Ferring to buy Gameto for up to $1.38B; XploreAI emerges with Lightspeed backing

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Ferring Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire Gameto, the reproductive-health biotech co-founded by Martín Varsavsky, for as much as $1.38B. The deal has not closed yet. Gameto had raised $117M before this, so the money coming out may end up comfortably larger than the money that went in.

XploreAI, based in Madrid and San Francisco, came out of stealth with backing from Lightspeed and Dwarkesh Patel. It is Lightspeed's third investment in Spain. The company builds virtual environments where AI can be trained and tested on mechanical, electrical and aerospace engineering. Separately, Perk expects to end 2026 with around $450M in annualised revenue and $5B in transaction volume, 35% more than a year earlier. Europe still accounts for 70% of its revenue and the US for 25% of the business.

In funding, Barcelona orthodontics company Impress secured €40M in venture debt from the European Investment Bank; it reported positive EBITDA and €103M in revenue, up 32%, and is aiming for €145M in 2026. ALLOX, a Barcelona biotech using AI and lab biology for drug discovery, raised a €9.4M ($10.5M) seed round led by Asabys, with CDTI and ICF. Madrid's Crescenta got a €4M debt facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and Artiso, a Barcelona AI platform for fashion teams, raised more than €3M in a pre-seed round led by Criteria Venture Tech.