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 just over €1 billion, as well as more than 15 M&A transactions and rumours across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey.

Note: In May, tech.eu shone a light on digital health in Europe, with a little help from a friend (Bayer G4A) - check it out!

Meanwhile, here's an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will hear a landmark privacy case regarding the transfer of EU citizens’ data to the United States in July, after Facebook’s bid to stop its referral was blocked by Ireland’s Supreme Court on Friday.

2) Future Positive Capital, an early-stage VC firm co-founded by ex-Index Ventures associate Sofia Hmich, has come out of the woodworks. The new $57 million pan-European fund will invest in “deep tech” startups across the region that are attempting to solve “the world’s most pressing problems”.

3) San Francisco-based private equity firm Francisco Partners Management and Tel Aviv-based IGP have agreed to acquire Israel-based live broadcasting company LiveU for approximately $200 million, the companies announced Tuesday.

4) Four big German publishing groups are collaborating in order to fight the market power of tech platforms from Google, Amazon, Facebook and the like. Axel Springer and Funke Mediengruppe’s joint sales house, Media Impact, has joined forces with the joint sales house of fellow publishing juggernauts RTL Group and Gruner+Jahr to solidify an advertising alliance that sells the combined inventory of all four media groups.

5) SoundCloud, the audio platform company started in Berlin back in 2007, has acquired rights management and distribution company Repost Network to beef up its range of services it can offer its network of now more than 20 million creators.

6) Berlin-based personalised fashion startups Outfittery and Modomoto are merging in an effort to accelerate growth in Europe, where they compete with online-only retailer Zalando’s own bespoke clothing business.

7) The UK-founded insurance startup yulife has raised £10 million in a funding round led by Creandum Funds, with participation from MMC Ventures, Notion Capital, Anthemis Exponential Ventures, RGAX, and OurCrowd.

8) Tel Aviv-based hardware startup TriEye has raised $17 million for its low-visibility Short-Wave-Infra-Red (SWIR) camera designed for autonomous vehicles. The round was led by Intel Capital, with participation from Marius Nacht, co-founder of Check Point Software Technologies, and TriEye’s existing investor Grove Ventures.

9) The UK’s delivery platform for retail companies Sorted Group has landed £15 million in a funding round led by Praetura Ventures and NVM Private Equity LLP. The capital injection brings the total amount raised by the company to £22 million.

10) Since the EU's new data protection regulation came into force a year ago, Ireland's Data Protection Commission says it has launched 19 statutory investigations, 11 of which focus on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

tech.eu Podcast: tech.eu Podcast #119: TransferWise millionaires, GDPR anniversary, Ireland’s investigation into Google, interview with Nori Health’s Roeland Pater

Bonus link: Lack of stock options is holding Germany back (Sifted op-ed by GetYourGuide's Johannes Reck)