Future in Focus 2026: a RAISE Ventures-led report on the next frontier of AI

RAISE Ventures is proud to unveil the second edition of Future in Focus, a collaborative report led by our team and developed alongside six international VC firms.

At its core, Future in Focus is built on a simple idea: bringing together a group of investors to shine a light on inspiring founders doing work that genuinely matters. Through this initiative, we aim to highlight the entrepreneurs, companies, and ideas shaping the future of innovation at the earliest stages.

A second edition focused on Advancing AI

In our first edition in 2025, we featured a cohort of promising early-stage startups, and within 12 months, more than half had gone on to raise new funding.

The second edition of Future in Focus is shaped by the current moment in technology, one defined by rapidly advancing AI capabilities and by the emergence of opportunities that, until recently, seemed out of reach. As the field continues to accelerate, the market is being flooded with companies eager to position themselves as “AI-native.” Yet beyond the label, a smaller group of founders is standing out, those who are genuinely advancing the field of AI and applying it to real-world problems with depth, precision, and purpose.

This report is dedicated to that group of builders.

Looking beyond the AI-native label

The companies featured in this edition are not simply adopting AI as a layer or a narrative. They are pushing the boundaries of what is possible with state-of-the-art models, solving critical bottlenecks, and applying frontier technologies to some of the most pressing challenges facing our societies today.

From energy and climate adaptation to healthcare, infrastructure resilience, and governance, these founders are building where technical progress and real-world relevance meet.

What connects them is a shared belief, one that also sits at the heart of this report: AI’s impact will not be determined by capability alone. Like any powerful tool, its outcomes depend on intent, design, and deployment.

A shared ambition

This second edition of Future in Focus brought together a group of international early-stage investors around a shared editorial ambition.

By convening perspectives from across geographies and sectors, the report offers a curated exploration of the signals, founders, and companies shaping the next frontier of AI and early-stage venture.

It also reflects our broader commitment at RAISE Ventures to supporting innovation and leadership across the European ecosystem, while helping foster meaningful conversations around the technologies and entrepreneurs defining what comes next.

[Discover the report]

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