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Last week, our research team tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €600 million, as well as six M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey.
Meanwhile, here's an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for last week (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this roundup in your inbox every Monday morning):
1) Zynga has acquired Turkish mobile-game maker Peak for a whopping $1.8 billion. The deal is in part cash, part stock, split evenly across the total transaction size. Zynga had earlier purchased Peak’s casual card business for $100 million in 2017.
2) OurCrowd, a Jerusalem-based investment platform, has launched the Pandemic Innovation Fund, with the plan to raise $100 million for investment in “urgent technological solutions” for the medical, business, educational and social needs resulting from global pandemics and other global emergencies.
3) France is creating a fund to protect home-grown technology companies that may become “prey” for foreign buyers, adding the vehicle to its bailout package for startups. The Finance Ministry has created an initial 150 million euro fund through state-backed lender Bpifrance to invest in local companies if they’re approached by an unsolicited foreign investor. The government may increase the fund to 500 million euros from early next year.
4) Nasdaq-listed hybrid cloud data services company NetApp announced Wednesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli cloud services company Spot.io. A person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to Calcalist under condition of anonymity said it was priced at $450 million.
5) France and Germany’s bid to create a European cloud infrastructure ecosystem to stave off US and Chinese competitors in the data business was launched this week, after Ministers Bruno Le Maire and Peter Altmaier revealed more on their ambitious Gaia-X project.
6) US-based automated tests and measurement company National Instruments has acquired Israeli big data analytics company OptimalPlus, for $365 million in an all-cash deal.
7) C4 Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Pascal Cagni, head of Apple in Europe from 2000 to 2012, has launched a second fund at €80 million. Based in London and Paris, the European VC typically leads Series A rounds and co-invests in later stages.
8) The Family, the Paris-based firm that has been helping hundreds of European tech entrepreneurs start and grow their startups over the better part of the last decade, has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, tech.eu has learned. Its revenue has been decimated in almost no time as it struggled to make its global dreams come true, forcing it to make major changes to try and chart a course for a brighter future.
9) Appway, a Swiss software that helps financial institutions onboard and manage customers, has secured $37 million from Summit Partners to fuel global expansion, especially in North America. This marks the company’s first external fundraise since its founding in 2003.
10) Climeworks, a Swiss climate startup, has raised 73 million Swiss francs ($76 million) in a private funding round. Climeworks builds machines that catch carbon dioxide from the air and store it in solid state underground. It also takes the CO2 and delivers it to industrial clients, such as Coca-Cola, who can then use it to put bubbles in drinks.
Podcast(s):
tech.eu Podcast #171: BlaBla Voi
"This week, Andrii dives into the latest e-scooter news and talks to Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar." + tech.eu Podcast: What Margrethe Vestager had to say
"In this special episode, listen to a fireside chat and a panel discussion that Robin Wauters hosted at the virtual conference Podim DX. He talked to Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition and the chair of the group Europe Fit for the Digital Age, as well as Gerd Leonhard of The Futures Agency and Emilija Stojmenova Duh of 4PDIH."
Bonus link(s):
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