Today in European Tech: Funding for energy solutions, Europe goes startup-friendly, fintech companies are not your friends, and more

Hello!

Here is what happened today in European tech:

Deals

- Estonian energy startup Skeleton Technologies that works on ultracapacitor-based storage solutions has raised €41.3 million in funding. This brings the total amount raised by the company to €93 million.

- Swiss smart lighting startup Novaccess has landed CHF4.8 million in debt and equity. The company has developed a connected street lighting system that allows for fine adjustments and cost reduction.

- Clarity AI, a Spanish startup developing tech that analyses the social impact of companies and investments, has closed a $15 million funding round led by Deutsche Börse and Mundi Ventures.

- ITRS Group, a London-based provider of real-time monitoring and analytics software to enterprise, has acquired US-based Uptrends, a monitoring tool for websites and networks.

- Pay for a coffee with Tesla stock? Automata, a fintech startup based in France and the UK, has raised €2 million to create an alternative system of investing, digital banking and retail payments, whereby a shopper could pay for an everyday item with stock

- Founders of Zalando Robert Gentz, David Schneider, and Rubin Ritter have invested “several million” euros in Berlin-based solar energy startup Enpal.

- 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

- We can expect a whole lot of startup-friendly regulations to appear across Europe in the foreseeable future. Take a look at an overview of policy initiatives posted today by Sifted.

- Europe's top regulatory body has issued a stinging indictment of the German financial supervisory regime which allowed bankrupt payment processor Wirecard to hoodwink investors for years.

- Are fintech companies your real friends, or just party friends? Turns out both “Monzo and Revolut have faced a barrage of complaints from customers who have had their accounts frozen,” writes Jemima Kelly in her opinion piece on the FT.

- New research from London-based venture fund Notion Capital confirms what we already know: More startups are becoming unicorns, but few have women at the helm.

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