The wire — 27 October 2026

Monday produced two rounds, both announced after the early-morning wire closed. They share more than timing: both companies hold exclusive licences to research developed at European public institutes — VTT in Finland, EPFL in Lausanne — and both are raising capital specifically to prove that the science survives contact with factory economics. Different sectors, same inflection point.

Volare (Pori) raised €7.1 million led by Springvest, with Maki.vc and other investors participating, and simultaneously opened Volare 01, its 10,000 m² insect protein facility in Pori. The plant — built on a Black Soldier Fly bioconversion process using food-industry side streams as feedstock — cost €15 million to construct across prior rounds; the new capital funds the ramp to full capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year. Volare, spun out of VTT in 2021 by Hyvönen, Parviainen, and Tähtinen, targets aquafeed, pet food, and poultry feed markets with insect protein and oil, and produces organic fertiliser as a third output. No round stage was named. A second European facility at roughly five times Volare 01's capacity is the stated next ambition — but the capital it requires will be contingent on what Pori's operating figures look like under full load. Full story: Volare.

Sonexos SA (Lausanne) closed a Pre-Series A of CHF 5 million / €5.4 million led by Valquest Partners — whose founder Fadi Noureddine joins the board — with Robert Bosch Venture Capital also taking a position. Founded in 2022 by Mark Donaldson (ex-SoundChip, acquired by Synaptics) on an exclusive EPFL licence, Sonexos has developed Plasmacoustic Metalayer: a software-controlled plasma surface that absorbs low-frequency noise across 30 Hz to 1,500 Hz with no moving parts. The round funds prototype integration with lead OEM customers in HVAC, automotive, data-centre cooling, and industrial noise control, alongside IP expansion and team growth. Bosch Ventures' participation is the signal worth noting: Bosch products live in every sector Sonexos targets, and a corporate VC seat at this stage indicates an evaluation that the technology is worth watching from the inside. Full story: Sonexos.

No French rounds were on the desk today.