Level Zero Health bags £5.5, the largest Pre-Seed round raised by a European female-founded company - Related to bags, female-founded, cowboy, raised, belgian

Belgian ebike company Cowboy shifts assembly operations to France

Today, Belgian e-bike enterprise Cowboy unveiled that it had fully moved its assembly operations to France.

The shift comes as part of Cowboy’s response to global supply chain disruptions that impacted the entire industry. Unlike brands that overstocked or struggled to recover, Cowboy stock levels remained lean as the organization focused on strategic, long-term growth. However, this led to delivery delays for some clients.

I spoke to co-founder and CEO Adrien Roose to learn more.

, while the industry thrived between 2010 and 2020, it exploded during COVID-19 — “positively in some ways, but with many challenges. Now, we’re facing a bit of a slowdown.”.

“From a macro perspective, this is just a blip in the road. The industry is going through a rollercoaster, but we believe it’s stabilising. However, the unpredictability in demand has made supply chain management difficult. Some companies had too many parts, others had too few, and that created real challenges."

Roose detailed that in response Cowboy has been prudent with cash by only buying parts after receiving orders.

“We didn’t have the ability to build buffer stock in an unpredictable environment. That’s why we made a strategic decision to change our assembler.” We needed a manufacturing partner that could support our business in a way that allows us to build stock without straining our cash flow.”.

The organization began the process last summer, meeting with nearly a dozen contract manufacturers across Europe.

Cowboy partnered with ReCycles, a renowned French manufacturer with over 30 years of experience producing for brands like Peugeot, to assemble its bikes in Romilly-sur-Seine.

This strategic nearshoring move enhances production quality, reduces delivery times, and strengthens customer support as the brand seeks to meet the demand for its ebikes across Europe.

As the most advanced ebike on the market, Cowboy integrates cutting-edge technology with precision engineering, requiring expert craftsmanship to ensure the highest standards of performance and reliability.

, ReCycles has decades of experience building e-bikes and offers operational advantages, including economies of scale and stronger supplier relationships, which will prevent Cowboy’s previous supply chain pain points.

“We acknowledge and apologise for the delays some clients have faced not long ago, and we have taken decisive action to fix this,” We want to be clear—our bikes are shipping now.. For clients who have been waiting, we appreciate their patience. As we ramp up production, availability for our bikes continues to grow, and once we reach full capacity, bikes will be delivered within days—getting more riders in the saddle faster than ever. We’re making the best decisions possible for long-term success, and we’re excited for what’s ahead.”.

This partnership also marks a shift for ReCycles, expanding its production from traditional bicycles to high-tech e-bikes. The enterprise is developing a new 25,000 m² production site by 2027, reinforcing France’s leadership in sustainable mobility.

Gregory Trebaol, CEO of ReCycles, welcomed the partnership:

“We are thrilled to assemble Cowboy bikes in France. Cowboy is the world’s most advanced e-bike, combining cutting-edge technology with sleek design and a seamless riding experience. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to quality, innovation, and making Europe a global hub for the cycling industry.”.

With assembly now ramping up, bikes are already shipping to riders across Europe, marking a new chapter in Cowboy’s growth.

In addition to production improvements, Cowboy is reinforcing its commitment to after-sales service. Riders now have access to 125+ service locations and mobile technicians across 40+ cities, alongside a multilingual customer support team in its Brussels HQ, now responding in just 10 minutes on average.

Cowboy has built strong relations across Europe and the UK and now has over 100 partners across its key markets.

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Level Zero Health bags £5.5, the largest Pre-Seed round raised by a European female-founded company

It's not every day that you hear about the application of a kind of life-changing tech and wonder why it hasn't always existed.

Sensor-powered continuous monitoring has transformed the lives of millions of diabetics. But why isn't it used in other health applications?

Now, UK startup Level Zero Health is leveraging first-of-a-kind sensors to remotely and continually monitor hormone levels and advance hormone and reproductive health. The corporation is also building the world's largest hormone health dataset to unlock next-level insights, research and personalised care.

Today, the enterprise introduced a £[website] million Pre-Seed funding raise.

Level Zero Health was founded over a year ago by Ula Rustamova, ex-Palantir Enterprise Tech Lead and wearable startup founder, alongside Irene Jia, who developed medical devices at Philips. I sat down with the founders to learn more.

"I started in computer science at 15, launched a wearable device organization at 16, and later worked at Palantir as an enterprise technical lead. When I met Irene, we both had a shared frustration—healthcare hardware and data were huge bottlenecks, especially in women's health. That's where Level Zero was born."

Why hasn't continuous hormone monitoring been done before?

Although hormones play a critical role in our health as they regulate all bodily functions, for decades, clinicians have relied on laboratory blood tests or urine tests.

Jia explained that continuous glucose monitors have existed since 1999, but the enzyme-based sensing they rely on doesn't translate to hormones.

"Hormones are volatile, and the only clinically trusted data source remains blood draws — which are invasive and provide just a single snapshot in time." Further, blood drawers require specialised equipment and expertise."

Urine tests aren't any superior, , because by the time your hormones go from your bloodstream to your urine, typically there's a 10 to 20-hour delay.

Instead, Level Zero Health's DNA-based sensors detect hormone levels in interstitial fluid — the fluid surrounding cells and tissues.

Level Zero Health uses aptamers as the core component of its sensor. Aptamers are synthetic, single-stranded DNA molecules designed to bind precisely to specific targets ([website], hormones). When they attach to a target, they undergo a detectable structural change (conformational folding), which can be measured via optical or electrochemical methods.

Unlike enzyme-based systems (like continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs), which rely on specific chemical markers found in glucose but absent in most hormones, aptamers can be designed to bind to a wide variety of hormone structures. This explains why CGMs work for glucose but have not been widely adapted for other hormones.

Further, Aptamers are chemically synthesised, eliminating reliance on animal-derived materials and enabling cost-effective, ethical mass production.

Aptamer technology has surged in viability over the past 18 months. Historically, development was stalled for 20 years due to patent restrictions that limited access to discovery methods. After patents expired in 2016, academic research accelerated, culminating in 2023 milestones:

FDA approval of the second-ever aptamer-based drug.

The first successful lab demonstration of a progesterone-detecting aptamer.

Proof that aptamer sensors can reliably measure hormones directly in human and animal blood over extended periods.

The firm has demonstrated remarkable progress in just under a year, validating its DNA-based sensors in simulated samples across 98 per cent of the human clinical range, far outpacing industry standards.

The corporation has developed an initial patch that takes a biochemical snapshot from the skin, producing a colourimetric reaction that a camera can read.

It's also working on its flagship product, combining biochemistry and nanotechnology in a sleek, minimally invasive wearable patch. Attached to the user's arm, the patch uses microneedles to gather data and delivers real-time measurements of stress and reproductive hormones.

This advancement could transform multiple areas of healthcare, including IVF, menopause and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), to name just a few. Currently, women undergoing IVF require blood tests every two to three days for weeks. With over [website] million IVF cycles undertaken worldwide each year, this represents a significant testing burden. Similarly, testosterone deficiency, which impacts 10 to 40 per cent of men globally, requires regular in-clinic blood tests.

"This breakthrough in health technology has come about in a relatively short amount of time, but already we are seeing strong demand from clients who recognise the benefits of hormone monitoring not only because it allows patients to skip invasive and inconvenient lab tests, but also because it captures critical data inaccessible before."

The largest Pre-Seed round raised by a female-founded enterprise in Europe.

"We just found out today — we hit the record for the largest Pre-Seed round raised by a female-founded corporation in Europe. €[website] million. The key was positioning: we're not just a 'women's health' corporation but building a clinical-grade data platform for everyone."

Despite its early stage, Level Zero Health has already established an impressive pipeline of customers. It will use the funding for R&D, bringing the product to market and expanding its team with the best talent available. While initially targeting B2B clinical applications, the company has positioned itself for potential B2C and pharma expansion as well.

Level Zero Health is backed by investors, including redalpine, HAX (SOSV), Entrepreneur First London, Unruly Capital, Exceptional Ventures, Samos, Anorak, Springbank Collective, DTX, Black Jays and Transpose Platform.

It has also received funding from angel investors, including Aaron Styer, medical director at CCRM Fertility and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, Joshua Klein, medical director at Extend Fertility and assistant professor in reproductive science at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Charlie Bryant, CEO & co-founder of Simple Pharma.

Philip Kneis, investor at redalpine and board member of Level Zero Health, stated:

"We did it for blood pressure and will do it again for hormones. Continuous hormone measurement is one of the holy grails of diagnostics, and as fundamental science transitions to engineering, we couldn't be more excited to back Level Zero Health in their mission to transform hormone tracking with their novel biosensor - paving the way for a new era of personalised health management."

Funding will be used for R&D, hiring in the UK and US and bringing the product to market.

Jia contends, "We believe this will fundamentally change healthcare. It's not just about tracking—it's about unlocking entirely new ways to treat and understand the human body."

Lead image: Level Zero Health. Photo: uncredited.

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CARS24 Unveils Platform To Expand Its Loan Offerings

CARS24 Financial Services Private Limited (CFSPL) was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CARS24 in 2019.

The firm revealed that LOANS24 initially offered used car financing but now it will provide new car financing, purchasing financing, loans against cars and top-up loans on cars.

CARS24 team told Inc42 that the website was live because the LOANS24 pilot had been going on for the last few weeks.

In line with its strategy to diversify offerings and bolster its financial services, CARS24’s financial arm, Cars24 Financial Services Private Limited (CFSPL), has officially launched a credit platform to cater to a wide audience, including car buyers and car owners among others.

However, the LOANS24 site had already been made live before its official launch today (February 20). CARS24 team told Inc42 that the website was live because the LOANS24 pilot had been going on for the last few weeks.

The firm revealed that LOANS24 initially offered used car financing but now it will provide new car financing, purchasing financing, loans against cars and top-up loans on cars.

The LOANS24 website even exhibits that it offers other financing options like personal loans, inventory finance and around 100 credit card options from various banks.

Ruchit Agarwal, cofounder and CFO of CARS24, introduced, “Getting a car should feel exciting, not exhausting. But for too long, car loans have been a slow, complicated process, designed to test patience. If personal loans can be instant, why should car loans still feel like a maze of paperwork and waiting? That’s what we’re fixing with LOANS24.”.

CARS24 Financial Services Private Limited (CFSPL) was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CARS24 in 2019. The enterprise secured its Non-Banking Financial enterprise (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July 2019, allowing it to provide consumer loans to car dealers and end consumers in the used car segment across multiple cities in India.

To date, the enterprise states to have assisted over 80,000 clients in purchasing their dream cars and has facilitated more than INR 15,000 crore in working capital loans for dealers, driving industry-wide growth. It has also enabled over INR 4,000 crore in car loans for clients purchasing through CARS24.

Beyond financing car purchases, CFSPL now offers loans against cars and top-up loans, making vehicle financing accessible to a broader audience beyond just CARS24’s customer base.

In a recent statement, the firm revealed that 72% of its total loan volumes come from Tier-1 cities, while Tier-2 cities have increased their share to 26%.

The launch of LOANS24 is the latest in a series of expansions by CARS24. not long ago, the organization introduced CARS24 Driving School, a discovery platform that helps consumers find nearby driving schools.

In the past year, CARS24 has rolled out multiple car-related services, including driver hiring, car scrapping, a car management system, and a dashboard to track PUC, challans, insurance, and service history. It has also introduced a digital vault for storing vehicle-related documents, among other attributes.

Looking ahead, CARS24 plans to upgrade its app with over 40 new services and is preparing to enter the new car sales market in the near future.

The firm is also reportedly gearing up for an IPO, as indicated by cofounder Gajendra Jangid last year.

Founded in 2015 by Gajendra Jangid, Vikram Chopra, Ruchit Agarwal, and Mehul Agrawal, CARS24 operates a marketplace for buying and selling used cars across India, Australia, and the UAE, along with offering value-added services such as financing.

It competes with unicorns like CarTrade, Cars24, CarDekho, Spinny and Droom in the vehicle reselling segment. While CarTrade is already a listed firm, 3 of these unicorns are eyeing IPOs in the near time.

Droom is slated to hit the public market by June 2025, Cars24 and CarDekho are also gearing up for IPO shortly.

However, except CarTrade all the other players mentioned above are far from profitability.

CARS24 saw an increase in its net loss in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) to INR [website] Cr, up 7% from INR [website] Cr reported in the previous year. The enterprise then attributed this loss to investments in technology, data science, and customer experience enhancements for future growth.

However, its operating revenue jumped 25% to INR 6,[website] Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 5,[website] Cr in the previous year on the back of an increase in unit sales and average selling price per car.

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