The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits UK theatres this week, so it feels like a good moment to talk about a different kind of fashion that’s been troubling me. More than Miranda ever was by the two Emilys.
It’s been impossible to ignore the way war has reshaped the world over the past few years. Defence is now in vogue in investor circles, and for good reason. Governments are rearming, procurement is a top priority, and European defence, security and resilience startups raised a record $8.7bn in 2025, up 55% year on year.
What’s startling is that while defence startups rallied, funding for European climate companies fell 71% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024 (from €21.7bn to €6.2bn). Sifted did note, when sharing that data, that much of the decline came from the end of a debt surge, but the broader change in mood shouldn’t be ignored.
The long-term problems facing humanity haven’t disappeared. Our atmosphere hasn’t become less fragile because capital found a new home. The energy transition isn’t a lower priority because of geopolitical motivations.
This is the trouble with fashion in investing. It doesn’t just direct attention, it also withdraws it. Much like sheep who find safety in numbers when they flock to the next green pasture, investors tend to do the same. They might be convinced because this new patch of green grass is impossible to ignore then last season’s pasture is safe to relegate. Climate risk isn’t such a category, regardless of whatever dire straits of geopolitics, or Hormuz, we find ourselves in. Recent analysis on the Strait of Hormuz has made that point clear: energy shocks don’t make decarbonisation less necessary; they expose how fragile energy systems still are.
None of this is to say that Defence doesn’t deserve capital, it clearly does.
Europe’s security environment has changed and the procurement demand from governments is real. However, one urgent problem shouldn’t cancel out another with much longer term implications. If anything, with climate funding cooling and global temperatures, well, not, the underlying problem is intensifying.
It feels as though this isn’t a sober reordering of priorities as Defence is quickly ushered into the room in an ESG-shaped frock; opening the opportunity for pivoting impact investors. It may be today’s priority, but the climate problem was here before it, and it will still be here long after this particular fashion has passed.
Read on for more news from our portfolio and partners across Intelligence, Human, and Planet this month.
Intelligence
Tenzo raises $5m. We led the first close of Tenzo’s $5m Series A extension to expand its real-time data and AI platform for hospitality operators. The company now works with more than 250 customers, with plans to double integrations over the next 18 months and accelerate expansion in the US. Read the announcement.
Altana makes Fast Company’s innovation list. Fast Company names Altana one of the most innovative logistics companies of 2026, citing its AI-powered Product Passport system for US imports. The feature highlights Altana’s role in helping importers navigate tariff, compliance, and customs issues. Read the feature.
Nick Kingsbury shares 3 AI agent startups to watch. Sifted’s latest piece on AI agent startups to watch in 2026 features Partner Nick Kingsbury, against a backdrop of fast-rising investment across the category. Read the feature.
AI’s trust problem gets quantified. UnlikelyAI publishes its 2026 AI Trust Report based on 1,000 senior UK decision-makers across five regulated industries. The report argues that many organisations have hit a “trust ceiling”, with AI still checked too closely to deliver full value. Read the report.
Refute joins the conversation on disinformation at the House of Lords. CEO Tom Garnett represents Refute on a House of Lords panel on the disinformation threat, alongside policymakers, academics, and industry leaders. Read the post. The discussion arrives hot on the heels of their latest report, “Protecting Democracies: Lessons learnt from foreign manipulation of European elections and what comes next.”
Periphery opens up home edge security. Periphery launches EdgeWalker, a free open source tool that helps households audit connected devices for default credentials, exposed services, and known vulnerabilities. It brings more visibility to the cybersecurity risks building around home networks. Read the announcement.
PolyAI pushes CX development into the AI-native era. PolyAI launches its Agent Development Kit, giving teams a new way to build and improve customer service agents using coding assistants and standard software workflows. The release shifts enterprise CX development closer to modern software engineering. Read the announcement.
Riverlane puts the decoder at the centre of QEC. Riverlane argues that decoding sits at the heart of quantum error correction because it determines the speed of real-time feedback. The piece also explores the trade-offs in AI-assisted pre-decoding. Read the blog.
Safe Intelligence launches Spec27 in early access. Safe Intelligence introduces Spec27, a validation platform for AI applications and agents that generates and runs tests before deployment and during monitoring. The company positions it as a more structured way to test behaviour, robustness, and security. Read the announcement.
Secondmind features in Drive on AI in automotive. In its recap of Drive’s feature on AI in cars, Secondmind highlights Mazda’s investment and the role of its engineering AI in shortening EV development cycles. The piece shows how AI is shaping automotive development behind the scenes. Read the feature.
Sitehop makes the case for hardware-accelerated encryption. Sitehop argues that software-only encryption no longer meets the demands of financial services networks as traffic, regulation, and latency pressures rise. Its case for hardware acceleration centres on performance, speed, and heavier cryptographic workloads ahead. Read the blog.
Human
Quibim brings breast cancer screening AI to Spain. Quibim partners with Germany’s Vara in an exclusive deal to bring AI infrastructure for population-based mammography screening to Spain. The move expands Quibim’s breast cancer offering by pairing Vara’s screening platform with its own imaging tools. Read the announcement.
Constructive Bio’s CEO earns EY recognition. Ola Wlodek is named a South region finalist in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 UK programme, which recognises 110 entrepreneurs from across the country. Read the post.
Planet
Epoch Biodesign opens a major nylon recycling plant in London. Epoch Biodesign unveils Europe’s first and the world’s largest nylon 6,6 biorecycling demonstration plant at Grapht Works, using AI-engineered enzymes to process post-consumer nylon waste. Read the feature.
Paragraf’s CEO talks green tech at commercial scale. Dr Simon Thomas joins Adopter’s Scaling Green-Tech podcast to discuss building the world’s first graphene foundry and turning a university breakthrough into a semiconductor business. Listen to the podcast.
Xampla joins the UK Packaging Pact. Xampla signs on as a founding signatory of WRAP’s UK Packaging Pact, bringing together businesses, policymakers, and industry leaders to reshape the UK’s packaging system. The move reinforces its role in the push towards a more circular packaging model. Read the post.
News from the team
Dame Anne Glover is recognised in OTA Media’s The Fifty. OTA Media includes Amadeus co-founder and CEO Dame Anne Glover in this year’s The Fifty, its inaugural ranking of 50 leaders shaping UK economic growth. Read the full list.
Amelia Armour weighs in on the UK’s £500m Sovereign AI Fund. Pathfounders’ latest piece examines includes insights from our Partner Amelia Armour: government as a customer can help strong AI companies prove themselves in market and sell more widely. Read the feature.
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