These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

Happy Friday!

This week, our research team tracked more than 50 tech funding deals worth more than €1.7 billion, as well as seven M&A transactions across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey.

We listed every single deal in our weekly newsletter. Below is an extra overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week.

Note: In May, tech.eu will be shining a light on digital health in Europe, with a little help from a friend (Bayer G4A) - get in touch with tips!

1) In a second major funding deal within one week, the Japanese behemoth SoftBank has reportedly poured $500 million in Berlin-based travel startup GetYourGuide. The deal values the startup at €1.6 billion, according to a report by Deutsche Startups.

2) UiPath, a robotic process automation (RPA) startup founded in Romania, said on Tuesday that it has closed its series D funding round, raising $568 million (510 million euro) at a post-money valuation of $7 billion.

3) The Israel Tax Authority will present a new plan to the incoming minister of finance: taxing the revenue of Internet tech giants operating in Israel, including Google and Facebook, between 3% to 5%.

4) Spanish on-demand delivery company Glovo has landed a €150 million funding round led by Lakestar, with participation from Drake, Korelya, and Idinvest.

5) Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s largest auto manufacturer, said on Monday it is testing software that will allow drivers of its cars to earn the IOTA cryptocurrency as a reward for sharing data.

6) Checkout.com, a global payment solutions provider based in the UK, has raised $230 million in Series A funding. Insight Partners and DST Global led the round.

7) New Finland-headquartered VC firm Voima Ventures has announced a €50 million multi-stage fund to invest in deep-tech startups across the Nordics and Baltics.

8) Media group Tamedia has acquired an interest in Neon, the Swiss startup that's developed an intelligent mobile banking solution which bundles bank offers intelligently in one app.

9) FreightHub, the European digital freight forwarder, has raised $30 million in Series B financing. Leading the round is Rider Global — a venture fund said to be founded by logistics experts — along with Maersk Growth.

10) London-based e-sports team and brand Fnatic has raised a funding round of $19 million led by entrepreneur Lev Leviev of LVL1 Group, who also joins the board, with participation from Beringea, BlackPine, Unbound, and Joi Ito.

Podcast: tech.eu Podcast #116: SoftBank goes shopping in Germany; the state of car sharing in Europe; how ICO white papers are written; is it time to boycott Saudi money; and more

Bonus link: The world needs to be wary of the rise of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, comparing their powers to those of countries such as China, European Council President Donald Tusk has said.