These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

Happy Friday! This week, tech.eu tracked 12 technology M&A transactions and 104 funding deals (totalling €434 million) in Europe, Turkey and Israel.

Like every week, we listed every single one of them in our free weekly newsletter, along with interesting news regarding fledgling European startups, tech investors old and new, a number of good reads published elsewhere, government and policy news, as well as an overview of interesting lists, facts and figures from a wide variety of sources.

You can subscribe to our newsletter below to receive all this information in your inbox every Friday afternoon for free, but here’s an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) Qualcomm has agreed to acquire NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch global semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Eindhoven, in an all-cash deal worth more than $47 billion.

2) European privacy watchdogs have sent letters to WhatsApp over its sharing of information with parent company Facebook, and separately to Yahoo over a 2014 data breach and its scanning of customer emails for US intelligence purposes.

3) UK financial software company Misys has ditched its plans for an IPO in London, citing uncertain market conditions.

4) London-based TransferWise, which was valued by investors at $1.1 billion this year, said it would start enabling US companies to make international payments through its service.

5) Austria-based ams has acquired Heptagon, an industry leader in sensing, illumination and 3D imaging solutions, for up to €845 million.

6) Drivers for Uber have won a landmark case in the UK after employment tribunal judges ruled that they were not self-employed and should be paid the national living wage.

7) Trivago, the Germany-based online hotel reservation company backed by Expedia, is expected to list its shares in New York by the end of November.

8) Cameras attached to drones fall foul of Sweden's strict surveillance laws, the country's highest court has ruled by slapping an outright ban on drone filming.

9) Paris-based Chronocam has raised $15 million in a series B round led by Intel Capital to further develop and commercialise its machine vision sensors and expand into the US and Asia.

10) Sweden’s Starbreeze buys Belgian visual effects studio and VR tech firm Nozon for €7.1 million.

Bonus link: Can Israel Expand Its Startup Culture To Nearby Regions? (Knowledge @ Wharton)