Entrepreneurs First

The biggest portfolio updates aren't always fundraises. Here's what else happened across the EF portfolio in October:

- Optimal Agriculture was acquired by Source.ag, bringing its autonomous greenhouse control technology to a platform already used by more than 500 greenhouses across 25 countries.

- Crewline opened its new headquarters in Buda, Texas, with a dedicated testing facility for its autonomous construction equipment.

- Asymmetric Security was featured in the Financial Times for its research into the security challenges posed by increasingly autonomous AI agents.

- 7 EF portfolio companies, Callosum, Jack & Jill, Inherent, Omnea, Uncovr, Arago and Build, were recognised in Sifted's AI 100 ranking of Europe's most promising AI companies.

A big October across the portfolio. Bring on November.

Pathfinder has raised a $12M Series A led by Portage, bringing its total funding to $16M, to give families more choice over their children's education.

Proud to back Amaan & Sidharth from day zero at EF.

Another big month of fundraising across the EF portfolio. Here's what our companies announced in October:

- Scarlet raised a $50M Series B led by Headline to build a global certification body for AI medical devices.

- Circuit Mind announced $25M in funding, including an $18.5M Series A led by Norwest, to automate electronic circuit design and verification with AI.

- ClarityCare AI raised a $16.5M Series A led by Headline to automate healthcare prior authorizations and speed up patient access to care.

- Helicon raised $16.5M backed by AlleyCorp to industrialise advanced composite manufacturing with robotics and AI.

- Opply raised $7.5M led by Chalfen Ventures to build the agentic operating system for consumer goods brands.

- CarbonFarm raised a €7M Series A led by Colam Impact to reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation at scale.

- Iridium Credit raised $3M co-led by Field Ventures and MGV to automate invoice verification for lenders.

- VoltaBack raised €2.8M led by Serena to simplify EV charging reimbursement for corporate fleets.

Congratulations to all the founders and their teams.
On to November.

Laura was one of the top 5 tennis players in France.

Then she became a genetics researcher.

Today, she's a Talent Investor at EF.

From competing internationally to researching gene therapy, Laura has never been afraid to push herself or change direction.

Now she helps exceptional people realize their potential and take their own shot at building something ambitious.

Meet Laura.

Circuit Mind has announced $25M in funding, including an $18.5M Series A led by Norwest, to bring AI to electronics design.

Founded by Tomide and Basilio, Circuit Mind is building an AI platform that helps engineers design, verify and optimise circuit boards, turning work that traditionally takes months into weeks.

Already used by engineering teams at Emerson and Schneider Electric, the platform can cut design time by up to 90% and reduce component costs by 25%.

Proud to have backed this team from day zero at EF.