NeoLabs: Research as a Product

neolabs-research-as-a-product

A new category of venture-backed company is reshaping the innovation landscape. Known as NeoLabs, these organisations raise significant capital not to commercialise existing products, but to pursue ambitious research agendas led by world-class talent. As research itself becomes the asset being funded, capital is increasingly flowing towards a small number of labs at unprecedented scale. This shift raises fundamental questions about how innovation is financed, where value accrues, and what the future of venture-backed research will look like.

September 10, 2026

20

Research

Defence: AI in Software & Hardware

defence-ai-in-software-hardware

Europe is entering a sustained rearmament and defence-modernisation cycle. Geopolitical pressure, higher public spending, the push for strategic sovereignty and rapid advances in artificial intelligence are changing how defence capabilities are designed, procured and deployed...

September 8, 2026

10

Research

Operational Technology (OT) Security & Compliance AI

operational-technology-ot-security-compliance-ai

Operational Technology (OT) - the systems controlling manufacturing, energy, utilities, and critical infrastructure - has historically relied on isolated infrastructure, often on unsecured networks (IoT, edge, etc.). Today, digitalization and cloud integration have exposed OT to unprecedented cyber threats.....

July 2, 2026

10

Research

Domain Specific Foundation Models

domain-specific-foundation-models

Over the past few years, the AI race has been dominated by Big Tech players (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta) scaling ever-larger language models. Since ChatGPT was launched in 2022, massive capital has flowed into LLMs, and the window for venture-backed challengers in text has largely narrowed....

April 28, 2026

20

Research

Data Security in the age of Agentic AI

data-security-in-the-age-of-agentic-ai

For decades, the discipline of data security rested on a seemingly stable premise: data lived in known places, moved through known paths, and was accessed by known users. Enterprises protected it by building walls - perimeter firewalls, VPNs, access control lists ....

April 24, 2026

10

Research

CISO Unlocked #3: chatting with Patrick Blanc, CISO at Nexthink

ciso-unlocked-3-chatting-with-patrick-blanc-ciso-at-nexthink

At Forestay, we view Cybersecurity as a core investment pillar. In a world of accelerating AI adoption and ever-evolving threats, safeguarding digital assets is mission-critical — offering both risk mitigation and exceptional growth potential. To better understand the role Cybersecurity plays within large enterprises, we’ve...

May 7, 2026

9

CISO Unlocked

CFO Stack

cfo-stack-2

The office of the CFO is often the most data-driven functions in a business, comprising not only financial data but other performance indicators of the business, leveraged to report, forecast and optimise business operations. It lends itself naturally to software applications and numerous marquee softwares …

October 28, 2024

21

Research

ID & Access Management

id-access-management

Identity and access management (IAM) is a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies that facilitates the management of electronic or digital identities. With an IAM framework in place, IT managers can control user access to critical information within their organizations. 1. Human Identity Protection ...

January 29, 2025

18

Research

Insurtech

insurtech

The insurance industry is a complex ecosystem that plays a crucial role in our modern economy, offering financial protection and peace of mind to individuals and businesses. To best understand this space, picture a teeming marketplace where risks are bought and sold: On one side, …

February 13, 2025

21

Research

The State of Open Source Software

the-state-of-open-source-software

In 1997 a software developer called Eric Raymond first published his essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, sharing his views on open source software development and why it should be done as openly as possible. The “Cathedral model” refers to source code being available with...

December 15, 2025

16

Research

CISO Unlocked #2: chatting with Alain Beuchat, Strategic Advisor and former CISO @ Lombard Odier and UBS

ciso-unlocked-2-chatting-with-alain-beuchat-strategic-advisor-and-former-ciso-lombard-odier-and-ubs-xeych

At Forestay, we view Cybersecurity as a core investment pillar. In a world of accelerating AI adoption and ever-evolving threats, safeguarding digital assets is mission-critical — offering both risk mitigation and exceptional growth potential. To better understand the role Cybersecurity plays within large enterprises, we’ve...

January 14, 2026

11

CISO Unlocked

Nexthink becomes a Unicorn with $180M Series D

nexthink-becomes-a-unicorn-with-180m-series-d

Nexthink, the Swiss tech company that provides unique End-user IT analytics, was Forestay Capital’s first investment, back in 2016. Since that first investment, Forestay has continued to believe in – and back – the company, taking part in a further three financing rounds, investing alongside previous...

February 8, 2021

1

News

Wasabi raises $112M Series C on $700M valuation

wasabi-raises-112m-series-c-on-700m-valuation

Forestay Capital portfolio company Wasabi Technologies, the Boston-based, innovative an disruptive cloud storage company, has today announced the close of a $112 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at $700 million. The financing will be used to continue to grow the business, particularly...

April 29, 2021

1

News

Forestay backs Howspace to accelerate European and US expansion

forestay-backs-howspace-to-accelerate-european-and-us-expansion

Forestay Capital has added to its portfolio by leading the €12M Series A funding round for Howspace, the AI-powered digital facilitation platform company based in Finland.

May 11, 2021

2

News

Forestay partners with Stratio to help it drive global expansion

forestay-partners-with-stratio-to-help-it-drive-global-expansion

Forestay Capital’s newest investment has seen it lead a $12m Series A round in Stratio, whose exciting proprietary fleet maintenance technology combines large-scale processing with the latest machine learning techniques to prevent hundreds of thousands of vehicle breakdowns from happening every day.

November 30, 2021

2

Thesis

Why we invested in Stratio

why-we-invested-in-stratio

We recently announced our partnership with Stratio, the world’s leading real-time predictive fleet maintenance platform, leading its $12m Series A investment round and marking our first investment in Portugal

December 16, 2021

3

Thesis

Kandou closes $75M Series D round

kandou-closes-75m-series-d-round

Our Lausanne-based portfolio company Kandou has reached another milestone with the announcement of its $75M Series D led by existing and new investors. This latest fundraise brings over $200 million in total backing of the company, a deserved show of confidence in Kandou’s team and...

January 18, 2022

1

News

BlueBotics acquired by ZAPI, a global industrial conglomerate

bluebotics-acquired-by-zapi-a-global-industrial-conglomerate

In 2018, Forestay invested in Switzerland-based BlueBotics, an EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) spin-off and a global reference in natural navigation for automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots.

February 3, 2022

2

News

Scandit raises $150m in Series D; Reaches Unicorn valuation

scandit-raises-150m-in-series-d-reaches-unicorn-valuation

Scandit, the global leader in smart data capture in which Forestay first invested in 2020, has today announced the close of a $150m Series D round. The new funding values the company in excess of $1bn.

February 9, 2022

3

News

Forestay backs Zenjob in $50m growth round

forestay-backs-zenjob-in-50m-growth-round

Today’s new workforce will expect fast and flexible jobs, at their finger-tips. To fulfil this mission, Zenjob, the digital staffing marketplace that provides temporary work to workers and employees to companies, has raised $50 million in a growth financing round.

February 22, 2022

3

News

Forestay leads Convelio’s Series B

forestay-leads-convelios-series-b

The French digital freight forwarding scale-up for the global arts and luxury goods market raises $35m.

March 7, 2022

3

News

Why we decided to double-down on Scandit

why-we-decided-to-double-down-on-scandit

Scandit has recently announced its $150M Series D at a company valuation in excess of $1B valuation, officially entering the Unicorn club! And it’s a Swiss company, making us even more proud to have been part of this exciting journey since Summer 2020, when we...

March 14, 2022

3

Thesis

Why we Invested in Convelio

why-we-invested-in-convelio

Two weeks ago, we announced that we were partnering with Convelio, leading their $35M Series B. The Paris-based, full-stack digital freight-forwarder specialises in shipping high-value goods with complex logistics chains and has a mission of becoming the global leader in its ecosystem.

March 28, 2022

4

Thesis

Forestay leads Manta’s $35M Series B

forestay-leads-mantas-35m-series-b

MANTA, the data lineage platform, today announced it has raised $35 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, SAP.io, Senovo, Credo Ventures, Dan Fougere and new investor European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

May 26, 2022

3

News

Why we invested in Manta

why-we-invested-in-manta

Last month, we announced our investment in Manta, the leading data lineage platform for enterprise, leading their $35M Series B. In this blog post, we reflect on why we were keen to partner with Manta’s founder and CEO, Tomas Kratky and his exceptional team.

June 29, 2022

4

Thesis

Wasabi Technologies Closes $250 Million in New Funding

wasabi-technologies-closes-250-million-in-new-funding

Wasabi becomes technology’s newest unicorn with backing from L2 Point, Cedar Pine, Cerberus, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and others.

September 27, 2022

5

News

Why we doubled down on Wasabi Technologies

why-we-doubled-down-on-wasabi-technologies

Forestay welcomes its 3rd Unicorn in the portfolio with Wasabi Technologies (“Wasabi”)! The company has recently announced its Series D of $125M at $1.1B valuation, entering officially the Unicorns club! It has been an incredible ride since we first invested back in August 2018 as...

October 10, 2022

5

Thesis

Why we invested in Neural Concept

why-we-invested-in-neural-concept

On June 3rd 2024, Neural Concept, an Engineering Intelligence platform that transforms product design for manufacturers with 3D Deep Learning, announced that it has raised $27 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with the D. E. Shaw group and existing …

June 28, 2024

4

Thesis

5 takeaways from Forestay’s CFO Summit

5-takeaways-from-forestays-cfo-summit

Just before the high summer break, Forestay had the pleasure of hosting 14 SaaS finance leaders for an intimate and engaging CFO Summit at our London offices. The event provided an opportunity to absorb insights from our speakers and served as a forum for sharing...

July 10, 2024

3

Quick Take

Healthcare AI Breakfast: Key Takeaways

healthcare-ai-breakfast-key-takeaways

On Tuesday, 29 October 2024, we hosted the first edition of our Enterprise AI Breakfast Series at our London office. This series of events is aimed at bringing together key members of the tech community to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI in the...

October 29, 2024

8

Quick Take

Enterprise AI Trends: 2025

enterprise-ai-trends-2025

Enterprise AI is undergoing a profound shift—from isolated use cases focused on productivity to a future defined by intelligent agents, verticalized platforms, and deeply embedded automation. The proliferation of large language models (LLMs) has catalyzed a new generation of enterprise software, moving beyond static chatbots...

March 23, 2025

15

Research

Intelligent Robotics

intelligent-robotics

In recent years, we’ve begun to see the transformative potential of AI products across a wide range of industries due to the advancements of AI in language and vision. But one crucial modality has largely been left behind: physical action. For decades, progress in robotics...

April 16, 2025

27

Research

Harnessing Engineering Intelligence: Unlocking the Future of Industrial Innovation

harnessing-engineering-intelligence-unlocking-the-future-of-industrial-innovation

On April 29th, we had the privilege of hosting the second edition of our Enterprise AI Series breakfast sessions, focusing on the rapidly evolving landscape of Engineering Intelligence. This expert-led discussion convened founders, investors, operators and industry leaders, all united by a commitment to shaping the...

April 29, 2025

5

Quick Take

Manufacturing AI

manufacturing-ai

The adoption of unified data layers has accelerated in recent years, enabling machines on the shop floor to seamlessly exchange information. This increased connectivity generates vast amounts of data, unlocking a wide range of AI-driven applications. Industrial AI agents are now emerging across the manufacturing...

June 16, 2025

11

Research

Customer Success Summit: Key Takeaways

customer-success-summit-key-takeaways

At Forestay’s recent Customer Success Summit, operators and investors came together to share lessons from the frontlines of post-sales excellence. The conversations reinforced one central theme: Customer Success is a core growth engine. In B2B SaaS, Customer Success (CS) is often underestimated as a revenue...

July 17, 2025

3

Quick Take

CISO Unlocked #1: A conversation with Simone Fortin, CISO @ MSC Cruises

ciso-unlocked-1-a-conversation-with-simone-fortin-ciso-msc-cruises

At Forestay, we view Cybersecurity as a core investment pillar. In a world of accelerating AI adoption and ever-evolving threats, safeguarding digital assets is mission-critical — offering both risk mitigation and exceptional growth potential. To better understand the role Cybersecurity plays within large enterprises...

September 2, 2025

7

CISO Unlocked

Forestay’s portfolio company icometrix announces agreement to be acquired by GE HealthCare

forestays-portfolio-company-icometrix-announces-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-ge-healthcare

Forestay Capital is excited that its Belgium-based portfolio company icometrix, a leader in AI-powered brain imaging analysis, announced an agreement to be acquired by GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC). The company’s flagship platform, icobrain, offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools for neurological disease analysis...

September 15, 2025

2

News

AI Security: Deepfakes, MCP and Agentic AI Security

ai-security-deepfakes-mcp-and-agentic-ai-security

As AI becomes embedded across digital systems, it introduces a new class of cybersecurity risk—faster, more scalable, and more autonomous than traditional threats. This deep dive is our second into AI security, building on prior work and focusing on three areas where the attack surface...

November 28, 2025

17

Research

The State of AI Data Infrastructure 2026

the-state-of-ai-data-infrastructure-2026

Data is the core infrastructure of enterprise software. As enterprises adopt AI and data-driven workflows, the systems that collect, process, and govern data have become a primary source of competitive advantage. The “data layer” determines not just how software scales, but how effectively organizations generate...

February 10, 2026

30

Research