Carbon13 is delighted to announce we have invested in our 99th and 100th startups: Floatsync and Fidelis AI - what a pair of startups to reach this milestone with. Both have the potential to unlock the future for their industries, with scope for impact far beyond the millions of tonnes of emissions they’ll reduce.
Both are making fast progress technically and commercially but they couldn’t be more different as ventures, demonstrating the breadth of climatetech in Europe today.
Plastics and autonomous vehicles
As humanity figures out its path to a sustainable future, two problems loom large in 2026:
Firstly, how to scale autonomous vehicles and systems safely and cleanly. These vehicles will do more than just change how humanity transports itself, it will transform the human-machinery relationship. And yet, training these AI systems is stuck… by needing to test in the real world. It’s estimated Waymo has spent $25billion testing cars on roads in just four cities, generating millions of tonnes of emissions. Those costs leap even higher for more challenging environments than San Francisco’s hills, such as the ocean.
And secondly, what to do with the millions of tonnes of plastic waste we generate every year, which is now seeping into our bodies, overwhelming the natural world, and causing billions of tonnes of emissions. How do we supply plastic to the world’s economy, without using fossil fuels? The recycled flakes industry is already hitting 12% CAGR, the demand is there, but bottlenecked by supply.
Enter Floatsync and Fidelis AI.
Why we invested
Both startups are alumni of our Venture Accelerator Cohort 5. Michael Langguth, Founding Partner of Carbon13 comments:
“We are excited to invest in Fidelis AI because autonomy will shape the future of mobility and the missing piece is scalable, low-carbon validation. Their simulation engine replaces real-world test miles with virtual environments, enabling companies to train and certify autonomous systems faster, cheaper and with a fraction of the emissions. Early interest in maritime autonomy signals a faster commercial path than the automotive route alone. We believe Fidelis AI can become foundational infrastructure for autonomous vehicles globally and a meaningful lever to cut emissions across the sector.”
“FloatSync fits Carbon13 perfectly as a high-impact solution tackling the giant gap between plastic collection and high-value recycling, a space Carbon13 have already invested in. The core innovation is the ability to separate mixed plastics into high-purity streams cost-effectively, unlocking recycling where today most waste is burned, buried, or lands in our oceans. There is a strong additionality case: enabling circularity where economics currently fail and preventing emission-intensive virgin polymer production. The modular system design means scale can happen globally and fast, including regions without advanced infrastructure. With a sharp founding team and early technical progress, we see the potential to materially shift plastic waste flows and deliver climate impact at scale.”
Key achievements.
Floatysnc: To date the company has gained 10 LOIs and the technology is patent-pending. They’ve raised £450k in 2025.
Fidelis: Fidelis has raised £250k in investment and grants from the likes of Innovate UK. They’ve secured partnerships, a trial with Serco, and hot conversations with a leading multinational advanced electronics systems corporate.
We’re building another 100 invested startups
If you’re a founder or want to become one, explore our Venture Builder and Venture Accelerator here
If you’re an investor and want to know more about our investment approach, contact Min Dhillon. Our SEIS Fund VIII closes on Friday 12th December, download the IM on our partners’ website here.
Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more here
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