Hello! Here is what happened today in European tech:
Deals
- Amsterdam-based cloud communications platform MessageBird has become Europe’s newest unicorn after announcing a $200 million Series C round at a valuation of $3 billion. Silicon Valley’s Spark Capital led the Series C round, with participation from Bonnier, Glynn Capital, LGT Lightstone, Longbow, Mousse Partners and New View Capital.
- Canadian e-commerce investor Clearbanc is launching in the UK and pledges to inject £500 million into British SMEs over the coming year. The firm, which uses AI to make ‘unbiased’ investment decisions, says it offers startups an alternative to venture capital in the form of non-dilutive revenue-share agreements — and that the funding is transferred within two days.
- German energy company E.ON has launched a new fund and “venture capital platform”, Future Energy Ventures, with a portfolio already valued at €250 million.
- Swedish employee engagement platform Winningtemp has secured €15.1 million in a Series B round co-led by London’s Frog Capital and Stockholm-based Bonnier Ventures.
- Joko, a French fintech company aiming to disrupt cashback rewards, has raised a €10 million Series A round to begin expanding into other European countries. The funding comes from two French VCs, Partech and Axeleo, who also participated in a €1.6 million seed round last year.
- Lingokids, a Madrid, Spain-based company providing learning services for preschool and elementary school children, announced completing $10 million in Series B funding.
- Switzerland-based Sygnum Group and Japan's SBI Group have entered into a partnership to establish an early-stage fund investing in digital asset opportunities across Southeast Asia and Europe.
- Gitpod, an open-source developer platform that automates ready-to-code environments in the cloud, has raised $3 million in funding and announced a native integration with GitLab. The seed round was led by Speedinvest with participation from Crane Venture Partners and Vertex Ventures US.
- We also tracked a large number of (other) European tech funding rounds and M&A transactions, all of which we are putting in a handy list for you on Friday afternoon in our weekly roundup newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only). Also check out our European tech news section for ongoing coverage.
Worth Knowing
- A French appeals court has confirmed the country’s antitrust authority’s order to Google to pay French publishing companies and news agencies for their content.
- Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, will be held entirely online this year, as the coronavirus pandemic forces scores of major events to go digital.
- Allied for Startups: Startup communities across Europe urge policy makers to enable data flows across markets.
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company will produce Model Y with a new structural battery design and technology at its Berlin factory next year.
- Netflix is moving into a new London headquarters that will triple the amount of its West End office space, as the streaming giant expands the production of television shows in the UK.
- Fourteen EU countries have set out their position on the future regulation of Artificial Intelligence, urging the European Commission to adopt a “soft law approach”.
- Why London is lagging behind on e-scooter trials.
- Horizon Mag: In the hotseat: 5 questions for Commissioner Gabriel
- Monument, a new London-based digital bank for the affluent, has been granted a restricted UK banking licence in the latest example of the boom in new consumer fintechs.
- Swedish mobility company Einride has launched a range of sustainable, self-driving Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) vehicles, with some models available on the global market for the first time.
Tell us what you think about the above and how we can improve it! And follow us on Twitter.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments