They want to release their own open world platform and a series of games called MindsEye. To do this, Build A Rocket Boy raised $110 million last week in a Series D round led by RedBird Capital Partners in the US.
19. Databricks
Databricks is a great start-up to keep an eye on this year. It may be the only one on this list that has also invested in other start-ups. Databricks is an AI company based in San Francisco that makes tools for building, testing, and deploying machine learning and analytics apps. The company is now worth $43bn after raising more than $500m.
20. Matic
Matic is an American startup that is making a robot that can clean houses without being watched. Serial entrepreneurs Navneet Dalal and Mehul Nariyawala started Matic. The company recently raised about $30 million from investors such as the Collison brothers and Jack Dorsey. This was after the founders said they had “solved” 3D perception and mapping technology for indoor areas.
21. Northvolt
Northvolt is a Swedish start-up that makes batteries. It was recently in the news for getting one of the biggest green loans ever raised in Europe. Northvolt was started in 2016 by Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerutti, two former leaders at Tesla. Its goal is to create a more environmentally friendly way to make batteries, and it already has clients like BMW, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group.
22. Sateliot
Even though Sateliot isn’t as well-known or well-funded as some of the other bands on this list, they are still going places this year. To be more specific, the startup wants to build and launch a fleet of 250 nanosatellites that will be used under the 5G standard to improve coverage. Banco Santander gave Sateliot €6 million in cash earlier this month.
23. Verkor
Dunkirk is known for the war movie with the same name starring Harry Styles. But soon, the small French city on the coast will be home to a billion-dollar gigafactory by Verkor. The French startup focuses on making batteries for electric cars that use less carbon. It just got more than €2bn from a number of places, including the European Investment Bank.
Conclusion
The tech startup landscape is undergoing a dynamic shift, with AI at the forefront of innovation. While the industry faced challenges last year, the overall outlook for 2024 is positive. The companies highlighted here represent a diverse range of sectors, from AI and biotech to fintech and space technology. They are poised to disrupt their respective industries and shape the future of technology. As the global economy continues to recover, these startups are well-positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities and drive growth.
