Sherpa secures €16 million to build an AI platform centred on data sovereignty
Executive summary: Sherpa, founded by Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria, closed a €16 million investment round led by Forgepoint Capital with participation from existing investors including Mundi Ventur, to develop its data‑sovereign AI platform. The investment underscores rising demand for AI that complies with strict data‑privacy regulations and could accelerate the adoption of privacy‑first AI across Europe.
Who is involved: Sherpa (founder Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria), Forgepoint Capital, Mundi Ventur, and other current backers.
Likely next: Sherpa will use the capital to productize its AI offering, launch pilot projects with enterprise clients, and potentially raise additional funding as it scales.
The round, led by Silicon Valley’s Forgepoint Capital and joined by existing backers such as Mundi Ventur, gives Sherpa the financing needed to advance its privacy‑first AI technology. By highlighting data sovereignty, the deal reflects a growing investor appetite for AI solutions that can satisfy stringent EU data‑protection rules. The funding could accelerate Sherpa’s product development and signal to other European AI firms that compliance‑focused AI is an attractive investment theme.
Timeline
- — Sherpa cierra 16 millones para su IA basada en la soberanía del dato (Expansión)
- — Thought Machine just hit $100m ARR. Its CEO wants to double it before going public (Sifted — EU startups)
- — Can AI really cure all diseases? (Sifted — EU startups)
Analysis — what this means
Likely next events
- Sherpa to launch a pilot with a European bank Q4 2026
- Forgepoint may consider a follow‑on investment in 2027
Sectors affected
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Enterprise Software
Regulatory implications
- Alignment with GDPR’s data‑localisation provisions
- Potential influence on upcoming EU AI Act implementations
- Increased scrutiny on cross‑border data flows for AI models
Historical parallels
- Similar to Mistral AI’s early funding round focused on sovereign AI models
- Echoes of early‑stage investments in EU‑based data‑centric AI firms like SnT
- Parallels with the 2021 surge in funding for privacy‑preserving machine learning startups
Sources
- Sherpa cierra 16 millones para su IA basada en la soberanía del dato — Expansión
- Thought Machine just hit $100m ARR. Its CEO wants to double it before going public — Sifted — EU startups
- Can AI really cure all diseases? — Sifted — EU startups
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